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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 25th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2022> Dentist with a Crutch - Lin,Yi-Chao
Dentist with a Crutch - Lin,Yi-Chao
[Practicing medicine on the Eastern Taiwan with great love without distance]
The reason why I am willing to do this is because every time I give a free clinic, I am deeply moved by people: leaning on a crutch, I will go to every place where there are patients.
—Lin,Yi-Chao
 
Practicing medicine on the Eastern Taiwan
Lin Yichao, director of Hualien Lincon Dental Clinic, was born in Yuanlin Town, Changhua County in 1963. When he was ten months old, he was sent to Changhua Christian Hospital due to persistent high fever and continuous diarrhea. The doctor judged that there was little hope for him to recover.
At this time, a foreign missionary passed by and saw Father Lin on the verge of despair, so he pray for the child. The amazing thing was that after praying, Lin,Yi-Chao began to have his fever reduced, and his illness gradually improved. But it was still found that his left foot was weak and later was diagnosed by the doctor as having a polio.
He is the second of the four brothers in Lin family. He graduated from Yuanlin elementary school, Yuanlin junior high school, Jianguo High School and Kaohsiung Medical University with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in dentistry. He is currently the director of the Lincon Dental in Hualien, the eastern director of the Gideons International of the Republic of China, the director of the Hualien Dental Association and the founder of the Dad's Love for Family Association in Hualien County.
Although God gave Lin,Yi-Chao a incapable foot, he also gave him a smart brain, making him the first Jianguo High School student in the town, the first dentist, and the first doctor with crutch who promote the home medical care and medical practice in the Eastern Taiwan.
Although Lin,Yi-Chao had to rely on crutch walk, he was not limited with his determination to practice medicine and save people. As a sophomore, he began to participate in the rural medical group organized by the church every year and successively sent across the island to Ailan island and Lyudao island; Also cross the sea to Qinghai and Tibet; or provided cross-border medical services in India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya, Swaziland and and other places.
Not only that, Lin,Yi-Chao also extends his medical footprint to disabled patients who cannot go out to see a doctor. Every week, he and Lin Shuyi, a nurse, and others go up the mountain and down the seaside with equipment weighing more than 40 kilograms to see patients with disabilities at home. He has become the first dentist in Eastern Taiwan to invest in home medicine. He is eager to have more young dentists respond to the investment and help home medicine widely implemented in Taiwan.
Till now, Lin,Yi-Chao has been engaged in free clinic for 39 years. Adhering to the "doctor's parental heart", he has promoted home medical treatment as the first dentist in Eastern Taiwan, and also actively pushed the good father movement - establishing the loving father association, Crossing Island, border and nations such as Swaziland, he has practiced great love without distance, protecting life and dignity. He is worthy of the title of "Dentist with Crutches" and stood out from the 2954 candidates recommended by all walks of life around the world to win the "25th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award in 2022" of Taiwan Chou Ta-kuan cultural and educational foundation.
We always welcome all circles around the world to recommend life warriors that are hard-working, loving, courageous and with achievements. (recommendation line of Chou Ta-kuan cultural and educational foundation's  Fervent Global Love of Lives Award: 886-2-29178770, Fax: 886-2-29178768, Address: 3F., No.52, Mingde Rd., Xindian Dist., New Taipei City 231, Taiwan (R.O.C.), Website: http://www.ta.org.tw, e-mail: ta88ms17@gmail.com ).
 
Childhood that can't afford a 300 TWD vaccine
At that time, his father ran a small business. He had to cross mountains with a shoulder pole and do business in other places to earn money to support his family. As he was always on the run, the children in the family were taken care of by their grandmother.
In 1950s' Taiwan, the social economy and health care in rural areas were still quite backward, and polio was prevalent at that time.
Mr. Lin knew the severity of the disease. After the child was born, he also listened to the suggestions of many friends and agreed that he should take the child to get the vaccine as soon as possible. However, a dose of vaccine costs 300 TWD, which was almost the price of the whole rice of their family for a month.
His father was troubled by the money at home. At the same time, he also thought, "shouldn't I be so unlucky?" With such a fluke thought, bad luck came and changed Lin,Yi-Chao's life. Mr. Lin is still guilty even today about this. After all, any "if" can repair his past decision.
At that time, Lin,Yi-Chao, who was only ten months old, suddenly had symptoms of diarrhea and high fever for more than seven or eight consecutive days. His grandmother took him to a pediatrics clinic in a town. He was diagnosed with "unidentified fever epidemic" and received injections and drugs, but he didn't get better.
The grandmother, who was so worried but couldn't do anything, had to try everything she knew, seeking folk therapy, praying in the temple, asking for incense ash to mix into water and fed the child. Seeing that the child's condition was getting more and more serious - his small belly was bulging up, the grandmother had to told Mr. Lin the bad news. When Mr. Lin rushed home, the child was almost dying.
Mr. Lin hurriedly sent the seriously ill child to the emergency department of Changhua Christian church hospital. The doctor in the emergency department shook his head and sighed, "I'm afraid the child is hopeless..."
 
