There’s something sacred about the last day of clinic.

Not frantic. Not chaotic. Just steady. Purposeful. A quiet rhythm of serving, listening, adjusting glasses, holding hands, and offering prayer. Today in La Ceibita, the pace wasn’t overwhelming—but it was meaningful. And sometimes that kind of day leaves the deepest imprint.

Our vision clinic brought a few challenging cases. Some prescriptions were complicated. Some eyes strained harder than we could fully correct. And there were quite a few people with cataracts—conditions we simply don’t have the ability to treat here. Those moments are heavy. Looking into someone’s hopeful eyes and knowing you cannot fix what needs surgery, specialized care, or long-term follow-up—it humbles you.

Mission work is not about fixing everything. It’s about faithfulness in what we can do.

We brought what we had – Prescription glasses, medicines , Listening ears, hearts for serving , Encouragement for weary mothers, Prayer over aching bodies.

But what did we take away?

Hugs from children, Love freely given.

We take away the smile of the grandmother who can now see clearly enough to read her Bible again.

The quiet strength of the woman who faces hardship with grace.

The resilience of a community that shows up for one another.

The reminder that joy doesn’t depend on abundance.

La Ceibita has given us more than we could ever measure.

It’s hard to leave when there is still so much need. When you know there are more eyes to examine, more stories to hear, more hands to hold. Leaving can feel like walking away too soon.

But mission was never meant to create dependence. It was meant to plant seeds. And its not goodbye, its see you later.

Seeds of hope.

Seeds of encouragement.

Seeds of faith.

We pray those seeds continue to grow long after we board the bus and head home. We pray the local leaders and church members continue the work. We pray neighbors keep caring for neighbors. We pray that love multiplies in ways we may never see.

And we pray for change—not just in La Ceibita, but in us.

Because mission reshapes the heart of the one who serves just as much as the one being served. It exposes what truly matters. It strips away excess. It reminds us that faith is lived out in small, ordinary acts of love. At home or on mission, or wherever we may be.

As we pack up supplies and fold up clinic tables, we don’t leave empty-handed.

We leave carrying stories.

We leave carrying gratitude.

We leave carrying a deeper trust that God is working—even when we can’t see the full picture.

The work continues.

The community remains.

The seeds are planted.

And we walk away with faith that growth will come.

We will be back soon, always in our hearts and prayers.

Blessings,
Shelley

Some days on mission feel long and exhausting. And some days feel full in the very best way. Today was one of those days.

We gave out so many prescription glasses — pair after pair, face after face lighting up as blurry worlds became clear again. There is something so powerful about watching someone put on glasses and realize they can see. It never gets old. It never feels small. It feels like dignity restored.

And then there were the hugs. So many hugs from kids — spontaneous, tight, joy-filled hugs that remind you why you’re here in the first place. Their laughter, their energy, their trust — it’s a gift.

The women’s health clinic was busy, but more than busy. Women were cared for, listened to, prayed over. So many stories. So much quiet strength. Moments of vulnerability met with compassion. These are holy spaces.

VBS was full of energy and fun — songs, smiles, and little voices learning about Jesus. The joy in that room is always contagious. It’s beautiful to watch seeds being planted in young hearts. Hope for the future.

We also spent time helping at the special needs school feeding center. Serving meals, offering smiles, connecting in small but meaningful ways. It’s humbling and grounding all at once.

One of the most special encounters today was with a woman in a wheelchair who radiated joy. She was such a delight to talk with — warm, gracious, full of light despite her challenges. She asked for prayers for her granddaughter who is battling cancer. Please join me in lifting that sweet family up. God knows their names and their needs.

Today was filled with hugs and prayers, conversations and care, laughter and love. It was busy — yes. But more than that, it was meaningful.

These are the moments that remind me: we are not just serving. We are being changed.

Thank you for praying. Please keep praying.

