Reflections on the 61st Medical Mission to the Philippines

By Hyun Soon Kwak, Optometrist

As the Lunar New Year holiday was coming to an end, I boarded the airport limousine bus for Incheon International Airport.

My mother must have been worried about me because she came all the way to the terminal to see me off. She seemed to remain standing there until the bus had completely disappeared from view.

Leaving her concerns behind, I spent the ride to the airport wondering how I could do well on my very first medical mission. I was grateful to have been given such an opportunity, but I was also afraid.

The Bible verse that helped calm my fear and anxiety was Mark 11:24:

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

At 8:50 p.m. on February 15, our flight departed Korea for Clark International Airport in the Philippines.

We arrived in Clark at approximately 1:00 a.m. on February 16. From there, we traveled another hour and a half by bus before reaching the mission site.

After moving all the surgical equipment and supplies brought from Korea into the hospital, we immediately began preparing everything so that surgery could start later that morning. By the time we finished setting up the equipment, it was already past 3:00 a.m.

During the test run, however, the sterilizer would not operate properly. The machine itself did not appear to be broken, but the distilled water prepared by the hospital seemed unsuitable for the sterilizer we had brought.

After we replaced it with more highly purified distilled water, the machine began working again.

Once the final equipment check was complete, our mission team went to the accommodations and slept for approximately three hours.

The first day began about an hour later than originally planned. We gathered for worship, had breakfast, and then returned to the hospital, where the equipment had been set up during the night.

February 16: The First Day of Surgery

The first surgery began at 11:00 a.m.

From 11:00 a.m. until 1:40 p.m., the team worked continuously and completed surgery for 12 patients before lunch.

After a one-hour meal break, the afternoon procedures began at 3:15 p.m. and continued until 7:00 p.m. An additional 22 patients underwent surgery.

Although everyone was exhausted and nervous on the first day, the thought that 34 patients would be able to see more clearly again seemed to ease some of our fatigue.

February 17: The Second Day

The following morning, the surgeries began at 9:00 a.m.

By 11:50 a.m., we had completed procedures for 17 patients—five more than during the previous morning.

The afternoon, however, presented a much greater challenge.

There were 42 patients waiting, including people who had traveled from Manila and others from the local community. Performing surgery for every patient would have been extremely demanding for both Dr. Gyung Bai Choi and the operating room nurses.

Eight patients were determined to be unsuitable for surgery. Nevertheless, we were able to successfully complete procedures for the remaining 34 patients.

I believe this was possible because God was working through us and because we held firmly to the faith that our prayers would be answered.

There was another moment that made me feel very clearly that God was at work.

The sterilizer continued to cause problems, even after we began using more highly purified distilled water.

When it was time to sterilize the instruments for the final patient of the day, the machine stopped working again.

The patient was already lying on the operating table, and all we needed were the sterilized surgical instruments. Yet the sterilizer would not start.

In Korea, we normally used two or three one-liter bottles of distilled water. At the mission site, however, we had to open and pour in numerous 100-milliliter containers one by one.

Even after all that effort, the sterilizer still failed with only one patient remaining.

The church elders and senior deaconesses gathered together and prayed with one heart. We emptied the water from the machine and refilled it with fresh distilled water.

Then, as though nothing had ever been wrong, the sterilizer began working again.

Thanks to this, we were able to complete the final surgery safely.

By the end of the second day, everyone’s legs were badly swollen, and we were physically exhausted. Still, we were grateful that the schedule had been completed safely. I do not even remember how I fell asleep that night.

February 18: The Final Day

The final morning began with an early worship service led by the missionary who had prepared Korean-style breakfasts for us throughout the mission.

I was deeply grateful for the missionary’s testimony and for yet another warm and delicious meal.

The final day’s surgeries began at 9:00 a.m.

By 12:30 p.m., we had completed surgery for 21 patients, bringing the surgical schedule to an end.

As I prepared to bring the final patient into the operating room, my heart suddenly began pounding as though it were being struck with a hammer. I had not even felt that nervous with the first patient.

After the last patient left the operating room, tears filled my eyes.

The mission had been physically difficult, but it had also allowed me to see and experience so much.

Many of the patients had extremely advanced cataracts—conditions rarely seen in Korea. I was also heartbroken when a missionary told us that some people could not come for surgery simply because they could not afford transportation costing the equivalent of approximately 2,000 Korean won.

This was my first medical mission, and it taught me more than I could have imagined.

I remain deeply grateful to the local hospital nurses who helped us throughout the mission, including the nurse who gave us small necklaces as gifts.

I am also thankful to the local students who volunteered as interpreters.

There were so many people whose kindness I will never forget.

I still clearly remember the photographs we took together so that we could remember one another. Although we could not communicate easily through words, the warmth in everyone’s smiles brought us together.

Above all, I give thanks to God, who protected us from the moment we began our journey until the moment we safely returned to Korea.

Hyun Soon Kwak
Optometrist, Examination Department