Thanks to Alcon from Dr. Charles Ahn

I recently had the privilege of participating in a medical mission trip as an ophthalmologist to the island of Ebeye on the Marshall Islands. Most ophthalmology medical mission trips involve cataract (a clouding of the eye's lens resulting in impaired vision) surgery, using a manual or extracapsular technique, (an older surgical technique involving an incision about 3/8") as opposed to the United States where almost all cataract surgery is performed with ultrasound* utilizing a phacoemulsification machine. ("Phaco"--a system that uses only a small incision on the side of the cornea, then an inserted probe emits ultrasound waves that soften and break up the clouded lens. After removing the old lens by suction, an artificial lens or "IOL", is permanently placed in the eye.) This technique and technology is usually not available in third world countries due to the significant costs involved.

However, we were blessed to be able to perform cataract surgery with phacoemulsification due to the generous donation of Alcon to Canvasback Missions of a phacoemulsification machine, accessories, and supplies. The machine we used was the 'Laureate', which is Alcon’s compact version of their 'Infiniti' machine sold in the United States. The 'Laureate' is only available in the international market. Despite its compact size, its performance demonstrated tremendous power, efficiency, chamber stability and safety. Our team was able to perform 192 eye surgeries, of which half were done on the 'Laureate' platform. Many of the cataracts were very dense and mature, yet the surgeries were performed with great efficiency and the outcomes were outstanding.

It was a real pleasure working with Kevin Creed and his staff. Alcon has donated the 'Laureate' machine, several hand pieces and enough kits to provide more than 100 surgeries.

Our team was grateful for the privilege of partnering together with Alcon and for their commitment in helping us to restore the precious gift of sight to so many people on the island of Ebeye.

Dr. Charles Ahn

*Ultrasound - High frequency sound waves used during cataract surgery to break up the eye's natural lens so that it can be easily removed.

Thanks to Lions Northwest Eyeglass Recycling Center

Canvasback Missions is very privileged to be able to share the donations of many philanthropic organizations with the people of Micronesia. One generous donation which was received this year was a collection of eyeglasses provided by Northwest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center.

Thanks to their ongoing and generous work, we were able to provide 393 pairs of eyeglasses to the people of Ebeye in January, 2010. More recently the people of Chuuk were also recipients of donated eyeglasses, where another team of ophthalmologists and their assistants went to perform cataract surgery, treat eye disease and distribute eyeglasses. This time the Placerville Lions Club donated the eyeglasses.

Thanks to Alcon from Dr. Jeff Ing

I have used a lot of phaco (Phacoemulsfication) machines* over the last fifteen years--most of the machines have been made by Alcon. The current Alcon model at our surgery center is the 'Infiniti' with the latest fluidics package and the OZil torsional handpiece.** (OZil is the trademarked brand name for Alcon's torsional handpiece.) When I went on our trip to Pohnpei, we were privileged to try a new machine which Alcon donated to Canvasback. The ‘Laureate’ is a machine that is used in Europe and internationally. Because it does not carry the OZil feature (rotational ultrasound), at first I was skeptical as to whether it would perform on extremely dense cataracts. However, after performing surgery on 30+ cases including some very dense cataracts, I was very impressed with this machine’s capabilities. It has excellent fluidics and great cutting power. The corneas were amazingly clear on post-op day one, and there were no cases of wound burn.

It was a real pleasure working with Kevin Creed and his staff. Alcon has donated the ‘Laureate’ machine several hand pieces and enough kits to provide more than 100 surgeries. We thank Alcon for their commitment to helping mission endeavors like our trip to help the people of Pohnpei.

* Phaco machine = Machine used in removal of cataracts of the eye.
**Torsional = A type of ultrasound used with the OZil handpiece that reduces repulsion, improves followability and improves thermal safety.

Dr. Charles Ahn Shares His Experience on Ebeye

Dr. Charles Ahn of Chicago area returned from a January, 2010 trip to the isolated island of Ebeye in the Marshall Islands excited to share his experience with DuPage Medical Group. As an experienced ophthalmologist, he was delighted to be able to use his skills in an area of the world that normally does not have the privilege of cataract removal in a timely manner. "The patients didn't have much and were so grateful for the care they received. It was truly a privilege to be able to provide the care that we did for the people of Ebeye." Dr. Ahn states.

Read his story by clicking on this link.

Paradise Lost or Regained?

Article in Alumni Magazine, Winter 2010 by Teresa Pitman
About Brenda Davis work at DWC

The amazing success of the Diabetes Wellness Center in Majuro, the capital of The Marshall Islands headed by Denis Yates and begun by Canvasback in 2006, is lauded in an article about Brenda Davis RD. She has testified to the improvement in islanders’ health by making the changes advocated at the Center. Healing comes to the people who consistently change to a new diet mainly of plant-based foods, and take part in an exercise program. Both of these principals are taught at the Center.

You will want to click on this link to read the entire article.