Miraculous rebirth from the belief of Jesus
Even doctors said they should give up treatment. Mr. Lin, who was on the verge of collapse, was heartbroken and helpless. He didn't know how to save his child.
At that time, a foreign missionary happened to pass by and saw the father in pain. He offered to pray for the boy and asked God to heal him.
With the last glimmer of hope, Mr. Lin prayed piously to God in front of the missionary: "if you can save my son's life, our whole family will be baptized and believe in Jesus in the future!
Maybe it was Mr. Lin's heartfelt prayer really heard. Lin,Yi-Chao's high fever for more than ten days began to subside slowly and he miraculously survived - miracle really happened!
Although the boy was lucky enough to survive, the doctor also found that "the child's left foot is paralyzed" and diagnosed that he had "poliomyelitis".
From then on, Lin,Yi-Chao had turned into a sick child who can only crawl on the ground from a naive and lively child who was learning to speak.
Faced with this result, although Mr. Lin was full of disappointment and helplessness, he still kept his promise and accepted the baptism of the Church, as the first Christian of the Lin family.
Mr. Lin was the first person to "believe in foreign religion" in this traditional rural village; and Lin,Yi-Chao was the only child in the village suffering from polio.
From then on, the Lin family was often ridiculed and laughed at by some ignorant and vicious neighbors in the village, and some even said: "It's the consequence of this family who did not worship their ancestors and went to believe in foreign religions!"
But, to Mr. Lin, the existence of this second son was exactly what Christ promised. As the Bible says, "children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalm 127:3)
 
The process of striving for knowledge
This lonely and self-abased childhood did not begin to change until he entered Yuanlin elementary school.
Before the third grade of elementary school, Lin,Yi-Chao was always one of the enlightenment class students before he returned to the ordinary class.
Lin,Yi-Chao said with a smile, "although God gave me incomplete feet, he also gave me this fairly smart brain, which made me feel a great sense of achievement in my schoolwork. Since then, those who ridiculed me, looked down on me and called me "lame" dare not bully me any more because I had the best results in study."
In 1975, Lin,Yi-Chao graduated with honor with the result of "the first place in the whole school" of Yuanlin elementary school, and then entered Yuanlin middle school.
The middle school students of that time had to work very hard if they wanted to get into a good high school; in order to fight for the high school entrance examination, Lin,Yi-Chao always stayed up late to study with his elder brother.
Seeing how hard the brothers worked in their study, to reward the children for their efforts, Mr. Lin often bought Yuanlin Town's famous delicacy "Xie Rice Cake" for them. It was a hard-earned enjoyment for the boys.
This "Xie rice cake" carried the father's love, care and expectations for his children. Even if Lin,Yi-Chao grew up and ate all kinds of delicious food, he still felt that the cake in his memory was unique and irreplaceable.
With this kind of hard work, the two brothers of the Lin family performed well in the exam - Lin,Yi-Chao's eldest brother was admitted to the No. 1 middle school; The next year, the school recommended Lin,Yi-Chao to challenge the North united examination and sure enough, he was successfully admitted to Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School.
This was a major event in the plain Yuanlin town at that time, which even published in the local newspaper, because Lin,Yi-Chao was not only the "first child to be admitted to Jianguo High School" in Yuanlin Town, but also the "top student of double lists" on the list of the No. 1 middle school.
Lin Yichao clearly remembers the scene at that time, and will always remember the feeling of glory. At that time, the principal of Yuanlin High School paid a special visit to the family with a scholarship, hoping that he could choose Yuanlin High School.
However, Mr. Lin declined the kindness of the principal politely. Although he knew that once his son went to study in the north, he would not be able to stay by his side, nor would he be able to see him every day, Mr. Lin still firmly said, "My son is going to study in Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School! "
 
