Giving Back

Over a two-year period, I volunteered in the small remote village of Santa Ana, Honduras, serving alongside physicians and APCs to bring advanced medical care to this community with limited access to healthcare. Reaching the clinic required a flight into Palmerola International Airport followed by a 12-hour bus ride into the mountains. Many patients traveled extraordinary distances — some walking up to 8 hours — to receive free care.

I was responsible for managing patient flow for hundreds of individuals each day, ensuring that everyone moved safely and efficiently through vitals, spiritual triage, optical, dental, medical, and finally pharmacy. My work required real-time problem solving, prioritization, and tight coordination with clinicians to keep the operation running smoothly while maintaining dignity and compassion for every patient we served.

This experience deepened my respect for frontline clinicians and strengthened the skills I rely on in my professional work today: structured execution in ambiguity, relationship-driven leadership, and a focus on making care delivery easier for both patients and the clinicians providing it.

A resident of the Santa Ana community carrying water along the rugged road leading to the clinic — a daily reality that underscored how essential accessible care is in this remote region.

Volunteer clinicians providing much-needed dental care in Santa Ana — one of the many stations we coordinated to ensure every patient received timely, compassionate treatment during the week-long clinic.

Our full volunteer medical team and local partners outside the Santa Ana clinic. Many of the Honduran volunteers traveled long distances from towns across the region to join the effort — a reminder of how deeply shared purpose and community partnership can overcome limited resources to deliver meaningful care.

Taking a short walk after a long clinic day on the footbridge between Honduras and El Salvador — joined by my daughter, an APC, who volunteered alongside our clinical team. A reminder that meaningful care crosses borders, roles, and generations.

One of our APCs taking vitals for a young patient before the pediatric consult — part of the structured flow that helped us safely and efficiently move hundreds of families through the clinic each day.

Families from surrounding villages would begin lining up early each morning—some traveling hours—to receive medical, dental, and pediatric care. Moments like this grounded our mission and reminded us how deeply access matters.

When clinical care paused for the day, we spent time with the local children—doing crafts together, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, and building relationships with the families who welcomed us so warmly. Moments like this reminded us that care isn’t only medical; it’s connection and hope.