An island called Ulithi

Have you ever heard of Ulithi Island? If you have, good! I had not heard of it and decided to do some research, since it was to become my home for a week. Ulithi is an outer atoll island that is located northeast of Yap. Ulithi is comprised of one main atoll, plus three outlying sections. Falalop is the largest island in the atoll. A team from the Seventh-day Adventist Clinics in Saipan and Guam planned a dental mission trip to Falalop during the week of June 14-21, 2008. Our goal was to treat everyone who needed dental services for free, to serve others as Jesus did, to share about Jesus and to form relationships with the people we helped. The Saipan and Guam SDA Clinics donated supplies and we donated our time. There were three dentists who served on this mission trip: myself, Dr. Ken Pierson, and Dr. Chad Ordelheide, as well as Dmitry Losov, who presented healthy living health seminars to the patients.

Our plane landed on the tiny, paved runway which spanned the length of the island. Most of the islanders were there to see who was arriving and to greet us! We were escorted by the health director to the dispensary. The dispensary is one of the only block buildings on the island. It has a small dental treatment room, a labor and delivery room, two recovery rooms and a pharmacy. I fell in love with the pharmacy and slept on the floor each night because it was the only room in the building that had air conditioning to keep the medications safe for use!

We started off bright and early each day with a line of patients ready to see us for dental treatment. We preformed fillings, cleanings, and extractions for young and old. There were always cute, curious kids watching us through the windows to keep up with what was happening! We helped to train some young Ulithian women on how to sterilize and set up an instrument tray. We appreciated their time and help. On average we treated 20 patients each day. It was very rewarding to see each patient walk out with a big smile, knowing that they now had a healthier mouth! The Ulithians were very thankful for the work we provided to them. To show us their appreciation, they brought us cooked meals of breadfruit, taro, bananas, and coconuts. We were all blessed by their kindness.

Our dental mission trip to the island of Falalop in the Ulithi atoll was a great experience and a huge success. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved—providers and patients! We all would like to return to Ulithi again in the future to care for the islanders’ dental needs. I am humbled once again to see how God can use our simple efforts to impact the world for His glory.