don't you love it when God shows you exactly what to do with your life?

this week on thursday and friday, the 6th and 7th of August, i made a return visit to chicago for 3 very specific reasons.

1. to visit my best friend anne halliday, and celebrate her 24th birthday with her
2. to see the lawndale dental clinic and health clinic with rachel
3. to visit my old coworkers from dr. cabrera's office and catch up with them

i spent a full day at the fair with my mom and granny on thursday, which was really fun, so i was already exhausted when i was driving down to chicago at 8pm. the good thing was that i didn't hit any traffic and even construction didn't slow my travel time down by too much. thank goodness!

i got to anne and rachel's place, chatted with rachel a bit and gave annie her bday gift (i really think she loved it, and it was so cute on her!), then we quickly headed to bed as we had an early morning on friday.

friday i drove into work with rachel (while listening to christian hip-hop, i must add! it was kinda hilarious and kinda awesome all at once), and it was a start to one of the greatest days! rachel is interning at the lawndale christian health clinic, a beautiful non-profit clinic started by Lawndale Christian Church. i did a week long mission trip through the church back in college, called "cup" or "chicago urban project," which was honestly a life-changing experience. it was during that quick week that my heart was completely broken for the poor and the underserved areas, and i knew without a doubt that was where God was leading me to do my life's ministry.

(hopefully i can add some CUP pictures, as i don't even have any posted on fb! on the old hard drive, so i have to find them.)

the clinic basically gives free services to those who qualify and can't afford them, provides jobs to people in the community, while allowing doctors, dentists, opthamologists, nurses, etc. to serve the people and show them Christ's love. in a nutshell, it's completely AWESOME, and i think has been a huge boost to the neighborhood. (Note: the west side of chicago isn't exactly a peachy, i'd-like-to-live-there kind of neighborhood. it used to be THE projects, but thanks to LCC has really turned around, given people a reason to make goals and get out of the community, better equip themselves for life, and move back in to make a change for good).

(you should visit the website and see pictures and stuff...www.lawndale.org)

onto the story... rachel gave me an awesome tour of the facilities, which it seems were largely built by members of the community, and are fairly cramped, but nice. when we got to the front lobby, it was time for Praise & Worship! i'd say it was 8-10 people; mainly the interns, rachel and i, a couple other staff workers, and a man that had an incredible testimony of how Jesus changed his life around after 45 years of drug addiction-i would have bet you a million dollars you couldn't have found a more joyful man. we spent about 15 minutes just singing praises to God, and circling up in prayer to start the day on a good note, giving God the glory. how many health centers have you been to where people are publicly and loudly worshipping God in the front lobby when you walk in? that's what i thought. it was refreshing, and got me more excited for what was to come in the day.

after touring, rachel dropped me off at the dental/eye clinic across the street, next to the church. it's REALLY small. the two professions share one space, and there are only 3 dental chairs to work out of. i shadowed a super outgoing, really nice dentist, and i will follow with the highlights:

(aka: this is how Jesus led me directly into what i now know i'm supposed to do after dental school)

1. the dentist said, "there are 3 things i do when i seat kids in the chair- 1. i ask them what they want to be when they grow up, 2. i ask them if they know who Jesus Christ is, 3. i check their teeth. always in that order!"

-i love that he has the opportunity daily to inspire children (and adults) to dream big and work toward their goals. he told one little 7 year old girl, "you know you can do all things through Christ Jesus, right?" and she shyly smiled and nodded.

-i also love that he gets to share the gospel with every patient, and see how they are doing spiritually, as well as physically, and let them know WHY he is doing dentistry in this setting, serving the community because Jesus tells us to. to God be the glory.

2. the dentist told me now that i've visited the Lawndale Community Health Center, i have a home there, and am always welcome to come back!

-i totally want to come back, and i firmly believe God has led me into dentistry to do exactly this kind of work.

3. the dentist, his assistant and i were able to pray for his patient in the chair!!! she sat down for a filling and said, "doctor i'm so nervous. i love ya, but i hate havin' to see ya." he chuckled and she said, "why haven't you prayed for me yet!?!" he responded with, "well, we can always pray!" grabbed her hand, we made a circle and prayed for her fears, and for God to work through the dentist's hands and eyes while he was doing God's work.

-i think prayer is a much more effective means of controlling patient fears than nitrous oxide, but that's just me.

so, that's my story of how i know what i want to do after dental school. i don't know if God will open the doors to lead me exactly to lawndale or not, but i am confident that i will end up in a similar setting to that one. crazy religious zealot, huh? yeah, i know. i promise i don't bite.

after the lawndale visit, i went to visit the periodontic office i used to work at, and had lunch with dr. cabrera and guadalis. it was great catching up with them! i think we exhausted just about every possible topic of conversation, from politics to school to the weather, which was rain btw.

i spent the evening at a rooftop engagement party for andrew and sara, which was really nice. everyone brought a dish to pass, the view was spectacular, the company was fun (as was the music) and the hosts catered to their guests like pros. anne, rachel, matt and i planned on going out to get a drink after that to celebrate anne's bday, but circumstances arose which made this unfeasible, so we ended up just hanging out at her apartment.

then i sleepily drove back to wisconsin! it certainly felt like those 2 days were my weekend, but the weekend didn't actually start until today. yay!