Answers to prayer

The past two weeks in the dental clinic have been challenging, but have also showed God at work in the lives of the team members and patients. Last week technical/wiring problems with the building caused some issues with the lights, air-conditioning and fans not working, so Tuesday the clinic was shut down after lunch to allow the electricians to fix the problems.  Things seemed to work better this week, although power problems will probably always be a daily issue and I’m convinced the air conditioning in my hygiene room will never work…so sweating through my scrubs is just a way of life now. No air conditioning, lights and fans are just an inconvenience though, because after a minor “smoking” light incident, we are all definitely grateful for God’s protection from more major issues like fire and electrical shocks. Dental treatment usually scares people enough without added risk factors like death from electrocution :)

Earlier this week on Monday, the dental clinic saw an influx of very sick dental patients with severe tooth infections and sent two of those patients to the hospital on the Mercy Ship for emergency care. The first patient recovered quickly with IV antibiotics, but the second patient had a more systemic infection and was immediately rushed into surgery. During the surgery to remove the infection from the neck area, the patient’s airway collapsed and a tracheostomy was required. The patient was put into intensive care not certain if he would survive the night, but God touched him in answered prayer and the patient is alive and doing much better than anyone expected as I’m writing this update. This type of emergency patient is unusual especially in the hospital wards on the Mercy Ship because most patients are scheduled for surgery and fairly healthy before being admitted to ensure good healing. It was a sobering experience for the dental team to see just how important the need for our treatment is to help save lives from dental infections and also wishing we could meet all dental needs earlier before they become life threatening. As we are reminded every day in clinic devotions, God is good ALL the time and all the time God is GOOD! He brings just the right patients to our little dental clinic every day who need help and need to see God’s love through us. Please pray that we meet the sometimes overwhelming needs in the patients who line up for treatment and that in the process every patient experiences God’s love through our service to the Congolese people.

On a lighter note, here are some action shots and pictures from a baby shower celebration for one of the Congolese girls working at the clinic: