Last Wednesday night we had the pleasure of seeing the slides of two recent Mission trips: One that Naomi Soto took to South Dakota to give free dental care to the local American Indians and the other mission trip to various cities in Equador by Pastor Paul Cook, Pastor Edwin Soto and Dave Sigler.
Naomi, a dental hygienist and her boss, who is a dentist, did dental cleanings, routine fillings, root canals and, when necessary, extractions for the Indians on various reservations. The economy on most Indian reservations is very poor. The Indians can’t afford to pay for preventive care so many that Naomi and her team saw had few teeth. Of course, all the work they did was free of charge. The love and compassion that was shown opened the door for witnessing about the love of God and the saving power of the cross.
Paul, Edwin, and much to his surprise, Dave, all preached at different times during their time in Equador. They also visited and preached in two prisons, carried two suitcases of toys for the children at orphanages, and Dave helped to rebuild the roof on a three-family dwelling.
One of the stories which really touched my heart, and I know the hearts of all who attended, happened at the home of Pastor William. It was during a last minute invitation for lunch. Pastor William had a grown daughter who was severely burned and disfigured during an accident when she was a child. It was so critical that the doctors told the family that most likely she would never be able to have children. She rarely made an appearance when strangers visited their home, but she came out of her room and had lunch with our team. She told her parents that she doubted she would ever marry because she thought that no man would want her with her flaws. But God did bring her a wonderful husband and she was able to bear children after all. They showed a slide with her smiling and she looked like an angel. If I had not known the story, I would not have noticed her scars.
I believe that over 150 people either rededicated their lives to Christ or accepted Him as Savior. All of the team said after ministering and meeting the wonderful men, women and children they met, that it was certainly worth the time, money and effort spent on this life-changing mission trip.