Dr. Richard Charlick was a successful dentist who had traveled the world on holidays, when he was a trip that would change his life.
In 1980, told a missionary friend, living in the remote jungles of the South American country of Colombia, him about hundreds of people to get their teeth lining drawn by a pilot. They receive no anesthesia, and sometimes of the tooth root would break in the process, but it was "better than nothing."
The eldest son of Charlick, who had a dental student, told him they could do better, and the father-and-son team went to Columbia.
"A lot of people have told me that they cannot recall a time in their lives if they don't have a toothache," said Charlick.
She spent a month there is pulling teeth, handing out toothbrushes and dental care to explain and talk about Christianity for those who were interested. Charlick said he did not force his Christian vision of everyone, but just asking people if they would like to know why a white guy from the United States is to help them.
He said that he felt good and rewarded by what they achieved on that first trip, and decided he would return.
Go now, 30 years and 38 travel later, the Brighton Township dentist and his wife, Dora may continue their campaign of pulling teeth, instructing people on dental care and talk about Jesus Christ. They have visited 16 different countries, including Cameroon, Colombia, Honduras, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar and Western parts of China. All areas are external, sometimes require days of the trip to the achievement of the villages.
Earlier this year, wrote Charlick a 445-page book called "Mission possible: Introducing Jesus to the unreached," about his tooth and missionary journeys. Charlick, a practicing dentist for almost 50 years, is one of the founders of the Brighton Township-based Charlick, Springstead & Wilson Dental Associates.
He helped creating and delivering solar energy exercises for some villages, so that people can put in fillings, and he also 75 people learned to field dentists.
(2 of 2)He said there are 2 billion people who have never heard of Jesus Christ, and he wants to give them a chance to hear about his story. He added, "there are more people who have heard of Coca-Cola."
"We offer of health care, and for those interested, offer the Christian Gospel," he said. "Health care is temporary. The Christian Gospel is eternal. "
Now 75, Charlick shows no signs of slowing down. He visited Myanmar in January and will go to Honduras in July. His team of dentists and doctors spend usually up to three weeks in a country.
He has even been able to reach people where others have had little success. He recalled a visit to a village in Benin in West Africa, where a majority of people practiced voodoo. To cure migraine, he said, the voodoo priest would cut slits in the person back or neck and fill it with cow dung.
Although missionaries there two years lived, he said that they were not able to convert anyone. The Charlicks pulled teeth, healthcare, and glass and were able to convert from hundreds of the four villages to Christianity. A church people began even before Charlick links.
"When you actually able to love to show them in a meaningful way by doing their health, their ears is opened, and they are willing to listen to the Gospel," he said.
Outright, Charlick said, "words are cheap."
He said that the villagers had heard many promises over the years, but no one actually assisted them. He remembered the chiefs told him, "there has never been anybody from outside who come here to help us. It makes us feel sad that they never have had any one to help them, not so bad and isolated. "
The Charlick wife and his children have already on this missionary journeys. His wife him on most of the travel guides, scrubbing and sterilizing equipment. She also plays a key role in some cases.
"She is the hammer Lady," said Charlick.
If he is not able to copy all the root of a tooth, he uses a chisel to remove the rest of it. However, he uses his hands to keep the chisel steady and to withdraw the tissue, and his wife is doing the hammering.
Many of his friends have asked him when he plans to retire, and Charlick said his plans are determined by a higher power.
"As long as I am healthy and physically able, I want to serve the Lord," he said. "When he wants me to stop, he will let me know with some sort of physical ailment."
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Jim Totten (517) 548-7088 or jtotten@gannett.com.
沒有留言:
張貼留言