Today was a steady flow of people visiting the various clinics and being seen by docs and the vision clinic. We saw 47 people for prescription glasses today and at least 30 or so for just readers. The vision clinic has been running really smoothly thanks to the reorganization and also the new equipment! It’s a beautiful thing! We have been able to find lots of great glasses for people who really needed them. Including a 7 year old little girl who had never worn glasses and had a prescription of -6.50 in both eyes. When she put then on her smile beamed and her face lit up! It’s always a favorite moment when this happens and the child or even adult is so happy to finally have sight! Something a lot of us take for granted! We had a couple of tough cases, including a few were we simply could not find glasses that would work. We have a good stock of over 2000 glasses so for us not to be able to find a prescription or two is hard to deal with at times.

In the vision clinic we had a lovely little old lady who needed prescription and readers. Every time she tried on a pair of readers, she picked up her tiny hymn book to see if she could read it! It was super cute to see her do that and cute that she carried that around with her. She was very grateful for the glasses!

The dentist saw around 31 patients today, quite a few extractions so a busy day for her. Michelle in women’s health saw around 24 patients, pharmacy saw around 182 patients, vbs about the same as yesterday I believe, 8 home visits for water filters, and the school team saw around 91 children for health screenings.

It’s a busy clinic and a busy medical mission but such a blessing to be part of. Trying to take time to talk to people and be an ear for them or just laugh or be silly with them. It’s important to be available for these things. I need to remind myself of that at times. We have been talking a lot about being made for more, and answering the call on this mission and what that looks like. Fellowship with people on mission teaches us that the goal is not just to “get the job done,” but to become more like Christ while loving and serving alongside others.  I certainly feel like everyone is anxious to serve on this team but not only that, the local community is also anxious to serve.

There is a family a few doors down from the church, dealing with a difficult situation. The husband/father is only 48 and has throat cancer that is essentially not being treated any more and he’s pretty much on hospice. He and his family, including 4 children, the youngest being 3 months old, came down from the mountains to make treatments more accessible to them. Their treatments were in San Pedro Sula. for those of. You that don’t know, San Pedro Sula is where we fly into and the being our long 8-10 hour journey to Tocoa. They never made it to their treatment as he got too sick and they needed a place to stay. The community rallied around them, found them a place to stay, clothes for the kids and even some furniture. They have been doing what they can to help care for them. This is truly a community with a mind like Christ. They have so little to give, yet others always come first and they rally when it is needed. Such a blessing to be among them all this week!

This, right here, is what we need more of in the world. And it is a blessing to witness this in the area we came to serve

Writing this the day after as have not been feeling good and needed to go to bed early last night. So I’ll keep it short with a quick update.

Clinic on Monday got off to a slower start with a few hiccups but once we got going, things ran relatively smoothly. It was a quieter day in clinic as far as people were concerned. I believe we saw about 80 patients but optical only say 23. Very unusual for the vision clinic. That’s ok, it gave us some time to catch up on some restocking etc. Michelle in women’s care had a slower day also but a good day nonetheless. VBS was busy with lots of high energy kiddos, I believe they said around 50. The water ministry folks delivered around 9 water filters and buckets to homes in the area. More to come today. Dr Wilson I believe said he did around 10 surgeries today and Dr Derin was still in surgery when we were all updating at our evening meeting. School clinic was busy but didn’t see as many to begin with. They spent the morning getting our iPads set up and setting up their clinic at the school so didn’t get started until the afternoon. However, they still managed to see 80 kiddos for health checks! The Crie was busy and active as usual and Fatima did a bunch more autism screenings. So there’s a brief update!

Today our very large team of around 40 people, including our translators, headed to La Ceibita to attend church. We were welcomed with a beautiful picture of smiling kiddos welcoming us home! It was so lovely to see! The church was full and that was also lovely to see! As always in the services here, there is so much energy and spirit. The passion and joy they share in the church is truly beautiful! I wish our churches at home had this much passion! Various members our our North American team participated in the service by reading scripture, sharing a sermon and leading communion. It was a beautiful service

After church, we were treated to a wonderful lunch made by the ladies of the church. Those ladies are such hard workers and have such strong commitments to the church and the feeding centers and their community. They do so much and often fly under the radar. They are angels and a blessing to the community.

We then got to work transforming the church in the a hospital/clinic for the week! Curtains went up to create privacy areas for examinations, the pharmacy got organized and set up for the week, glasses organized and set up. Lots of good time in fellowship with our local church families who helped with the set up as well as feeding us.

