The following story is from Monica Oliveira who was part of a 5 doctor team sent to China through a Canadian medical mission organization called Health Team International (HTI). This was GFAs second project with HTI but the first time we combined Bible distribution and a free medical clinic in the same trip.
During one particular incident I removed a tooth from a man who seemed to hold a very high position in the party (communist government) and who wanted to be seen before all the other people in line. I told him he had to wait his turn just like everyone else. However not long after I said that, God told me, “Call that man and take care of him.” So I called him and he sat down and told me he wanted a filling for his tooth. I told him that his tooth was very bad and needed to be extracted. He raised his voice to me, very authoritarian, and said he wanted a filling not an extraction! So I picked up a big mirror, shown a light in his mouth and showed him the condition of the tooth. Then I asked him, in a humorous way, “Who is the doctor here? Me or you? You say filling, I say extraction. I came from far away to help the Chinese people with my 31 years of dentistry experience. Therefore, since I am the doctor if you want something done, it needs to be my way, because I know what will be the best for you.” He put his head down and said very quietly, “You are right, I apologize, take it out.” So I extracted the tooth, he did not feel any pain and was very thankful, bowing several times. I also gave him a brochure, in Chinese, with post-extraction instructions, pain medication, antibiotics for 5 days, and a tooth brush with instructions. He came back and thanked me again and said he was very happy that I came from far away to help the Chinese people. The next day, photographers came to take pictures of me and the clinic, and I had no idea why they were taking pictures. Isn’t that a funny story?
God bless you,
Monica Oliveira