Rare Jianguo High School student from small town
After going north to study in Jianguo High School, Lin,Yi-Chao began to live alone in a rented house. Hard to put it down, Mr. Lin asked a fellow church member from the same village, Aunt Ke, to help take care of him, who was so warm-hearted and took him to church together in addition to take care of him.
For a high school student who came from the countryside, Lin,Yi-Chao would inevitably have some withdrawal and low self-esteem. No matter what he did, he always felt unable to release himself.
Lin,Yi-Chao met a group of good friends, and got along well with his classmates. Few people made fun of his feet. In order to catch up with the excellent Taipei classmates, he often hesitated: "Do I still need to dedicate my precious time to God?" A thought come to his mind frequently: "This precious time, instead of going to church, I might as well spend it on studying some subjects, it's more useful!"
Lin Yichao cared very much about his academic performance; even more so from his father's point of view.
In Mr. Lin's heart, he has always held a sense of guilt for his son's disability, so if the child's grades are good enough, he will try everything he could to support him, so that his future road can be smoother.
Therefore, when Lin,Yi-Chao was facing an important hurdle in the college entrance examination, Mr. Lin decided to go north to accompany him for the exam.
Lin,Yi-Chao's first choice was to be admitted to the Department of Medicine and become a doctor in the future. This is a goal with a high score threshold, and he has always been under a lot of pressure; especially when Mr. Lin said he would come to accompany him in the exam, the pressure increased.
As a result, despite working hard for three years in high school, the night before the big exam he got so nervous that he couldn't sleep. The final score was not as good as expected, and he fell into the Department of Dentistry of Kaohsiung Medical University.
For Lin,Yi-Chao back then, this was another major frustration in his life, which made him depressed for quite a while, and even wanted to retake the exam again.
Later, it was because of the change in the regulations of the joint entrance examination the following year that he had to take an additional examination in physics, so he had to give up the re-examination and stay in the Department of Dentistry of Kaohsiung Medical University.
He smiled bitterly and said, "Although at today's society, dentists are respected, professional and well-paid. In the past, dentists were called "tooth guy" in the countryside, they were just people who could pull out or repair teeth for others, not being seem as a professional at all.
 
Being active in associations after entering Kaohsiung Medical University.
Before Lin,Yi-Chao entered the Kaohsiung Medical University, he buried himself in books all day, hoping to enter the ideal department.
He said with a smile, "after I entered the University, I finally gathered the courage to try to expand interpersonal relationships, and even served as the president of three societies in a row! These busy association experiences have also cultivated my ability to lead and command in the future. "
At that time, Lin,Yi-Chao was relieved from the heavy pressure of exam. His heart was like a bird out of the cage and wanted to try everything.
Personal interests, such as writing and literary appreciation, which were repressed by study in the past, all burst into light during this period. Lin, Yi-Chao said, "I have always liked writing with an inexplicable love for literature, and even once wanted to transfer to the Chinese department for this reason!"
When he was in university, Lin,Yi-Chao was so active in activities that he had a record of being judged unqualified by a professor because he skipped too many classes in a certain class. From then on, he learned how to strike a balance between schoolwork and activities - from then on, he didn't skip any classes, and the activities in students' associations also operated soundly.
When he graduated from college, Lin,Yi-Chao collected 30 or 40 bouquets of flowers alone and had to bother his younger fellow students to help him carry them. He was the star of the campus at that time.
"Serving others" has always been an important axis in Lin Yichao's life. This force prompted him to decide to form a "Chinese Christian Dentist Service" (CCDS) with several dentists who were also Christians at Mackay hospital after he started his business independently, serving not only the outlying islands of Taiwan, but also promoting medical services to poor areas overseas.
 
