If we ever wondered if God's hand was in our choosing this theme for our Bible school in Nicaragua, it was affirmed to us in so many ways. Lynn Bell and Jim Worthington were our eye glasses team on the trip and I asked Lynn to tell her story to share with everyone.
Eyeglasses Team visit to Leon, Nicaragua
Our first day’s work, sponsored and coordinated by The Community Movement of Nicaragua, was housed in an historical building in downtown Leon. It reminded me a lot of what is frequently seen in the New Orleans, LA area. The outside of the building came right up to the sidewalk which was adjacent to the street. It had doors on each corner of the building. The entry was into a foyer type room with several doors leading off into other rooms or parts of the building. One door led to a verandah on the inside with a lovely garden including the Plumeria Rubia which is the national flower of Nicaragua. It was beautiful and the plant reached to the rooftop. The color was a peachy orange. These flowers are tropical and are the ones used in Hawaii for leis.
Jim Worthington and I set up our clinic stations on the verandah, preferring the beauty of the outside over an inside room. Supposedly we were to see 75 patients that day. Early on I came to realize the count was much greater than that. Nicaragua is an extremely poor country and the need is great, hence we had people begging to be seen and fitted for reading glasses. We saw everyone in line and by the end of the day, our count was 103. This means we had given out 103 pair of reading glasses and 103 pair of sunglasses. One touching moment during the day came when a crippled old man in rags came to my station. He was so sweet and wanted so badly to have a pair of reading glasses which I gave him. Before he left, he reached into his pocket and handed me a pair of scratched up old glasses saying he wanted to donate them to our cause. How touched I was by someone who has nothing giving his all to help someone less fortunate than himself.
Moving moments continued to happen. As we finished up for the day, I shut my station down and went to take a few minutes to thank Director Francisco for having us and for coordinating the effort so efficiently. As we were talking he explained to me about his organization. They work with the poorest of the poor. One of their symbols is the rainbow, which in their organization shows the inclusion of all people, all races, and all genders. Another symbol is the national flower of Nicaragua. They also pattern their work after ANTS and how they work together. I could not believe it as the ant is the symbol being used by our Bible School Team in the schools. How could it be that they chose the ant and while in Nicaragua, the group coordinating our work in the different villages patterns its work after the ant? Prior to this trip, I had never read Proverbs 6:6-11. By now, it has come to have a special meaning and place in my heart. I asked Director Francisco if he was aware that there was a verse in the Bible about the ants. He said no and is bringing his Bible on Wednesday when he sees me again so I can show him where it is.
The next day, we set up under a roof next to a clinic of sorts. Again the location and people were scheduled by The Community Movement of Nicaragua. Again, we saw way more than the 75 we committed to see. There is such a great need in the country and so little resources. And don’t you know it, the ants appeared again! Each person wanting to be seen was given a number and on the back side was stamped an ant! How wonderful it was to see the ant again and to be reminded of the Bible verse. We knew God was with us.
The third day we set up in a school in a very destitute section. The school had only one table, no chair or desk for the teacher, and only a few small chairs for the children, which appeared to be pre-school age. There was no table or chair for us to use so we had to send back to El Ayudante for them to bring some plastic chairs and tables. Director Francisco arrived, wearing his ant shirt, and was glad to see us. He extended a warm welcome and while he and I were talking (yes, I was using what little Spanish I know and successful in getting my meaning across), the bus drove up with the Bible School Team headed by Madge Burton and Julie Downes. I had prepared Francisco for the fact that their program for the children was based on the ants. When Madge got off the bus she was wearing her fire chief hat with antennae waving from the top. She was of course, a “fire ant”. Director Francisco looked at me and said “Chief”? I said no, hormigas fuego (fire ant). He chuckled and I looked at Madge and chuckled too.
We worked very hard that day, too, and when we thought we were finished, I was asked “we have twelve more people outside who did not have numbers. What do you want us to tell them?” How could we say no? So we stayed longer and were able to fit everyone with readers and sun glasses. Another tiring but very good day!
By now, were down to only the higher strengths in readers. This was due mainly to the fact that we had seen almost 100 more patients than we anticipated. After having said prayers asking the Lord to guide us through the day and enable us to fit as many people with glasses as possible, we set up in a room no larger than 5’X7’. Yes, it was hot and cramped but we were serving with glad hearts and the people we served were grateful. What a wonderful day. Again we were able to see all who came.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention our two translators; Mario and Louis. These two gentlemen served the people of their country along side us translating when we did not understand what people were saying to us. They learned about reading glasses and Jim and I learned about the humor and giving attitude of these two young gentlemen. Without them, we could not have served out the week. We will be forever grateful. We are appreciative for the opportunity to serve! Lynn Bell
This is what we saw over the carousel where our luggage came out at Atlanta Airport when we arrived home on Saturday. Airport art.....
