Medical Care in San Luis, Honduras

Hola, I recently returned from San Luis, Honduras where I was able to participate in a medical mission trip serving local villages through a medical brigade. It was such an amazing experience to work alongside such Christ filled people and be able to provide medical care to those that needed not only the medical care but also spiritual care. This trip was largely made possible by generous donors to each team member, including personal donors for myself like Southwestern Medical Clinic Foundation along with family and friends. 

On the day of arrival to Honduras, we drove 3 hours from the nearest airport to arrive at the destination we would be serving for the week. We were met by the host family who have served in the area for around 20 years and encouraged us to settle in for the night. The next morning, we were up early for morning devotions, prayer time, and worship, which was the daily rhythm for the week. We then were busy packing the medications and supplies that we would take to the villages the following day. We each had a task to do, including labeling medications, arranging bags, and ensuring that each item was accounted for that we would need. After this we were able to see the vision of the hospital and the local clinic and then visited a local church. That evening we had a sermon and worship time, and this too was a daily pattern that was refreshing.

On Monday morning we began our stretch of medical clinic brigades at the local villages. Each village allowed us to use their school to set up our clinic, one room was used for evangelism by a local pastor, one room was the pharmacy, and usually the largest room was used for the provider stations. We had 7-10 provider stations each day with a pre-medical student or nursing student and a local high schooler translating. The local villagers would line up at the triage tent to be prepared for us to see them and the patients would come in one after the other to be seen laying before us there problems, cares, and worries. We gave medical care to 817 patients over the week and 88 adults and 104 children professed faith.  

One story that is difficult but stands out was a young girl only 7 years old who was having problems with mood changes and other symptoms no child should experience starting about 2 years prior. Per the mom, the patient walked to school by herself, and the patient was obviously very reserved on exam and did not play with other children. It appeared she had been harmed in some way, likely sexually based on the symptoms. The mom was very concerned. Thankfully we had a local doctor with us that day and she was able to get the mother in contact with the local health department for testing and treatment. I was able to encourage the mom to continue loving the young girl despite the mood changes that were likely not her fault. The mom was also involved in a local church and the child was safe at home. I was able to pray with the family and pray for the protection of the child as she continues to walk to school alone. This situation was one of many difficult situations in the villages we visited but ultimately, we were able to sit with these people in the pain and offer the best relief we had through medicine and the gospel. 

During the week, I along with the other providers, were able to be a part of the local high school translators lives and the lives of pre-medical students and nursing students that were part of the team which was such a fun experience. They taught us so many valuable lessons as we were teaching them, and it was such a good experience to be able to see us all grow in our knowledge of medicine in a rural developing country and in our knowledge of interacting with others in different life seasons to all become better in both mind and spirit.  I am thankful that I was given this opportunity to serve alongside this team in Honduras. 

– Carol Ann Gibbs