Two hundred excited children have received dental checks for the first time in their lives, as Logos Hope’s volunteers partnered with local organisations to reach out to disadvantaged areas of Vitória.

The ship’s onboard dentist joined forces with another dentist who practises near a daycare centre. While they provided the health check for the young people, crewmembers told the kids about personal hygiene and shared their faith with them in fun ways.

Shirley Alegria, who founded the daycare centre, says: “Before today, most of the children had never seen a dentist. They are also not taught about good hygiene in school or at home, so it’s important that we are bringing this new information to them.”

Initially, there were some technical issues with the dental equipment but crewmember Lana Serebrennikova (Central Asia) urged everyone not to be discouraged. “Even though the equipment is not working as we planned, God is doing something bigger and I know that something big is happening right now,” she told the team.

The difficulties were resolved by lunchtime, and something bigger had indeed happened. The local dentist made a promise to organise a free visit to a professional clinic for each of the children when their next annual check-up is due.

Jason Law (East Asia Pacific) says: “It’s so special how our visit initiated a brand new ministry in the daycare centre. We were told that this community is often overlooked, but now there are so many people who want to take care of them.”

Crewmembers also used the opportunity to share God’s love. Sophia Cho (South Korea) was playing with a boy, Kaike, and told him how much Jesus loves and cares for him. “I asked him if he believes it and he said ‘yes’ right away! I was shocked at his quick answer, but I remembered never to doubt a child’s faith, because it’s real. So, together, we prayed for Jesus to come into his heart,” says Sophia. “I’m sure that the Holy Spirit is working in all these children. It could be 50 years from now, but I know He will work in them.”