God's Eyes Ministry

vessels that leak.

2012-01-11T12:00:00.014-05:00

Its really not about the eyeglasses.
Seems like a funny thing to say especially for a ministry named God's Eyes but every year I believe that statement more and more.
Last year we of course distributed many thousands of new prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses but I think what we really did was to begin to pour out the love that Father poured into us.

This is what happens when you do that..... (written down for His glory)

The blind and visually impaired see clearly.
Eyes are saved from becoming damaged.
Doctors quit their practices to become part of our ministry full time.
Air traffic controllers retire early and go into the ministry full time.
Full time eye services become available where there once were none.
Money shows up for the ministry from people we have never met;
sometimes from people we don't know at all.
Restaurants hold fund raisers for us.
Churches call US and become partners.
Churches increase their support to us without us even asking.
Retired couples from all over the world team up with us;
some even become our in-country ground teams.
Someone donates a car to us.
Friends nominate us for awards, and we become finalists for
the Epoch Missions Awards.
A church gives us both the entire first and second services to speak at.
Customs agents leave their post as our supplies pass though.
More than a hundred people volunteer to help us.
Eye Centers hold fund raisers for us.
New optical equipment is donated.
In one of the worst economies in history, record amounts are donated to us.
A eye glass frame company partners with us.
Articles in magazines and newspapers are written about us.
A national missionary group sends film teams to make videos for us
then distributes it for viewing around the country.
Rooms in clinics are built and then given to us.
Churches in small villages become crowded with new believers.
The kingdom of Heaven is expanded.

Father does all of this for us, none of it is by our doing.
He offers an NEVER ENDING supply of love.
He is always looking for vessels that He can pour through.
Pouring out love is the first step to living an extraordinary life.

Pray that in 2012 we get even more holes in our vessel, then ......
come pour out His love with us,
bryan

Posts from a friend

2011-12-12T16:56:00.002-05:00

There are so many wonderful stories from Bryan of God’s blessings through God’s Eyes. I’ve encouraged Bryan to record them many times, he just mentioned to me that he has a blog and he should update his site. I asked Bryan if I could submit something for his blog and he agreed. I started my first blog entry and soon realized that I am writing a full narrative of his stories. A blog should be short and concise. This is not. My plan is to write the full narrative and clip out only the concise parts to post on his blog. Here goes.

Bryan just returned from a 6-day trip to Panama this past month. There were several stories he shared that testified to God’s presence. This first story is a repeat prayer in preparing for Panama. Apparently,the customs in Panama can be rather difficult at times to get through and sometimes they will appropriate passenger’s items. Bryan was concerned about the possibility of losing some of his more expensive equipment or even supplies such as frames or lenses as this has happened a number of times while going through other countries customs. Anything taken could clearly jeopardize the effectiveness of this current mission trip. Bryan asked for prayer in the weeks prior to departing on his last two trips into Panama. He asked us to pray that his equipment and supplies would make it past customs. Our prayers were answered in a remarkable way.

Panama customs direct each passenger to load their baggage onto a conveyor belt that passes through an x-ray machine with an operator viewing each x-ray image. During this most recent trip as he approached customs, he followed a woman who had one bag. Bryan helped lift her bag onto the conveyor belt and then turned around to place his four bags also onto the belt. He observed that as soon as the woman’s bag had completed the x-ray process, the technician viewing the screen got up and wandered off about 15 ft away, presumably to stretch his back. This technician stared at the wall long enough for all four bags to pass through the x-ray machine he then returned to his station only after Bryan finished collecting his four items of baggage. Now what drove the technician to “skip” Bryan’s bags? I’d have to say, “An answer to prayer.”

Bryan’s previous trip to Panama had a similar result with Panamanian customs. This time, the technician didn’t wander off, rather he simply looked away from the screen while all of Bryan’s and Jennifer"s bags went through the x-ray. Isn’t it amazing how God works? Isn’t it amazing how God does answer prayer?

Bryan saw a lot of people in his six days in Panama. He related of one 91-year old woman who had twelve children. She has cared for her youngest child his entire life, as he has been an invalid since birth and today is age 38. Her husband had died years ago and she has no income. Furthermore, she hasn’t seen clearly for years and came to God’s Eyes ministries for glasses. As she was getting fitted with lenses, Bryan asked her, “How have you survived all these years?” She replied, “God has provided everything that I need.”

She shared with Bryan that she has no money and needed to take a cab to travel to God’s Eyes clinic that day. When she arrived in a cab, the cabbie didn’t charge her. Immediately, Bryan felt led by God to give her the money that was in his pocket. He did this before sending her to pick up her new prescription eyeglasses. The remarkable thing about this story is a 91-year old woman, with poor sight and penniless, walks away with her sight restored and money in her pocket. A living testimony of faith in the Lord.

Here is another interesting story of God’s work through God’s Eyes.There was a man indigenous to Panama, age 40’ish, who wandered into the God’s Eyes clinic on the very first day. This man would paint with oil on canvass while evangelizing to whoever would listen. He received permission from God's Eyes to paint for those were lined up waiting to receive glasses. He literally painted the good news of the gospel as well as told its story to those waiting. He was used by God to lead many to Christ that day. At the end of the day, this man asked if he could follow God’s Eyes to their next location around Panama and continue painting. He showed up everyday and shared the gospel with the Panamanian people. They didn't know who this man was, but God is using him in a very powerful way. Praise be to God.

Bryan’s first day in Panama was spent at the Word of Life Camp, which is a camp for under privileged kids. There is a fee to attend this camp and that day,153 children were signed up for, and their fees paid for, a week long evangelism camp they hold in the summer.Most of these scholarships came from the very people who arrived to receive eyeglasses from God’s Eyes. God must have worked on the hearts of these people while they were simply waiting. God blessed this camp through God’s Eyes.

Not so much related to the Panama trip, but Bryan also shared how God continues to feed God’s Eyes at just the right moments. Just last week six people from all different parts of North America have donated money to God’s Eyes, this came from people Bryan and Jennifer do not know.God continues to amaze and confirm to them that Bryan is doing what he is suppose to be doing. God does provide and bless His ministries and God’s Eyes will continue reaching far and wide all over the globe.

Lastly, there is a local merchant who has made a wonderful offer to God’s Eyes. This merchant is the Peachtree City Eye Center. Here is what they said on their Facebook page.
“As we enter this season of giving, we would like to show gratitude to our patients and partners by donating $10 to the God's Eyes Ministry for everyone that "likes" our Facebook page between now and New Year's Eve! So please tell all your friends to like our page and we will help give sight to those in need around the world this holiday season.”

So, please go to their facebook page at facebook.com/ptceyecenter
and click on the LIKE box at the top of the page next to the Peachtree Eye Center name.

God bless you all, Larry … friend of Bryan

good things not God things

2011-09-08T15:01:00.004-04:00

It's been 2 or 3 weeks since I've been back from Haiti. I have rested and I now I'm working on edging more lenses so we'll have enough for our next trip to Nicaragua and shortly after that back to Panama again.

To me its always nice to return home. I have the finest wife of anyone I know and I miss her so much when I am gone. While I was in Haiti one of my daughters, Ashley who was working in Alaska fell off an 82 ft. tower while repelling. Thank the Lord her shirt and the loose rope in her hand snagged on a clip that was left on another rope 15 ft. above the ground. She hung there momentarily before falling the rest of the way and breaking her foot in a few places. I got word of this in Haiti, a couple of days after it happened. It is hard to be far away from home in another country when something goes wrong back home. This is one of the minor costs of the missionary life.

Every time I'm away on a trip I see too much poverty, too much needless suffering, too much hunger, too much pain, too much of the injustices that being poor produces. I describe this to myself as "sensory overload" and what happens to me is I sorta go into an auto-pilot mindset. This is where I blur out my thoughts and emotions and I just concentrate on finishing the tasks I believe I came to do. This always leads me to missed opportunities of serving our Lord.

Earlier this year in Haiti I visited the prisoners in the local jail. While I was there I learned that the prisoners do not receive any meals unless someone "on the outside" brings them something to eat. So on this trip early one evening after eye clinics were finished I headed back to the jail. This time I donated the food that I brought to snack on while on my trip and gave it to the prisoners instead. Some of the others who came with me also gave food. There were 5 men in the cell I visited. One of the prisoners was passed out in the back of the cell sound asleep on the concrete floor. Three of the prisoners eagerly came to the bars that separated us and quickly took the food I had brought. The fifth prisoner looked straight me and started shouting "no, no, no" as he backed away to the farthest corner of the cell. I spent a few precious minuets talking with the men at the bars and prayed for them before leaving. After I returned home a friend asked me if I prayed for the prisoner who so quickly backed away and stayed away from me, and I said " Nope, I prayed and held hands with those standing at the bars." Later that night the Lord showed me how I missed yet another opportunity he provided for me. You see the 3 men who accepted my offering were already believers in Christ but perhaps the one who cowarded far away from me was not. Who is going to share the love of Christ if we( or I ) don't. I ended up doing something good that day "the good thing" not the "God thing"

Let's not get to busy or too zoned out that we just live our lives on auto-pilot and miss out what God really intended for us to do. Don't settle on good, strive for God instead.

