Ideas and Convictions Turning into Reality

Bits and pieces of the dental clinic story are starting to emerge.*  One rumor is that one of the mission presidents urged a dental clinic to be formed because he had so many missionaries that had to be sent out for dental care while on their missions.

Two dentists wrote out on a napkin in an airport what they would need to have a dental clinic. It started out as an idea. One of the dentists was either a home teacher to a Seventy or was home taught by a Seventy. The dentist talked to the Seventy who thought it was a great idea, though with a “Good luck with that”.

How ideas and Vision is born

One of the dentists had another classmate or confederate who had some ideas and ways to get donations and got them. Who was the mover and shaker? The MTC Dental Clinic was up and running about 6 or 7 months later.

Reality

If anyone has experienced how projects run in the Philippines or getting church approval you would know immediately that this came about by sheer miracle.  All of the dental chairs and fixtures and equipment were donated.

The Stewarts were called to be missionaries with one of the dentists who got the clinic up and running. A week after their shared opening and starting up business, the Stewarts were given the key to the door and told they were in charge. The idea from the talks to the dentist the Stewarts had previous to going on their mission was that they would be doing dental work for about 4 or 5 hours a day and be able to experience the Philippines the rest of the time.

I can testify that they work 6 days a week usually 5 in the morning until 5 at night except for half a day on Saturdays for two weeks and then they will have a Wednesday and sometimes a Saturday off on the third week – working 12 hours a day on the other four days. Dr. Stewart is a surfboard aficionado and has checked out the beaches on a few of those Wednesdays. Regardless they both will never see 60 again and work very hard long hours.  It is all totally worth it – but that is a post for another day.

*I’ll post the whole story when I find out.