A Routine(?) Day in the Dental Mission

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Charlie Wyont set a record yesterday. He extracted 22 teeth from a 42-yr-old woman. He said that he had never extracted that many teeth from a patient at one time. This type of situation shows the importance of the dental health program, especially the oral hygiene training. Also, it is indicative of the overall health of the Quimistan population.

When I asked Randy about his day he said “Oh, it was pretty routine”. I think that Randy is being too modest. The dental team successfully treats some very serious dental problems under less-than-ideal conditions. These include inadequate lighting, no suction, no x-rays, and dental chairs that require them to stand all day ( 8-10 hours).

The rest of the team rearranged their work priorities because of the delay in material delivery. Tommy, Lee, and Dave continued their electrical work. Bruce and Jim started work on shelving for Pastor Anna.

I saw an amazing transformation today. While Bruce and I were working on the shelving, Francisco, the AP child that he and Maxine are sponsoring, showed up. Bruce changed from an impatient curmudgeon to a patient, doting grandfather figure. Bruce integrated Francisco into our work applying glue and nailing. Bruce chided me for not starting the nails straight, which made Francisco’s work more difficult. After a few minutes, several boys showed up to help. Francisco was obviously proud to be working with his sponsor.

Jim