This lesson was for me and I'm just writing it down so I can refer back to it often, you however are more than welcomed to ease drop on my conversation that I have with myself anytime you'd like.

Life is for learning, we have the best teacher if we want ever to attend that class.

sometimes just in a daze,
bryan

Greetings from Haiti

2011-08-08T20:09:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone
Its 300 in the afternoon and I'm stepping out to take a short break. I tried to write Saturday night but it took me 41 min to long on and I wrote you all a letter but I lost the email connection before I could send it, that's just the way things are here. TIH. This is Haiti!!!!

I don't know where to start I only have a few dozen new stories so I guess I'll just give you a few brief notes.

1) It is really hot here, every night I take a shower and 5min later I have sweat pouring off me again. My sheets are soaking wet in the morning. I don't cover with them I use them as a towel to wipe the sweat off of me.

2) We were told this year we would cut back to seeing only 100 patients per day because the team is half the size of what it was in Feb. But starting today we are seeing over 200 patients.

3) We went to the far west yesterday the small rural village of La Baie to see 40 patients ... We saw 97 and it took a few hours to get there due to huge mud lakes in the dirt roads, wait until you see the pictures, we could not get back because a large truck was blocking the road because it was stuck in a mud puddle it was way after dark now we were suppose to be back at 7 because that's when it is pitch black outside and the bus had no headlamps we ended up walking for over an hour in the dark I got several large thorns in my right foot which easily penetrated the flips I was wearing and we walked through mud well above our ankles many times.
We finally had some tap taps (small trucks) pick us up and drive us a couple of hours home.

Many people are seeing again .... Saw a lady today with cancer that ate up her entire eye and part of her cheek. Haiti is sometimes a sad sad place.

On the bright side I am losing weight eating rice with weird things in it!

I have to get back to clinics now.

love is real, bryan

How Time Flies.

2011-07-28T13:29:00.011-04:00

I was just reviewing some of my blogs and I realized there are so many trips that I have been on that never even got mentioned in my blogs. No pictures, no posts, nadda, just nothing. I think what happened was I waited until after I got back to learn what it was the Lord was teaching me before I wrote anything and then this thing called the busyness of life interrupted my good intentions. There are so many stories that have gone untold here, and I'm pondering whether or not its even to late to record them.

Yesterday I spent the day packing eyeglasses and sunglasses for Africa and last night we had help from friends so we packed frames that are going to Haiti. One of our friends Dawn, stayed afterwards and showed Jen and me how to make this blog look better. Thank God Jen was there because most of what she did was all Greek to me.

So here again is one of my efforts to be a better blogger. I leave next week for Haiti. Once again I'll be in traveling to the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, which is located in the poorest providence in Haiti. This will be my third trip to the NWHCM, they are such an incredible ministry. You enter through a well guarded steel door into a compound the size of several football fields. Once inside you are safe from.... well safe from whatever could happen to you if you weren't well protected in Haiti. Northwest is a busy place. they run orphanages and birthing centers. They offer eye, dental and general medical care and run a well stocked pharmacy. They even have 2 or 3 operating rooms on site. In another part of the compound they have a center where the mentally and physically challenged children can live and receive love and care. There is a ministry inside for the older folks to live and be cared for. They put on daily food programs for hundreds of the poor and they offer so many other programs I can't even mention them all here.

Twice a year the "I team" arrives to Northwest. In Feb.and once again in August. The "I team" or (eye team) consists of volunteer ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, oculists and ophthalmic techs from all over the USA and even Canada. Over 40 volunteers were there in Feb. operating on well over a hundred patients and treating and examining nearly a thousand more. This is where God's Eyes comes in. We are the provider for the prescription eyeglasses that are given out there. I forget how many hundreds of prescription eyeglasses we did in Feb. but now we have made a complete eye kit which we will leave behind so that even when the eye team is not there, the local Haitian eye doctor who volunteers there several times a month can prescribe and offer prescription eyeglasses to the poor in St Louis De Noir and surrounding areas. When I was there in Feb. the local optician who works at NWHCM told me there are only three areas where there are optical facilities in all of Haiti. I'm not sure if that is correct but imagine having only a handful of dispensaries to service 8 million people.

This is a picture of Safina, a 3 year girl who was buried for 5 days in the Port Au Prince earthquake that took place a year ago. Next week I am taking back a pair of prescription eyeglasses for her. In Feb. the eye surgeons were able to remove the traumatic cataracts she obtained from that horrifying experience, and God's Eyes will provide the eyeglasses that will return her sight to perfect again.

I have so many other stories like that last one. We have been traveling to some of the poorest places on this planet for the past few years restoring sight to those who could never afford the eyeglasses they need. I have been on this incredible journey where I've seen the Lord do marvelous works and have learned first hand just how much He cares for and loves on the poor throughout the world.
I will try to be a better blogger because I know the stories I have are not meant just for me. If you ever want to hear more please contact me at Godseyes4u@aol.com. Jen and I will go anywhere at anytime to share with anyone the marvels of what God is doing. Until the next blog I remain,

humbly yours,
bryan

Panama one more time

2011-06-17T10:09:00.003-04:00

We are off to Panama today. I'll try to keep you all informed about how things are going if we can get internet. This trip I'll have more help, Dr. Joseph Sansanelli will join us from Texas as well as an ophthalmologist from Panama who I haven't met yet.
Please pray we get through customs tonight and that we get through to our gate in Atlanta as we've heard Delta may give us a hassle since our tickets were purchased on Pastor Tim's credit card and he already left for Panama yesterday.

Jennifer ( my wife) gets to come with me on this trip I love serving in the field with her. She brings such joy and enthusiasm to the team. Pray for the team that we don't get so busy that we miss anything the Lord may desire for us to accomplish. This trips are really not only about eyeglasses.

I owe so many thanks to many who have already worked hard to make everything go smooth for us. Pam and John, Carolyn, Tim, Ellen and Lidia you have been such a blessing to us. In fact everyone at the the Coronado Bible Church has been so kind.We are looking forward to working along side of you once again in order to bring vision to the world.

Dr. Scott Bowser I want to thank you so very much for also being such a big part of God's Eyes ministry. Your constant support and prayers are so appreciated.

just a joyful servant.
bryan

Bringing Light into Darkness

2011-03-05T14:56:00.003-05:00

This is Jennifer, Bryan's wife posting a quick Haiti update. There are, as usual, so many stories about God's incredible love and compassion. The last time Bryan was in Haiti, he felt darkness, despair and hopelessness. This time, God showed him that because we have the spirit of God IN us, we carry His light. As Bryan walked through the slums, and stared into the faces of despair, he was able to shine God's light and walk without fear. At Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, they saw over 600 patients in 5 days, and handed out almost 400 pair or prescription glasses, and hundreds of reading and sunglasses.
He went to the prison to help feed the prisoners, and was able to pray with four incarcerated Haitian men to receive Christ and leave them a Bible. Thankfully, one of the four men in the cell could read, and now they can feast on God's word when there is no food.
You would think these trips would get easier as Bryan gets more experienced in his travels, but they actually get more difficult. There are more faces to remember, more pictures of abject poverty, more realization that there is so much to do.
But...Bryan continues to be faithful and prayerful, and a laid down servant of our God. God's Eyes belongs to God...we're just trying to go where He wants us to go, and do what He wants us to do.

Its not just about eyeglasses.

2010-12-01T19:39:00.011-05:00

In the past 2 months we've been to Panama and Nicaragua. In one way those were good trips because we saw almost 500 more patients and they are now seeing better. This was the first time I have been to either of these countries but I hope to return to both of them soon.

In Nicaragua I met a little 11 year girl named Marta, she literally stole my heart. Everyday Marta would show up to where we were doing clinics and bring me a picture she made with the notebook and pens I gave her. Everyday we hugged and gave smiles to each other and we tried our best to communicate through our very limited knowledge of each others language. Marta lives in a very small house more like a garden shed with her 7 brothers and sisters and both her parents. Marta's family is extremely poor. When I returned to America from that trip I took a shower .... with hot water, something Marta never gets to do. As I laid down that evening on a pillow-top mattress in a bedroom where I could make the temperature whatever I wanted it to be I was once again reminded of Marta and the lack of anything comfortable she has to sleep on at night and how mosquitoes swarm her as she lay in a room where the temperature is controlled only by the weather outside.

