Dear Friends,

Thank you for remembering us in your thoughts and your prayers since we last wrote to you. These last 2 weeks have been filled again with days of service and ministry, but we have also had the privilege of hosting Rebekah, our daughter, Robby, her husband, and our grandson Lewis. They flew over to spend time with us and to help serve.

With the 3 additional family members, and with assistance from Rebekah’s friend and her husband, we conducted 3 eye camps these last 2 weeks and were able to see approximately 400 people. Jane and Rebekah gave out 270 pairs of glasses to some very happy and grateful people.

There were several difficult and tragic cases that we saw. These gave us an understanding of what the people of Zimbabwe face if they fall ill or have a serious medical condition. One such case was a young 24 year old lady with double vision who came to seek our help. She had noticed this for a couple of months. In addition, she had noticed increasing difficulty with her balance. This young lady ad lost both parents to AIDS, and had only 2 remaining siblings. She was also somewhat dependent upon a lady who she described as her foster mother.

When Steve examined this lady, he noticed that she had poor balance, her speech was slurred, she had some difficulty with her hearing, and her double vision was very specific to a problem in her brain. In addition, when he examined her eyes after dilating her, he noticed that her optic nerves were swollen. These findings were consistent with a possible brain tumor or space occupying growth with increased intracranial pressure. 

We found out that this young lady had no financial means to obtain a CT scan, so we took care of the expenses for the test. It showed that indeed she had a cystic tumor in the brain stem which was causing her symptoms. We were able to communicate with the only neurosurgeon here in Bulawayo, and she was admitted. Every medical device and medicine must be supplied by the patient, and she needed a shunt to bring her high pressure in her brain down. We were able to source this, and she successfully underwent the procedure. We will let you know how her hospital course runs, but she is still hospitalized, and we wait for the neurosurgeon to give us more information about her prognosis. Please uplift Rosemary Sibanda in your prayers for God’s healing hand upon her.

Thank you once again for your support for us as we wind down our time of service here. We already have plans for several projects in 2020, so we look forward to the possible work ahead when we return.

Blessings to each of you,

Steve and Jane Beaty