11/04/2022
I also volunteer at this clinic and it is so rewarding. We desperately need more dental volunteers, supplies and financial help. Please pray about how you can contribute.
We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest member of the Hope Within Dental Team & to share with you a testimony of God's provision. Dr. Daniel Smith, D.M.D., is an oral surgeon who has started to volunteer at Hope Within to do extractions for those whose teeth are beyond repair. Our first extraction clinic was this past Saturday. We were able to help 7 people resolve & prevent painful issues. With Dr. Smith available for necessary extractions, Dr. Guk, our dentist, is able to fill her schedule with those in need of primary dental care.
Dr. Smith was introduced to Hope Within through the work we have been doing with refugee families. We were serving a family who was sponsored by his home church, Hershey Evangelical Free Church. The dental needs of this family were great, far beyond our ability to provide. Sometimes, when we are rapidly running out of resources it causes us to panic & to think that maybe we are being recklessly generous, giving too much to people who don't deserve it. But we forget that God's resources never run low, "for the world and it's fullness are mine" He says. (Ps 50:12) God used that refugee family to connect us to Dr. Smith, who is helping us to meet the increasing dental needs that we are facing. God also arranged circumstances to provide for that family's dental needs through another means.
Stepping out in obedient faith requires a lot of trust. We have to trust that God has brought people to our door intentionally to make them our neighbors (Luke 10:36-37). We have to trust that God will provide for our needs when we give generously (2 Corinthians 9:8-11). And we have to trust that God will sort out who is deserving or not as the only righteous judge (James 4:12).
It is scary to trust God, to follow His leading into things that can look foolish & feel uncertain. Our dental program operates on faith. It requires more resources than we have. The demand far outweighs our ability to provide. Some days we question whether or not it is wise to keep going. We need more people to serve as volunteers & more funds to keep the program going. But days like Saturday show us God’s faithful provision.
The first patient Dr. Smith saw was a little boy who came to our dental clinic in April. When he first came he was too scared to sit through a basic dental exam. We could not even start to help him with his dental needs because his fear was too great. We worked to meet his greater need, to show him the love of God by showing him that he was safe & cared for here. Through your donations of stuffed animals & fidget toys, & the support of our counseling program, we were able to meet his need for safety. On Saturday he walked into our clinic, climbed into a dental chair with a new dentist he had never met before, & had a tooth removed without a single tear shed. That type of growth & change is worth stepping out in faith to accomplish.
You can be a part of this work by donating to the ministry of Hope Within https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/HopeWithinMinistries/onlinegive.html , by purchasing items to use in our dental clinic through our Amazon wishlist https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3O597C5LCIODH?ref_=wl_share , by volunteering your professional skills or sharing our ministry needs with professionally licensed dental hygienists, assistants, & dentists https://www.hopewithin.org/volunteer-application/, & by praying for our ministry, the people who volunteer here, & the patients that we serve.
