Pages
from our Outreach Notebook
The
rainy season lasts about six months in Nicaragua and it was raining hard when we
stopped to attend a community coordinator’s meeting in El Cursaro last week.
We had arranged for News-Leader reporter, Linda Leicht, and her
photographer, Edmee Rodriguez, to meet with Elizabeth, a fifteen-year-old girl
whom the Rainbow Network had brought to Springfield for a very delicate eye
surgery. Elizabeth and her aunt, Sarah, and cousin, Kevin, were ebullient to see
Rainbow founder, Keith Jaspers, again. In spite of our damp clothes, we were all
infected with the joy of their reunion. Elizabeth had been blind for as long as
she could remember and her now partially restored sight was a miracle for her
whole community.
When
our NACC mission team was in Nicaragua, we had met a younger blind child, Karina,
in Los Solano. She had cataracts in both eyes which had blinded her and kept her
from even starting school. Our team was very moved by Karina’s plight and so,
we asked that she be taken to a doctor and to let us know how much her surgery
would cost. It only took a moment for our team to come up with several hundred
dollars necessary to restore Karina’s sight.
On
that rainy day in Nicaragua, I had no reason to expect that I would be treated
to a chance to see Karina again. In fact, I didn’t even recognize her among
the children who so often try to catch the eye of American visitors. She was
there with her hair in moisture-defying curls, smiling at me. She looked so . .
. normal! I have to tell you, she has not only the most beautiful smile in all
of Nicaragua, she has the most beautiful eyes on earth. Her parents have become
involved in Rainbow Network efforts at community development and her mother
stood up and gave a detailed speech about housing, jobs, clinic work, and the
feeding center operation in Los Solano. I felt so proud of this family. There
are no words to describe how it made me feel to see how their world has changed
and how they are changing the world where they live. God is good.
National Avenue
Christian Church
1515 South National Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65804
417/869-9176
fax: 417/869-7256
e-mail: natlave@sbcglobal.net