At Hospital Escuela, the principal public hospital in Honduras, over 100 patients were screened for surgery, and throughout the week, our surgeons completed 67 operations. I was surprised by the number of complex tendon repairs and osteotomies performed during the trip, many resulting from machete and motorcycle accidents. Among the patients we treated was a man who required repair of seven severed tendons in his hand, as well as another who had been injured in a drive-by machete attack. These cases highlighted both the tremendous need for specialized surgical care and the remarkable resilience of the patients we served.
Beyond assisting in the operating room, our team engaged in a variety of community outreach efforts. We visited MDM Honduras, an after-school program in the mountains supporting children all the way through college where some walk more than two hours each way to attend. We also helped build a home with a concrete floor for a family who lacked the labor to complete the project, distributed food baskets capable of feeding a family for thirty days, and provided education on water filtration systems that will provide clean drinking water for ten years.
Medical mission trips are unique because they provide not only opportunities to address physical needs, but also opportunities to enter into meaningful spiritual relationships. For part of the week I participated in the Prayer Team, making rounds throughout the hospital. We visited patients and their families, offering prayers, Spanish Bibles, lollipops for children, and encouragement during difficult circumstances. I learned how to pray with patients, share favorite Bible passages, and walk alongside people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. One of the most moving experiences occurred in the maternity ward where 50-60 babies are born each day. A woman named Fabiola had lost her newborn child the day before. Out of all the wards in the hospital, our pastor felt called to visit that room, where we were able to sit with her, pray for her, and offer comfort during an unimaginable loss. This moment reminded me that God is often present in ways we do not expect.
What impacted me most was seeing how healthcare extends far beyond a single procedure. One patient had been involved in a devastating automobile accident just three weeks before our arrival. In what felt like God's perfect timing, one of the surgeons had received a donation of synthetic skin substitute shortly before the trip. Rather than undergoing additional skin graft procedures where skin would need to be taken from her thighs, the patient was able to receive the donated materials. She was so grateful that she recorded a video thanking both the surgical team and the company that provided the donation, emphasizing the importance of God’s plan.
This trip showed me that medical mission work is unique because it provides opportunities not only to care for physical needs, but also to enter into a reciprocal spiritual relationship with those we serve. Medicine really is about serving people as a whole person, including body, mind, and spirit.
