These photos are from our trip to Mexico in June 2003.

We traveled with an optometrist (Dr. Jim Ogden) and a team from Goldendale, Washington.

With help from Lions Club folks from El Paso, Tx, "New Tribes Missions", "Youth With a Mission" and local pastors from the small towns in northern Mexico, we did about 400 eye exams and limited health care evaluation for blood pressure and blood sugar. We visited the towns of Creel, San Rafael, and Bahuichivo in the state of Chihuahua and the Sierra Madre mountains near Copper Canyon. Numerous Tarahumara Indians, Mexicans as well as missionary folks were given glasses, sunglasses and minor medical supplies, most of which had been collected by Lions Clubs in the MiniCassia and Goldendale areas. Many of the folks had never had examinations or visual care and four or five of the patients were found to have cataracts which fortunately were able to receive surgery a few weeks later by a visiting doctor from the U.S.

Traveling by train, four wheel drive pickup and in some areas a fair amount of walking, we were able to visit several mountain towns and provide a much needed service with very satisfying results.
One patient, a 13 year old girl, whose nearsightedness was greater than 20/600, was able to see at a distance for the first time with the aid of a pair of glasses donated that exactly matched her prescription and physical features. She was extremely excited and her reaction was enough to more than justify the efforts of all twelve members of the team. We are looking forward to another visit to northern Mexico to extend the outreach of people in our local communities to others in need.