Glasses donated to 25,000 Chileans
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VINA DEL MAR, Chile — More than 25,000 people on Chile's central coast are seeing more clearly, thanks to a donation of eyeglasses from the Gift of Sight foundation and the help of missionaries and members who helped fit them.
Over 10 days, 120 missionaries from the Chile Vina del Mar Mission served as assistants and translators at clinics staged in a stake center in Belloto and a district center in Mirama/Valparaiso. They assisted 38 professional doctors and staff of Loxotica Eyewear in fitting lenses and frames donated by Lens Crafters.
The Lions Club donated money and coordinated registration, food, and the cooperation of the Red Cross in carrying out the project.
The first three days, Church members came to the rescue of the overwhelmed professional staff, directing traffic, helping at various stations of the clinic, and calming nerves with their smiles as more than 150 people passed through the clinic each hour. The assistance of missionaries and members continued through the 10 days.
In Bellote, 11,670 people received eyeglasses, and in Valparaiso, 13,640, for a total of 25,310 during the service project.
Government officials of Region V dropped in to extend their thanks and best wishes to patients and volunteers.
"The gospel was reflected in the resplendent faces, identification badges, and special feeling the missionaries offered," said Elder Devin Christensen, a young missionary over public affairs for the Chile Vina del Mar Mission.
