She is off to the dentist. With hardly more than painful experiences behind her, she departs for the office. She recaps the clamps she has had placed on her teeth, the many injections, the fillings without painkillers, that one dentist with 'high overhead' (even though he said he didn't need a new boat), the unnecessary procedures... Oddly enough in the pit of her stomach, for the first time ever, she is calm on the way to the dentist and even has the thought go through her mind, "I have a good feeling about this." She verbalizes it to the road noise and to herself.
She checks in and visits with the receptionist as she fumbles through her U.S. and foreign currency, giving her recent return from a foreign country as the reason she cannot find her insurance card! The receptionist asks questions and it is not long before the patient connects with many in the office because of either her mission endeavors or her faith.
She is called back for her teeth cleaning and exam. The amiable dental hygenist waits for her patient to get settled in. Conversation begins and a common thread is found immediately! Africa. Her loved one has a heart for the children there. The patient hangs on every word that the hygenist says, envisioning the children's faces as they receive their new school supplies or shoes or toothbrushes! She knows the emotion, the passion involved.
She is surprised when she hears that Julie has never been to the mentioned country! Julie has been the 'stateside backbone' of the mission efforts through raising support and collecting donations. How can this be? How can someone be so passionate and invest so much in people whom she's never met? What makes someone's heart burn for such a thing?
God totally put the patient in touch with this specific dentist, especially with all that she has in common with so many there. One hygenist just got back from a trip to India and the dentists nephew(?) is a missionary in Dubai. The office is riddled with excitement as far as the patient is concerned. As a girl the patient used to listen to her dentist sing or hum (she did have a good voice :) but now she gets to hear stories of people serving all over the world! How awesome is that!
The patient left the office that day with a most precious gift, a symbol from Julie of her investment, willingness, and desire to be a part of the missions that are taking place in Ghana!
