Jesse A. Schroeder

I had a routine checkup at the dentist this morning. The hygienist was asking me questions about my summer plans, if I was traveling anywhere, etc., and I mentioned our trip to Guatemala. She kept cleaning, and then asked a few more questions about where we go and what we do. I shared a few basic details.

Then she asked if we could use any toothpaste. I said we can use whatever we get, and toothpaste is great! She went into the storage room, and came out with about 120 small toothpastes! The toothpaste had an "expiration date" on the box, and so they could no longer give them to patients. But they were perfectly fine.

Then my dentist came in a started to talk with me about how he wants to visit Guatemala, and Cambodia (which many of you know is where my brother and sister-in-law are right now), and we talked for about 15 minutes about different organizations around the world.

I love these conversations. I love sharing about what we do, and I love giving people the opportunity to be generous. I love providing outlets in which the excess and superfluous American materialism can be passed along and become a blessing to other people.

We aren't planning to do hygiene bags, or give away toothpaste this year, but I'm sure we can find a use for all this toothpaste!! Maybe if we talk about the story of "Daniel in the Lion's Den" we can do a little lesson on keeping your teeth clean, just like the lion's teeth had to be clean :)