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Fans by now know the legend of Tim Tebow by rote: he plays quarterback as well as anyone in America, sings on stage with the stars of country music, makes girls swoon every time he smiles.
During spring break, Tebow added a new facet to his fame. In an impoverished village outside General Santos City in the Philippines, Tebow helped circumcise impoverished children.
On the Friday of a weeklong trip to the orphanage his father's ministry runs in Southeast Asia, Tebow assisted with the care of locals who had walked miles to the temporary clinic that the ministry helped organize. More than 250 people underwent medical and dental procedures, some of them from "Dr. Tebow," who has no formal surgical training.
"The first time, it was nerve-racking," he said. "Hands were shaking a little bit. I mean, I'm cutting somebody. You can't do those kinds of things in the United States. But those people really needed the surgeries. We needed to help them."
Tebow didn't plan on operating that day in the Philippines-his job was to preach to the hundreds of people before they had teeth pulled or cysts removed. But as the day rolled on, he grew curious about the three Filipino doctors and his friend, University of Florida graduate and aspiring doctor Richard "R.B." Moleno, in the bus-sized vehicle that served as a mobile hospital.
Tebow started as a helper and gofer, holding tools and running errands for the medics. By afternoon, he was asking questions and looking for more active ways to help. And by the end of an exhausting day, he was wearing gloves and a mask, wielding surgical scissors, finishing off stitches with a snip.
"You could see he was really into it," Moleno said. "He thought it was cool. I'd make a stitch, he'd cut a stitch. He got his hands a little wet in surgery."
Moleno joined three Tebows-Tim, brother Robby, and father Bob, along with Shaun Young, a friend and Florida graduate who plans to attend dental school this fall, on the trip. All five spent better than 24 hours on airplanes flying more than 9,000 miles to the Philippines; throw in the time change, and the men lost nearly two days to travel.
The five stayed at Uncle Dick's Home, the orphanage near General Santos City. They spent Monday through Thursday preaching at 15 schools, going from one to the other on bumpy Jeep rides. Throughout, the trip provided culture shock-the men carried toilet paper in their backpacks and cleaned themselves with "bucket showers," a local tradition that looked just how it's imagined.
Friday brought another ride, this one to an area that lacked even the basic amenities enjoyed in the city. Families lined up for hours waiting for the mobile-care units, and the people took numbers, like customers at a deli, to designate who would be seen first.
"It was a pretty amazing sight," Young said. "People wanted to get care so much they were fighting to get on the bus. They all thought their number should be next."
The locals started by hearing a brief Christian sermon from one of the Tebows and then moved to a brief medical exam from a Filipino doctor. The patients had their blood pressure taken, heart beat checked, and any available medical history reviewed.
Moleno had purchased medicine in the city, and patients not needing immediate care were given a stash and sent home. Others were sent to Young, who extracted a couple of dozen teeth, then gave toothbrushes to school-age children who had never cleaned their mouths before.
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