No fear of intimidation to publish the R & D report on the relationship between betel nut and oral cancer
In 1987, Lin,Yi-Chao graduated from Kaohsiung Medical University. Due to his disability, he could be exempted from military service, but he didn't want to take "Dentistry" as his lifelong career, so he continued to study at the Institute of dental medicine. At the same time, he secretly entered Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology and Hungkuang university  without telling his family, just to realize his dream of being a teacher.
At that time, the Institute of dentistry of Kaohsiung Medical University was just established, and only 10 people were enrolled in one session. Lin,Yi-Chao was a student of the third session. Other students chose the popular fields of "denture" and "tooth correction", and he chose the unpopular field of "Oral Pathology"
On the one hand, he just hoped to stay in the school as a teacher in the future; On the other hand, he was influenced by Professor Lin Li-Min, the guiding professor of Lin,Yi-Chao in those school years, who is also a Christian and very kind and caring for students.
Because Lin,Yi-Chao has great respect for Professor Lin, whose major is the research of "Oral Pathology", Lin,Yi-Chao then followed Professor Lin to explore the theme of "the relationship between betel nut and oral cancer".
Generally, only one paper was required for graduation, but in order to stay in the school as a teacher, Lin Yichao wrote three papers in total. The publication of the papers even made him be intimidated by the betel nut industry people. He made all kinds of efforts to accumulate academic strength and be affirmed by the school.
Unfortunately, there was no vacant posts of full-time teachers in the Medical College of his alma mater that year; Finally, Lin,Yi-Chao chose to teach in Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology because he had a dental doctor's license. The school gave him a "bonus for not opening the business" to teach courses such as "Oral Anatomy", "Oral Physiology" and "Oral Pathology".
At that time, Lin,Yi-Chao was full of enthusiasm and only wanted to cultivate talents and earn his status in academic research. However, after two years, he found that there was a big gap between his current work and his imagined "academic research".
During the class teaching, Lin Yichao gradually found that he was very interested in "clinical work", but he could only teach students with very elementary knowledge and could not do more in-depth research and clinical work. He felt that his dental academic specialty could no go any further.
In addition, his father constantly urged Lin,Yi-Chao to return home. Finally, he gave up his full-time teaching post in Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology and returned to his hometown to start business.
However, he had not given up his academic dream and still maintained the part-time course work of LGSJ, and the Kaohsiung Medical University also invited him to go back to the part-time course. In this way, he ran north and south continuously every semester in order not to give up his teaching dream.
In the end, due to the increasingly busy business of the clinic and more and more patients, considering it took three hours to go back and forth from Yuanlin to Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology for classes, he had to stop his teaching.
Starting from resisting dentists, he made a big turn, and returned to the profession of dentists. Lin,Yi-Chao said: "Maybe what I did at that time was a pursuit of false fame." as people always can't be satisfied with what they have.
 
Meet the right one and return to the hometown together
When Lin,Yi-Chao was active in the university communities, there were naturally girls fonded of him, but he still didn't expand his emotional world at that time.
Lin,Yi-Chao said with a wry smile, "in those days, I looked confident, but there was always a shadow in my heart. That was the sense of inferiority accumulated in my heart since childhood, which always existed. I was afraid of setbacks, rejection and even being humiliated. "
Until his sixth year in college, during his internship at Changhua Christian Hospital, he met Ms. Zhu, Yu-Fan, who was also a nurse in that hospital that year; But it was only when he graduated and had a formal job that he finally opened his heart and took a step forward.
Up to now, Lin,Yi-Chao still said proudly, "look at how beautiful and elegant Mrs. Lin was at that time!" Anytime, anywhere, he may take out photo of his wife from his wallet with love flowing in his eyes.
Recalling the scene of meeting for the first time, the beautiful and elegant Mrs. Lin said with a smile, "Oh, it's really not romantic at all, because I'm a patient lying on his treatment chair with a wide-opened mouth!"
Mrs. Lin was just not felt well with her teeth at that time. So she wanted to go in and deal with it quickly. Unexpectedly, this appointment made them husband and wife  for a whole life.
Although Lin,Yi-Chao's feet are inconvenient to move, he can still walk alone by himself with crutch. Therefore, in the face of his pursuit, Ms. Zhu did not had much rejection, and was willing to have more mutual understanding. The longer them seeing each other, the more different voices emerged from the people around.
"Are you sure? Have you think about it clearly?" Ms. Zhu had always felt wavering about whether to make a lifelong vow.
One day, when Ms. Zhu read the Bible, she saw this passage - God said, "it's not good for that man to live alone. I'll create a spouse for him to help him. (Genesis 2:18) the words hit her heart like an oracle, and poured a light into the chaos. After calming down, she asked herself, "will you?" "Yes, I would like to be his helper!"
After getting married, Ms. Zhu quit her job in the hospital and returned to his hometown to start business, becoming the enviable Mrs. Lin.
Then, the three children were born one after another. While raising children, she also took care of the housework. At the same time, she also had to help the clinic with common affairs. In the marriage life, there were the sweetness of the newly married, the happiness and pride brought by the children, and the hard work of raising children. All the family affairs were handled by her without depending on others.
She recalled that when the children were little, her husband was seeing the patients on the first floor while she was busy with housework upstairs and had to deal with the noise of the children urgently so as not to affect the clinic work downstairs. She often faced the pressure that could not handle these two things together. Sometimes when the kids were too noisy, Lin,Yi-Chao would rush upstairs and said to her "just do something!"
Mrs. Lin said, "he is a person who requires perfection, and he is a little impatient. When he thinks about something, he always needs to do it well quickly." After all, which couple never argue? In order to maintain a comfort family, for the children and for the original intention of being a "helper", she decided to face it positively. "But sometimes he's really fierce and stubborn!" Mrs. Lin couldn't help laughing again: "so I'll forget it, otherwise I really can't help it."
It is this gentle and inclusive smile that help the family to adjust and find the most suitable pace for each other at any time and keep going.
 
