HEALTH

Nobody was sure if anyone would come. They put flyers - printed in Spanish - where they thought they'd be seen. But no one knew.

Not to worry. They saw. They came. And they experienced love in the name of Jesus.

It was a hot afternoon in Fitzgerald. Women from the Georgia Baptist Nursing Fellowship had spent the day setting up tables, booths and games. Other volunteers were cooking hotdogs and tacos.

But it was the big, white trailer in the back parking lot where participants headed. Most of them spoke only Spanish, but they knew they wanted to see the "dentista."

Diana Brown set up the "big, white trailer," otherwise known as the Georgia Baptist Mobile Health Unit, with a variety of instruments: amalgam, composite, extraction and screening.

"People can find medical health care, but not dental help," said Brown, coordinator of the mobile health unit. "There are so many people God intends for us to help, because they are not able to help themselves."

Fitzgerald has seen a recent increase in the Hispanic population. But there is no church available to them. Arbor Church opened their buildings to provide a free health clinic for the Hispanic community.

"It's the free dental work that helps attract people," explained Lloyd Stembridge, pastor of Arbor Church. "Our goal is to start a Hispanic Baptist mission. We're using this to begin to meet and connect with the Hispanic community."

While moms and dads sat in chairs waiting their turns in the dental trailer, volunteers played games with their children. They taught them songs, told them stories about Jesus.

And even though mom may have left with a hole in her mouth, she was smiling along with her children.

Did you know...

The mobile health unit is available to churches and associations who want to provide this ministry to the community. Charles and Diana Brown, members of Mt. Zion Church in Canton, have not only scheduled the use of the unit, but also provided help on site for the past five years.

"We feel this is what God would have us do," Diana Brown said. But they are praying for another couple to work with them and, possibly take over the ministry one day.

In the meantime, the mobile health unit, supported through the Cooperative Program, is available in 2004. For scheduling information, contact Diana Brown at dbrown@gabaptist.org or (770) 936-5217 or 1 (800) RING-GBC.

Your church's giving through the Cooperative Program is vital to the missions and ministries of the GBC and the Southern Baptist Convention.

For more information or to order free educational materials on the Cooperative Program, contact the GBC Cooperative Program office at ahill@gabaptist.org or (770) 936-5240 or at 1 (800) RING-GBC.

You and your church may send Cooperative Program gifts to:

Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director
Georgia Baptist Convention
2930 Flowers Rd., South
Atlanta, GA 30341-5532