One evening, while Sharlene Wiebe - a voluntary service worker with MCC - was riding her bicycle in the Cambodian countryside, she passed a village where one little boy caught her eye.

"The moment I saw this little eight year old boy with an unrepaired cleft palate, my heart went out to him," Sharlene says. "At home, this would have been surgically treated when he was just months old."

The boy was called Chebb - which translates as 'cleft.' That evening, Sharlene picked up a Medicam magazine and read a small paragraph about Operation Smile - an organization which provides reconstructive facial surgery to children and adults - coming to Cambodia.

She couldn't wait to tell her team member, Luxe. Together, they found Chebb's parents and received permission to take him to the capital, Phnom Penh, for surgery. They also discovered 15 more children and two young adult women who also went along - and in the end, they all had their smiles restored.

When the surgery was over, Chebb's father could not stop smiling.

"He was so happy - like a huge load had been lifted," she said. "He came and put his arms around me and said the few words he knew in English: 'I love you.'" Sharlene knew this highly unusual display was his way of communicating his thanks to all those who had shown concern.

"I felt like such a small link," Sharlene said. "But one doctor pointed out to me that there are no big and small links in a chain; every link is equally important."

Before this event, Sharlene's prayer was that she'd be able to live - and love - as Jesus did.

"I believe that prayer was answered," she said.

"What a privilege it was for me to experience God at work, and to see the links in the chain."

Mission Fields Spring 2007