Joyce Tolle has a new outlook on life after making a delivery more than 1,800 miles beyond her regular route.
The McPherson, KS, letter carrier recently traveled to Yoro, Honduras, with the nonprofit group Friends of the Missions to help people in need inside the Central America nation.
“The experience changed me in many ways,” said Tolle, who spent a week with the group’s all-volunteer medical staff to provide medical and dental care in remote regions.
Tolle’s job was to distribute donated reading glasses to patients who needed them.
Accompanied by a blind translator, Tolle and the group traveled to a new village each day.
The 24-year USPS veteran learned how much her delivery meant to many of the villagers facing transportation difficulties.
“We had to drive through water three times to get to one village,” she said.
With Tolle’s help, Friends of the Missions provided care to more than 2,500 patients during the trip. The Hutchinson News covered Tolle’s trip.
“I encourage everyone to leave the country and see how the rest of the world lives,” said Tolle, who is considering joining the mission to Honduras again next year.