Dr. Lee’s Dental Mission Story #2

Dr. Lee’s Dental Mission Story #2 - Haiti 2012

The Shocking Revelation

I was shocked and angry from Marie-Flore’s answer! I screamed out at her, “Why would you do such a careless and stupid thing? The car doors were locked! There was no way for the gang members to come into our truck!!! Why would you do something that would put everyone into danger???”

The Answer That Changed Everything

I still remember her explanation to this day: “Melvin, I was the only one in the truck who understood what the gang leader was shouting at me in Creole during the attack. As soon as it started, the gang leader came up to my door window and told me, 'You better open this door and let me in. If you don’t, I’ll order my boys to shoot the windows down to get in - you choose!’ In that moment I didn’t know what to do: let this gang leader in and possibly risk getting kidnapped or worse OR keep the door closed and then all the gang members start shooting their guns at our truck. I started to pray to God - and I heard His voice say calmly and peacefully to me: ‘Marie-Flore, open the door. It’s the only thing that is going to save you and the entire team. I’ve got you, and I’ve got the whole team - OPEN THE DOOR.’ And so… I did.”

I started weeping as she finished the story and hugged her so tightly saying over and over again, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for saving my life!!!”

Marie-Flore and Dr. Lee - the woman who saved the Haiti Dental Mission Team in 2012!

A Transformed Perspective and a Call to Return

There are many adjectives to describe my 2012 Haiti Dental Mission Trip: death-defying, dangerous, over-the-top risky, reckless. But THESE adjectives are more accurate in terms of the impact upon my life: transformational, deeply spiritual, life-changing, eye-opening.

So… I chose to go back to Haiti for another short-term dental mission project. Due to the tremendous need for emergency dental care in several communities that I served in, I decided to lead a team of 7 people (4 dentists and 3 pre-dental students) and fund-raised over $10,000 to purchase a mobile dental unit to donate to the mission project for all visiting dental teams to use for their respective mission projects in Haiti.

Mark Delorme (pre-dental student volunteer) posing as a patient on the mobile AIDEC unit that Dr. Lee purchased with fundraising donations that totalled over $10,000

Members of the 2013 joint Medical and Dental Team: (from left to right) Dr. Euna Hwang, Dr. Hea-Shin Kang (Medical Team Lead), Dr. Woonha Kang, Dr. Melvin Lee (Dental Team Lead), and Dr. Seungmo Kim.

On the Ground: Providing Care

Here are some glimpses of the dedicated work done by the team during the 2013 mission:

Dr. Tobias Meiszinger (Edmonton-based dentist) praying over a patient before a dental extraction procedure

Dr. Woonha Kang (Manitoba-based dentist) giving post-operative instructions to the escort of an extraction patient

Dr. Seungmo Kim (Winnipeg-based dentist) extracting a tooth for a local Haitian patient

Mwen Renmen Ayiti (I Love Haiti)

The best memory of my Haiti mission trips is my last one: while leaving the slum area of Cite Soleil, a bunch of local kids wanted to hold my hands and sing together with me the popular children’s hymn “Jesus Loves Me” in Creole:

Jezi renmen'm, m-konnen sa (Jesus loves me, this I know)

Paske bibla di mwen sa m (For the Bible tells me so)

Tout timoun yo, se pou li (Little ones to Him belong)

Nan febles mwen, li bay fos (They are weak but He is strong)

Wi, Jezi renmen’m (Yes, Jesus loves me)

Wi, Jezi renmen,m (Yes, Jesus loves me)

Se bibla di mwen sa (The Bible tells me so)

These two dental mission trips seared a permanent mark on my heart - so much so that I decided to change my personal email address to HAITImelvin@gmail.com. Mwen renmen Ayiti (I love Haiti). Bondiye renmen Ayiti (God loves Haiti).

If you are interested in supporting or joining Dr. Lee on a future dental mission project, please contact him at haitimelvin@gmail.com.

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