Joyful Hearts for Christ

We got together a little earlier in the circle of chairs at the hotel on Friday.  We began by signing thank you cards for the helpers who served at St. Andrew's this week.  We enjoyed our conversations and Starbuck products, anticipating our last clinic day.


Joel led the devotion using Psalm 5:1-3.  Known as the morning psalm, it speaks of laying before God our needs in prayer before jumping into the day.  We prayed silently those personal needs.  We also shared aloud a prayer for a particular person.  Joel shared a commentary from John Bunyon imploring us to pray and read, read and pray.  We know that the word of God is a means of grace. Deuteronomy 6 teaches us to have those words of God's instruction on our hearts.  We are reminded that Paul used the words to construct his arguments with others about the love of God.  There is great joy in receiving His Word.

We were again greeted by new friends waiting in chairs at the worship center at St. Andrews.  Many calls were received by Pastor Ite confirming that the clinic would be open on Friday.  We expected more family members from those friends that came earlier in the week.  Word of mouth and the joy of receiving eyeglasses our advertising media choice.  And again, we were amazed at the number of people who greeted us as we arrived at the worship center.

Here are some highlights in pictures of the joy we experienced today with our friends in Kingston.

A father and daughter receiving their first pair of glasses.

Gracious friends who were thankful for service provided in their community.

A full sanctuary at St. Andrew's as friends received Christ's love through eyeglasses and sunglasses.

Wonderful memories of making new friends

Teaching our friends about the importance of eye care

Hundreds of eyeglasses and sunglasses donated from Michigan and shared with our friends in Kingston.

Pastor Ite was the last friend to receive his eye screening.

By the time we had said goodbye to our last friend of the day, we had served 199 people.  We completed our clinic with 533 friends receiving the gift of sight.  We even enjoyed the sounds of rain on the roof during a late afternoon thunderstorm.  After cleaning up our supplies and straightening up the sanctuary, we held our closing ceremony with the team, our host Erin, and Pastor Ite.  Gifts were shared, prayers of thanksgiving and safety were lifted to God, and cheers were given for service to this community.


We took our supplies back to the hotel, then traveled to Usain Bolt's Track and Records restaurant for dinner.  We returned to the hotel for our evening meeting, preparing for checkout and travel to the airport on Saturday.

Brenda led our evening devotion using  Jeremiah 1:5 and Ephesians 1:4 to remind us that we were chosen by God. Our mission trip had God's fingerprints all over it.  We were chosen to be the hands and feet of Jesus, yet always sharing that Christ is glorified by our actions.  We listened to the Colton Dixon song  "Let Them See You".

Our clinic is over, but the memories will remain in our minds and hearts.  As we prepare our return to Michigan, we thank you for your prayers, financial support, and time spent reading about our mission work.  May the joy we shared together prepare your heart for serving on a mission trip in the future.



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