Published: February 15, 2008 03:08 pm            

Reasons to smile

Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

These days, having a reason to smile can be hard for some people. A Parker County couple has come up with a way to give several people reasons to smile.

Everyone knows when you look good, you feel good, and smiling can be contagious.

But when you feel you don’t look your best, a reason to smile may be hard to find.

In 2004, Robbie and John Evans helped a fellow church member with a dentist bill.

The couple said they thought it was the right thing to do.

The woman repaid the couple by cleaning their house for the following two years at $50 each month.

The couple then ran into a recovering methamphetamine addict who needed extensive dental work.

“His teeth were rotted,” Robbie said.

She called a local dentist who offered to skip a $3,000 fee to help the man.

“We just asked the Lord to help,” Robbie said. “And it just blossomed from there.”

Since that time, the couple created Kingdom Smiles, which became a non-profit organization in 2006. The organization has helped 87 people with dental bills who need help fast.

“We try to help those who have emergency needs,” she said. “An abscessed tooth requires immediate attention and is a health issue.”

Kingdom Smiles does not have overhead because the couple runs the organization out of their home.

“There’s no rent, no utilities and we get help from the United Way of Parker County,” she said. “Without the United Way, we wouldn’t have been able to run it last year. It’s definitely helping Parker County residents who can’t afford it.”

The Evans don’t give away the services, local dentists offer their expertise to lend the patient a hand up, although the patient is required to pay for a sum of the work.

“We ask the clients to donate at least a portion of the costs,” she said.

The couple feels they were called to establish Kingdom Smiles on a godly note.

“Because the Holy Spirit gave us this ministry,” John said. “It’s a Holy Spirit-driven ministry. We all have good ideas to volunteer and do things like that, but when the Holy Spirit tells you to do something — that’s the highest good.”

Kingdom Smiles even tries to help those who do not live in Parker County or do not qualify for assistance through the program.

“We make sure they get help in one way or another,” Robbie said.

There have been about 100 people who the organization could not help, but were directed to other organizations or received counseling.

Dr. William Reeves was the first dentist to donated services to help clients through the organization.

Reeves helped the recovering meth addict and Tasha Bryant, who recently sought help for an abscessed tooth.

Reeves saw the man for several appointments over a six-month time frame.

“When we came to him, [Reeves] said, ‘set it up, we’ll do it,’” Robbie said. “Because of his heart, the man gained so much self confidence. Afterward, he got a good job and has stayed off meth. Sometimes they just get into a black hole and just get deeper and deeper. What we do at Kingdom Smiles is give them hope.”

Reeves volunteered his services because he thought it was the right thing to do.

“I just thought it needed to be done,” Reeves said.

At her follow-up examination, Bryant said she was appreciative for the help Kingdom Smiles gave her and for the services performed by Dr. Reeves.

The pain kept Bryant awake, although she knew she could not afford treatment.

“I cried because of the pain,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep or eat. It was bad. Now I can sleep better.”

Reeves has helped eight Kingdom Smiles clients on a sliding scale, which is not near the cost of what it should have been.

To contact Kingdom Smiles, call (940) 328-5988.

        

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