Mexico Mission Trip 2026

It was so wonderful to go back to Quintana Roo, Cancun and to be able to continue taking care of the needs of the people there. Father Gregory Woodward Pastor and Australian Priest other helpful people coordinate the schedule for the Dental Mission week.

We give out 65 pairs of reading glasses between The Immaculate Conception Church and the community of The Divine Nino Chapel which is in a very small nearby town. So many people were very happy to be able to see better.

As part of this visit, we visited 5 very poor and sick families and brought groceries and prayed with them.  Sadly, five members of this group have cancer.  They were pleased that Carina, Nilma, and I came and prayed with them.  I hope we brought them comfort from the ravages of this disease.

At the Dental Clinic, I worked again with Dr. Fanny Chang and Dr. Dana Adrian, two very sweet ladies who donated their time and hard work to help me provide dental care, cleaning, extractions, and restorations) to 110 patients.  During these treatments, patients received information about better techniques to improve their dental health.

Individually one patient had to have six front teeth removed because they have broken off a while ago, we were able to extract some of them at the mission, but the others will be done later after X-rays are done.  Dr. Fanny has her Dental office in Cancun, which makes it easier to have further work done for the patients and to get his new upper denture. HEALTHY TEETH will pay for the new denture which will help the patients self-esteem and smile in a few weeks.

The weather was very hot and humid.  We are nearby  Cancun Resort Aerea but in a very poor community.  Air Conditioning is non-existing in many places.  We did reach our goal of taking care of the patients.

Every mission has its own unique stories.  Mi First opportunity was at the Immigration office when I arrived.  Not matter how hard I tried, the officers decided I needed to pay taxes on the toothbrushes, eyes glass a toy for the children that we had brough for the missions' families.  It seemed so unfair that we had to use donated money for the people's health to pay taxes on the items.

Father Gregory was so helpful driving us wherever we needed to be and maintaining his usual priestly schedule.  One afternoon, however, someone broke into his car and stole his car battery which he had just purchased the week before.  This event created a lot of stress, upheaval and changes but we managed to finish to work.

On Sunday, our last day, our vitally important dental unit broke.  We had prepared for the mission by having the company repairman check the unit 1 month before my trip.  It was very disappointing but we managed to complete our work.

I would like to Thank the Ultra dent Dental Company who donated Fluoride and Dental materials to help restore cavities.   Thank you to Father Gregory, Carina, Nilma, Dr. Fanny Chang, Dr. Dana Adrian, Alicia and Manuel for their support and help during my visit.  Also, Eli Tum and Norma who helped the people with finding the correct reading glasses.

God Bless you all.

Scarlet Sandoval