Just wanted to give you all a quick update from my surgery. I CAN SEE!!

It appears (by sight) that all went well. I am back at work and have a follow-up visit today. Continue to pray that all truly went well and the results will be excellent. (I do NOT want to do this again.) My friend Lucy checked on me a couple times after my surgery... I'm sure I entertained her. :) I was so out of it, but managed to sleep most the afternoon/evening and definitely all through the night. I spent most of the morning trying to get all the sticky stuff off my face from the plastic shields they taped over my eyes. (I was not very successful.)

If any of you are interested in the exact details of my LASIK experience and what I thought about it, I'm happy to share. This is simply a quick message for those of you who simply want to know the results. But shoot me an email/message if you're curious about LASIK or might be interested in getting it yourself but are nervous about what to expect. I'll tell ya all about mine!

Lastly... I wish to donate my prescription glasses. This email will serve to get the word out if you know of anyone who has this need or if perhaps you or someone you know are soon to take a medical missions trip. My prescription is OD 2.75 / OS 2.75 (sphere). They are small, brown, trendy glasses for a woman/teenage girl. I will go through a program online if I get no response from this email.

And since my burden is deep for those less fortunate than myself, I wanted to close by sharing with you some statistics from Unite for Sight, an organization working in the U.S. and developing countries to provide eye care services and educational programs to those who otherwise could not afford or have access to them.

• Over 1 billion people in developing countries need eyeglasses but cannot afford them.
• Over 4 million pairs of eyeglasses are thrown away each year in North America.
• 25% of the global population needs eyeglasses.
• 50% of children in institutions for the blind in Africa would be able to read normal or large print if
they had eyeglasses.
• The price for glasses in Benin and other African countries can exceed three months' average salary.

As we thank God for the success of my surgery, let's also ask Him to keep our hearts burdened for others who are in need of even the basics of life. Every day we should ask Him what we can do to help those who can't help themselves.

If you have a pair of glasses (or even sunglasses) that you no longer use... check out organizations like Unite for Sight or Lions Club International for donation ideas.

Thank you for your prayers!!

Yes, I have been super busy since my last update... but the main reason you haven't heard from me in a while is because I've been doing more office work than "field" work these past few weeks. So I don't really have any exciting pictures to share... unless you want me to creatively capture myself creating spreadsheets and making dozens of phone calls!

As some of you know, I was able to take a break from work long enough to get home and visit with some family and friends. The main reason for the timing of my visit was to present a scholarship to a graduating senior of Maryville High School in memory of my sister Liz. Always a great honor. It was also a special blessing to be home for Mother's Day with Mom and Kelly... and to attend my home church (the first time since January!).

What's next?? We're gearing up for summer. We anticipate 300-400 volunteers a week during our intensive summer camp (June 3rd - Aug 4th). Summer camp is a time where volunteers (mainly youth groups) come to minister to the city, meanwhile, our staff ministers to them through worship services, devotional times, taking care of their needs, etc. And as I (and others of us) have time, I'll pick up a hammer, gut out some homes, paint some fences, play with kids, hangout with homeless people, whatever needs to be done! And I'm greatly looking forward to all of that. Meanwhile, there is lot of preparation to do in terms of scheduling all of these groups throughout the city. I'm a bit overwhelmed, and I must rely on God's strength and wisdom DAILY to even attempt to get all this done! We are short-staffed, and I'm not complaining, but I do covet your prayers because God has appointed me and others to our positions here, but we are stretched and sometimes I feel it's humanly impossible to really accomplish all that needs to be done. Truly I don't know how to I'm going to do it, all I can do is trust by faith that it will happen. As Linda says, "You do ALL that you can do... and then you leave the rest to God." So that's what I'm doing. I'll do my part, and trust Him for the rest.

Prayer requests: My body gets tired and I need it to be energized, my mind gets scrambled and I need it to remain sharp and focused, my heart gets overwhelmed with the needs here and I need it to be burdened but effective. Even in full-time ministry you can get thrown off course, please pray that my distractions will be few, healing will come when needed, and that I will stay obedient to my calling. Also, today (Tuesday) at 3pm CST, I am having LASIK surgery. I am very excited and blessed that I can have this done. The thought of the procedure makes me a bit nervous, but we can all pray that it goes smoothly and that I will not need any enhancements (as they are not included in the price). Years down the road my eyes may weaken, as is common, but for the most part I hope it's a huge success for the next year and many many more!!

It was so good to see the few of you I was able to see this weekend. To all of you, thank you for your continued support. I hope all is going well for each of you. Please keep me informed of what's going on in your life as well... any blessings from above or anything I can be praying for you about.

I'll have many exciting updates throughout the summer, so stay tuned! :)

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