The Logos Hope paired with a non-profit Indian mission called Operation Blessing for five days to provide free general health and eye care for the people who live around the Visakapatnam area of Eastern India. I had the privilege to serve on the 4th in a very poor market area with a lot of people in desperate need of medical attention. Two doctors from the ship and many local doctors and medical students met at a community center to set up for the day with myself and nine others who were dressed in look-at-me bright blue Logos Hope shirts to help wherever needed.
After riding for almost an hour in a school bus that was only slowing down to avoid hitting stray cows on the road (stopping at a red light seems optional in this part of India), we finally made it to our destination to meet the people from "OB". The friendly Indian doctors had plenty of experience doing this sort of thing, so they made every step really easy and stress-free. They brought their own medical-mobile that is sort of like a book-mobile except filled with x-ray machines and pills that make you happy in lieu of Nancy Drew. My job was crowd control and escorting the elderly to each station who had trouble walking or standing. The visitors first had to sign in before waiting for blood pressure, weight and other vitals. Then they waited for either an eye examination or general health if they had any sort of pain. People from all ages came to experience God's love from volunteers who had an immense heart and desire to help any way possible. At one point, my job was handing out comic book-style illustrated versions of the New Testament in the local language of Telugu, and I encouraged those with new spectacles to try them out on the books, albeit most were Hindu. Of course, I can't speak much more than a few phrases, which made it even better having the local helpers nearby to translate. Other ship people assisted the doctors and handed out clean drinking water among other things.
Overall, the response was fantastic and the people were so grateful to have this type of free service available in their area. Just watching the genuine care, medicine and glasses being handed out again and again really warmed my heart. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the last picture, allow me to explain: I took a snap shot of some people waiting for their prescribed pills while I was sharing with them a bit about myself. So, even if it seems like a scene from a scary movie, they weren't trying to break down the gate to attack me, in reality they were so much fun to talk to and surprisingly patient...patients.
