[img_assist|nid=7189|title=Medical Missions|desc=A dentist from First DeRidder medical mission team works on a childs mouth during a 2010 mission trip to Honduras in partnership with the Baptist Medical Dental Mission International, which is planning its annual meeting in Shreveport on April 7-10.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]By Staff, Baptist Message
DERIDDER – First Baptist Church sent one of more than 50 medical/dental (and other ministries) mission teams to Honduras and Nicaragua in 2010, as part of the national Baptist Medical Dental Mission International that is based in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The 70 or more people from First DeRidder paid about $1,600 each, in addition to buying supplies packed onto 12 pallets shipped two months earlier, so they would have what they needed when they arrived.
They’ve been doing this since the mid-1980s, in a mission endeavor started by Henry Carter M.D., a First DeRidder member. His cousin got him involved, said Rod Pollard, team captain for 10 years.
In 2010, the mission team subdivided into 10 units:
Evangelism reported 327 professions of faith in Jesus; Vets took care of 311 animals and saw 13 POF; 970 youngsters participated in childrens’ activities and 62 of them made POFs.
In addition, the eyeglasses team saw 1,023 patients; Dentists saw 335; Doctors and nurses saw 3,262; and the pharmacy filled 16,556 prescriptions.
The kitchen crew prepared 13 meals for more than 100 people per meal. The construction team put on a roof on a church in one day. The shoes and clothing group gave away 1,000 girls’ dresses, 3,500 pair of shoes, hundreds of marbles sets, and countless dolls and children’s clothes.
Eight cases of Bibles were distributed too.
To join the 2011 team June 25-July 2, call Pollard at 337.463.4001