Teeth

The first day of clinic was today! We started off with a bang by anointing each other and the building with oil. An integral part of middle eastern culture which the western church has lost. It was so special to do that with the team, and I feel like it got us all in the right headspace spiritually. I was anointed by one of the Jordanian pastors we are working alongside, and when he finished anointing and praying over me, he gave me some oil to take with me while I prayed over the building corners.

Then we split off into our areas, Hunter and I were working in the dental space. We had these really cool dental chairs made out of corrugated plastic! The not-so-cool part was that we had to figure out how they went together ...which took the better part of an hour! But once they were set up and supplies was laid out, the patients started flooding in. We have three dentists and a hygienist, and all of them got to work.

Most of the people coming in with toothache complaints needed at least one tooth pulled, and so we assisted with the extraction process: getting syringes full of anesthetics, grabbing more tools, holding gauze, etc. which was pretty easy. The part that they really needed us on was with a couple of the kiddos who were NOT in the mood to have a tooth pulled. If a kid started kicking and screaming or pulling away, Hunter and I had to help hold them down. Which is really tough. I hate making kids cry, and found myself fighting the same feelings of defeat that I did in Kenya.

But again, this was a needed procedure. Many of the kids had stopped eating because of the pain, and you could see the tooth beginning to decay right out of their mouths. Like He always does though, the Lord gave me the strength and the "stomach" to help these kids in the way they needed help.

One little boy was really bad, and needed three teeth pulled minimum. He was also really scared of us and our tools. It ended up taking seven people: his dad, Hunter, me, one of the doctors, the dentist, and two translators -- to hold him down and calm him down enough to let us even numb him. That was really hard for everyone, I think. But, our team was able to successfully remove all three of the rotten teeth! Our dentist is definitely incredible at her job!

One thing that I am already able to start to notice that is different about these kids. They don't play as much or see fun anywhere. You'll smile at them, or try to give them a fist bump or make a silly face or something and they'll just look at you. Which is kind of confusing at first, but then it just makes your stomach drop right out of your body and tears well up in your eyes. They aren't acting like normal children because they're traumatized by the life they had to flee. I don't know what horrors they faced, only that the situation was bad enough that their parents chose to flee to another country where they do not speak the language and have no rights, all to get their children a chance at a better life. And do those kids recognize the sacrifice their parents have made? Do they have any hope at all?

I'm not really sure what to do with all of that, except cry out to God. He sees their pain better than I ever will. He knows what and how they are feeling. And most importantly, He alone contains the peace that they need. A peace that surpasses all understanding. My job here is three things:

1. Take care of the physical pains that I can

2. Point them towards the One who can alleviate their spiritual pains

3. Intercede on their behalf