Photo provided by: Angela Emde
Photo provided by Angela Emde
Laughter rang through the vision clinic. Juan* jumped and exclaimed with joyous surprise when the man he shook hands with turned out to be his friend — a friend that had formerly been unrecognizable to Juan except for his voice and shape. With an uncorrected prescription of -4.75 and visual acuity of around 20/400, life for Juan was a big blur. Anything beyond eight inches from his face was indistinguishable to him. So, when a pair of glasses was placed on him, a big smile spread across his face. He could see clearly for the first time in years. Juan had formerly been described as confused, awkward, and standoffish, but these descriptions transformed into laughter, engagement, and joy as Juan was given his vision — and his life — back.
This spring, Greeneville Adventist Academy in Greeneville, Tenn., partnered with Maranatha Volunteers International and went to Pucallpa, Peru, where students and chaperones participated in free vision clinics, a construction project, and nightly evangelism. At the six vision clinics, led by Brad Emde, O.D., the team saw 892 patients and gave away 1,018 pairs of glasses and sunglasses. The group learned to lay block and built the walls of a new church for the community. After a day of work, the students conducted two separate Vacation Bible Scgool programs as well as a revival series.
Vision clinics always show students God’s amazing love and mercy. Anna Reid, a junior at Greeneville Adventist Academy, remembers, “There was an elderly man who had heavy cataracts. Dr. Brad did everything in his power to find the best lenses for him. When the glasses were placed on the man’s face, he began reading all the letters on the chart in front of him. The elderly man began praising God for his sight and was thanking everyone.” Emma Miller, a sophomore, reflects on her time as a translator in optical: “Hearing the people’s reactions to seeing clearly for the first time in years and shouting their praises to God is such an incredible thing to witness.”
Tom Cushing, construction site coordinator, kept the team motivated and energized for seven workdays with the rallying cry, “Let’s get fired up!” The success of seeing the walls go up helped the students learn the joy of service. Elaina Nealy, a freshman, reflects on her time at the construction site: “Building the church made me begin to realize the true meaning of selflessness and compassion. Whenever we would see the locals come around, they would hug us and, even though we spoke different languages, I could tell they were very thankful that we were there helping them worship God.”
A highlight of every mission trip is the opportunity to work with children. Kaiden Payne, a sophomore at Greeneville Adventist Academy, recounts his experience from Vacation Bible School: “The first night, there were so many kids [from the community] that had no clue who Jesus was. When we sang for the first time, no one participated, but by the end of the week, they were doing motions, and singing loudly and proud about God. It was amazing to see so many kids get excited to learn about Jesus.”
Beautiful life lessons are learned on mission trips. Tucker Tomlinson, a junior, adds, “One thing that I try to do every year [on mission trips] is bring a football to try to interact with the kids. But pretty much without fail, none of them know how to throw it. Not only is it kind of fun to watch them try to throw it, but it also reminds me of what it’s like with us in life. Life throws some crazy stuff at us, sometimes things that we’ve never seen or experienced before. But that’s just when we need to trust God and take it and run to the best of our ability with His help.”
*Name has been changed.
Georgia-Cumberland | June 2026
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