Shelby Township dentist Dr. Robet Antolak recently traveled to Haiti for an 8-day mission trip with his church, Faith Lutheran in Troy.

Of course, it’s even more unusual for the dentist to bring 200 pounds of candy with him.

Yet that was exactly the situation Shelby Township dentist Dr. Robert Antolak found himself in late last month as he visited the island nation of Haiti with a group of nine from Faith Lutheran Church in Troy, bringing his dental skills and a bag of candy along with him.

Antolak had collected the candy shortly after Halloween during his annual candy buyback program. Macomb County children brought in their holiday goodies and exchanged them for cash. Nearly 400 pounds of candy were collected; half were given to a local homeless shelter with the rest loaded on a plan with Antolak and his crew bound for Haiti.

“They have candy there, but not a lot of it. The kids don’t usually have it, and I can tell that when I do their dental exams because there are no cavities. So I figure one piece of candy isn’t going to hurt them,” Antolak said. “They were so surprised when they got it. They didn’t know what to do with it.”

This was the dentist’s seventh trip to Haiti, a nation he makes an attempt to visit several times a year with various church groups. With the group from Faith Lutheran, where he is a member, Antolak went along with several fellow church members as well as worshippers from other churches. Although many of them were strangers, Antolak said he was not fazed by that.

“I’ve gone on these trips before where I don’t know anyone. Last year I went with a group from Cleveland and had to leave late, so I went to Miami where the plane was leaving from. I went right into the hotel room that I shared with the pastor, who I had never met. In the morning I just woke up and said, ŒHi, my name’s Robert,’” he said. “But it’s people of like-mindedness and you have a lot in common, so you build those relationships.”

During the trip, Antolak conducted several free dental clinics, which was tricky as people relied on word-of-mouth to learn about them, especially in areas where there was no electricity. Some Haitians traveled six hours to have their teeth examined and, during the week-long trip, Antolak said he extracted 211 teeth.

Haiti, a poverty-stricken country, does not have modern dentistry readily available to many of its citizens. On each trip, Antolak said they try to treat as many people as possible and find new ways to bring care to those who do not have access to quality treatment.

“I used to go to Brazil on mission’s trips, but they pretty much shut the door to us. They don’t want a lot of help. In Haiti, people welcome us. I go down with a group of people and serve, and they love it. They want that help,” he said. “Next year, we’re actually going to take the dentistry on the road and go to an island where there’s no electricity or anything and bring it door-to-door.”

During the trip, Antolak was also able to see the fruit of his labor from a project started last year. Antolak returned from Haiti last year with plans to help out in a project designed to purchase goats for Haitian ministers. Families and volunteers throughout the area were invited to donate money to help purchase the animal; Antolak said this benefits the towns in several ways.

“Obviously it helps because it provides milk to the people who go to the church. But it also is an encouragement to them because they realize someone on the other side of the world is thinking about them and wanting to help,” he said. “One of the things I decided on this trip is that I want to get involved more with the goat program. I kind of did it halfway last time but, seeing how much of a benefit it is, I really want to throw myself into it this year.”

Although providing dental care and physical supplies was a large part of the trip, Antolak said the biggest gift was something that could not be fit on a plane or presented in person. The main purpose of the trip, he said, was to share his beliefs with a group of people stricken by poverty and living without hope.

“When we were down there, it was time for Carnival, so people were in good spirits there. But the predominant religion in Haiti is voodoo, so there’s a lot of darkness there. And we’re bringing them light and the good news of the Gospel of Jesus,” Antolak said. “We actually went to one island where there was no electricity and it was like going back to biblical times because they didn’t have anything modern. And we went door-to-door and that was the first time anyone has gone door-to-door bringing the Gospel there. And they were very appreciative of that.”

Although it was Antolak’s seventh trip to the country, he said it will not be his last. Just as much as the Haitians benefit from the help each trip brings, Antolak said he also returns with a new perspective on life.

“It’s my prayer every time I go down there that it will be just like the first time. And it is, it’s a time to reboot, just like a computer,” he said. “This year it really helped to solidify my commitment to going down there, and it made me realize that there’s a lot of hurt going on right here in the community and I want to be able to help with that.”