"All I Want for Christmas"

Well Christmas is fast approaching and I am sure, if you are anything like us, things just get busier each day. Life here is filled with a great deal of excitement as we do Christmas parties each day for the kids! What a privilege it is to be able to give these kids a little joy, tell them about the true meaning of Christmas and of course give out tons of presents! Seeing their faces light up as they receive those gifts and watching them rip the boxes or bags open to see whats inside is such a pleasure.

It was actually at one of our Christmas parties on Saturday, at Zau, a large girls orphanage that I was faced with the opportunity for a very special type of Christmas gift. As you know, throughout the year we spend each week visiting and running programs in the orphanages and group homes in Mures county. Through this an endless stream of needs come across our paths- we help where we can with clothes, food, money and medicine but one of the greatest needs is in the area of dentistry. Years of poor dental hygiene and never having access to a dentist has left many of these kids and teenagers with a wealth of dental problems. Each week we take kids to the dentist to deal with emergency needs but every once in a while we come across someone who needs more than a tooth filled, pulled, or replaced.


Valentina is a 19 year old girl I have known for some time. She is shy and retiring in many ways but more recently I have noticed there is a bubbly young lady inside who is desperate to come out. I have often looked at her teeth and wanted to do something to help her but I knew that the cost would be far beyond what we are able to spend on dentistry needs in a month! I must admit that I am at fault and haven't done anything yet because I just thought it was an impossible case but on Saturday at that party I realized I had to try and help her in some way.

Some of the other girls at the orphanage told me that they regularly hear her crying about how ugly she is, how disgusting her teeth are and how nobody wants to be around her. She often sits alone and tells the girls that nobody would ever want her because of how awful she looks. When I heard this I found it hard not to cry. I'm sure if she knew the song she would sing it at the top of her voice, all I want for Christmas is a mouth full of teeth! I know that this would be the best Christmas present we could ever give her.