An offbeat dentist benefiting others
After Lin,Yi-Chao got married, at the request of his father, he returned to Yuan Lin, his hometown to start a business. Then three children were born one after another, and the work of the clinic became more and more busy.
Because of the large number of patients, the income of the clinic was nice, which can be regarded as "glory for the whole family and ancestors", and made his parents very honored and proud.
From the eyes of others, Lin,Yi-Chao seems to be a "successful person" in the definition of society, but he said: "At that time, since I was so busy, my income was naturally good. However, I have always felt that something is missing..."
Lin,Yi-Chao still felt that he was just staying at the level of the traditional "dental artisan", unable to achieve his ideal role of "helping the world and benefiting others".
Therefore, as his children grew up and went to school, he also joined the parents' association, dentists' association, Yuanlin community health promotion committee, etc., and actively participated in social welfare and health education promotion activities.
Lin,Yi-Chao deeply felt that the relevant knowledge of oral health care had not been promoted enough in the local area, so he set up the "Oral Health Care Seed Teacher Training Class" locally, and actively promoted the "Children's Teeth Cleaning Competition" nationwide. He never declined his duty, and spared no effort to promote the correct concept of oral health care, hoping to drive behavior changes in the entire region.
At that time, the local government attached great importance to hygiene and established the "Yuanlin Community Health Promotion Committee". Because of Lin,Yi-Chao's professionalism and perseverance, he was appointed as the first chairman and became a respected dentist in Yuanlin. He was received and awarded by of the provincial James Chu-yul Soong.
In 1994, in the chapel on the 10th floor of Mackay Hospital in Taipei, Lin,Yi-Chao and more than a dozen like-minded dental friends established the "Chinese Christian Dentist Service (CCDS)". At first, they only provided free dental clinic services in remote Taiwanese islands until the next year after the launch of Taiwan's National Health Insurance. then went overseas to provide free clinic services.
This seed of "service" had been planted in Lin Yichao's heart for a long time, and was finally ready to blossom and bear fruit.
 
The pities of being a new father
In order to give his family a better life, Lin,Yi-Chao worked like a horse race lamp, he can't stop working - from morning to night, he handled 18 clinic appointments a week (one for three hours), if there were public welfare activities Invitation, he never refused.
Lin,Yi-Chao pondered, "As long as I can provide the family with a well-off and happy life, all the hard work will be worth it! My children will be proud to have a father like me in the future! "
Lin,Yi-Chao, who was usually busy with work, always seizes the opportunity to travel with the whole family during holidays, to enjoy the natural sceneries and have a good time. When there is a long holiday, he would carefully design the schedule so that the whole family can travel abroad together.
Because Lin,Yi-Chao likes to travel with his family by car, he specially found and commissioned a car dealer to import a Nissan Quest, which was unique in the Yuanlin area of Changhua at that time.
To enjoy the new car he just bought, Lin,Yi-Chao went out almost every weekend. He was always generous with the money he spent on traveling with the whole family. They would visit every well-known tourist attractions or places of interest in Taiwan.
At that time, Lin,Yi-Chao thought that the whole family must be very happy with this, but it turned out to beyond his expectations - his wife confided to him and sighed: "We understand that you are planning for our journey very carefully, but after driving for so long to reach the destination, it will still be me and the children play together and you are too tired to be with us.”
Lin Yichao, who enjoyed the long-distance driving, found that in only a one-day journey on Sunday, deducting the round-trip driving time, and the time for rest, in fact, all he had was to see the scenery along the road while driving and had a meal with his family.
Lin,Yi-Chao recalled that in the past, he just imposed his personal interest in travel on his family. This was not a "true companionship". He was always busy with outpatient work from morning to night on weekdays, and then spent other time on traveling during the holidays. He had never told the children a bedtime story or read a picture book with them, all of which were done by his wife.
 
