March 5, 2013 – Julie Busch, regional director, public relations, Adventist Midwest Health, writing from Hinsdale, Illinois

More than 30 people representing the four hospitals of Adventist Midwest Health traveled to Honduras to provide medical care and assistance to the residents there.

Staff nurses and physicians from Adventist Health Hinsdale in Illinois, along with volunteers, spread health and healing in Honduras. Images by Adventist Health

The hospital representatives from Adventist Bolingbrook, Adventist Glen-Oaks, Adventist Hinsdale, Adventist La Grange Memorial hospitals treated more than 1,200 patients in Honduras January 20-27, 2013. The team partnered with Hospital Adventista Valle de Angeles (Valley of the Angels Hospital), a 30-bed facility located in the town of Valle de Angeles, which is about an hour from Honduras’ capital city, Tegucigalpa. The hospital has been one of the Global Partners of Adventist Health International since 2005.

The group was made up of several teams. The clinical team consisted of physicians, nurses, and other staff, who treated and listened to each patient’s concerns. The pharmacy team provided vitamins and other medications to the patients. The Kid’s Camp ministry team kept the children, who were on summer vacation, entertained by painting their nails and applying Christian tattoos that said “Jesus Loves Me” on almost every child. The team passed out crayons and coloring pages, jump ropes and yo-yos, and helped children put puzzles together.

Team member Jennifer Orde wraps a patient’s foot to protect her skin ulcers from infection.

Two of the physicians on the team—Dr. Ted Suchy, an orthopedic surgeon, and Dr. Lanny Wilson, an obstetrician/gynecologist—were able to perform surgeries at the hospital. Wilson said he felt a God moment just before his first surgery began. In the U.S., doctors and staff begin a procedure with a “time out,” a patient safety tool during which the team verifies the patient and procedure they are about to perform.

But in Honduras, Wilson learned, the team began with a prayer, and they prayed for Wilson that he would help the patient, and that she would recover fully. “I felt empowered by the prayer and was able to relax and do the procedure better,” he said. “God was on our side. We weren’t just doing it by ourselves.”

As the team set up the clinic one day, Sharon Bowers went over to the representatives from the local Seventh-day Adventist church and told them that if they found anyone who had any spiritual needs, they should come and get her, and she would pray for them.

“It wasn’t two minutes later that someone was tapping me on the shoulder,” Bowers said. “Every time I did a blood pressure, someone was coming to get me.”

So Bowers started asking people sitting on her triage bench, “Do you want prayer?”

The mission team delivered bottles of vitamins to children in a local orphanage.

“Every single person said yes,” she said. “So after lunch we added the question ‘Do you want prayer?’ to the bottom of the intake sheet. The Spirit was moving and guiding us.”

Adventist Midwest Health has taken part in an annual mission trip since 2006, traveling to such places as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, and Honduras.

“These mission trips provide much needed help to people and allow us to extend the healing ministry of Christ internationally,” said John Rapp, vice president of ministries and mission for Adventist Midwest Health. “None of that would be possible without the dedication and commitment of the people who volunteer to take this trip every year.”

Top news

Loma Linda University Health’s Cell Therapy Division Receives Accreditation
ADRA Improves Children’s Lives One Water Basin and Latrine at a Time
Adventists Make a Positive Impact on GYD in The Bahamas, Cayman, Turks and Caicos Islands