Teamwork in Dental and Medical Evangelism: Partnership in the Dominican Republic

The Apostle Paul was not a one-man evangelism campaign. Wherever he traveled throughout the Roman Empire he relied on faithful men like Titus who he called his “fellowhelper” (II Corinthians 8:23) or Timothy his “workfellow.” (Romans 16:21) Sometimes his team included a mighty preacher like Apollos (Acts 18:24-28) but mostly it was made of men and women working in the background like Marcus or Aristarchus who were simply called “fellowlabourers.” (Philemon 1:24) Prominent evangelists, preachers, and pastors worked beside servants and labourers as an extended missionary team took the Gospel to the far ends of the Roman Empire. They were followers of Jesus Christ who shared a love for the Lord and a zeal to see souls saved.

Such is the case when GDMMissions takes the Gospel to a foreign country as part of a dental and medical evangelism team. Our core team of dental and medical professionals is reinforced by those of us with minor skills that God can use to form a unique team with a mission – to provide health care services that draw people out to hear the Word of God, some for the first time.

In the Dominican Republic in June (2010) our team of six from the U.S. was joined by national believers who complemented our skills to make us an effective witness for the Lord. Here are a few examples of team members we worked with who we lovingly call our “fellowhelpers” and “fellowlabourers.”

Pastor Hector Amparo and Family
Almost every day in the Dominican Republic we were joined by Pastor Hector Amparo and his family. (In photo L-R, Jaasiel, Pastor, Pura, Jocabed) They helped us in many ways during our time there. (I had met Pastor Amparo at a Fundamental Baptist conference in Puerto Rico the previous year and he was my contact in setting up the agenda of our 11-day trip to the island.) On our first day in the town of Bayaguana Pastor Amparo presented the Gospel to a number of people who waited to see the dentist. He then sat with 12-year old Armando who accepted Christ as his Savior. We rejoiced with the boy’s mother (a believer) who had brought him to have his teeth checked but it ended us that his heart was transformed by God! Pura (Pastor Amparo’s wife) and their daughter Jaasiel took on the job of patient organization and bringing order out of chaos to get the clinic started. Daughter Jocabed (a sophomore at Calvary Baptist Bible College in Puerto Rico) helped translate for Dr. Mitchell. By the end our days of clinics the Amparo family had become an indispensable part of the dental evangelism team. Their generous hospitality and willingness to do anything needed in the clinics was capped by kind gifts for each team member on the day before we left. Their help for us will be remembered as a refreshing island breeze.

Sulenny
We met Sulenny at our first dental clinic and she immediately attached herself to the team to augment our dental ministry. Sulenny (L in photo with Cuppy who sterilized instruments) is a student at the University in Santo Domingo with two years remaining for her dentist degree. She had heard about our ministry through the pastor of her church in the city and showed up to clean teeth. Her desire was to help in any way with the dental clinic. What stood out was her willingness to serve every day under difficult clinic conditions of extreme heat, noise, and the general hubbub of pressing crowds of patients. She was able to catch a bus from the city to meet us each morning at most of our clinics. Her cheerful disposition was a constant encouragement to us all. She would clean up her workspace and turn to the registrar, smile, and quietly say, “I’m ready for my next patient.” This continued all day, every day, and it was a blessing to have her as our “fellowhelper." When she graduates she wants to conduct dental evangelism clinics in local towns and villages through her local church.

Anna Luiza
We don’t appreciate how much little things mean until we face inconveniences in our lives. We don’t expect to get “American food” when we go to a foreign country. We know it’s going to be hot and that the mosquito population has been eagerly awaiting our arrival. But Anna Luiza (Center in photo in white shirt) arrived from one of our host churches in Santo Domingo to the camp where we were staying in San Pedro and informed us she would be there for most days to cook for us. We enjoyed some wonderful meals of traditional chicken and rice and beans (the Dominican national dish,) plantains, yucca, and fruit. Don’t get me wrong – the food was wonderful but when a few of our less-hardy team members began to suffer from “culinary shock” we asked Anna Luiza if she could cook oatmeal for us. She broke into a smile and said, “Ah, Si!” For dinner that night she made a huge pot of cinnamon oatmeal and it was just what we needed to recalibrate our stomachs and taste buds. We told her how much we loved it and she made it again for breakfast! It was great! Anna Luiza cooked other flavorful things for us during our stay but the cinnamon oatmeal and strong Dominican coffee for breakfast started our day just right. Anna Luiza joined us also at several clinics to register patients and witness to women about her Lord. Of course, it wasn’t the oatmeal and coffee that impressed us as much as this cheerful servant of the Lord who was willing to cook for us and join us in God’s evangelism program.



Euclides and Benoni
Two men worked as part of a larger evangelism team when we ministered in the country town of Quisqueya in conjunction with a local evangelism mission called Jesus Came, Lives, And Is Coming (initials MJV3 in Spanish.) On our first Saturday in the Dominican Republic we were joined by two dentists, five doctors, two pharmacists, and a large number of believers from churches in Santo Domingo. Out of this group several men and women were assigned the task of teaching the Bible to groups of adults and making sure everyone from the town who came to the dental and medical clinic heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Euclides is a computer engineer and Benoni is head of Immigration at the Santo Domingo Airport (and a Colonel in the Dominican Armed Forces.) Both spent hours talking to groups with their Bibles open and sharing that God loves them and sent His Son to die for their sins. A number came to saving faith in Christ that day. These men, and others like them, were part of a bigger team for one day of evangelism as hundreds heard the Good News of salvation.

Our team of six individuals from the U.S. was complete in so far as God put us together from four churches in New England to go to the Dominican Republic with the Gospel. GDMMissions’ theme verse states our purpose: “that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” (3 John 8) In this short epistle the Apostle John exhorts his well-beloved Gaius to meet the needs of “the brethren, and…strangers” as they carried the Gospel forward and thereby participated with them in their ministry for the Truth. We rejoice that we were joined in our ministry by faithful brethren in the Dominican Republic and that we could have a part with them in sharing the Truth.