Adventure & Service the adventures of a dentist and an engineer
making a difference in the world

Everyday produces a combination of bright sun and pouring rain. The mixture of dark and light clouds is gorgeous especially combined with the many shades of green from the lime color of the rice fields to the dark forest green of the trees covering the hills.

I'm gaining a new appreciation of all the ways you can eat rice and it's actually really good; I'll be a curry cooking expert by the time I come home.

The SDA Church is bursting with friendly people that have gone out of their way to make sure we have everything we need.

Although the hospital where I'm volunteering has good intentions, they have yet to take advantage of my dental capabilities. There are currently 3 people (including myself) able to perform general dentistry but there is only one dental chair operational at this time. Hopefully we will have the dental office relocated and two chairs operational by the end of this week (my second week here). It's frustrating because I came here to do dentistry but I believe the Lord makes the best of every situation. Maybe my agenda is not what the Lord has planned for me, so in the mean time I'm learning patience.

From the people that I've seen in the Nepal dental clinic so far, their oral state resembles the patients I've seen at the outreach clinics during dental school. The people put off getting medical attention until they have serious pain. Tooth decay is no stranger in Nepal and it is encouraged by Coke and sweets that are readily available. Oral health education is badly needed but many Nepali people don't seem to put hygiene, of any kind, as a very high priority (the rumor is that some people only bathe a couple times a month, let's just say I wouldn't be surprised).

x-ray of front teeth with dark spots showing cavities