She crossed the river, wading through water up to her waist, to meet The Luke Commission bus. Why? She hoped to see again.
Her determination matches her thankfulness. This 81-year-old lady says, “God sent us you angels.”
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| A neighbor carries Calista’s clothing and shoes as she wades through the river to catch the TLC bus to the Miracle Campus. She had difficulty seeing this day, but when returning, she strides through the water with sight fully. |
She remembered it had been five years since Calista Dlamini could see well. “I heard from the school children that TLC could help me,” said remembers. That’s when she came to a mobile hospital outreach near her community.
Yes, Calista traversed that river then, too. “If the water is too deep, I just go back to my homestead. But not that day!” she explains. “Even when I can cross, it takes me many hours to get to town.”
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| With TLC staff and another eye patient she befriended on the Miracle Campus, Calista awaits her turn for cataract surgery. |
This time, though, TLC bus took her to the Miracle Campus, where a couple of days later, she received cataract surgery along with 125 others during the most recent eye surgical session. “God is here,” she declares, waiting her turn patiently and expectantly.
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| Waiting for her bandage to be removed, Calista sings with hope and expectation. |
Calista’s husband died seven years ago. She birthed seven children; four have passed away. Still youthful and energetic, Calista only has a first grade education, “before I could go no more.” Today she lives alone.
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| Even before her new eye adjusts to noonday brightness, Calista claps her delight. |
The day following surgery when her eye patch was removed, Calista could not contain her joy, or her words. “The Luke Commission staff works as a team being friendly, caring, and loving. You came to Eswatini to remove the darkness.”
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| There’s nothing like the first glimpse through a new eye! |
And with a smile that beams all the way to her new eye, she adds, “God is here first. That makes me happy.”
by Janet Tuinstra