September 2005 Archives
Republica Dominica, 2005
The second day we were there we visited an orphanage. The entire country has nothing; they are totally poor. So this orphanage was barely even livable. But from the moment we got there until the second we left, these kids were all over us. From riding on our back to playing little games about Jesus with them, we did it all. I had the time of my life just being with these kids who had nothing but were totally happy and enthusiastic about their lives. We were like presents under a tree on Christmas morning to these kids.The day before we left to come home we stopped and visited a place called Sugar Cane Village. At this place, everyone works in the sugar cane fields, even the five year-old kids. The homes that these families live in weresmaller than my dorm room. We thought that the kids at the orphanage had nothing? These FAMILIES had less than those kids.
God really spoke to me when we arrived at this place. For the first time in my life I realized what it means to have all you need in God...I now see how fortunate I am to live where I do hand have the opportunities that I have. Jesus Christ is everything and I am nothing without Him!
From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity. I can't wait to go on another one or maybe even twenty more.
-Matthew W. Stone
Vietnam, 2005
We treated 2000+ kids in our six days of work. We were at a different location each day, while working with our team of nine from Dental Mission for Children. The local "Red Cross" members worked alongside of us making our efforts easier since our team could not speak the language.
A special thanks to the local Vietnam Colgate Division for the gift of 15,000 toothbrush/toothpaste kits. Some 4000 children benefited from this gift during this mission trip.
The kids are very needy. The schools where we worked were at rather remote sites, requiring up to 90+ minutes of travel time each way. We stayed in the same hotel each night while away from Saigon. The travel time to My Tho, where we stayed, seemed to be at least 2-1/2+ hours from Saigon. Two lane roads with lots of traffic are slow.
Our work setup: Lan, a Red Cross member who worked with us, screened every child that we saw. She marked on their faces which teeth she wanted removed and which molars she wanted treated with Fluoride. We had one local anesthesia station where the teeth were numbed by John, a pedodontist from North Carolina. There were two and sometimes three fluoride stations and two extraction stations. The kids were directed through the process and once finished they were back out side to receive any needed medication and a "kit" with toothbrush, paste, a notebook, some other small items and an instruction sheet. The kids and parents were given hygiene instruction, and prior to our arrival at each school each child was given a glass of fortified milk. That was a real treat.
It is hard to imagine, at times, how little some people have. Kids are kids. Laughing. Singing. Just being kids. They were very well behaved. Some American kids could take a lesson or two from these kids.
Holly prayed over every child that she and I treated. A special thanks to each of you for your prayers. Prayer is powerful and each of us can do it. It costs but a bit of time but can have incredible effects.