Dear friends of Eyecare To The Needy;

It has been another busy couple of weeks here in Zimbabwe. We led another eye camp at a retirement facility, seeing most of the residents and blessing them with medications, glasses, sunglasses and Bibles. These residents are quite poor. One gentleman told Steve that his monthly income is $150, and $105 goes towards the rental of his little room. The balance is used to buy a little food, and possibly something small. Our hearts were heavy as we heard other stories such as this one.

After almost two years of planning and construction, the new eye center was dedicated this week. The hospital board of Mater Dei Hospital had agreed that it should be named “The Dr. Steve Beaty Eye Center”, and the caption attached said, “For me to live is Christ….”.  The opening was attended by the board members, the mayor of Bulawayo and around a hundred invited guests. This center will house the doctors that Steve has trained along with an operating room. We anticipate that the upcoming retina center will also be situated in this facility. We rejoice that God has allowed us to see the fruit of +24 years of ministering, teaching and encouraging our colleagues here in Bulawayo.

We received tragic news the very morning that the new eye center was dedicated and opened. Jane’s mother suddenly passed away the night before in Tennessee. She was frail, but independent and had no significant serious ongoing diseases. We were able to change Jane’s return flights to fly home very soon after we received the news.

So, Steve remained for a couple of weeks before returning to the US. He had 2 visiting doctors from the states. Dr. Steven Yeh, Vice Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Nebraska who arrived and gave lectures, and toured the eye center to see how the retina equipment to come will be integrated into the center. Dr. Erick Bothun, professor at The Mayo Clinic also arrived, and both were speakers at the Congress of Eastern and Southern Africa of Ophthalmology. Their presence made a significant impact in our relationships with our local colleagues.  

Thank you once again for your prayers, especially for Jane as she works through her grief at the loss of her mother. We appreciate the privilege of telling you all about what the Lord is doing in our lives. We now begin the process of gathering and shipping equipment for the retina center. Please continue to pray for us as we enter this next chapter of ministry in Zimbabwe.

Sincerely;

Steve and Jane Beaty