Reflections on the 40th Overseas Medical Mission to Mongolia

By Yoon Sang Cho, Optometrist

Because this was my first medical mission, I left for the airport feeling nervous. I worried that my inexperience might delay the team’s work or cause something to go wrong.

The 19 pieces of essential, heavy luggage were no small matter.

Each case contained important medical equipment and supplies that we could not afford to lose or handle carelessly, as every item was necessary for the mission.

Although I was able to help with the heavy lifting, I wondered how Dr. Gyung Bai Choi and the three female operating room nurses had managed to carry such heavy equipment and travel to so many developing countries for medical missions over the years.

It would surely have been impossible without God’s help.

After completing the departure procedures, we arrived at Ulaanbaatar Airport shortly before 10:00 p.m.

However, our first major challenge was waiting for us.

Mongolian customs officials were reluctant to clear the cataract surgery equipment and medications we had brought with us.

Dr. Gyung Bai Choi, the missionaries, and the church elders continued explaining and negotiating with the officials, but time passed and our team became increasingly exhausted.

Yet the Lord’s grace was with us even there.

The church elders, senior deaconesses, and deacons who had already left the airport prayed together inside the vehicle. Through the power of prayer, we were finally able to leave the airport at approximately 1:30 a.m.

Our medical mission team had planned to perform sight-restoring cataract surgery for 60 patients.

We were concerned that setting up the surgical equipment the following morning would leave us with too little time for surgery. Although it was already very late, we decided to travel directly to the local hospital and complete the setup.

It was nearly 4:00 a.m. before we were finally able to go to bed.

The First Day of Surgery

I completed most of the cataract examinations before lunchtime.

After lunch, I worked with one of the deacons to monitor the patients’ pupil dilation. Their pupils needed to be sufficiently dilated before cataract surgery could be performed.

One elderly woman, who appeared to be over 80 years old, did not respond well to the dilating eye drops even though they had been administered repeatedly from morning until afternoon.

She was already blind in one eye, and her remaining eye had very poor vision because of a cataract.

At first, we had her wait while sitting, but as the hours passed, we allowed her to lie down and rest.

Even after 6:00 p.m., her pupil had still not dilated sufficiently. When she heard that surgery might not be possible that day, she began to cry. Her daughter also cried.

Her daughter told me that they had traveled from very far away and had even taken a flight to reach the hospital.

I felt deeply sorry, and tears began to fill my own eyes.

However, Dr. Gyung Bai Choi promised that we would check her condition the following morning and, if possible, perform her surgery first.

To prepare for this, I gave the dilating eye drops to a physician at Mongolia’s First Central Hospital and asked that they begin administering them early the next morning.

Despite having slept for only two or three hours, Dr. Choi and the medical mission team performed sight-restoring cataract surgeries for 27 patients on

the first day.

More patients were scheduled for surgery the following day. I knew that if I did not perform the examinations quickly and accurately, or if pupil dilation was delayed, the surgical schedule would also be delayed.

The next morning, I gathered the examination equipment as soon as I woke up, traveled to the hospital, and prepared the examination area in advance so that the surgeries could proceed without interruption.

When I went to check on the elderly woman whose pupil had not dilated the previous day, I was told that she was already undergoing surgery.

The interpreter and I exchanged relieved smiles before returning to examine the other patients.

Unlike the first day, I now felt more confident and composed.

I was able to manage the examination process more effectively while monitoring both the condition of the operating room and the patients’ pupil dilation.

Inside the Operating Room

That afternoon, while continuing to monitor the patients, I entered the operating room.

The atmosphere was filled with intense concentration.

Dr. Gyung Bai Choi, the nurses, the interpreter, and the other team members were all doing their very best despite their exhaustion.

Dr. Choi repeatedly called out, “Hallelujah!” as he performed the difficult procedures with confidence, guided by the hands of the Lord.

On the second day, we once again completed sight-restoring cataract surgeries for 27 patients by God’s grace.

Over the two days, a total of 54 patients underwent surgery.

When the 54th and final procedure was completed safely, all the tension that had accumulated since our arrival suddenly disappeared, and exhaustion washed over me.

The only words I could say were:

“Lord, thank You.”

Through this medical mission to Mongolia, the Lord helped me look more closely at our neighbors living in poverty.

I am deeply grateful that He allowed someone as weak as me to serve as His fellow worker.