We arrived back at the hotel for a little downtime to rest before the week begins. Dinner and devotions began at 6pm and then we had a mini Super Bowl party. It was a good day. Ready for the week!

Today was a great day! We began as usual with devotions and spent time in reflection and going deeper in our faith and thoughts for the week. After devotion we headed to La Ceibita church to finish getting some meds and supplies ready for our clinics next week. It was a great morning working side by side with the local folks of the the La Ceibita area. They are always so ready and willing to help and be in the thick of things. I love their devoted faithfulness to doing the work that is needed. We had a bunch of tables set up in the room for counting and bagging and prepping. I had 4 more boxes of prescription glasses to sort and get ready for the week, with relabeling and cleaning out. It was such a productive week for me, and about 20 years too late for reorganizing the glasses! Much needed. I feel really good about the week knowing that we can easily find prescription glasses and that our options for finding good, quality glasses are way better. I disposed of a bunch of very old, deteriorated or broken glasses and replace them with newer more modern glasses! It will be a great a week! I had a lot of great help this week but today was extra special having a few of the folks from the church helping, including a couple of the young kids helping out. Many hands make light work!

Once we were done, we stopped for lunch which was delicious and made by the women of the church. We then took a stroll around the ceibita area and then packed up and headed back to the hotel. This afternoon we had some down time to recoup and get ready for the main teams arrival.

After a few hours we went to dinner and then sat around and had devotions and planned for the teams arrival. We were assigned specific people and rooms and then took all of their room keys, prepared their rooms, turned down their beds and got things ready for them, so that when they arrived tired and ready for bed, it would be easier for them!

The team finally arrived around 11pm after traveling from midnight the night before. Tired, but smiling and ready for the week – probably more so after a good nights sleep.

Tomorrow is a big day, church and setting up the clinics!

Blessings,

Shelley

Friday was another full day of preparation—screenings, meetings with the mayor, CRICOL, and others—woven together with the steady rhythm of work that needs to happen before the medical clinic next week. It was busy and exhausting, but also deeply satisfying. There’s something satisfying about seeing progress made, especially when it’s work you know will directly serve others.

One task that was especially important to me, was reorganizing our inventory of glasses. We went through more than 2,000 pairs, removing those that were outdated or deteriorating—something I’ve been hoping to do for a long time. It may seem small, but this reorganization is going to make a real difference: better glasses, easier to find, and ultimately better care for the people we serve. Knowing that this will help us work more efficiently and thoughtfully feels like a gift. I still have more to do, but a huge portion was accomplished today—largely because of the help of so many team members. Their willingness to jump in made the work lighter and faster, and I’m incredibly grateful for that shared effort.

Tomorrow morning, the plan is to go to church to finish medication counting and planning for the week with the local church helpers. I’ll admit, I considered skipping it so I could keep working and finish everything on my list.

But tonight’s Bible study gently challenged that thought.

There was a lot of conversation about being present—about the mistakes we can make on mission when we become so focused on tasks that we forget to notice the people and moments around us. The story of Mary and Martha came up, and it hit close to home. Today, I was very much a “Martha”—intent on getting everything done, driven by the checklist, and tempted to stay back and push through rather than pause.

It humbled me to realize that I need to be more of a Mary on mission—to be present, to sit in the moment, to make space for connection. This is something I know I struggle with, especially when there is work to be done and responsibility weighing on me. Both Mary and Martha have value in the story; both bring important gifts. But there is a time and a place for each. While the work matters, the relationships, the presence, and the spiritual connections must come first. That kind of focus requires letting go—something I’m still learning how to do.

Tonight, the rest of the team begins their journey around midnight, boarding a bus and heading to the airport in Indianapolis to start a long day of travel. There will be fatigue, moments of “are we there yet,” and likely a few thoughts of “I’m getting too old for this” or “why am I doing this?” But once they arrive, rest, and wake up together, those moments will fade, replaced by purpose and shared mission.

Please keep them in your prayers—for safe travels, patience, good health, and unity—so that we can all be together and ready for a meaningful and impactful week ahead.

