Giving your all, using your gift

Most Christians you meet will often be quick to agree that God gives us gifts, talents and ability to further his Kingdom. Jesus emphasized on numerous occasions in the Gospels how “it’s to the Father’s Glory that you bear much fruit -fruit will last” (John 15) and described in a vivid and quite frankly fearful parable what will happen to us who “bury our talent” (Matt 25:25). Being in a foreign country among an impoverished people group you continually see basic human needs that remain unmet because there simply aren’t those with the money or ability to alleviate whatever suffering is present. While the causes of poverty usually involve multiple factors and the methods of ameliorating it are even more complex, being able to help with physical needs in whatever way possible goes far…and it points people to the hope that is Jesus.

Well, this last week I was privileged to see firsthand two men taking a portion of their vacation time, spending their own money and coming to the Suriname interior to use their gift to further our Lord’s Kingdom. Stephen Malone and Gary Poppe, dentists from Tennessee and Kansas, respectively, visited six villages in five days, instructed and assisted in pulling the teeth of numerous Aukaaners free of charge. For those of you who are not familiar with the Maroons of the interior, this might sound like a drastic or perhaps even extreme procedure. Pulling teeth? What about a good cleaning, a few fillings or even a root canal? I’ll be honest, what immediately came to mind as analogous to our present scenario would be a doctor coming to amputate the limbs of patients to prevent death from gangrene. In all actuality, the moderately morbid comparison is not too far-fetched. Of course, there’s a lot more functionality with a mouth devoid of a tooth or two than your body devoid of a right arm.

When one looks at the dental health of Aukaaners, they are without fluoridated water, regular dental check-ups, and critical oral hygiene habits. For most, their teeth are so decayed as to cause intense pain that cannot be alleviated until the bad tooth is extracted. For these people, the only solution they know of and hope to receive in order to find relief is for someone to pull the bad tooth/teeth.

What was awesome about Gary and Stephen coming here was that they didn’t pull most the teeth. They were here primarily for training two Aukaan Christian guys: Baa’ Henne and Baa’ Kenneth to do the procedure. Hene and Kenneth did an excellent job and have definitely earned the trust of their own people. Gary and Stephen used their gift, one that most of us (including Charles, Taylor and I) don’t possess, and as the circumstances demonstrated, was much needed and by the Aukaaners of Suriname. The one-week trip these men took had a huge impact that will resonate much longer than a few days in July.

Meeting the physical needs of people usually precedes their desire for Spiritual ones. When talking with people here, they often associate our ministry with the “teeth doctors” who came in such-and-such a year. I know people’s receptivity to the Gospel will increase as they see Love being the motivation behind the dental work. Praise God for men like Gary and Stephen who have vastly furthered the ministry in the interior by using their gift of dentistry to bear fruit –fruit that will last.