We were able to go to an Internaut this week with the Dental Truck Ministry. An Internaut, for those who think I made up the word , is an orphange and a school in one. The kids live and learn on the “campus” of the orphanage. The dental truck is basically a portable dentist’s office in the back of a U-Haul-type truck. They have one dental chair and all of their tools on the back. They go to different orphanages and villages to provide dental services to people who do not have access to them normally.

There is one dentist from the US and one from Ukraine who work in the truck. The story of the Ukrainian dentist is worth mentioning. She is a single mom and was working at a government clinic in Kiev; she was making 40$ per month at this job. Can you imagine!? She is a Christian and felt God was calling her to go to a local Bible college, so she obeyed and left her job, uncertain of what God was planning. The American dentist was looking for someone to work with him and he heard about this woman from someone she attended church with. He contacted her and his supporters in the states. She agreed enthusiastically to help and was not looking for anything in return. But when people heard about her servant’s heart, they wanted to help, and now she earns more than 10 times what the government was paying her. She was reluctant to take the money, but it was given for her, and her coworkers insisted. She is the most hardworking of any of the team, and is always looking forward to the next trip.

At this orphanage, they started with the kids who had the most serious problems–like pain or infection. Then they started working from the oldest kids down because they wanted to prioritze those who would be leaving the orphange the soonest. Kids ‘graduate’ from this internaut after the 9th grade. We got to see them reconstruct one girl’s smile; her front teeth had begun to decay. And Brandon got to witness a little boy get a rotten tooth extracted. The tooth simply shattered when the dentist tried to pull it out. We also got to play with the kids and help out some other missionaries who were there doing a program for the kids. I have posted a few pictures in the photo gallery .