On our last day in the little village where Marta lives we handed out some food bags that Chosen Children ministry had prepared to give away. Marta walked 5 miles down a dusty unpaved road in her extremely old and worn out high heeled patten leather shoes that have just a touch of white left on them (it is the only pair of shoes she owns) She walked that far in order to say goodbye to me. Yes it was definitely one of those emotional filled moments, the kind where one's heart is wretched out and there's no getting over it.... ever. But as luck would have it right next to where we were handing out food there was a small outdoor flea market type store that had shoes in Marta's size, I bought her three new pairs and socks and a little princess Disney book-bag to carry everything home in. I asked her if she wanted anything else and all she wanted was a bible so I got her one from the bus.

As all of us know by now Marta's story is not an isolated one... we just tend to turn our eyes and ears away from them whenever they come along. I'm always shocked when people answer me that she"ll be just fine because she doesn't know what she's missing or she's used to living like that. Really !!!! Shame on anyone who thinks like that! Shame on me for ever thinking like that.

In the past few years I have encounter way to many of these Marta type visions in my head. Every trip I see more and more of them and I now hear the silent cries of those who do not have anything. Read the 2nd part of Ephesians 2:10 it says we were CREATED in Christ to do GOOD WORKS which God prepared in advance for us to do. If you haven't taken the time to learn the good works that were prepared for YOU to do, would you please, please, please take the time to discover them. It is the only way we can help the world to become a better place for those who cry and are never heard.

God forgive me, I started way to late.
bryan

Out of Africa

2010-08-30T17:33:00.008-04:00

When traveling to Africa you might hear TIA which means "This is Africa" Its a phrase one becomes well aware of while there. Usually its used at the end of a sentence. I have several TIA stories but they might sound like I'm complaining so I'll skip them.
Instead here are a few of my non-TIA stories.

First, I met Todd and Heather Laba and their youngest daughter Julia in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. I love this family I would travel with them anywhere. They have spent years serving the Lord in Africa and after a short stay here in the USA they are moving back to Africa in Jan. With them I visited a school/clinic outside of Pretoria in a very poor township and by that I mean VERY POOR. This is where Heather used to work with HIV patients.Heather is an amazing woman fearless and full of God's love. Later that day we went to the Operation Mobilization head quarters back in Pretoria. The next day I traveled to Kabwe, Zambia with them and spent a week at the Operation Mobilization Compound. There we joined perhaps 200 missionaries from all over Africa for a conference.

At customs in Zambia we had a bit of trouble and they would not let us bring some of our eye exam equipment into the country. After about an hour or so it became clear that we would have to leave it at the airport. We would still be able to help people but it would be slow and not nearly as accurate without this equipment.

At the conference we had a chance to fit most of the missionaries who were there as well as some of the local villagers. I have never had a nicer group of patients, I was so honored to be able to serve them. Some of the missionaries have been without vision correction for years.

Its always fun to see where we have to set up the eye clinics and this time it would be in the food pantry of the directors house of the compound. This was interesting as we had to place our supplies and equipment between stacks of bread and cans of vegetables and frequently we had to stop our exams so the cooks could get to the food they needed. It really was funny.

The very first day we started fitting the missionaries but I also fit two brothers from the local village who needed tremendous amounts of power. They were 14 and 20 years old and they have never seen things clear in their life. I didn't have their full correction but I was able to get them to see around 20/40. This was so special because they had no chance of ever seeing clear, they are poor and could never afford eye glasses but God had other plans for them. He works outside of our reality. He sent me from 9000 miles away to give them the glasses they needed and I told them the glasses were gifts from Jesus. I love being able to make a difference like this.

I'm going to skip ahead to the last day because something really cool happened. One of the missionaries I had met a few days early introduced me to a local woman named Miriam. She had gone to college in South Africa and got her degree as an Optician and is licensed in Zambia and her father is a local Physician in Kabwe and her mother is a nurse. We talked for quite some time and then she told me her parents will give her space in their clinic for an eye dispensary. God was speaking loud and clear to me that this sister of Christ would be the person who will run God's Eyes Zambia for us. Wow that revelation was so cool! Miriam served with me the rest of the day along with another incredible helper "Mahrueja" that God had sent us from Las Vegas Nevada. We were so busy, together we saw about 85 patients that day.

When I returned to the airport in Luska I had another adventure awaiting me. I would have to change my flight back to South Africa because it ended up taking about 4 hours and 15 min.and a bit of cash to get my equipment back from customs but in the end I got it back and everything turned out OK because Todd had a prayer network set up for me. Thank you to all who were praying for me, your prayers were certainly answered.

I left Kabwe around 3:00am and got home to Peachtree City around 31 hours later. How do pilots and flight attendants ever get used to their schedules ?
I'm traveling the world and being used to be part of His miracles .... how cool is that !!!!
I hope you all will join me on a trip sometime. Our next trip will be in a few days to Panama.

I have become a missionary,
bryan

Off to Africa

2010-08-03T17:26:00.002-04:00

Well it finally happened, In about 3 hours God's Eyes will be expanding into Africa. I'll be traveling with some wonderful people from Operation Mobilization who have been missionaries in Africa for some time now. I will fly into Johannesburg and stay there 2 days before traveling unto Lusaka, Zambia.

I still have some symptoms of pneumonia so please continue to pray for my recovery. I'll be leaving for Panama 8 days after I get back from Zambia so I really need to get well.

I'll report more on the trip after I get back.

God 's blessings to all of you,
bryan

Opps we did it again

2010-07-15T12:03:00.005-04:00

Just got back from another trip

We traveled to Honduras to several different villages that no one has ever heard of. One village didn't even have the village.... it was just a clearing in the woods where locals raised three tarps and a bunch of branches hanging from some trees to give of some sort of shelter from the sun. To get there we drove on paved roads then for some time on dirt roads and finally for a long time on goat trails with knee deep ruts in the dirt. We had to carry the supplies in from the bus down a dirt road for about a 1/2 mile. I think there were about 150 people waiting for us by the time we got there. 35 people prayed to receive Christ that day. It was a hot day but the people were so thankful that we came there. Its just exactly the type of place where I love to hand out eyeglasses in. We actually taped the eye charts on the side of a truck because there were no buildings anywhere. The bathroom was a hole in the ground enclosed by a few pieces of plastic tied to branches. We helped many people see that day including a lady there who needed 40 steps of power in each eye and that's a lot. She was another one of those people who was seeing for the first time in her life. There was also a small boy who was extremely nearsighted as well . His new glasses will certainly change his life.

The next day was our hardest. We were in a school in a town similar to any small time town in the USA. We set up the eye clinic in a classroom that had to be well over 90 degrees. What made it such a difficult day was not the heat but rather the fact that that some teachers and the principle and other authorities brought in their friends throughout the day and demanded that they be helped first even though many locals were waiting in line in the hot sun for hours. It almost came to fist fights between the haves and have nots. Many times after we finished with a patient and they got up to leave there would be a mad dash for the empty exam chair only to have someone with some authority to tell us we had to kick the poor person out of the chair and wait on their friends instead. Some of these affluent people were so demanding and down right greedy . They often insisted on extra sunglasses or eye drops or eyeglasses for family members and friends. I hate being forced to partake in this type of injustice. This was one of the few times I ever saw Jennifer get frustrated with what was going on. The good thing was this didn't happen anywhere else we went.

The rest of the trip was wonderful. Everyday we would travel to a very poor village in some crazy out of the way location. Just to get there would be an adventure in itself. Several times we had to carry all the equipment up or down muddy roads because the bus or the trucks couldn't make it through the rough terrain. Several times it rained on us but that was fine because it would help cool things off. Every place we went 150 to 250 people showed up to be helped. By the third day a hundred people prayed to receive Christ as Lord and after that no one even kept count anymore but I would guess by the end of the trip more than twice that many took place. Sometimes you get so exhausted working in this type of poverty day after day but after you help someone see and they hug you or kiss you or just smile you just keep on going. The poor are always so gracious and thankful. The work we do is most certainly tiring and the conditions are almost border on the ridiculous but God offers us joy anyways. There are so many many more stories I could share but I'll save those for future blogs.

