In addition to the eye exams, we raised funds to support 2 days of medical clinics and 1 day of a dental clinic.  We were on the schedule to do one day of eye exams.  Our team trained some staff members at the office of MIS, the mission organization we work through, in hopes they too could administer the exams long after we are gone, and use the glasses we left with them.  Then we wanted some training so we worked with our namesakes first, and gave out glasses to them.  They loved it and we were able to work out the kinks in our plan before the big day.  

Some of the things we learned during our training were going to be challenging how to execute.  For example, the idea of villagers making appointments to see us, this seemed like there would be no real way to do this. That would consist of a lot of work on the part of our mission organization, so we left that out and figured God would take care of the details.  Oh.... and that He did!  Monday and Tuesday were the planned medical clinic days, with dental also on Monday and vision on Tuesday.  But on Sunday night we really felt like we should be doing the vision clinic on both days, we are there and can do it so why not?  To ask that Sunday evening also seemed a bit impossible to coordinate, so we left it in God's hands.  Monday morning we awoke to people already lining up and "signing up" for one of the clinics, medical, dental or vision!  2 things the good Lord took care of.  There was a sign up that we had no idea about, and they too hoped we would start Monday and asked us Monday morning if we could.  This was music to our ears!  What we had hoped for!  So we ran 2 days of vision clinic and at the end of Monday we were asked if we could also accommodate a second dental clinic day because the need was so great.  Yes, we will fund that!  

The other really cool thing that came into clarity for me was how God took the last 18 years to prep us for this year.  He paved the road for us to be where we are today.  You see we are not a short term mission team that goes and completes a project in a week, and we are not long term missionaries living in country working alongside people groups.  We are a hybrid, we are the short term team who goes yearly to support the long term missionary we support there who lives among the people and shares the love of God with them.  It's a wonderful model for missions.  We can not go in and do what we do without our church planter there, and he can not go into the villages and do what he does without our support.  Over the last 18 years our church has sent a team to be an encourager to him and build trust within these people.  God used this specific team, with these specific people for His purpose and plan and it worked marvelously.  Our team consisted of just the right people for just the right stations we needed to fulfill the vision clinic. The response was overwhelmingly positive.  One gentleman kept going out and telling others to come, to be seen, he was so excited about his glasses he spread the word!  Exactly what we are to do with Jesus!  So excited for what He did for us on the cross, that we instinctively want to go and share that with others!  We did so much this week, if you'd like to hear more or feel inclined to give to our mission, contact me!  

This year our founding team leader made the very difficult decison that due to his health, he could no longer travel with us and decided to hand off leadership to 4 of the team members.  My husband, myself, and 2 other ladies on our team who have been many years as well.  So this year seemed like it was a year of firsts and a year against all odds.  A first for 4 of us now traveling as leaders of the team and we had 2 new team members join us as well.  We had many difficult things pop up before leaving that made this year seem like a daunting task to take on.  One thing after the other rolled our way.  The weeks prior to leaving got more interesting as my husbands job was giving him all kinds of trials that raised his stress level immensely to one of our team members getting pneumonia right before we left and he had to cancel coming with us.  Not to mention issues on the other side of the ocean with the mission organization we go through having major changes for them as well.  Yet God provided every detail as He always does.  We came home and shortly after we got word from our church planter that He felt "this was the best year yet!"  Whoa!  That was amazing to hear and really a testament to the prior 18 years of groundwork that has been laid.  There is so much more I could share so if this intrigues you and you want to learn more about what we do, reach out!  I love to talk about what God is doing in Senegal!

The above photo is me with my namesake, the open fire they cook our meals in and on our last day we encountered a sandstorm.  It looked exactly like the wildfires we experienced last year from Canada, but it was fine sand being blown about.  We could barely see the ocean, it was so thick.  We typically have a rest day at the end of our trip to prepare to come back home.  This place was amazing before the sandstorm hit.  Its a refreshing time for the team!  

The first part of Romans 12:7 says "If your gift is serving others, serve them well."  So that's what we tried to do.  About a month prior to the trip, we have to get the menu and shopping list to our coordinator.  She looks the list over and then lets me know if anything on my list is not available there.  I find it fascinating to learn there isn't an overabundance of items like here in the US.  They are not a fan of preservatives in Sweden, so many things are sold in smaller containers and some things are just not available.  Cake mixes...nope.  Chocolate chips....nope.  Half n Half...nope.  Coffee Creamer...nope.  Oddly enough though Maple Syrup, which I might add is imported from New England is cheaper there than it is here in the US.  Go figure.  We've tried to make each years menu a little different and it begins with seeking what the team might like and be interested in having that they don't normally get.  The all encompassing answer is Mexican.... with queso!  I suppose Sweden is a bit far from Mexico so there interpretation of Mexican is pretty different there and it is something the Americans miss.  We tried...but it's not quite the same cooking Mexcian there with ingredients that are hard to find, but we did our best and I think they enjoyed it. 

The week is intended for the full time staff missionaries to host a training conference for the new interns coming to Sweden, having committed to 2 years.  We met 3 new interns who arrived just after last years conference.  Sometimes as in their cases the Visa's they apply for get delayed and so even though these 3 new interns have been there almost a year, they had not gone through this training yet.  Some classes are taught by the people we travel there with and some classes are taught by local pastors from Sweden.  The days not only include training but also worship time next to the piano and prayer time.  It is a sweet time with everyone and great training!  

After the time at the retreat house, we would be flying out of Stockholm, so we took a train and spent a full day exploring and this time we went to Skansen.  It is a place similar to Massachusetts's Sturbridge Village.  It is replicating old Sweden from days past.  It was a long day of a lot of walking.

                        If you would like to donate to any of my mission trips please contact me and I can help you make a tax deductible donation through my church.