Bangladesh Mission Trip

Another reason that Paul and I were so busy (i.e. unable to post any blog entries) after we were married is that we were busy preparing for our mission trip to Bangladesh. From September 14 - 23, 2007, a team of 21 individuals from Loma Linda University (2 doctors, 2 dentists, 1 registered nurse, 1 licensed medical massage therapist, 2 nursing students, 9 dental students, 3 dental hygiene students, 1 pre-dental student) in conjunction with 40 local volunteers served the people of Bangladesh. Getting from Dhaka to Jalchatra was an interesting four hour experience. Never have I seen such a densely populated country. There were people everywhere!


The Bangladesh version of a schoolbus...


We had long days, which started at 7 am with worship and ended with an evening worship around 7 pm. As word spread that we were providing free dental and medical/eye care, the people of Bangladesh began to swarm to our little compound. The crowds were almost unmanageable. Our team saw nearly 2000 patients during our short stay there...








It was so hot and humid there that everyone's scrubs were drenched with sweat the entire week! It was literally like living in one big outdoor sauna...


The Dental School let us borrow some fancy equipment...


Thanks to the infamous beetle nut that was habitually chewed in that area of the world, many of the people's teeth looked like this...


Danny Morgan and Carlos Moretta were my flying buddies, since we had to fly in a day later than the rest of the team due to our work schedules...


I did basic eye care during my time there. Through an organization called PRVAIL, we had mass-ordered hundreds of reading glasses to distribute to those presbyopes in need. We also bought basic eye medications to distribute to the people. In about four days of work, I saw close to 400 patients! This would have been virtually impossible without the help of my two trusted translators, Peter and Babu.

This particular old man was sooo overjoyed to have this pair of glasses, donated by Sandra Shirley, one of my fellow church members...


This nun was a cutie...


This gentleman was essentially blind, but he insisted that these glasses helped him see more clearly!


I even had the opportunity to do minor surgery - two chalazion removals...


Near the end of our week, we took an outing on our "minivans" to a nearby forest. It was so surreal...


Snapshot of a local barber shop...


Sabbath afternoon we visited the local village children...


Each of us girls got a sari specially tailored for us...


Bangali couple?


Our awesome team...


Not only were we sad to say goodbye to Bangladesh, but the children shed tears as well...