Hello Friends!

It has been another wonderful week here in Zim and we could not be more thankful for the opportunity to serve these amazing people in this amazing place. On Monday of last week, Steve arranged for Dr. Erick Bothun to provide three lectures in Bulawayo on pediatric ophthalmology issues. The presentations went very well and he was well received by the medical community there.

We spent the following day at the Esikhoveni Community, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes from Bulawayo. Pastor Chris, along with pastor Never, organized this eye camp and we ended up seeing 75 folks while there. It was a lovely, steady flow of patients and we felt like we got to minister to each of them in a personal way. There were 8 of us in total: Steve and Jane, Dr. Erick and Cara Bothun, their son Luke, Dr. Timothy and Aiden Kao, and Aiden’s sister Lauren. Erick is a pediatric ophthalmologist on staff at the university of Minnesota and Tim is a second year ophthalmology resident at the University of Minnesota. We are so grateful for all who played a huge part in the camp. That afternoon we witnessed some incredible joy! One lady had never worn glasses and she measured a -12.  What a blessing that Steve was able to find a pair of -12 glasses that even had been tinted; she was delighted! Several folks commented that they could now see to read their Bibles!

On Wednesday we hopped back in the car and headed toward Victoria Falls for two days of surgery on both Thursday and Friday – this is the first time eye surgery has been performed at this hospital since 2011! The surgical eye camp at Vic Falls was a positive experience for the Minnesota team. They saw 100 patients and performed 30 surgeries. The two Vic Falls eye nurses, Nesbert and Yona, were also extremely valuable and so helpful. In fact, Nesbert brought his computer and played christian praise and worship music all day in the surgery suite on Friday which set an awesome, God-honoring presence. We truly thank the Lord for providing Nesbert and Yona. While there, the Minnesota team also had the amazing opportunity to walk through and see one of the seven wonders of our world, Victoria Falls, and got completely soaked! Dr. Tim, Aiden and her sister, Lauren, departed Victoria Falls on Sunday to head back to the states. We are so thankful that they gave of their time to come and minister to the people here in Zimbabwe.

Following the surgery camp at Vic Falls we headed to Hwange Game Reserve to enjoy God’s beautiful creation! We took the Bothun family on safari for two days. Their eleven-year-old son, Luke, said seeing all of the animals was his favorite part! In fact, it was Luke who spotted the Cheetah in the picture! (in the photo gallery) He also loved sleeping in a tree house at Ivory Lodge. We returned to Bulawayo on Monday for Erick to present an evening lecture along with one again the next morning. We have just said goodbye to the Bothun family and so appreciate their time with us here in Zimbabwe. On Tuesday afternoon, Steve and I left for another rural eye camp. We spent the night in a rural village since it is so far away. Again for this camp, we worked alongside our Christian friends who organized the camp, showing the “Jesus Film” in the evening before beginning the eye camp.

Thanks to each of you for your support and for following our work in Zimbabwe. We have added a bunch of awesome pictures from the past week or so – be sure to check them out in the blog photo gallery – click on the slideshow at the beginning of the blog post to view and read about the pictures!

God bless you all!