It started with a conversation and a couple cups of coffee. It was 1996 in Louisville, Kentucky and a small group of us had agreed that we had a burning desire to make a difference. Two of the group members had recently returned from a mission trip in Honduras and an idea began to surface that we should look at the United States in the same way we look at the mission field. We came up with the idea of a triage clinic for people without insurance. Thirty days later a small, struggling church hosted a team of eleven volunteers who offered free medical screenings and vision care for one of the poorest communities in Louisville. I remember my feelings as I prepared for the event. I could image how Peter felt walking on water— God had challenged me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and to take that step of faith onto the water. It was truly fantastic, the process of getting out of the boat allowed me to see how God will make provisions in a remarkable way.

By 7:30 a.m. on the day of our first clinic there were thirty people in line waiting for services in frigid temperatures. God connected people who needed care with people who had the talents to meet their needs. His provisions were miraculous. One of my favorite stories from that day include meeting a seventy-two-year-old African American woman who had not had an eye exam in forty-two years. She was one of the last people in line and had waited for four hours. When she finally received her exam and a pair of glasses she walked out of the exam room, looked in the mirror and then turned to me and exclaimed "Girl, I look good!" I will never forget that smile. To think she had not seen clearly for forty-two years.

Her story mirrors that of the blind man in Mark 8 where Jesus touched the man once and he saw partially, and then a second time and he saw fully. Our ministry was named after that very story – Touched Twice Ministries. The idea of touching people physically and spiritually is one of the core values of Touched Twice. We believe that hurting people are more open to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ when their physical needs have been met. We have seen God’s hand on our ministry since our first clinic. That day God provided a number of free services including twenty-five crates of groceries to give away, cokes and hot dogs, a music ministry, the most amazing optometrist who gave seventy-two eye exams, and 3000 pairs of donated eye glasses.

Since 1996 we have seen our ministry spread across the United States. In 2004 we changed our name to Touched Twice United (TTU) to represent our efforts across the country. We are united with Christ to touch his people.