Dental Training in Mozambique

The invitation to train Christ-followers in Mozambique came through a general surgeon who had previously traveled with us to Bolivia. Eighteen months after that trip he departed to the far South of Mozambique to be involved in a ministry there. We gladly accepted the invitation to come. After only 11 days of training, three dental trainees were certified as Dental Technicians and successfully worked together to learn how to sterilize instruments, extract teeth, and care for the people out in the bush. After the majority of the team left, our led training dentist stayed for an extra 2 weeks to continue to work with the Dental Technicians. They spent one of those weeks out in the bush and the second week offering clinics at the mission base. They were able to see and treat more than 200 people during this time. The message of Christ was being shared with people who had never before heard His name. A few weeks after returning to the United States, we sadly learned that the government had stepped in and told these church leaders that they were not allowed to continue offering their dental services in Mozambique. Everything about this training had gone well up to that point. These Dental Technicians were offering safe treatment to people who did not have access to treatment. As frustrating as this was for us to hear about, it offered us some perspective. We have an enemy who is trying to do everything he can to limit the reach of the Gospel. He has allies in high places in governments around the world and while he will win battles from time to time, we know that he will be defeated in the end. Does this mean that we take a step back? Absolutely not! We need to be more focused and intentional to continue training Christ-followers around the world with tools that will allow them to make the love of Christ known. We also need to spend more time on our knees asking the Lord to open doors for these Christ-followers and others to have the opportunities to share the love of Christ by meeting felt needs.