John "Gilligan" Kauderman

The FCO missionaries on Day 1

First plane ticket out of the country.

This was the first time for me leaving the country and my first mission trip. I wasn't really sure what to expect from the people of Nicaragua or from the missionary, but about the only thing I did know was that I was working with a great group of people in FCO. Over the course of a week I learned so much about being appreciative with the luxuries of my life. Now, I'm not a guy with a lot of money, so what I'm really talking about are those luxuries that we take for granted as necessities. Things like a working toilet, 4 solid walls and a roof over our head to call home. A light switch and the ability to buy food freely as I need it. These are things that are not afforded to a lot of the people that we saw. 

A dilated fundus exam on one of our patients.

However, I did find that the people of the surrounding towns of Managua have qualities that are a bit of a mystery in America. They open their hearts to everyone regardless of race or religion. They are a humble people that appreciate everything they have and are content in their lives without yachts or fancy cars. There weren't any elaborate brand name purses or high end jewelry. These people valued their family and their faith. These are two things I think we have in common.


I had a great time in Nicaragua! The culture was fantastic. I wanted to share a short story with anyone that gets to read this blog. 

Nelson and me in Managua.

I went on a truck ride with Nelson, one of the visionaries of the couple that started Corner of Love in Managua. Our group had misplaced a suitcase full of some really important eyeglasses that were frequently given out. So, on the way back up the mountain to the church we were working at that day Nelson and I were talking about a whole variety of things. I asked a lot of questions to try to better understand the culture from daily life struggles to politics. We talked about it all. Somehow, as usually is the case with me, we came across talking about sports and specifically baseball. This is where Nelson showed a different passion that I could see in his voice. He talked about how he grew up playing baseball and the impact that it had on his life. He was drafted to play and represent Managua in a professional league. He went on to tell me the story about how that opportunity led him to where he is today, but that's another story for another day. Anyways, so as we are driving up the mountain I spot a man on a porch with a large gauze bandage over his eye. How perfect? I am here in this remote part of Nicaragua to provide optometric care and this man on his porch obviously has something going on with his eye. So, I ask Nelson if we can go back and tell the man about our clinics that we are running. Up to the task, he has no problem turning around... of course. With little to no spanish speaking ability I let Nelson handle this one... I see him start talking to the gentlemen and the conversation soon turns to large smiles and hugs and a 3-5 minute conversation. Nelson comes back to the truck and tells me that the man had lost his eye to an infection and that he was concerned about the infection spreading to his other eye, so he told him to make sure to come see us in the next few days. But that wasn't all...  because it turns out that on this remote road in the middle of back country small town Nicaragua, that the man we came across that day was actually Nelson's old ball coach!! He had taught Nelson more than just baseball as I soon came to realize. This man taught Nelson many life lessons that allowed him to become the man he is today. He thanked me for the opportunity to see him and talk to him because he had thought he passed away. I was really overwhelmed with joy for Nelson and a new found understanding of what I was there to do. I did nothing, but ask Nelson to turn around to tell a man on a porch about our clinic and it turned into an endearing moment for both us of in which he thanked me. That's what I was taken back by. He thanked me for what, at the time, seemed like such a small thing. People don't even say thank you when I open the door.

I found a fellow Gator fan!

I am just thankful to God, my family, my girlfriend, FCO, Corner of Love Ministries and those who helped me raise money to go on this trip. This was just one small excerpt from a week full of stories similar to the heart filling experience I had, but I found a lot of value in my experiences.

Justin " Justino a.k.a Who Stinks" Turner

      I never thought taking a mission trip would be a life changing experience, but I was wrong. I thought I was going there to just help people and show them the love of Christ, but in the end the people there ended up showing me just as much if not more. Even though the people of Nicaragua do not have much, they are so full of life and happiness it makes you take a step back and reevaluate your own life. Even though we may not have spoken the same language, I learned that love and  compassion are able to be translated across all barriers. I am thankful that I had the support and love from family and friends that made this trip possible. Thanks to all of you, I was able to touch the hearts and eyes of so many people and at the same time strengthen relationships with friends. This trip will be a memory that I will never forget. I think everyone that has the opportunity should do a mission trip. It doesn't even have to be a foreign trip, a local one would still provide the opportunity to witness the love of Christ in other people.
 

Kurt Kull "Dori"

The thing that struck me about this amazing trip was the heart of the missionaries who hosted us. The people in these small communities were in such need and God just gave them the heart to love these people and by the grace of God he has blessed their ministry beyond what they could ever imagine. In talking to Nelson "The owner of the missionary complex" you could just see and feel the love of Christ in him and his calling to help these people in need. There were so many patients that we saw and so many people as a team we showed Christ's love and provided for their basic need. I can't help but wonder how it started with the faith of Nelson and his wife who served so faithfully in trying to improve the lives of these people and more importantly spread the gospel of Christ. 