Immigration within the island of the whole family
When the child grew up and went to school, Lin,Yi-Chao had expectations for the child's academic performance. In particular, he thought that the eldest daughter was smart and her future must be promising, so he had been very strict with her.
When the eldest daughter enter junior high school, he began to find that something was wrong with her—her ability to control her emotions was getting worse, she was impatient with her younger siblings, and they often quarreled. When she came home from school, she always locked herself in the room and cared little about the family, with her grades plummeted.
At that time, Lin,Yi-Chao and his wife thought that the problem of the eldest daughter was just a "rebellious period" common to teenagers, but later they found that her physical and mental condition was not a simple rebellious problem. As parents, seeing the suffering of their children, they were really distressed and helpless.
In order to relieve the pressure for the children, Lin,Yi-Chao and his wife thought seriously about changing a new environment for them, hoping that the children would grow up healthy and safe, they moved to Hualien in July 2005.
Lin Yichao met the then President Huang, Wen-Xiong of Mennonite Christian Hospital at the Hualien Church by chance. At the invitation of President Huang, he entered the dental department of Mennonite Christian Hospital.
For the family's moving to Hualien, Lin Yichao was very grateful to his wife to share the enormous pressure of the family together with him. At that time, he often flew back and forth between Hualien and Taichung. During the journey, a song often hummed in his mind: "Zhang San's Song"
I'm going to take you to fly everywhere
Travel all over the world
No trouble, no sadness
Just being free and cheerful
Forget the pain forget the place
Let's set off to wander together
Although we don't have any fancy houses or clothes
But the heart is full of hope
We're going to fly to every faraway place
The world is not so bleak
We're going to fly to that far place and take a look
To see the light of the world
 
For his beloved children, Lin,Yi-Chao resolutely gave up everything and immigrated to Hualien with his wife and children. After a few years, the children's physical and mental conditions gradually stabilized, and they finally got the forgiveness of their elders. Under the guidance of God, they went through the most difficult period.
 
Give everyone perfect teeth to enjoy the bones at meal
After Lin,Yi-Chao began to practice medicine in Hualien, he deeply felt the urgent need of the public for dental medical care. In order to provide more immediate, convenient and direct medical services, he decided to leave Mennonite Christian Hospital three years later and terminate the business of "Yi Chao Dentist Clinic" in Yuanlin, and transferred all the medical equipment and devices to Hualien to reopen the "Lincon Dental".
Friends have asked Lin,Yi-Chao curiously, "Why did you name the clinic 'Lincon Dental Clinic'?" , "Is it because you admire President Lincoln of the United States very much", "This name seems to be a very common market name?" Faced with all these questions, he always told them constantly and firmly: "This is the "revelation" God gave me."
Lin,Yi-Chao said, "My surname is Lin, and under the guidance of God, I moved to the eastern part of Taiwan to take root and live anew. With an extremely humble and sincere mind, I want to open up a new dental world that belongs to Hualien people! I am willing to follow the destiny and light that God has given me, I am willing to abandon all the old life of selfishness and self-righteousness, and I am willing to improve my professional skills with a serious and responsible spirit. And the ultimate goal of my clinic is to give my good teeth that can gnaw the bones for every patient who comes for consultation! ".
Therefore, the four words "墾(cultivate), 懇(sincere), 肯(can), 啃(gnaw)" are the origin of Lincon Dental Clinic, and also the spiritual index and purpose of their clinic - "Take care of every tooth with heart", as well as his expectations and supervision for his work and their sincere commitment and guarantee to each patient.
Lin,Yi-Chao hopes that he can give more care to patients and establish a friendly doctor-patient relationship. After feeling the hardships of patients in remote areas of Hualien seeking medical treatment, he realizes his duty as a dentist even better. Not to earn money, it is a mission to help others.
 
 
Overseas free clinic earns him the spiritual wealt
Since March 1995, after Taiwan's National Health Insurance was launched, Lin,Yi-Chao and a group of like-minded Christian dentists established the "Chinese Christian Dentist Service", and decided to expand the original free clinic services in outlying islands and remote villages to overseas. The first overseas free clinic is to go to Pokarry, the second largest city in Nepal.
This free clinic trip started from Kathmandu, and it took eight hours to travel over mountains to arrive the destination. All the members were squeezed into a very old shuttle bus, and the luggage was all carried up and tied to the roof of the car.
Lin Yichao described that: "This long road is very similar to the Suao - Hualien highway in Taiwan. It is a narrow and rugged mountain road, with cliffs on one side and rushing rivers on the other, and the road conditions are extremely poor and bumpy. When passing through the bumps of the road, if the bus speeds up a little, everyone will bounce off their seats!”
In this way, Lin Yichao and his party arrived in Pokarry when the journey finally came to an end. Everyone sincerely thanked God for his protection and allowed them to reach their destination safely - Lighting Life Primary School, this primary school is founded on the land donated by a 101-year-old church brother together with donations from all walks of life. The purpose of establishing this primary school is to give children in remote mountainous areas the opportunity to receive education and to know God.
Early the next morning, many patients waited in line with bare feet, and some even walked for almost two hours on the gravel-covered mountain road to here. This is the first dental treatment for many of these patients in their lives.
They also went to another care point, the Chitwan Sara Girl Orphanage in the south of Nepal. This girl orphanage was established by a Baptist pastor. It is said that the pastor could not bear to see little girls in poor families being trafficked to India, so this children's home for girls was established. The pastor and his wife not only take care of the daily life of girls carefully, but also provide these children with opportunities to receive education, and through faith, they comfort the wounded hearts of these poor girls.
So far, Lin Yichao has participated in two trips to Nepal, two trips to Qinghai, two trips to Kenya, one trip to India, and one trip to Myanmar for overseas free clinics. He promoted the willingness to take over the "Dentist to Home Medical Service" in the Long-term Care Version 2.0 plan in Hualien area, and firmly believed in Jesus' exhortation in Matthew 25:40 to "do it to the least of my brethren."
Looking back, Lin,Yi-Chao thought that God had His good intentions to let him survive the critical illness when he was young. "Dentist" is his life's mission, for which he will continue to fulfill, and in the days to come, he will work harder to dedicate and serve, and live out God's destiny in his life.
 
