I visited the dentist today. I hadn't been happy with the work done by the dentist I had been going to, so I went to a new dentist. I had just had a checkup done by the last dentist, so I knew what things in my mouth he wanted to fix. (Namely, two more fillings. I've been fearing/looking forward to the day that I run out of teeth to put more fillings in.)

The new dentist looked at my mouth and said it needed a lot of work. He asked if I wanted a list. I said sure. So an hour and a half later, he presented me with an itemized, prioritized list of the dental work that he wanted to do to my mouth. Quoting cavities, decay, brittle teeth, and loose and broken exisiting fillings, the new dentist totaled up his proposed list of 9 composite fillings, two root canals, one overlay, and nine crowns.

$13,196.

Since I'm a missionary, I do get a discount. That takes it down to $11, 261.

That's FOUR SEMESTERS OF COLLEGE or THREE CARS or 8 REALLY NICE LAPTOPS or TWO CHURCHES IN ASIA. More than one of my supporters LIVE on $13,000 a year.

Yes, I know. I'm shouting.