In like a lion, out like a lamb.

Today started out on a bad note as it was raining quite a bit as we made our way to breakfast and then on to the clinic. The rain lasted only an hour or so here in Los Muermos proper, but apparently it rained most of the day in some of the other places. We got to see a lot of blue sky today. By the end of the day we could see the tops of two volcanoes. They are a lot taller than I thought given the little bit we were able to see yesterday morning.

I stayed in Los Muermos and worked with Dr. Bill Trotter today. Here in the town of Los Muermos we have a mobile clinic that has two chairs. Dr. Trotter was doing extractions all day. In the other chair Dr. Sharla Bush was doing some fillings and a lot of root canals. Most of the day we had people lined up outside the truck for work to be done. It was great to have people waiting on us rather than the other way around so we were able to maximize our time.

Because of the set up in the mobile unit and the need for two translators Dr. Andrew Currie was helping to translate and write prescriptions for Dr. Trotter and Dr. Bush. He did a great job sharing the translating responsibilities with Diego. That left a place for me to assist Dr. Trotter. I was able to man the suction and get each extraction kit ready for use. It was a great day. I felt like I was really being useful and not just in the way. After lunch I even got to pull a tooth. Then, I really felt like part of the team. It was a great day!

Just before lunch time David Hughes stopped by and he had with him Pastor Boris from Puerta Varas and Jerry Bowling, missionary from Santiago. We were able to talk about the possibilities of partnerships between First Baptist Augusta and the Iglesia Bautista de Puerta Varas. We had a great conversation and I look forward to the possibilities even after the Hughes’ leave in July.

We took a walk through the town after we were finished with dentistry. There were several shops and several restaurants that we saw. One of the little restaurants was called Moe’s! How cool is that? However, it was certainly not the same. It was actually the Moe from The Simpsons. There was also a man on the street selling all kinds of sea creatures (snails, mollusks, and some kind of squishy ink thing) out of a wheel barrow. We have seen all kinds of things here.

Dr. Pruett and Dr. Lyons were once again treated to lunch at their clinic. I will be heading out there tomorrow for some pictures with them. Tomorrow we will be bringing our dental work to a close. We will also have a special presentation with the mayor, the local dentist, the director of the clinic, all of our translators, and all of our team. I will prepare a slideshow to show pictures from all of the clinics and our work here in the area.