I knew I should have taken out my wisdom tooth while I was in the States. But due to all the busyness and procrastination, I never got to it. Then last week, I felt a sharp pain in my mouth when I woke up one morning. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed that my gums were bleeding. Pretty much, I found out that there was no more room for the wisdom tooth that was growing in my mouth; therefore the tooth ended up busting through my gums and got an infection.
After a week of antibiotics, I was now ready to take out my wisdom tooth. I had two criteria for the oral surgeon: 1) They can speak English, 2) They studied overseas. The first criterion was easy but the 2nd one was a bit harder to find out, so I decided to go by faith.
As I was waiting for my appointment, I started to get nervous. I guess being in the hospital and seeing all the people, just got me thinking. What if the doctor doesn’t know what they are doing? Doesn’t Indonesia have good healthcare? Shouldn’t I be waiting until I get back into the States? The thoughts ran rampant, until I was called into the surgery room.
With some hesitation and not knowing what to expect, the nurses started to prep me for the oral surgery. The doctor came in and we started talking. I told her that I was a pastor and that I am hoping that things will go smoothly because I need to be able to talk as quickly as possible because I had to speak at various gatherings throughout this week.
Then the doctor said something that surprised me. She said that she was also a minister and that she focused on reaching out to the poor in Jakarta. I can’t really explain it, but all of a sudden I started to have peace in my heart that things will go well. I don’t know what it was – maybe it was the thought that she would take extra precautions knowing that I was a fellow preacher 🙂
After a successful surgery, she began to share her testimony. It was a powerful testimony of God arresting her heart and how she responded by surrendering her life to serve God for the rest of her life. In fact, God used the sickness of her father to bring her to her knees.
It was pretty awesome knowing that we were having “church” right there in the office (both of us got misty eyed). As I was leaving, we exchanged contact information and then she gave me a 50% discount which was HUGE! I was so blessed.
But in the midst of the blessings, I had to repent of my attitude – not only because of my American-centered attitude of not trusting the healthcare here, but also for not having faith that God would take care of me. The only way for God to speak to me was through a fellow minister who was bi-vocational. God also demonstrated His generosity and grace through her. I was truly humbled. Now, I am waiting for a quick recovery.