Blessings,

Shelley

Thursday was the ahead teams first work day of pre- mission prep work.  Our day started with breakfast and devotions in the morning and then several people went to the hospital where Derin began doing his pre-surgery screenings.  I think they said they did around 15 screenings today and 13 qualified for surgery.  Tomorrow is more of the same for them.  The rest of the team went to the church in La Ceibita to do some quick inventory before heading back to the hotel to meet up with the team for lunch. 

After lunch we spent several hours counting and prepping meds and organizing glasses.  We are fortunate to have a room to use to spread out with all of our stuff at the hotel.  Lots of work to do in these areas yet, but I think we made a good start!   

The weather has been unusually cool here in Tocoa and raining on and off.  I think tomorrow is more of the same weather wise with it starting to warm up on Saturday.  

We went to church this evening in La Ceibita and enjoyed time in fellowship with our friends from the local church.  It’s always good to spend time in worship with them.  Im’ excited to work with them next week in the clinic!  

After church we headed back to the hotel for devotions and a quick dinner.  

In devotions we pondered several questions related to mission work.  DO you call it mission or missions?  What is the difference?  How we live out our mission specifically today?  Going deeper into our faith we were asked the question, “how does having a better understanding of our faith help us in the mission field?” I think this is an important question and one that is likely always going to be in a motion of growth.  But truly I think after spending some time reflecting on this, I believe that having a better understanding of our faith, makes us less project leaders and more of a compass for someone who might need direction or support or just an ear to listen.  Someone who can relate and empathize with people going through tough times and help guide them. I think having a deeper understanding of our faith, gives us a deeper spiritual foundation on which to build on our own lives, but to help build and lift others up too.  

Today was a good productive day! 

Blessings.  

Shelley 

So, we are heading back to Honduras, in multiple stages. The ahead team is arriving tomorrow in San Pedro Sula and the rest of the team arrives on Saturday. This is a big team, as it often is for our February Medical mission. We have a lot of different providers and folks providing care in many different areas. It’s a labor of love to coordinate but it’s such a blessing to be part of. Josie and I are part of the ahead team and we are going to take advantage of the time to reorganize and clean up our glasses inventory. I’m thrilled to be getting it done as it’s been a long time coming!

Leading up to this trip I try to spend a lot of time reflecting why we are on mission and where is God leading me. Most of the time I honestly don’t know where he’s leading me, but it always becomes clear why I am there. I was listening to our playlist for devotions and one of the songs which i have heard many times over, kind of struck me a little differently this time. It’s the song Change my Heart oh God. Some of the lyrics are “ You are the potter, I am the clay, mold me and make me, this is what I pray”. The potter and clay metaphor are rooted in scripture. Jeremiah 18, Isaiah 64:8,, Romans 9:21 etc. This is an illustration of Gods absolute sovereignty and creativeness and love over humanity. If I think of myself of the clay and God being the hand that molds me, there’s almost a sense of peace knowing I don’t have to have it all perfect and figured out, I don’t have to know where I am going or what I’m doing all the time, but one things for certain, God is always leading me. Sometimes I think he molds me in certain ways and my human self hardens and peace of the clay chips off. But he’s always there to reshape me and keep me going down the path that i need to be going, no matter which way I stray.

Spending time on mission with the people I have come to love, molds me in ways I didn’t think possible. It teaches me humility, and patience and reminds me to be in the moment and love people where they are at. Including myself. Even the chipped off broken pieces. They all have a place in our hearts and shape our future.

The theme for our week is Made for More. I’m looking forward to exploring what that means for me and for the mission and the lives we come across when we are in Honduras. Our ahead team devotions exploring “why are you here”. Whose mission is it anyway? The truth is I think we come into these missions thinking we are going to accomplish one thing and we often have a very different week. We are here for us, for them, for God for all of the above. Sometimes one more than the other. sometimes for reasons we didnt’ expect.

One thing is for sure, I know I’m a big lump of clay with bits of broken pieces stuck in me, that constantly needs to be re-molded. I’m not the one doing the molding, but I am the one who’s mean to listen and let God lead me.

Please be in prayer for the first round of team members arriving tomorrow, and especially be in prayer for a smooth and simple experience in customs. Lots of nuances there! Lots of work to do this week in preparation but it’s going to be a great week!

Blessings, Shelley.