85 People We Can’t Help: Calling for Change in Christian Missions

“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

2 Timothy 2:2

Fruitful, Fulfilling and Exhausting

The last day of any short-term missions trip is always the most challenging, especially when you’ve spent hours each day working in people’s mouths, relieving pain and extracting abscessed teeth. Word spreads quickly, and soon a steady stream of people arrives, each hoping to be seen before we leave.

Having participated in many short-term medical missions trips, I know the drill. Upon arrival, we hit the ground running to set up our clinic. Hundreds of people usually wait, having traveled long distances for the rare chance at free dental care. For some, this is their first-ever visit to a dentist, and they desperately need it.

Throughout the week, the work never slows. Patients keep coming, and though the makeshift clinic may seem chaotic, it is well-organized into stations for triage, treatment, sterilization, and prayer. Many patients heading to the dental chair are particularly interested in prayer!

In the 1990s, before battery-powered headlamps were available, we often set up dental chairs near an open window for light. Patients waiting their turn would crowd around, watching the procedures—sometimes blocking the light in their eagerness. Despite these challenges, the trips were fruitful, fulfilling, and exhausting. We relieved the suffering of hundreds, who expressed overwhelming gratitude.

These short-term teams served poor communities where dental problems were just one of many serious challenges. Local churches hosting our clinics saw how physical relief opened hearts to the gospel—a connection Jesus Himself modeled in His ministry.

A Moment of Conviction

In the summer of 2003, our team, including my whole family, was wrapping up a dental mission trip to Jamaica. It was the last day, and we were preparing to leave for the airport. The four dentists on our team worked as quickly as possible, knowing our time was limited.

In the middle of an extraction, my friend Paul, who had spent the week ministering to patients, listening to their stories, and sharing Jesus’ love, tapped me on the shoulder. With 85 patients still waiting, he asked, “What am I supposed to tell them?”

I barely looked up from my patient and replied, “I don’t know, but we need to leave in an hour.” Then I returned to my work.

Ten minutes later, Paul tapped my shoulder again. But this time, tears filled his eyes.

“Charlie,” he said, “I really need to know. What am I supposed to tell them?”

I had no good answer. I weakly suggested that maybe we’d return next year or that another team might come. But I knew these answers were not enough.

Those 85 people likely wouldn’t see a dentist this year, or ever.

Paul had spent the week hearing heartbreaking stories—mothers listening helplessly as their teenage sons cried themselves to sleep from the pain of an infected tooth. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them, “Maybe we will see you next year.”

His tears and pleading words, “Surely, we can do better than that!”, pierced through my professional detachment.

For the first time, I truly felt the weight of the community’s suffering and the bleak reality they faced once we left. A horrible, sinking feeling struck deep in my soul. I realized I was part of the reason for Paul’s tears, and for the pain of those 85 people still in line.

In that moment, I understood: something had to change.

“Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

George Bernard Shaw

A Call for a New Approach

This experience was a turning point, forcing me to rethink our approach to missions. Short-term relief was not enough—what was needed was lasting, sustainable solutions that empowered local communities long after the mission team was gone.

We invite you to follow along as we share more of our story and the transformative changes we made to bring sustainable, long-term solutions to the communities we serve.

Stay Connected: Be Part of the Change

Subscribe Now to stay updated and join us in making a lasting impact.

Blessings,

Florence Muindi and Charlie Vittitow