We are servants of the Lord to the poor, sent to open their eyes and share the love of Jesus. I wish I could explain better the wonders that God has allowed Jen and I to have while serving Him. His love though is indescribable so I guess I will just leave it at that.

May the joy and love and peace that God grants rest upon you always. Thank you once again for helping us to "bring vision to the world. "

humbly yours,
bryan and jen

ps. David and Linda and Chuck and Phylis are saints

Just a quick FYI

2010-06-24T12:34:00.003-04:00

Its almost blast off time again. Jen and I will be leaving shortly for Honduras. We are traveling with a group called Missions on the Move. It will be our second trip with them. This trip we have better equipment and a lot more supplies than we had the first time so I'm really starting to get excited.

Our warehouse is finally ready to be organized. The church we were sharing it with has moved out and now we have the room we need sort everything out. I think we are going to start tonight to build the shelves we need to put all our frame inventory on. If you want to help just give us a call at 404-966-8705.

We have made almost 2000 pairs of glasses in our new head quaters since we've moved in, in March. After our Honduras trip we are going to have an open house for everyone.

The rest of the year looks pretty busy, Lord willing we are going to Panama in August, The Congo in Sept. Lebannon in November and Ethiopia in December. We also hope to squeeze in Haiti and maybe another trip to Ecuador.

This week we had the honor of speaking with our local Kiwanis club and with the men's group of Newnan Methodist Church. This coming weekend we are meeting with a missionary couple from Operation Mobilization to talk about the possibility of starting a God's Eyes Africa and also meeting with some missionaries from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church to see about possibly partnering with them on some future trips.

Once again a huge thank you to everyone who is helping us continue to reach the lost for Christ and for allowing us the privilege of bringing vision to the world. A special thanks to the Peachtree City Eye Center where Dr. Scott Bowser continues to amaze us every month with his constant support and encouragement of our ministry.

we are His smile,
bryan

To the middle of somewhere with them and us

2010-05-10T11:51:00.003-04:00

I just completed my 1st trip to Ecuador to a small village in the middle of somewhere.

When God's Eyes is in the field we always witness hundreds or even thousands of patients who wait in line for many hours, sometimes even days with hopes of being helped. We almost never help everyone who waits .... there are too many of THEM and there are just not enough of US.

This last trip all together we saw 1181 people and 204 of those prayed to receive Christ, and many hundreds can now see. I rejoice in that, I really do. Yet I mourn because so many of them were just never even seen. We saw as many as we could.... some days we were making new glasses every few mins. but there were not enough of us and we could not see them all. They waited and waited but eventually they were just turned away and sent back home with nothing. Some of them reported they walked for 7 hours with hope of being helped and all they received were tired bodies and perhaps sore feet.

In the gospels of Matthew and Luke there is a verse which says something like
" the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, ask the Lord of the the harvest to sent more laborers. "

So .... here's what I want you to do.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers .... please!

God's Eyes " bringing vision and sometimes nothing at all to the world,"
bryan

just a short update

2010-03-24T09:17:00.004-04:00

We are always seeking where we are to go next. There are so many groups who would like us to join them in the field and supply eyeglasses to the poor that they will be helping. We are now committed to four more places this year, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and as of last Friday..... Lebanon.

We are still praying about going to Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and several countries in Africa. We are being patient and waiting for the Lord to confirm whether or not we are to be on these trips as well. There are so very many people who need to see with both their physical and spiritual eyes. I want to help them all but I must follow and let Christ lead.

God is always good to us! During the month of March I have been contacted by several doctors and optical suppliers who have offered to donate some lens blanks to us. We are so very thankful to everyone who makes "bringing vision to the world" possible, because you have partnered with us we have already made over 500 pairs of new lenses this month alone.

This morning a brilliant young 16 year old Whitewater High School student named Edmund Smith invited me to appear on 11 Alive News with him. Edmund is raising money to bring "hope to Haiti". Him and his team mates have already raised thousands of dollars by selling t-shirts around the community. He is going to donate the money he raises to the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission in St. Louis Denoir, Haiti. I have been there with God's Eyes a couple of years ago and hopefully God's Eyes will be able to supply Northwest with full optical services in the near future. Please take the time to check out their website at NWHCM.org . I've added this fine young man to my ever growing list of modern day heroes. I hope the Lord will raise up enough funds for God's Eyes so that both Edmund and I can go there soon and begin to bring some comfort to the millions of Haitians that they so desperately need.

more to follow,
bryan

Free ....did I say free. and other good news.

2010-03-11T12:19:00.005-05:00

There is a company in Florida named Vision Systems Inc. They have the finest reputation for rebuilding all kinds of ophthalmic and optical laboratory equipment. Well last Thursday they called me up and let me know that they would repair one of our broken edging machines for free. The cost of this repair would normally run into many of thousands of dollars, like 10 -15 thousand dollars but they said for free. They are also going to replace the equipment we had stolen from us in Peru last year.... for free. Then they told me that they are also going to supply us with another piece of equipment we need for guess how much ..... yep for free. Is this company amazing or what!
Remember them in your prayers ask the Lord to continue to give them favor and to bless VSI for their incredible generosity.

More good news, or maybe I should say Moore good news. Last week the Lord used Dr. Eddie Moore from Texas to confirm to us that we will be going to Ecuador with his family and Operation Mobilization next month. This will be our first trip into Ecuador and I am so excited about the doing the good works the Lord has already prepared in advance for us to do while we are there. Dr. Moore's niece Tabitha works with OM there and she has been with us previously on one of our Peru trips. It will be so good to get to serve will her again.

Peachtree City Eye Center has been so good to us. Over the past few months they have donated enough financial resources to us to make over 1000 pairs of new prescription eye glasses to give to the poor all around the world. Thank you so much Dr. Scott Bowser and staff for making this possible. May God continue to bless you and your staff for all the goodness you do.

Yesterday First Baptist Church of Peachtree City held a dinner in honor of God's Eyes and donated all the proceeds to our ministry. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make last night such a success. They are so mission minded that even though we are not even members of this church they continue to bless our ministry with love and prayers and by partnering with us to "bring vision to the world." Pastor Steve you and your congregation are simply wonderful.

I could make this list of amazing people and stories continue on for many pages. To all our monthly and other partners THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your blessings. Lately I've been joking that we are like little elves, when money is donated to God's Eyes we transform it into a pair of prescription eyeglasses and someone somewhere in the world gets to see. God Bless You All.

just an elf,
Bryan

Honduras and other surprises

2010-03-07T15:25:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a trip to Honduras. This trip was made possible at least in part because of the generosity of team members Mitch Rowland from Legacy Christian church and Bob Stimpson of Ist Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City.

I teamed up with 14 optometry students from the Illinois College of Optometry for their spring break trip. These kids were simply wonderful. All of them over-achievers working through their vacation instead of relaxing and taking a much needed break. They worked endlessly in some really lousy conditions helping the poor to see. I never once heard a complaint from any of them. May God bless each and everyone of them. We were able to see around 500 patients. Hundreds of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, reading glasses and eye-drops were dispensed. It was really hot the days we were there but it was so worth it to see all the smiles on the patients as they left seeing clearly, some for the first time in their lives. There are many more eyeglasses I'm in the process of making now that I got back, including a brand new pair for a little 9 year old girl named Lisett Amayo who just happened to be the very first person I ever fit glasses on while in the field a few years ago.

While I'll was gone my son Drew and his girlfriend Janelle and a few more volunteers also surprised me by working endlessly to set up God's Eyes new headquarters. They categorized thousands of pairs of lens blanks, Delivered and assembled all the new counters, furniture and equipment and then completely decorated our new lab for me. What an awesome surprise! Look under the photo section of our website to see a few photos our new headquarters. Because of their hard work, this past week we were up and running again making 99 pairs of new lenses. I love "bringing vision to the world" and I'm so very very thankful to all of you who team up with us to make this possible.

You are all amazing,
bryan

close the gap

2010-01-05T13:27:00.010-05:00

Yesterday I made a pair of eyeglasses for a friend. He thinks they look really good on him. His wife thinks they make him look great. I think they look good on him to. It's funny how in America we are so concerned with how glasses make us look. In the past I have sold many pairs of eyeglasses without prescription lenses in them just because people thought they looked better while wearing a certain type frame. Others choose to wear contact lenses instead of eyeglasses all because they think they it makes them look better.

In the places outside the USA that I have traveled to most people just want to see. That's all, they just want to see. I have a picture of an elderly lady in Haiti I'm guessing she is in her eighties. I made her a pair of eyeglasses in this big ugly black frame. She didn't care how the glasses made her look.... she cared about being able to see. I have a picture of her smiling from ear to ear while wearing this rather unattractive looking frame. She looks beautiful even though the glasses don't. She is content with just having the power she needs to see clearly with. To her, her wants are her needs and they have been met and this makes her smile. She is so wise.

