Home stretch

For the past week or so, I've been working with Scott Booth and his wife, a dentist and dental assistant, translating for them as they see a multitude of patients who are in desperate need of dental care. The Booths have been coming to Ahuas for the past 7 years, doing fillings and root canals along with some heavy duty cleanings (Scott likes to refer to some as “archeological digs”). Aside from the interesting experience of translating a bunch of dental terms that I've had to learn along the way, the one takeaway that I have is: brush your teeth. Brush them often. And floss, too, while you're at it. Seriously. Some of the patients have been downright disheartening – the worst being a 12 year old girl with 16 cavities who will need a full set of dentures before the age of 20. This is not uncommon.

I've also been helping the clinic's administrators with their bookkeeping and electronic accounting. Several figures stand out to me as I've been going over the yearly budget. The clinic's yearly operating budget is somewhere around $520,000. This includes salaries for 2 doctors, nurses, all prescriptions, 200+ major surgeries, 600+ minor surgeries, 100-200 deliveries, on top of over 6000 outpatient appointments.
The average salary for a family practice physician in the US is around $180,000.

The average salary for a specialist in the US is $250,000+.

Does something seem wrong with that to you?

I recognize that the following is just my opinion, and some of you may disagree with me. However, consider the impact of a group of seven family physicians (remember, family physicians earn the least among all physicians) who commit to living on $100,000 a year. I think most of us can agree that $100,000/year is enough to provide for, at the very least, all the necessities and a moderately comfortable lifestyle. Yes, giving $80,000 a year is a significant amount of money. But we are called to honor God with all that he blesses us with - and I firmly believe that those who are blessed with skills that allow them to earn a higher income have an even greater responsibility to bless others in turn. This hypothetical group of seven physicians would be able to support an entire clinic in a developing country, with no outside support, and provide that amount of care...free of charge. A group of specialists could have an even greater reach, not to mention those in the business world or otherwise.

So why doesn't this happen more often?

I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I'm young, naïve, and idealistic. Maybe it's because I just don't realize how much things cost in the real world. Maybe it's the attitude that just one person, or a few people, can't really have that big of an impact. Maybe I'm ignoring just how fun a comfortable lifestyle is. But maybe...maybe it's because people get too set in their comfortable lifestyle. Maybe it's because they're afraid of giving so much that they'll have to start giving up things of their own. Maybe there's a problem with the attitude of the “American dream” – a nice, big house, in a nice, quiet neighborhood, with nice, quiet neighbors. Removed from the problems of a city. Removed from brokenness and desperation. Removed from those that are hurting, but who don't know the healing power of faith.

Jesus didn't live like that.

I would argue that as Christians, we're called to live differently. We're called to take care of the poor and the widows. We're called to care for the foreigners in our midst. I've never read anything about how we're exempt from doing this if it would leave us not having “enough” to make our lives “comfortable.” The American dream tells us to raise our family in the safest possible area that we can – safest meaning isolation from brokenness, evil, poverty, anything that may be perceived as “dangerous” in the typical meaning to you or your family. I would argue this lifestyle carries dangers and risks of an entirely different kind...risks that your children will grow up so sheltered, so comfortable, that they may fail to see to see and understand the need for God in this broken world. When their surroundings provide all the comfort they need...what reason will they have to turn to God for comfort when things go poorly?

Please understand that I'm not trying to judge people's own spending habits or lifestyles. I'm just sharing reflections with you all as I begin to shape my own. It's my hope that they might challenge you a bit, and help you to take a fresh look at the world around you... and not just at your immediate surroundings. I'm talking the whole picture – the real deal – with brokenness, evil, poverty, discrimination...the uncomfortable parts included. That being said, I know I'm 22 years old, with a very small amount of real world experience. The only thing I understand with much confidence at this point is that there's a heck of a lot more that I still have to learn.

Also- I think you can see exactly where I'm posting from by clicking on the "location" at the end of this post, if you're curious. (it should say Honduras).

Location:Honduras