Going to the house to heal people also heal the hearts
In 2017, in a regular meeting of the directors and supervisors of the Hualien County Dental Association, the chairman at that time mentioned: "As for the Health Insurance Bureau, it hopes that the member physicians in Hualien can help break through the currently non-existing dentist-to-home medical services in East Hualian.”
Lin,Yi-Chao remembered that at the moment, everyone looked at each other, and no one wanted to take on this task. At that time, a thought emerged in him: "For many years, I have been participating in the dental services of overseas free clinics constantly, the domestic medical services  should not be worse than that, right?"
Lin,Yi-Chao watched everyone staying in silence, and he couldn't hold back the benevolence and sense of justice in his heart, which made him raise his hand to make a statement: "I would like to be a pioneer who will inspire others, and I hope to be a model for the later entrants and pave the path for them."
The country road was winding, and they arrived at the first home today, Aming's house in Tongmen Village. The team entered the house, put on the isolation gown, and immediately began to divide the work. Lin Yichao was busy turning on the computer, checking the medical records, and at the same time talked to Amin's wife: "How is Amin's current health?" "Last time I taught you how to clean your teeth, did you follow it well?"
In the treatment chair of the clinic, with all the lights and equipment available, any treatment is easy and goes smooth, but when it comes to the home medical operation, even the simplest routine oral examination becomes difficult.
Based on the spirit of "human caring", Lin,Yi-Chao's team not only takes care of the patients, but also cares and sends warmth to the caregivers. Noticing Amin's wife was a shy and thin, he thought it must be very difficult to take care of her tall bedridden husband. When the nurse asked Amin's wife to come forward and demonstrate how to take care of Amin's mouth on her, the team members found out that she had almost lost all her own upper teeth. This is the hardshipd of the main long-term caregiver at home.
Lin Yichao hopes that when his medical team enters a patient's home, they will not only take care of the patients, but also actively care for their companions. He hopes that this short time together will make the companions feel cared and valued, know that they are still supported, so that they can go on.
Therefore, Lin,Yi-Chao's team always has a tacit understanding. After the clinic treatment, the members will invite the family members to gather around and pray sincerely at the bedside with them.
The soft and warm prayer is their sincere care for the patients and their families, as well as their enthusiasm and heart for the work of "home dental medical care".
 