In America when you go to the Eye doctor to get an exam, most practices will have a technician who will do some basic pre-testing before you see the doctor. Because of this pre-testing before you even get in to see the doctor he already knows what power you NEED to see clearly. After the doctor comes in they will usually perform more tests. One of these tests involves a piece of equipment called a phoropter. This machine contains many different lens powers and the doctor will say to you "Do you see better with 1 or 2" and he continues to change the lenses until you determine what power you CHOOSE to see with. When a patient chooses the power that the eye needs its a "NO-BRAINER" the doctor simply writes down the prescription and knows you will see things clearly. If a patient CHOOSES a power that is many steps different than what they NEED it creates a dilemma . What prescription should the doctor write now? I have seen many patients insist they see better with a power far different than what they need. When we make eyeglasses for this type of patient it almost always results in the patient coming back at a later date complaining that the eyeglasses aren't working out for them.
I've had patients where we've remade their eyeglasses 5 or 6 times because they just keep choosing a power they don't need. Sometimes they want more power than they need, this is especially true of nearsighted people, and other times they choose some power way less than what they need.

In much the same way.......
Our Heavenly Father knows what we NEED before we even ask Him.( Matt. 6 v.8 )
If we CHOOSE the power that God knows we NEED ..... its again a "NO- BRAINER" and we will see things as we should. But when we CHOOSE a power other than the power we NEED ...... who knows how we will end up seeing or viewing things. How many times when we choose a power other than Gods do we come back later complaining to Him that life just isn't working out. Sometimes when we are being myoptic we also choose to want more power than we need. Only to find out later after obtaining to much power and receiving everything we should not have desired our vision becomes distorted and our viewing of life corrupted. Other times we settle for so much less power than what is available to us. We view ourselves as weak and helpless in situations when in fact We ARE God's workmanship, we ARE heirs to the kingdom of heaven, we HAVE in us the power that raises the dead and we just refuse to see it.

So I ask you "How are things looking in your life? Are you seeing things through God's eyes ?" Balance out the power you want with the power you need and you too will see life as God has intended it. Close the gap between your wants and your needs ....close the gap.

Be the miracle you are,
bryan

a little help from our friends

2009-10-06T14:29:00.004-04:00

Recently a young boy perhaps 9 or 10 years old came up to me at a missionary conference I was attending and he handed me two plastic bags filled with coins. His mother told me he met me at this same conference 18 months earlier and that he had saved all his change until now and he wanted to donate it all to God's Eyes.

Small boy + loose change = several children who will learn to read because they can see.

A couple we know just had a garage sale. They wanted to donate all the proceeds to God's Eyes. It rained hard the entire weekend they chose for the garage sale. In fact it set a record for the wettest weekend of the entire year. But God sent people anyways and they raised over $1100 in the pouring rain.

one couple + a garage full of stuff in the pouring rain = new eyeglasses for almost 100 people.

An eye doctor from a small town hears about us and calls. He has traveled to third world countries on mission trips and has seen first hand the incredible need for eye care. He cares about those who cannot see so he donates 1000 lens blanks to us.

eye doctor with extra lenses + compassionate heart = the gift of sight for many.

This month we are making eye glasses for people in the Congo, Peru, Honduras and Cameroon. Next month I'll be going to Lebanon.
God is love..... love is real,
bryan

Short note about the Peru trips

2009-09-25T14:13:00.007-04:00

Sorry I haven't written sooner.

I spent some time in Peru awhile back. I took two trips back to back with two completely different groups. Usually after these trips I write in detail about the suffering I saw or the tremendous need for eyeglass correction or about the hundreds or even the thousands of people who wait in line for days to see us or about the hardships that extreme poverty causes that used to so easily knock me off my feet. But I don't want every blog to sound the same so this time I'll try to be a little different.
So lets just say I did see poverty, lots of it. I did see suffering and hardships, lots of it. This is just the way it is in most third world countries. You see we live a wonderful existence, full of privilege, safety and abundance.
Most the world does not.

As with most other trips we helped several hundred people to see better. Some of those can now read once again, some are seeing clearly for the first time in their life. Overall we probably helped give comfort to some people and perhaps even made some of their lives a tad bit better or at least easier than before.

But this time I realized God's Eyes is really the dog and pony show for what really happens on these trips. Yes we may attract some people to show up but these trips really are not about eyeglasses or opening eyes they are all about opening hearts and God is the only one who does that. On these trips 162 hearts were opened and the bottom line is
....that's all that matters.

We were made.... to do good things. I am learning mine.

Please..... please learn yours.

bryan

Buy a Pair .... Give a Pair

2009-04-27T23:02:00.008-04:00

OK everyone I know its been done before with different items, but starting May 1st. we are launching our very own BUY A PAIR, GIVE A PAIR program. We are honored to have partnered with the Peachtree City Eye Center as our first office to sign up for this endeavor.
They have offered to donate a pair of prescription eye glasses to us for every pair they sell. I can't even put into words how thankful I am to Dr. Bowser, his partner and staff for their outrageous generosity.

As many of you already know we are currently working on our second level goal of (ATPAM) giving sight to 1000 people every month by fitting them with the prescription eye glasses that they so desperately need. Dr. Scott Bowser's offer will play a large part in helping us achieve that goal.

For any of our friends or readers who live in or near the Fayette county area in Georgia, please visit the Peachtree City Eye Center for all your eye health needs. You can find their office at
100 n. Peachtree Pwky in Peachtree City Their phone number is 770 487-8900.

If any other eye doctors are reading this we would love for you to follow Dr. Bowser's lead and join him in supporting this program. For those doctors who own a different type of practice we have counter top donation boxes we would gladly supply you with for you to display in your offices. We can also supply the donation boxes to anyone who knows of a place where they could be displayed. Please feel free to reach us at Godseyes4u@aol.com or call me anytime at 404-966-8705.

The God's Eyes team is growing all the time. Keep spreading the good news that the eyes of the poor will soon be opened. To all of our friends and partners keep running the race. One day WE WILL reach (ATPAD ) a thousand pairs a day!

until then,
bryan

The big and busy busy apple

2009-03-30T21:02:00.005-04:00

Jennifer and I just attended the Vision East Expo Trade show in New York City.
There were thousands and thousands of attendees and I think about 1000 exhibitors. We went there to try and get some equipment and lenses donated that we desperately need when we are in the field. There are only 2 companies that make the piece of equipment we need. We were able to spend time with the presidents of both those companies and although they are constantly bombarded with similar requests from other non -profits just like ours, I feel we have a good chance of getting the equipment we need.
We also experienced all kinds of favor from other vendors. One man even jumped out in front of us and gave us a $ 2.00 pack of nose pads for free. I told him I really didn't need them and he asked "what do you need ?" When I said lenses he said I can give you lenses! Well today he called me and said he has 10 Large boxes filled with 100's of pairs of lens blanks that we can have just for the price of the shipping charges. Another vendor offered to make us the round shaped frame we need for certain prescriptions at an amazing price. And yet still another offered to sell us the lenses we need at a savings of 40% off what we have currently been paying. All in all we talked with so many exhibitors and spent time with the presidents of seven or eight companies.
I know we walked several miles during those three days and my feet got so sore I had to get some of those gel inserts. We went non stop for a few days but it was so worth it. God was showing up the entire time we were there. The son of the president of a large lens and frame distribution company even told me he had a million yes 1,000,000 frames he could give us. He then agreed to give us a free frame for every lens we buy from him.
Jen and I are so amazed with what God is showing us He wants us to do through Gods Eyes. We are so honored to be a part of this wonderful ministry.
Thank you to all of you who are partnering with us. May God Bless you all.

humbly yours,
bryan

Thousands and thousands and thousands of .... eyeglass frames

2009-02-04T12:42:00.005-05:00

Well everyone the frames have finally arrived !
Thanks to the extreme kindness from the owner of Ono Eyewear we now have enough frames to last us for a few years. Please go to our website photos and click on our photo album and you can see pictures of just how large this shipment is. We have about 100 different styles and maybe 500 t0 1500 frames in each style.

Some of you already know that we are trying to set up an optical in northern Haiti. Well about five weeks ago I was wondering where in the world would we get the frames we needed to stock that optical. Just two days later I got an email from the owner of a frame manufacturing company who said he had about 100,000 frames he wanted to donate to us. Yep, that was a few more than the 500 frames I needed.

God is Awesome !

Now we need 200,000 lenses.

