Recounting my memories!

5 weeks of memories are alot to blog, so I have decided that each day I will recount one or two memories of my trip. This will allow me to focus on special ways that I was brought closer to my friends in Tanzania. Today I want to share with you about a day in Singida. I was preparing to leave for the hospital where I was working with my "dada" (sister in Swahili) and my friend Dr. Peter from Nairobi. We had just finished breakfast and tea and made our way to the hospital. As we were arriving, the eye clinic was filled up with patients needing and wanting eye glasses!! This was our second day of our eye clinic. We had set up our "dispensary" and Dr. Peter had his small eye examining station set up. A lady came through dressed in the most beautiful dress. She had been examined by Dr. Peter and it was determined that she needed glasses. Her vision was extremely low and we needed to match her up with a pair of glasses. I searched and searched to match her with the exact prescription but was unable to find what she needed. We had hundreds of donated eyeglasses but none that would match her Rx. I was beside myself as I know what it is like to not be able to see things clear. I went through all the bags we had and still found nothing. Among a pile of glasses that we had not individually bagged yet was her exact match. One pair with the exact Rx!!! I had her try them on. She read the chart clearly and began to cry. She said over and over: Asante Sana Asante Sana. This was the first time in her life she could actually see things clearly. I knew at that moment that this simple eye clinic was changing the lives of many!! As she was walking away, she said I will be back in 15 minutes. I wasn't sure what she meant but continued with the clinic, helping dozens of others. She returned later and asked me to step into a small examining room. In this room she brought her daughter who was a tailor. She brought several swatches of fabric with her and said she wanted to make me a dress. My eyes began to well up with tears. I did not expect this, nor did I want her to go out of her way to do this for me. She said she wanted to show me her deepest appreciation for allowing her to see clear for the first time in her life. Her daughter took my measurements and the next day a beautiful dress was made. I know that my heart was changed that day!! I went to Tanzania for many reasons, but the one I wanted to achieve most of all was to help as many as I could. My calling is to reach out and help those least of the least...it is my greatest honor to do this work. I will never forget the tears in Celima's eyes the day she could see....this is what we are here to do....reach out your hand just once to someone...and the results will forever change your life.

Until next time~

Cheers!