Bring the light to those who are still in darkness!
In Angola, good ophthalmic care is far from normal. There are very few ophthalmologists and there is a lack of well-trained staff and good equipment. Therefore people are often unnecessarily visually impaired or blind. My mission is to contribute to the improvement of ophthalmological care!
Who am I
I am Naomi Spijkstra, and have been working as a Technical Ophthalmological Assistant for 20 years. In short, this means that I support the ophthalmologist in every possible way by doing a lot of examinations and possibly assist with interventions. I've always enjoyed doing this work, but the last years it hasn't given me much satisfaction anymore.
Take my life...
The work I do provides me with a good income that I can live on, but is that the real purpose of my life? Am I not living very much for myself? As Christians, we have been given the task to be a witness to the world around us and to live to His honor. When I was on a Friedenstimme day a few years ago, I was very much drawn to the well known hymn, "Take my life and let it be consecrated to Thee.” I want to live for His glory! This made me wonder more and more whether God had another task for me.
Rwanda
I had to be patient for a while, but in October 2019 Dr. Piet Noё came on my path. He was building an eye hospital in Rwanda. I went to Rwanda twice for a couple of weeks to help training staff there to deal with the equipment and provide the necessary practical help. That was a very special experience in many ways and gave me a lot of satisfaction! But my mission in Rwanda was temporary.
Not long after I was in Rwanda, I came into contact with Dr. Steve Collins, who is very motivated to fly with the MAF to remote areas, to provide ophthalmological care to often (almost) blind people. In the end, I went to Angola myself and was able to see with my own eyes how serious the situation there is. It touched my heart! And thus, little by little it became clear to me that God has a task for me in Angola!
Vision
God can only work through us if we are prepared to do what He puts on our path!
Mission
Bring the light to those who are still in darkness!