I stand, amazed
bryan

Last year

2009-01-13T12:12:00.018-05:00

Last year in Haiti I held a sick baby in my arms. He has no parents, and had no hope. God loves this baby boy so He asked some people to care for him. They said yes to serving God.... they took a leap, and because they did this little guy will live.
Then I saw a mother starve her baby boy to death. She was to poor to help him and she had five other children at home and there was just no money. God loved this baby too, but I think perhaps somewhere someone said no to serving God...... so he died.
I cried.

Last year God introduced me to a young lady in her late twenties. God asked her to leap from the comforts of the USA to a dangerous area in Haiti. She is a nurse. Everyday she works long hours in very hard conditions and and she is constantly stretched to her limits.. Hundreds of people are alive today because she yes to God. Her stories are of constant encouragement to me.

Last year I met a Dr. who travels a day away several times a month to help others see. God loves the people in the little town she travels to and He is concerned about their lack of sight. So He has asked her to leap. She receives no pay for her labor and it makes her life more complicated. But she said yes to God and a thousand people a year see because of her.

Last Year God allowed me to meet a dentist who lives a very simple existence in a very poor place . Within a few hours of her house there are numerous little mountain villages where even poorer people live.
30 years ago God has asked her to serve Him. So she gave up her plans and started leading groups of visiting medical teams into these villages to bring care to people who God loves. Thousands of people have been comforted because she leaped.

Last year God had me travel with a pastor in Haiti whose life is threaten daily. He had to send his family far away in fear that they would be kidnapped. He no longer gets to enjoy life with them.... instead he serves God by building schools and churches and medical clinics in places where there are none. He has also leaped. He is more than amazing, he is one of my heroes.

Last year I met a hundred other people who said yes when God asked them to leap. Some of those people live here in the USA and some have moved far far away. All of them are the best people I have ever met. They all share the heart and love of God and they exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. They have all taken a leap and that has taken many of them to places they never knew existed. Millions of people are comforted by what they do.

Last year I put glasses on a ninety year old man who walked for four hours to see me. I put glasses on a three year old girl who needed 100 steps of power and I put glasses on a thousand other people in between. I've fitted glasses by candle light when there was no electricity, and in churches with no roof and only mud for a floor. Last year God asked me to travel to some of the poorest places on earth where I put eyeglasses on the people who God loves and cares for even though many of them don't even know who He is. Last year I laughed with and cried and rejoiced and smiled and prayed with those people who God cared so much about that He wanted to help them see.

But last year I also saw people who went blind because they could not get the help they needed. I saw people die from starvation and saw people who ate mud because they had no food. I saw children suffer from typhoid and all sorts of curable diseases and heard them crying in pain at night because they did not have the medicine they needed to comfort them. I saw illiterate people who never got the chance to learn or go to school whose lives were slowly wasting away in sheer boredom. I saw people born in such isolated places they would never have hope of ever finding work. There were those who drown in floods, and others who lost their crops to droughts. I saw multitudes of people hurting in every way possible from the injustice of extreme poverty.

Overall Last year I saw a lot of needless suffering, lots and lots of needless suffering. Because somewhere, someone said NO when they were asked to leap.

Last year instead working near home in an beautiful upscale eye practice, where everyone and everything is beautiful. I worked far away in third world countries in some terribly hot and dry conditions and I worked when it rained on us. I got to sleep in places where I never could have imagined staying. I went to places where your life was threaten and you had to be protected at night by men with guns and machetes. I've eaten things I don't ever care to taste again. I've been sick in the field with stomach viruses and suffered from diarrhea in places where there were no bathrooms and even acquired parasites. I've traveled up mountains on roads which were little more than goat trails and through deserts where we got flat tires. I carried equipment through fields of mud and saw people robbed and thousands who were hurting.

Last Year I did all this because God loves people
and He asked me to help them see.
So I left the life I knew and said yes. And last year with the help you all gave me, I was able to help a couple of thousand people SEE and I saw hundreds of people discover who God is.

Last year ......

I learned to leap ........ and
I learned how others suffer when you don't.

Apella farlo, bryan

What can you do

2008-10-30T16:36:00.009-04:00

Over the past several months as we spoke with all kinds of groups, the most frequently asked questions are,
1) what could I do?
2) can you use my old glasses?
So here are some answers for everyone.

Most of all you could PRAY.
Pray for safety as we travel to the poorest areas of third world countries. Many times I have to be locked in at night. Sometimes behind barbed wired fences, and sometimes behind steel doors. Many nights there are guards who carry sawed off shotguns, pistols or even machetes. Once we even had to travel with armed bodyguards in order to insure our safety.
Please also pray for our health. At the clinics we set up, usually hundreds of patients show up for care. Many of them have stomach viruses, colds or a multitude of other diseases. Several times I have developed coughs or sore throats or have become ill with vomiting and diarrhea. Believe me that's no fun especially when you have to run outside to use not the best of outhouses.

And PRAY for and, or make a DONATION.
We are always in need of finances in order to achieve our goals.

We believe the Lord has given us 4 very specific goals to fulfill.
1) ATPAY ....... A Thousand Pairs ( of prescription eyeglasses) A Year
2) ATPAM ....... A Thousand Pairs A Month
3) ATPAW ....... A Thousand Pairs A Week
4) ATPAD ....... A Thousand Pairs A Day.

In 2007 we reached and exceeded our first goal. This year we began to work towards the fulfillment of our second goal. The annual costs needed to achieve that goal is approximately
$ 198,000. Donations of any amount towards that goal are greatly appreciated. Some of the lenses we manufacturer costs over $100 but overall our average cost to help someone see is now around $13.00 As we are able to expand and buy in volume, we will be able to reduce that even more. But just take a moment and ponder that for just $13 you will change someone's life and give a gift will last for years.

If you are unable to donate you can still be a valuable part of the God's Eyes team by VOLUNTEERING.
Here's some ideas for you.

1) Invite us to speak at your church, bible study group, prayer group, your women's or men's group or any civic organizations. God has always raised up support for us every time we've told His story. Jen and I have committed to go anywhere at anytime to talk with anyone about the ministry of God's Eyes.

2) Mention us to people you know might who may be able to help us. People who run radio or TV shows or who work for people who do. People who work in advertising, airlines, those who own their own businesses, caterers, churches, doctors, entrepreneurs, publishers, printers,or restaurants owners. Do you know of anyone or any groups looking for a cause to support next year? If so please contact us.

3 Have a fundraiser for us. Get your group or friends to organize a car wash, a phone campaign, a bakery sale. A golfing event, a book or garage sale or even a concert. Sell hot dogs or hamburgers outside of Kroger or Publix. We'll show up for anything you invite us to.

4) Use your talents. One kind lady offered to write a children's book for us and donate the proceeds. Another offered to write a magazine article about us. One generous man donated his garage space for our storage needs thus eliminating the rental costs of a storage unit for us. Use your imagination and ask God what you can do.

5) Donate your frequent flyer miles or extra buddy passes to God's Eyes. We are currently in the process of becoming approved donors for Delta and Airtran. We can always use any help you can give us to reduce the costs of our annual air travel.

6) Introduce us to anyone with previous expertise with non profits or grant writing, marketing or fundraiser experience. Remember this is all new to Jen and me.

7) If you would like to donate a car we would gladly accept it and remember that it does qualify as a tax deductible donation.

8) We are looking for a national spokesperson to promote the charitable work of God's Eyes. This could be a famous sports personality or a celebrity in the movie or music industry. Or perhaps a well known christian musical group. Maybe a famous author. Perhaps a politician or a well known corporate CEO. Who do you know? Can you put us in touch with someone's agent or manager or introduce them to us yourself. Even if you only know a relative who has a friend who knows a friend who knows someone famous. Just give us a call 404-966-8705.

And finally I'll get to the second most asked question and that is

Do you take my old glasses?

The answer for now is no for three reasons. First there are already organizations such as the Lions Club that already do this and I wouldn't ever want to diminish the donations to them. The second reason is it's just so hard to find a person who would just happen to need your exact prescription. I would probably have to carry several thousand pairs of old glasses with me just to have a good chance at fitting the person we're seeing. The weight restrictions alone from the airlines would make this near impossible. The third reason is I have the capabilities of making them a new pair of eyeglasses in the exact prescription they need. In many cases this may be the only new item they ever receive in their life. So since I can make the glasses new, I do.

Please join our team and help us share the love of Christ in a very tangible way. Seeing CAN be believing.