Promoting the Good Dad Movement—Founding the Dad's Love for Family Association
If dad is alive, the family is alive.
For Lin,Yi-Chao, being a "father" and a "physician" are the two most important things in his life.
He has already understood to a certain extent the matter of "healers are like fathers" and "seeing patients as relatives", but the role of "father" in the family has made him tremble along the way, and he still finds it challenging to this day.
Ever since he was a child, his father was an authoritarian existence to Lin,Yi-Chao. Because Lin Yichao was ill at a young age with his left foot disabled, his father was relatively tolerant and loving to him, but when he get angry, he could be really fierce.
How can we expect that much from traditional parents to emphasize communication skills with their children? If the child doesn't behave well, they would natural discipline the child severely. When Lin,Yi-Chao gradually grew up, he felt his father's negative words was unbearable. There is almost no spiritual communication between them. Sometimes he even talked back and resisted his father, and finally ended up unhappy for both of them.
As he grew older, Lin,Yi-Chao also have his family and business, and his relationship with his father began to improve slowly. He tried to respond to his father's expectations and opened a business and settled his own family in his hometown so that his father could see his grandchildren. For filial piety, he specially bought his father a Volvo car that he had longed for, and no longer talked back to his father.
At the end of November 2010, "Taiwan TAIWAN DURANNO FATHER SCHOOL" borrowed the venue of the church at that time. Lin,Yi-Chao was attracted by a paragraph on the leaflet: "Dad is the most powerful man! Some even described dad as the most powerful man in the world" "You can't choose your father, but you can decide what kind of father you want to be! Know your power, that is, how much influence you could be!"
Lin Yichao wondered what such courses will teach? After practical participation and in-depth understanding, he could not help being deeply moved by such a course.
"Dad School" is a well-designed curriculum to help fathers speak out words hidden deep in their hearts under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They can also be empathized, understood, accepted and encouraged by the brothers present in a relaxed environment without the presence of their wives.
The content structure of all four classes is based on the biblical view of the roles of "prophet", "priest", "king" and "inheritance" given to fathers, so as to help fathers play a variety of roles competently in the family and workplace. Based on God's instruction, it let the earthly father establish correct values, manage the "love relationship" well, give play to the function of leadership, and leave a positive inheritance.
The last class of dad's school held together with the graduation ceremony and this was when his wife or family members must be invited to attend. When Lin,Yi-Chao learned that he had to read out a letter he wrote to his wife loudly in front of the public, he was nervous; Unexpectedly, when he began, he couldn't even read more than two or three sentences before he burst into tears and sobbed.
Dad School's last ceremony was to wash his wife's feet.
"Foot washing ceremony" represents a determination that all students would make a change in the second half of their lives from now on. After the course, you are no longer simply accepting the service of others, but to serve others; Not by your own ability, but by the power of the love of the Lord to strengthen the determination to lead the family.
The 38th "TAIWAN DURANNO FATHER SCHOOL" course was officially completed on November 28, 2010. Since then, Lin,Yi-Chao has determined to return to the word of God, remove his selfish expectations for children, stop pursuing secular values and learn to look at children from the perspective of God.
 
Cheer for all dads
Lin,Yi-Chao was greatly moved and inspired after graduating from the "TAIWAN DURANNO FATHER SCHOOL". He also very much hopes to serve and grow up with this group of good dads who love the Lord, and actively participate in the promotion of dad school in Hualien, including Meilun Baptist, Fraternity Baptist, Hualien Bread of Life church, Hualien Truth Church and Taitung Baptist, and even entered Tzu Chi University for the first time to share his experience.
Based on such emotion, enthusiasm and mission, Lin,Yi-Chao decided to officially establish the relevant community of Hualien local fatherhood affairs. He thanked God for his guidance and worked with a group of father co-workers to form the "association promotion group" after he overcame all difficulties and coordinated in many ways. In spite of his busy schedule, he formulated the purpose and articles of association, which was officially approved to be registered on September 29, 2014 in the end.
Lin,Yi-Chao also passed the unanimous approval of the general meeting of directors and supervisors and became the first chairman of the "Hualien County Dad's Love for Family Association". He led all dads in the association to jointly start the affairs of the association, and continues to promote such spiritual education even today.
The purpose of "Hualien Dad's Love for Family Association" is to build, help and encourage dads to lead, guard, manage the family and inherit the value of the family, bringing happiness to the family; The idea is to respect every father, whether he believes in God or not, and actively promote the "good father movement".
In the 88 Power Station, every dad participating can share with each other through the male topics designed in the course. Everyone can be empathized and understood in a relaxed environment, they can say the words buried in their hearts for a long time, encourage and support each other, trigger the internal self-examination, and further think about how to better play the role of "father", "husband", "son" and their own "job position" in the "family" and "workplace", so as to receive the truth, and enjoy love in the fellowship of love.
The influence and help brought by this course to Lin,Yi-Chao still remain in his heart. Therefore, the education of "88 Power Station" is an important goal in his life at this stage.
Lin,Yi-Chao and all his colleagues hope that such spiritual education can be further promoted from Hualien to all parts of Taiwan. This is a movement combining missionary revival and transformation, a movement of the Holy Spirit and prayer, and a movement of Christians.
 
Profile of Lin,Yi-Chao
Adjunct lecturer, Department of Dentistry, Kaohsiung Medical University
Lecturer, Department of dental technology, Chungtai Institute of Health Sciences and Technology
Dentist of Changhua Christian Hospital
Attending dentist of Mennonite Christian Hospital
Member of the American P.O.S Society of Orthodontics
Member of Taiwan Society of Clinical Orthodontics
Director of Yi Chao Dental Clinic
Current position: Director of Lincon Dental Clinic in Hualien
Overseas free clinic: since 2005, it has covered Qinghai, Tibet, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya and Swaziland in Africa.