Dr. Noel Fuller has recently applied to the ADA for Ultimate Vacation Ministries to be recognized as a continuing educational program.
Following is the history and goal included in the application.
According to the Christian Medical Dental Association, the number one physical pain in the world today is tooth related, and yet, less than 1% of the US dentists have ever been on a foreign mission trip. Most of the ministries that utilize dentists will overwork their few volunteers with numerous extractions. After several days at this pace the dentist returns home exhausted with a swollen hand; therefore, return trips to the mission field are not a common occurrence. Dr Noel Fuller has been on several of these tough encounters himself, and felt like quitting; however, he had a clear calling to minister to the underprivileged people with more than extractions – endo and restorations on anteriors.
Over the past 30 years Fuller has been privileged to take 35 different foreign mission trips. He has learned that when someone is relieved of dental pain, their “ear gate” opens, and they can receive the gift of faith. It was in 1993, while Fuller was in Colombia, S. America, praying about the people in pain and the few volunteers available, that the Lord revealed to him the vision that would become Ultimate Vacation Ministries, Inc. (UVM). The Lord’s clear direction to Fuller was to establish a tax exempt ministry that would: recruit volunteer dentists, train them in using portable dental units, encourage them to work hard if a few days in primitive areas, then schedule a couple days of rest, relaxation, and reflection, returning home inspired, with continuing education credits and a tax deduction. It was after this vision that the Lord opened doors for ministries for both the indigenous people groups of Guyana, S. America, and the orphans of the Nairobi, Kenya area. Both of these countries are English speaking, which eliminated the language barrier that exist in most foreign mission areas.
After seven sets of IRS questions, UVM received tax exempt status, and ironically this happened while Fuller was in Kenya during the month of July, 2006. That began the exciting excursion of faith, mingled with onslaughts of spiritual warfare, but UVM has prevailed by the Lord’s grace and protection. The doors opened for UVM to meet the strict governmental and legal requirements of Kenya and Guyana, and dental equipment has been shipped to both countries. UVM is now waiting for funding , seeking continuing education accreditation status through the American Dental Association, so we can build an interactive web site, linked to the ADA, for the recruitment of volunteer dentists. The Minister of Health in Guyana has graciously given UVM permission to reach ALL of the interior regions with the Gospel; he said, “Our people need to hear about Jesus before he returns”. In Kenya, Duncan Odupoy, who has a heart for orphans, was sponsored through dental school by Fuller, and is now working with orphans in the Nairobi area. Duncan is on the UVM board of directors, and he has tremendous vision for expanding the UVM ministry in Kenya.
UVM has a threefold purpose: 1) recruit dentists, train them, and bless them with an experience that is worth repeating as they help the hopeless, 2) increase the foreign dentist mission involvement from 1% to 7% by 2020, and 3) minister to the dental/medical and spiritual needs of the underprivileged in both countries. UVM is praying that they will soon be able to order the Kodiak amphibian plane for Guyana that will be the first flying/floating dental clinic in the world, and eliminate a six hour boat trip to reach some of the interior regions. We plan on starting our mission involving other interested dentists in the summer of 2012, by training 2 or 3 dentists at the Guyana Dental School in effective utilization of portable dental equipment, and then accompanying them into the interior regions for clinical training on patients. As the ministry expands, we will do the same to reach the orphans of Kenya.