I'm always amazed by you,
bryan

Life in a desert of dirt

2008-10-27T13:59:00.007-04:00

Hola Amigos
I just returned from a small village in Pucasana Peru. It was truly one of the most unusual geographical places I've ever been to. There is nothing there but dirt. In fact the entire region is a desert made out of rock and dirt, lots and lots of dirt.
As with most 3rd world countries there was an abundance of poverty everywhere.. The residents in the village I worked in lived in small shacks made out of a combination of scrap metal, wood and plastic tarps. Good thing it doesn't rain often there or these people would get soaked.
We set up clinic in a very small church about 10ft by 30 ft. The good news was we had electricity so we had lights.
Every night we had to turn people away from the eye clinic, there was such a need there for vision correction. And every morning there would be lines of people waiting for us. We were able to help a lot of people see. We prayed for so many eyes and people on this trip. We always told them that God loves them so much that one of the things He has done for them was to send us to them to give them the glasses they needed. A lot of people cried with joy and thanksgiving when their eyes were opened and everyday we received so many hugs.
I haven't totaled everything up yet but I believe we dispensed around 300 to 350 pairs of eyeglasses.
Other than myself there were 2 doctors along on this trip seeing patients as well. If we reduce this trip to just numbers then I think we saw 874 patients altogether.
This trip I had the help of Ken Weaver who was literally my right hand man, and Cindy who translated so very well for me. These two "servants of the Lord" literally worked themselves sick. They worked so hard and long and we simply would not have been successful without them. Thank you so much Ken and Cindy! May God continue to bless you both.

Life is just so hard for everyone who lives in Pucasana. There is nothing to do here, the area is so barren. Just take a look on google earth and you will see what I mean. Everything is always covered in dirt and the people are so very poor. They seem to have little and from what I could see there is little hope of ever making it out of there.
Some of you already know that the goal of Gods Eyes is to show the love of Jesus in a very tangible way, by providing vision correction to those that will never be able to afford it.
By opening their eyes our hope is that they will have hope and open their hearts to the Lord.
On this mission 124 people did exactly that, 124 prayed and invited Christ into their lives and that is the best number of the trip.
They will all be followed up by the pastor of the church we worked out of. I think he is probably going to have to expand the church building because there is no way 124 more people are going to fit in it. Continue to pray for these new believers, and for everyone else there.

124 ......... 124 ........ amazing , simply amazing!

bryan

.

catching up

2008-10-01T10:07:00.002-04:00

Some of this summers highlights.

Talking and praying with Heidi Baker
Spending a few days with Franck from Haiti
Being blessed by so many new partners of Gods Eyes
Tuesday nights at Gary and Shelly Davis' house
Learning to walk "in the Spirit"
Loving on my family and growing with all of them
Enjoying life with my wife, the most wonderful person I know
Meeting and getting to know Maurice who fixed our air conditioner 6 times for free
Seeing God do amazing things with His ministry of Gods Eyes
Working in the field in Honduras with Jennifer
Handing out thousands of new prescription glasses to poor people around the world.
Dr David Johnson's generous donation of an entire optical dispensary

Special thanks to these partners for their amazing and outrageously generous ongoing support

Jamie and Donna Bergrenn
Dr.Gary and Shelly Davis
Tom and Patty Fulton
Ken and Mary Weaver
Butch and Jan Wallace
Heritage Christian Church
Doug Barclay

and our heartfelt most sincere thanks to EVERYONE who supports and prays for Gods Eyes.
Without you we could not help others to see.
May God bless you all !!!!!!

Siguatepeque, Honduras

2008-07-18T13:39:00.011-04:00

As most of you already know Jenn and I just got back from Honduras. Once again so many of you have been asking us about the trip, so I'll try to give you some of the highlights. This is a very condensed report of the trip. If you want to hear more just call us anytime and we will share hours of stories and hundreds of photos with you!

Day 1 Flew into San Pedro Sula airport then drove about 2 and 1/2 hours to Siguatepeque. We had a little excitement because we were followed from the airport by some people who planned to rob us. About 45 min. into our trip some local police helped us out by arresting them before anything bad happened. The rest of the day was uneventful we all just spend time getting to know everyone in the group we joined up with. We partnered with a medical team from "Missions on the Move." David and Linda Wilson have led this group to Honduras for 14 years. They are wonderful leaders and very faithful servants of Christ. We spend the evening unpacking and getting ready for our first day of clinics.

Day 2 Drove to the small town of El Rincin about 1/2 hour away from base camp. We set up in a one room church and had to share the space with the dental and the medical teams. It was so noisy in the church because at any given time there were probably 1oo people in this small room.
This was the first time I had an eye kit in the field and this allowed us to make prescription eyeglasses right on the spot for anyone we saw. I think I made around 55 pairs of eyeglasses today. Some of you still wonder why I do this, well today I made a very hi-powered pair of eye glasses for a 36 year old lady who could not see past 4 feet. I was with her when she went outside and saw a bird flying for the first time in her life. I guess I just can't describe how it feels to be with someone who can see for the first time in their life, lets just say its extremely rewarding.

Day 3 I forget the name of the village we drove to today. Someone said it would be 45min. away but in reality it was over 2 and 1/2 hours away. Our bus got stuck 3 times on the dirt mountains roads and each time we all had to get off the bus and prop rocks and logs up under the wheels to get unstuck. We worked today in a small mountain school. The field we crossed to get there was very muddy. Our first patient today was a 90 year old man who had walked with a homemade cane for 4 hours to get to us. We were able to make him glasses which helped him see better but he still had a long walk home. Life IS hard in a third world country.
Once again today we made around 50 pairs of eyeglasses and handed out about that many sunglasses and reading glasses as well. One strange thing so far is that around 95% of the people we see are farsighted, this is so different from the people we see back home.

Day 4 Today is suppose to be a day off so the team decides to drive to the town of Copan and visit the Mayan ruins there. Its a 5 hour bus ride to get there and we go on a 3hour walking tour of the ruins. Coming back the bus ride takes almost 6 hours because of hard rain. I would definitely visit the ruins again, it was very interesting but that long bus ride is something I live without.

Day 5 We go to a Spanish speaking church today and I understand about 2% of what the pastor is teaching. The crowd frequently laughs so he must be very entertaining. I wish I knew my Spanish better. I forgot to mention that our eye team has a translator, a beautiful 17 year old girl from Savannhan Ga. named Arelly without her we would be so lost. Her brother Samuel also helps Jen out. We spent hours this afternoon at Dr. Paz' house getting supplies and reloading up for the clinic tomorrow. There is another missionary group from Denver staying at the bible institute with us. They were robbed today and lost laptop computers, cell phones and their money. Tonight the church at the bible institute had a concert and it was very good, only that meant hundreds of people had full access to the dorms we are staying at but thank God nothing was taken.

Day 6 Well it finally had to happen ... I got sick for the first time on a mission trip. My throat is swollen, my ears hurt and I have diarrhea. Today we drive 2 hours away to an isolated mountain village called El Rodeo. The people here are so poor and there is no running water or electricity. Thank goodness we brought a generator with us. The eye team has its own building today as we are at a three room school. Its hard to serve when you are sick but I just love this kind of village. I feel like this is what I am called to do, to bring vision to the poorest of the poor, and this village is the poster village for that. I suffer from chills all day and some of the other team members are also getting sick. One of the nicest ladies on the trip, Pat spends the afternoon lying down sick on the bus. Today I made some glasses for a 70 year old lady who was so thrilled to get them, more so than anyone else so far. Her joy was so contagious I wish you could have seen it. It was a busy day of making eyeglasses but well worth it.
As we drove up today we could see children running down the nearby mountains to greet the bus. They are so excited we are here. I am sure no one ever comes to visit them. Even though I am sick, today has been my favorite day yet. We when get back home tonight we also have no running water or electricity, so we have dinner and devotions by candlelight, I loved it!

Day 7 Ok so now the entire eye team is sick. Jen and Arelly have been up all night with diarrhea. Jen has taken 7 immodium tablets but they still haven't helped her yet.
Today we drive a couple of hours away real high up in the mountains to a small village called Llano Largo. We are at a brightly painted pink school. I fit an 80 year old women today with very strong glasses around 50 steps of power, they will make a big difference in her life. These are the moments that make everything worth it. We saw some very sick people today and today we certainly could empathize with them. Over all even though we worked a little slower, we helped people see again today. Every time I made eyeglasses I told the people that Jesus sent me here today to give you these eyeglasses. They always smile! Behind the school is a very small church and beyond that is an incredible view of mountains and valleys, the kinda stuff postcards are made of. Recently a short way down the mountain from where we are, a bus full of people on a mission trip drove off the road and fell hundreds of feet off the cliff and died. We stop here on the way home and say prayers for all their families. Jen and Arelly worked hard today even though they are ill. Both of them go straight to bed we when we get back and they miss dinner and devotions.
Today is our daughters 15th birthday but we are too sick to go to town to call her.