IMPRESSIONS OF RETURNING CANVASBACK CAREGIVERS

EBEYE and YAP, 2010

When our volunteers return from a mission trip, they fill out an evaluation, so that their experience can help us improve the ongoing ministry of Canvasback. Here are some of the comments voiced by the members of our ophthalmology/orthopedic team who served on Ebeye in February, 2010 and our orthopedic/youth team that served on Yap in March, 2010. They share how serving others have impacted their lives. The medical and youth mission trips were full of wonderful blessings and life-changing experiences. The following statements are just examples of some of their impressions:

Debbie Gundlach, RN: “Going on missions is an experience that regenerates my heart and my nursing career. It is a rewarding experience to step out of the box of medicine that has become so politically driven in the U.S. and just treat patients with care and love. The blessings I came home with were abundant.”

Doug Stowers, student: “... hearing my friends share their love for Jesus”

David Baker, Zimmer representative: “I realized how much I have and how little others do, yet they are happy in life and do well with their surroundings.”

Chris Howell, Chairman Youth Committee: “It [this mission to Yap] has grown me spiritually as I witnessed miracles through answered prayers.”

Alex Archibald, OD: “The mission has given a renewed perspective on how blessed I am. …some of our patients got together to sing and say thank you. I felt the spirit of Christ very strongly during that ceremony which has made a lasting impression on me.”

Shawn Apperson, RN: “I think I returned home with greater compassion for people and a greater appreciation for all that we have—medical care, healthy food, clean water etc. Jesus is Lord of the whole earth and each person is precious to Him. He can accomplish anything He wants but chooses to use us (as imperfect as we are) to be His hands and His feet. I Love Jesus More!”

Kevin Gustafson , engineer: “Nothing compares to looking into the eyes of good people who need help and at the very least being part of a group of people who can help them in some way. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Julia Gustafson, PA: “This mission has changed me in a positive way. I felt a lot closer to God and felt joy and humbleness in doing His work. I was so happy to be able to contribute.”

Kay Henderson, MD: “I appreciated times of morning worship with the team. I was refreshed and renewed to be of service in a totally different part of the world. . . I was privileged also to go to four small clinics located in the villages, and this was really incredible. I saw many children with very serious illnesses - rheumatic fever, congenital heart disease, malnutrition, developmentally delayed children and severe injuries. I was able to help with recommendations for definitive care and medication adjustments.”

Iris Chung, MD: “The highlight was the fact we were able to do 192 cases and also the genuine thank you's from the people . . . I really enjoyed the early morning devotions.”

Linda Wat -Jacobson, MD: “This trip was different from my 6 other medical trips because we had daily worship and the successes of our trips were due to turning everything over to God. It was not my hands but God’s hands who performed the every day miracles and made sure the equipment was always working when needed.”

Recent Articles from the Marshall Islands

The newspapers in the Marshall Islands have published articles about Canvasback’s recent visits to Ebeye. It would be of great interest for those who follow the work of Canvasback Missions in Micronesia. Here are the links to those articles:

The Kwajalein Hourglass, February 13, 2010: “Mercies & Miracles” Canvasback medical teams mend bones, eyes and spirits on Ebeye” pages 6, 7, 8, 9, 13—
http://www.smdc.army.mil/2008/Publications.asp.

The Marshall Island Journal, February 19, 2010: “Ebeye eye opener!” (front page) and “Getting new sight, knees from surgeries” page 18: www.marshallislandsjournal.com

Coming soon will be reports of the visits to the islands in 2010. Exciting things have been happening!

Audiologist gets published in Colorado

Janae Biard's story appeared in the Cortez Journal recently. She is an audiologist who went with Canvasback Missions last May--June, 2009. Click here for her story. What a blessing she was for the deaf kids on Chuuk! Children with no hearing now can live normal lives.

God's Power Greater than Power of Nature

HURRICANE ALERT! This was what was heard all over Yap the night of September 29, 2009. God overruled the power of nature!

I made the statement that no one could tell a Typhoon which path to take but apparently there is one who can and it appears that He did. The church, the Pathfinder Club and people across the nation were praying that Tropical Storm Parma would divert. I cannot say that the path she took violates the laws of nature but I can say that is atypical and highly unlikely. She was headed right for Yap when she turned south and as soon as she had cleared Yap to the west, she intensified to a Typhoon and resumed her predicted curve to the north.


Jamie

Dr. Carol Isaacs's story was published in professional magazine

You may or may not have already seen pictures of Dr. Carol Isaacs and her special patient, Risi Joe from Ebeye in the Marshall Islands. Carol is a dermatologist from the St. Helena Hospital in Northern California. She was a missionary with Canvasback Missions for the first time this last January. Now, her story has been published in the "Dermatology Times", a professional dermatology journal. We would love to share the story and her experiences about her trip to Ebeye. Click here to read the entire article.

You will see that her missionary journey had quite an impact on her life. Others continue to be inspired by stories like hers. Perhaps you will have a story to tell someday!

