Dentist bound for the Amazon

Lori and Mark Francis.

This summer, Sisters dentist Dr. Mark Francis will forsake the comforts of home and brave the wilds of the Amazon region.

His two-week long trip will not be some exotic vacation, but rather a labor of love. Francis will be providing dental care -- mostly in the form of extractions -- to native people living along the vast river.

"I heard about this opportunity about six months ago," said Francis. "There is a church in Montana that has been sponsoring medical/dental missions trips for a project called 'Luz de la Amazonia.'"

The project is run by a group in Brazil called the Brazilian Bible Society.

The Bible Society is constantly looking for people with medical and dental skills to come and do short stints aboard a boat that cruises up and down the Amazon River.

They provide the boat, and Faith Chapel provides the personnel.

"One of the hitches with this upcoming trip is that they have a fairly new boat," said Francis. "They need someone to work the bugs out and get it equipped and supplied.

"We are trying to take a lot of equipment, mostly oral surgical supplies, with us, since we don't know what will be on board. We are assuming they won't have much."

On July 3, Francis and his dental team --consisting of his dental assistant, Tina Wagner-Sult, and Dr. John Esser and his wife -- will fly into Belem, a large city at the mouth of the Amazon.

They will spend the next two weeks aboard the boat, administering dental care to the villages located along the river.

"The boat has the capacity for about 20 people," said Francis. "Four to five should be crew; then there will be two medical doctors plus the four of us.

"The rest will be lay people who will be doing vacation Bible schools in the village, as well as distributing food, clothing, and medical supplies."

Francis didn't know how far up the Amazon their boat would be traveling.

"I've been told to expect 17-hour work days, with up to 100 extractions a day," Francis explained.

"When we come to port, Dr. Esser will do triage and then send the patients to me for treatment."

In addition to pulling teeth, Dr. Francis will be capturing their adventure on film.

"Faith Chapel wanted someone who could document the outreach with video and camera," said Francis, "and put it together for future presentations.

"I happen to have a background in photography--I worked for National Geographic in the '80s, making a film about shark-proof diving suits. I also worked as an assistant to the photographer with the Living Ocean Society. I'm hoping to come back with some killer stuff."

In preparation for the trip, Francis has been raising funds and gathering dental supplies and equipment. He and his assistant need to raise about $5,000 between them.

He's also endured a bevy of shots.

"The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) maintains an ever-changing recommendation for necessary inoculations," said Francis. "I think I need about a dozen for this trip. So far, I've had immunizations for yellow fever, typhoid, and rabies . . ."

Francis wasn't concerned about contracting diseases, but he did express some anxiety about the isolation and lack of communication he would encounter.

"We are going to be on a boat floating down the Amazon with thousands of dollars worth of medical equipment on board," he said. "We could be an easy target."

"Emergency contact will be non-existent," added his wife Lori. "We've never been more than a few days apart, the lack of communication will be hard for me."

So what would induce a man to leave his loving family and comfortable practice and spend two weeks floating through the jungle?

"When I applied to dental school, I didn't think I had much chance of getting in," said Francis. "So I told God I'd pay Him back someday if it happened -- and it did. This trip seemed to be a good opportunity to thank God, and it's a good fit for me and my abilities."

For more information call 549-9486.