Day 8 Today we are all beginning to feel better but Jen is dealing with some stomach issues. We drive a couple of hours away this morning to a place called Marquerita. The people here again are very poor and mostly farmers. This little village also has no running water or electricity. A lot of children show up today. The ones that come to the eye clinic seem so very poor, their clothes are dirty and tattered. It is a quieter day for the eye team. We made eyeglasses but we hand out many more sunglasses and eye drops as the people we see all have pterigeums and eye irritations from working in the fields all day. Every team finished early today around 330 or 400 so we took a short drive to the town of Esperanza where the bus proceeded to get stuck in the narrow streets. After 45min. or so the bus driver somehow got this huge bus we were on turned around and unstuck after hitting a parked car and brushing against the roof of a building. It has rained almost everyday since we arrived but this has made us very happy because the rain has kept the temperatures down. The ride backs takes 3 hours in the pouring rain.

Day 9 This is our last day of clinics. We drive about 40 min. away to no where. I don't even think this place had a name but we pull off the road and walk up to a unpainted cement wall structure.
This is a church, no roof , no floor, only mud and dirt. and no bathrooms or outhouses. So naturally this is the second time my stomach chooses to have diarrhea. Oh well there are always the fields nearby. When we arrive there are only three patients waiting for us. We even questioned for awhile whether or not to set up, but by the time Pastor Sam stops preaching there are people all over the place and this becomes the busiest day ever for the eye team. Toward the end of the morning we are finally running out of certain lens powers. We have to tell some patients that we've already given away all the lenses in their power and we cannot help them. I can't tell you how much this pains me. I have come all this way to give eyeglasses to the poor and now I'm out of the powers that would help these people see clearly. I'm so glad this is the last day of clinics because I don't know how many more patients I could tell "I can't help you" To say the least it was very saddening. I think these are the poorest people we've helped so far. There are also many believers amongst them, so even though my heart aches for the people we couldn't help I think this is the clinic that I've liked the best. Later this day we go to back to town and the mayor gives us special recognition for the work that Dr. Paz and "Missions on the Move" has done for the Honduran people. It is a nice way to finish the trip.

Day 10 This is our last day in Honduras and just like every mission trip I've been on I am ready to be going home but there's always a part of you that wants to stay because there is so much more work to do. We spent last night packing up for the trip home and having one last time of devotions together. We have served together as a team of one accord. What a privilege it has been to meet and get to know the wonderful people on this trip. We stop at some town on the way back to the airport and we all get some time to do some souvenir shopping, before heading home. We left Siguatepeque around 7am and we landed in Atlanta about 12 hours later. Its only been a half day of travel but we are now a world away from where we started the day.......
amazing, just amazing.

I have left off so many details of the trip because it would just take to long to write everything. Like I said at the start of this report just call us to hear more. Together we are,

bringing vision to the world,
Bryan and Jennifer

Ups and downs

2008-05-14T19:00:00.008-04:00

New hot water tank, pressure regulator value & installation $1200.00
cost of auto license tag renewals $ 135.00
cost to fill the gas tank in my car on Monday $ 68.00
cost to repair our broken air conditioner $ don't know yet due to hot water tank

God on our side $ priceless

What a birthday

2008-05-01T13:19:00.009-04:00

Today is my 51st birthday and realizing what took place over the past month is the best present I've ever received.
The past few weeks have been amazing. Several wonderful people have come forward offering to help us with our ministry.
We received some much needed equipment from an optical company called VSI in Florida. Thank you so much Carl for all your help with this endeavor.
We also wanted to give special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Ken Weaver, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Fulton, Mr. & Mrs. Don Sullivan, and everyone else who gave so freely this past month. Because of your great generosity we will be able to generate eye kits which will bring the gift of vision to hundreds and hundreds of people.
I also want to thank Aurora Ministries who has partnered with us and have supplied us with cassette and dvd players along with bibles on tape and dvd in both Spanish and Creole. This is such a huge help because due to certain eye diseases we can't help everyone to see clearly, and this allows us to share Gods word with them in a very tangible way.

Some of you have been asking where we will be going next. I believe in June we will be traveling to an area of Honduras known as the mosquito coast, and then in July we will travel to Matawaula Mexico. Jennifer, my wife, hopes to accompany me on the Honduras trip. This will be the first time we get to serve overseas together and we are both really looking forward to it.

Last month I ground the strongest lens I have ever made in my 26 year career. it contained 120 steps of power in a single lens and it is for a 12 year old boy in Haiti. To get an idea of how strong this is, you would have to place 15 to 18 pairs of average powered reading glasses one on top of another in order to see something. Dr Brigette Hudicourt will dispense this lens to him and she said he will go from seeing nothing at all to being able to see well enough to learn to read. I hope to have a picture for you shortly.

Incredible, isn't it.
Thank you ALL for making this my best birthday ever .

A kind and generous man of God

2008-04-13T19:08:00.005-04:00

Last month Al and I drove up to Virginia Beach Va. to meet with Pat Robertson at his office.
He is a great man! He was very gracious and extremely kind to me. I met with him for about an hour and after speaking with him, he said he would personally support God's Eyes ministry.
Today his generosity was manifested when a check arrived and this is what he wrote me.

Dear Bryan,

I appreciate the work you and Al are doing through God's Eyes to bring sight to the blind.

I hope the enclosed contribution will help your ministry, and that it will be a great blessing to those who would otherwise remain in darkness- physically and spiritually.

May God continue to bless you is my prayer. I am

Sincerely,
Pat Robertson

Thank you Pat!
Thank you God you are awesome, Jehovah jireh!

Its 2:30 am what am I doing up ?

2008-03-10T02:30:00.001-04:00

I need to sleep .... I really do.
Its late, well actually its really early.
I've been working on stuff for God's Eyes for the past 6 hours.
I leave early tomorrow morning to drive to Virginia to meet with
Pat Robertson on Tuesday.

Crazy isn't it. just plain crazy.

Sometimes I think
I'm bringing vision to the world
but really, I'm just morphing.

the question everyone is asking

2008-03-05T23:20:00.000-05:00

How was your trip to Haiti ?
I've been asked that question perhaps a hundred times since I arrived back home a week ago.
Sometimes I just say it was great ( but I really don't mean it, )
and sometimes I answer that life is hard in Haiti.
The truth is I really don't know how to summarize the trip.

I saw and heard things that shouldn't exist.
Forgive me not saying more.

Haiti is a dark place, Haiti needs help, lots of help of every kind.
Haiti needs love, Haiti needs Jesus
pray, just pray

Port au Pait

2008-02-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone.

I'm in Port a Pait, a city on the north coast of Haiti. We've had long travels. You can only travel 8 miles per hour on the roads here because they are so bad, so it takes awhile to get anywhere.

I'm doing fine..... it's hot here, and I already have so many stories to tell you all .

A mother died at the clinic today giving birth to twins. Death is rather common here. I know this 7 month old boy will also die because his mother refuses to help him.

Tomorrow we go to the "far west" a 3 hour drive west of here, and then Thurs we fly back to Port au Prince and then drive to Jacmel.

I dont know when Ill get a chance to email but tomorrow night if the satelite is right, I might be able to call ,so listen for your phones.

I LOVE and MISS you all gotta go. They're about to turn off the lights and the generator, so no power, nothing but blackness. The sun is always welcomed.
Talk to you soon I hope.LOVE LOVE LOVE , me

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2008-02-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

I leave for Haiti in 48 hours and although I will not be staying in the comforts of a hotel I couldn't help but read some of the reviews of hotels in Port au Prince.
One couple warned that you need to bring your own soap and shampoo, washcloths and towels and apparently your own window as well. Because where the window belonged there was only an empty hole in the wall and they woke up the next morning with 51 mosquito bites.
Oh what we take for granted here in the USA.
From what I've read so far, life seems difficult in Haiti and although I've frequently heard that life is unfair, I think Haiti will take that statement to a whole new level.
I'll keep you informed on my adventures.

You can check out two of the missions I'll be visiting - Northwest Haiti Christian Mission
and the other is Haitian Christian Outreach. I also get to visit the mission in Christianville where I've been shipping eyeglasses to for nearly 2 years.

I recently read that on Feb. 5, UN troops fought in Port Au Prince with a gang 8000 members strong. Thats where I'm flying into. Pray for peace.

Love is key.
I'm bringing vision to the world.