Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are starting to wind things down here with our work in Zimbabwe. We are due to fly out soon, but there is still much to do and accomplish.

In the past two weeks we held an eye camp at an Anglican girls high school about an hour and a half from the city of Bulawayo along a road littered with potholes, great and small. We arrived to a warm welcome by the ‘rector’ and some of the nursing staff at a clinic that is situated on the grounds of the school. We instructed the community members who had arrived on the plans for the eye camp, and while Steve and the team set up, the gospel was preached. We then spent the hot day examining approximately 114 patients, giving out medications and glasses (Jane reported that she gave out 125 pairs), and scheduling some for future surgery. There were quite a number who sang and danced as they received their glasses and who could now see clearly.

We also recently conducted a pilot clinical study comparing two surgical cataract techniques on a group of patients to gather the results and present at a regional medical conference in the future. Our colleagues, Dr. Moyo and Dr. Malemane, performed the operations while Steve performed preoperative measurements. It turned out to be a successful endeavor, especially as we know that 20 people can now see because of free cataract surgery.

We were thankful this last week to also replace the broken laser at the Richard Morris Eye Hospital with a temporary portable laser. There is a large backlog of patients who need various laser treatments, and this laser will allow the doctors to treat some until we can ship a much better laser over that was so generously donated by Dr. Mark Wedul.

We continue to see very difficult and complex eye problems here, many times because people cannot afford specialty care. It is a privilege to care for them and manage their eye problems with the technology that has been donated to us, and to give the care as free gifts to those in greatest need.

Thank you again for remembering us in your thoughts and prayers as we wind down our time here in the coming days.

Blessings to you all,

Steve and Jane Beaty