Canvasback has just completed another successful trip

We’re proud to say that Canvasback has just completed another successful trip to Micronesia. This time, our team returned from the beautiful island of Pohnpei where they delivered eye and dental care as well as bringing out a youth team that worked in construction and delivered an evangelistic series in the evenings. We saw many blessings as we worked with the people. Our eye doctors were able to see over 320 patients as well as handing out over 270 glasses and performing 80 surgeries. On the last day of the trip, our team decided to take some time off to relax and see the island. However, our eye doctors chose to stay at the hospital so that they could perform as many surgeries as possible. Dr. Narvaez joked that he was very “hardcore” and didn’t need a break. He said that it was a miracle to see people’s lifestyles completely changed by the surgeries they received. Not only would a blind person’s life be given back to them, but also the young child who had to lead them around would be free of this obligation, perhaps allowing them to attend school.

Our dental team worked in the hospital but also decided to go out to the remote villages to bring care to those who couldn’t even afford the taxi ride into the clinic. Our dentist Dr. Parker stated that even though the taxi ride would only cost about five dollars, this amount was far beyond the budgets of most of the village families. The dental team did over 310 surgeries and 270 extractions. They also educated the local doctors on new techniques for doing crown and bridge procedures. This technique will save the hospital time and money by allowing them to do the procedures on sight rather than having to send them out to a lab.

The youth team worked at the church to complete a new office and Sabbath school room. During the day, they worked hard to put up the roof and complete parts of the walls. After work in the evenings, the team put on our evangelistic series aimed towards the teens. Our youth pastor Brandon Stoltz led a series called Jesus Loves Zories (flip flops in Pohnpeian) which was based after the popular series Jesus loves Jeans. The youth led out, preaching and leading the song service. They ended with a call that received four commitments to baptism and a card from almost everyone present recommitting themselves to Christ.

If you want to know more about our trip, new pictures and articles will be posted soon. God bless.

Written by Sterling Spence

The Latest News from Jacque Spence

We're having an unbelievable time in Pohnpei. The ophthalmology clinics have been going great - Julio Narvaez and Jeff Ing are now running two phaeco units side by side in the OR so we're able to do more surgeries. Last Friday, the hospital gave us a beautiful buffet welcome with the Secretary of Health and the Lieutenant Governor in attendance.

Canvasback Youth Extreme Team - Pohnpei 2009

When Jesus was here walking among us, part of His ministry was to heal people physically while He told them about the love of God, the Father. Just before He ascended to Heaven, He directed His disciples to do the same - to go out and tell everyone about the extreme love of God for His people. That commission wasn't given only to the twelve disciples, but we today have also been given this responsibility. The Canvasback Youth Extreme Team is made up of God-driven young people who are committed to this same purpose - to go out, help out, and speak about the love of God to their peers and to anyone who will listen! Their nightly message is simple and life-changing, that no matter how worn, torn, dirty, or broken you are, God loves you and is wanting to make you new again. Through nightly meetings of worship, small group activities, and message, the Canvasback Youth Extreme Team will help bring their peers on Pohnpei into a closer and committed relationship with God. Please pray that we will be able to minister to both the physical and spiritual needs of this very special community!

Click here for more details

The young missionaries have already raised a significant portion of their cost for this trip and Canvasback’s contribution is $900 for each youth. The total Canvasback has to raise is $9,000 and $3,000 has already been raised. To give a good kid a life changing mission experience, you can contribute by clicking here.

Canvasback receives the highest rating from Charity Navigator

What a nice surprise to find that our work here at Canvasback Missions is being rewarded with a four star rating by Charity Navigator. This is something we can really be proud of because Charity Navigator themselves has a high rating as an evaluator of charities. They are known as “America’s premier charity evaluator”. They have been rated by Forbes, Business Week and Kiplinger’s Financial Magazine because of “their unique method of applying data-driven analysis to the charitable sector.”

Charity Navigator has notified Canvasback Missions that due to our sound fiscal management, and the consistent operation of our mission in an efficient manner, Canvasback Missions, Inc. is being recognized as a top-notch non-profit charity.

Thus we can say to our donors, “We are trustworthy in that we will do what we say we will do”. Charity Navigator’s words to us are: “Canvasback Missions executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America.” This is a good reason for our donors to have complete confidence in donating to Canvasback Missions, Inc.

Pictures of Chuuk

Chuuk Team Returning

Pictures! How we love pictures. ”A picture is worth a thousand words.” For me, I need the thousand words plus lots and lots of pictures to illustrate the kinds of experiences that come out of Canvasback Missions to Micronesia. Every trip is different, and every island is different, but always with many, many people in need.

I will have the privilege of going through the hundreds of pictures recently taken in Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, where Canvasback took an ENT team in May. The images coming back make your heart ache for the sick ones found there. The success stories were well documented.

When I was younger, I would look at any island picture and immediately would wish to be there. Usually it was images of a white sail boat on blue water or inviting white sandy beaches. I wanted to see what was on the outside of the borders of the pictures. I’m reminded of another expression very often used by people trying to describe things without pictures, You probably have heard this too: “You had to be there”. As the stories from Chuck are published on this web site with lots pictures, I can imagine the medical personnel saying “You just had to be there!”