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Ayuda Expedition to Care for Cambodian International Missionaries

The private, nonprofit dental service organization Ayuda organized an expedition November 7 through 9, 2002, at the request of Dr. Ralph Francis in Cambodia. Its purpose was to meet the dental needs of prospective Cambodian missionaries.

This was the first trip for Ayuda volunteers after 34 years that was devoted exclusively to treating members of the Church in a foreign country. Elder Ralph Francis, DDS, and Sister Charla Francis, who are serving a humanitarian mission in Phnom Penh, organized the weeklong dental clinic. They treated full-time Cambodian missionaries serving in their native land. Along with members from 13 branches, nearly one hundred perspective missionaries were seen, for a total of 503 patients treated. The seven dentists and five auxiliary team members were as follows: Cory Stark, DDS, and Sheryl Stark, Sandy, Utah; Richard and Jeanine Gunn, Provo, Utah; Greg Garn, DDS, Mesa, Arizona; Paul Fillmore, DDS, Mesa, Arizona; Russ Relyea, DDS, Boise, Idaho; Harris Done, DDS, Anaheim, California; Holly Tanner, Cortez, Colorado; Craig Smith, DDS, Lindon, Utah; Richard Smith, DDS, and Norma Smith, Provo, Utah. And of course it couldn't have been done without the assistance of some of the young Cambodians and the elder and sister missionaries serving there.

In this war-torn and destroyed kingdom there is a sense of self-determination and a willingness on the part of the young and the old to do all they can to lift themselves up, and to hold their heads high. But they have a long way to go. It was very rewarding to be a part of that process, and to see happy people and a wonderful culture. The Church is growing very fast there. The Book of Mormon was just translated into Khmer in November 2001. The first chapel to be owned by the Church had a groundbreaking in December 2002. The missionaries are baptizing nearly 1,500 people a year.

This was really a life-changing experience and was very rewarding to treat such a sweet and loving people.

By Richard Smith, liaison to Ralph Francis from the Dental Task Committee of LDS Charities

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