Perspective

Life is all about your perspective.  Sometimes life seems to overwhelm us. And sometimes we can handle life no problem.  What's the difference? Yes, you have different stresses at different times in your life.  But the big difference is your perspective on life.  Are your eyes on the road directly at your feet? Only seeing your problems? Or are you looking around? Seeing other people's problems?  If we can take the focus off of ourselves and look at the people around us...our problems start to seem smaller instead of fogging up our vision and completely overwhelming us.
Perspective is something that God has been teaching me.  Living in Spokane i didn't realize how big the world is.  How many people are living in tattered clothes, going to sleep each night in a dirty bed (or on the dirt floor), living on scraps of food, walking on streets filled with feces and garbage.  I can specifically look at times in my life when all i could do was focus on living out one more day.  I was so overwhelmed with the problems of that day i couldn't think about anyone else.  I was drowning in my own problems.  If I had simply looked at the poor of the world, seen the hurt of the people even in Spokane, I wouldn't have felt like i was drowning anymore.  I would have seen what true hurt and true 'drowning' is. Getting out of Spokane, seeing a different side of the world, and learning perspective is yet another reason I am so thankful to everyone who helped send me here.  thank you thank you thank you!

The last two weeks has been extremely chaotic on the ship.  The eye team had their first screening on Monday.  This means that potential patients came, were selected for a second screening and came to the ship today.  Today they were told that yes we could help them and scheduled for surgery.  Or no, we won't have a doctor for their specific ailment and were prayed over.  On Wednesday we have the main screening for general surgeries.  It's going to be a HUGE event.  Please pray for us as there are many many details to work out and coordinate with the government, transportation, food, security etc. Specifically pray that God would bring the people that He wants there to the screening, and keep away the people that He doesn't want there.  This prayer (as Doctor Gary explained) will ensure that every single person who is there is meant to be there. That by being at that screening they will be touched somehow.  Even if it's only to be prayed over and given a drink of water.  I will keep you updated on how that goes

The other day i went into town with some awesome girls! Bronte, Rebeka, Julie, Fatmata, Sarah and Tori

Togo market place...one of them

A man trying to sell Bronte a shirt for her dad

getting a coconut from a lady...notice the machete they cut them with

Tom, a day worker friend, eating his coconut :)

Sorry that I haven't posted in a couple days.  and I will keep you updated about the screenings.  Thanks for the prayers :)