Last semester, Lewis Swann, founder of a Tyler based ministry called “Believe & See,” visited with our 3rd-5th grade students at The Brook Hill School about his ministry to the blind in Africa. Believe & See performs cataract surgeries for children and adults in Togo, Africa and then shares the gospel with those in the village.

When one of Brook Hill’s third grade students, Aaron, heard about Believe & See, his heart broke for the blind in Africa and he decided to do something about it.

“Every Christmas I get a big gift, so I told my parents that I wanted my big gift this year to be sunglasses for the blind in Africa,” Aaron explained. “So we went to the Dollar General and the manager let us in the back so that we could pick out sunglasses. We got 108 sunglasses for children and adults, boys and girls.”

“We then met Lewis at a coffee shop and gave him the sunglasses,” Aaron continued. Aaron’s family also donated funds for a surgery along with the sunglasses.

“Sunglasses are vital to a successful surgery,” Swann commented. “Without them, patient’s eyes are too exposed to light and it leads to a bad treatment.”

Swann left for Togo shortly after receiving the sunglasses from Aaron and his family. During his trip, nearly 80 patients received sight and also received sunglasses from Aaron. The rest have since been given to other patients receiving the surgery.

During his trip, Swann and his wife took pictures and made a book for Aaron with many of the patients wearing his sunglasses and holding up signs like “Yay God!” and “Aaron Rocks!” When we asked Aaron how he felt when he looked at the book, he said “Happy. It feels good to know that these people can see.”

“I am so proud of Aaron for stepping out to make life better for others,” Swann said. “Our ministry, Believe and See, serves in the nation of Togo, Africa, where 60,000 people are living in total blindness with a condition that is curable through a simple 15-minute surgery. There is a light shining in Togo and Aaron is a part of that light! Aaron realizes that he doesn’t have to be a surgeon to make miracles happen. His love for the poor in action has changed the lives of others forever!”

And we are proud as well! It is so great to see our students developing a heart for the poor, especially at such a young age! This is what it means to be Christ-centered, and we hope our students continue to take action like Aaron!

KETK also ran a news story on Aaron, you can see it here: http://www.ketknbc.com/news/brook-hill-third-grader-sends-sunglasses-to-africa

The official mission of Believe & See is: “Demonstrating Christ’s love in sight restoring eye surgeries and modern farming programs, we bring hope delivered with the joy of the gospel to the most remote villages of Togo, West Africa. The only mobile eye surgical clinic in Togo, we bring hope where there is none.

Ministering largely to the unreached, we evangelize and partner with African pastors by helping the blind see with their eyes so that their villages have the opportunity to see with their hearts.”

You can learn more about Believe & See on their website, http://believeandsee.org/