Honduras Mission Trip

If you wear glasses or contacts, imagine going just one day without them.  Imagine taking them off or out right now and just trying to find your way through the lunch line or to the bathroom. But before you do that, let’s throw some rocks and boulders and horse apples and dog doo in the way.  Oh, and take off your shoes because you don’t own any.  Now let’s see how easy it is to navigate your way to wherever you are going.  It is not easy and Mary Harp-Jirschele has witnessed this firsthand.  She is part of a group known as VOSH, Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity, that try to make a difference in the lives of needy people in remote regions of Central American countries each year.  Over the past few years this group has been in a region of the Dominican Republic that borders Haiti, deep in the rain forest of Nicaragua and most recently to a wonderful little mountainside village in Honduras.  All of the countries are poverty stricken and a trip to the eye doctor is a luxury that 99% of them will never experience.  A 105 year old man came to see VOSH for his first eye exam of his life.  He was extremely happy to be able to see clearly for the first time in his life.  He received a pair of eyeglasses with a lifetime guarantee!  That is just one happy story but there are sad stories as well. A 2 year old girl came to see the clinic and she had very bad cataracts, she was virtually blind.  They had to send the little girl and her mother away heartbroken because there was nothing they could do to help her.  People come from near and far to get their eyes checked.  Some people travel several hours to wait in a long line to see if they can get their eyes checked and receive eye glasses to improve their eye sight.  Not only does VOSH provide eye care they also bring things for the kids such as balloons, hair ribbons, crayons and stickers.  This past trip Paul Arnold’s sons Mitch and Evan started a nonprofit foundation that provided sporting equipment to needy children.  They sent baseballs, mitts and soccer balls.  These children were so appreciative of these items that they took turns rotating them between families and some children slept with these items at night.  The Father of the Village took the rest of the sporting equipment to divide between the 22 villages he oversees so they could experience these items as well.  Upon departure from the village they left behind sheets, pillowcases, towels, washcloths, clothes, one of two suitcases and anything else that might be valuable to the villagers.  The group always has a list of things to bring next time like salt and pepper shakers and paper products.  As you can see VOSH makes quite a difference in the lives of not just the 1,000 people they serve on average, but also in their own lives. Mary kept a journal and her closing comment this year said it best: “The world is bigger than what WE know, and it’s good to be reminded of that occasionally-whether it’s in a big way like this kind of trip or in a small way at your favorite nonprofit back home.  Either way, you come to realize how blessed we really are.”