Chris' Humanitarian Mission to the Philippines

Last month Chris had the amazing opportunity to go to the Philippines on a humanitarian mission with the Army. I really wanted Chris to write this post, but he is always so busy, and when he is not busy, he is too tired from being busy. So, I will attempt to muddle through his 2 1/2 week trip. I apologize in advance if I get some things wrong. He took hundreds of pictures, and I tried to capture the essence of this trip. The Military sent out a group of about 20; including doctors (Pediatricians, Optometrists, Veterinarians) dentists, Pharmacy Techs, RNs, assistants and security. They visited 5 cities (or villages), staying at each one between 2-5 days each. He didn't have a phone to call me but he had spotty internet, so I received an e-mail from him every few days describing his experiences. He was hot and tired a lot of the time. He said it reminded him a lot of his mission in India.His working conditions weren't the best. It was very hot and humid working in these make-shift clinics. He was grateful when his hotel room had air conditioning. His patients were about half adults and half kids. In the few e-mails I received he complained about his hands hurting from doing so many extractions.

He loved working and playing with the kids.
I thought this picture was funny. If you are going to use the coffin, I certainly wouldn't want it back :)
The markets there were insane. There were some other pictures with boxes full of fish all over the ground. I can't imagine doing my grocery shopping like this.
Open wide!

On one mission they had to be flown to another island. They flew in a Marines helicopter (you know, the ones with the double blades). Chris got some amazing aerial pictures.

Chris told me that something that really touched him was how grateful the people were. He told me that it made him feel like he was making a difference. I guess it's not the same as here in the states. We take things like medical and dental care for granted, and we dread having to visit a doctor. Chris told me there were actually lines outside their tents for patients to be seen.

Here is Chris just messing around on a motorcycle. This is probably the closest he will ever get to riding one.

I'm not sure, but I think this picture is taken with some people from the Filipino Army. I know he worked with 2 other Filipino dentists, as well as 2 other American dentists. He said between the 5 of them they were seeing about 400 patients a day.

What an amazing experience he had. He has always dreamed of doing work like this, but we always thought it would be after he retired. We are so lucky for Chris to be able to fulfil some of his dreams, while the Army foots the bill :) Chris said it was very fulfilling work, but it was also very hard work. He says he might need a year to recover from this mission before he volunteers for another one. He is hoping to go to Nepal next.