This Trip also was so much fun and growing together as a body of believers to do Christ's will was truly amazing. I was so blessed to know and have fun with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 

This whole experience has brought me closer to God and an understanding of who he is and how he works. I was so blessed to have gone on this trip to be a living letter for Christ. I am also so thankful for all the people who made this possible. We serve such an awesome God!

Ivana "La Enforsadora" Remigio

My name is Ivana Remigio and I have to say that this mission trip to Nicaragua was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It was the first mission trip I had been on and I can assure you that it will not be my last. Personally, I was able to take away so much from this trip. To begin with, I was amazed by the Nicaraguan people. Some of them had to walk four hours just to come see us and they were all extremely grateful for the care that we were providing them with. Being able to see the patient’s faces when they placed their glasses on their faces and could see for the first time was priceless. This made me realize that I take my sight, health, and so many more of the simple things in life for granted. The trip made me become aware of how blessed I really am and it strengthened my relationship with God. In addition, it allowed me to gain experience and grow professionally. I am most grateful to God for giving me this opportunity and I also am very appreciative of all the prayers and support I received from my family and friends. All in all, this trip was a huge blessing and I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to be a part of this mission.

This was most of our wonderful team :) - "Not with Ink"

Jen "City Slicker" Gonzalez

I want to begin by giving thanks to God for allowing FCO to be a part of my life and allow me the opportunity to participate in this amazing experience. As you can tell by my nickname, I am not exactly experienced when it comes to being in rural places, and my initial excitement for the trip was accompanied by worries about the weather, our safety, and all the new experiences I was going to have. I prayed about my worries, and shared them with my amazing team mates and felt so comforted after I did. 




I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable, rewarding, and overall life changing experiences I've ever taken part in. Seeing the change that you can make in someone's life just by smiling, taking the time to take care of them, and letting them know that you genuinely care about them is so touching. 

Being able to share my testimony, and use my talents for the good of another person just helped solidify my faith in God, and my love of Optometry. I know it sounds cheesy but it's exactly how I feel, and if you ever experience it you will know what I mean. I encourage all of you to take a minute to consider the opportunity or to take part in the process in any way you can. 

Brenda "Tina" Castro

 This was the first mission trip I had been on and I was very excited to help and bless others, but honestly I was the one blessed by the people of Nicaragua. The people there were so nice, humble and grateful that we were there. It was great spending time with them whether it was talking to them, examining them, praying with them, or singing songs with the kids. Our team was also great, so nice, generous, and just filled with the light of God! It truely was a week of fellowship and just serving Christ! I was so blessed to be apart of this team and had such an amazing, humbling experience.  This by far was one of the best experiences of my life and I thank God for it!

Megan "The Craver" Provence-Perry

This mission trip to Nicaragua was the second mission trip I’ve ever been on.  With that being said, I don’t think having prior exposure to the conditions of those living in the particular conditions we visited gets any easier to witness.  I’d like to think that even if I were around such conditions on a daily basis, I wouldn’t become numb to it.  There was one particular patient encounter that really affected me.  On our last day of brigades when we were about to close down, there was a man in his mid-seventies who sat in my chair at the retinoscopy/ocular health station.  His VAs were approximately 20/200 in both eyes at distance and near, so I was expecting him to need a pretty strong prescription.  I performed ret, and barely got any prescription at all.  Once I started looking into the back of his eyes to see what was going on, it became very obvious.  The man had extremely dense cataracts!  We had to dilate his eyes in order for me to see around them, and it still took quite a bit of manipulation to even view his optic nerves to make sure they were healthy (they were).  I know cataracts are common—we’re all going to get them, just like gray hair and wrinkles, if we’re fortunate to live long enough.  What’s particularly sad about this story is this man didn’t even feel the need to see our optometry team!  He thought his poor vision was just due to the fact that he was older!  In fact, a member of our team had to convince him to let us examine his eyes!  After my examination when we told him he could have his vision restored after removal of the cataracts from a local ophthalmologist, he was elated!  

The story of this man just further reiterated to me how very blessed we are to live in the US and to have access to the best health care in the world--Medicare pays for cataract surgery in the US!  I thank God for the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua to serve those in need.  It was such a blessing to travel to Nicaragua to not only provide the much needed eye care to so many patients, but to witness the display of God’s love from everyone involved—the patients, our team, and our wonderful missionary hosts at Corner of Love!  Not only were we impacting the hearts of our patients, but our patients were most definitely touching our hearts as well!