The work done by our Friends of Barnabas mission team was a ministry of healing—both physical and spiritual. Our group primarily was engaged in medical work. Over the course of five days, we served a total of 1,702 patients from several remote villages. Our team consisted of 14 doctors, nurses and other helpers. A half dozen or so Honduran nationals worked alongside us.
As the team's pastor, I got to preach and share messages of hope with the people, pray for their needs (both physical and spiritual), and present God’s plan of salvation to them, leading many to personal faith in Jesus Christ. A number of helpful translators assisted me throughout the week, including some wonderful Honduran believers like Oscar (above left) and Deborah (above right).
One method we used for presenting the Gospel was through the distribution of “wordless” bracelets. (Several hundred had been made for us by Betty Dillon along with our Mount Hermon Acteens group.) The different colored beads of the bracelet represent God’s plan of salvation. (BLACK = our sin; RED = the blood of Christ; WHITE = how Christ makes us clean; GREEN = our new life and our spiritual growth in Christ; BLUE = the waters of baptism; and YELLOW = the streets of gold in Heaven, the believer’s ultimate home.) Each day at the clinics, I would present the story of the bracelets through a translator. Then I would invite people to pray with me and accept Christ as Savior. Afterward, each one was delighted to receive a bracelet as a reminder of Christ’s forgiveness for their sins and their personal commitment to Him.
One day we were short-handed when it came to translators. My Spanish is very limited, so I desperately needed some help. A little girl named Ana came to my rescue. I gave her a card that explained the meaning of the bracelets in Spanish. Rather than me fumbling through it, mispronouncing important words, I thought it would be better to have a Spanish-speaking person read it. This sweet little 9-year-old with a servant's heart couldn’t speak a word of English, but she was an excellent reader in her native language. She read through the presentation several times, to different groups of people. At the conclusion, she also led them through the prayer of faith and repentance. Ultimately, through her Gospel presentations, she wound up leading a number of people to faith in Christ. Wow, what a humbling experience that was! It reminded me of Isaiah 11:6, which says “…and a little child shall lead them.”
The Honduran people who came to our daylong medical clinics were generally a very humble and thankful people. Many patiently stood in long lines for hours in the hot climate awaiting their turn to be seen by a doctor or nurse. We saw numerous women and children, including many expectant mothers. Some young mothers had walked for miles carrying their infants in their arms for the chance to receive free medical care. The men who came were fewer in number, and most of them were older, weather-beaten cowboys. Some even arrived on horseback. During a break in the action, our Honduran nurse, Pascuala—herself quite a comedian—decided to take a quick spin on a horse that wasn’t being used at the moment.There are many touching stories I could share with you. One particularly meaningful aspect of our medical care was an eye clinic. It was such a blessing to observe individuals exiting the eye clinic with brand new corrective lenses, able to see clearly for the first time in years. And then, the very first thing they received
after being fitted with their new glasses was a brand new copy of the Bible in Spanish. I can't describe for you how heartwarming it was to see individuals immediately going and finding a spot somewhere under a shade tree where they could sit down and, with the help of their new glasses, read their own personal copy of the Word of God. People were so delighted to get those Bibles. In fact, one lady walked four miles to one of our clinics. She was in good health and did not even want to a see a doctor. She simply walked that far because she heard we were distributing free Bibles and she wanted to get her own copy of the Word of God. Wow! Another interesting thing I encountered (for the first time) in Honduras was a superstitious belief called (in Spanish) “mal de ojo” (“the evil eye”), which seemed to be quite prevalent 
among the rural mountain people. This is the belief that certain individuals possess the power to gaze intently upon another person—especially a tiny baby—with a look either of envy or malice—and actually bring physical harm to that person. I have long been familiar with the term “evil eye”, but it was never anything that I had taken seriously. I always thought the “evil eye” was that unmistakable look my wife Sandy used to give our son Jordan from the choir loft when he was sitting on the front pew acting up during his daddy’s sermon! And, believe me, that look indeed was often the precursor to physical harm!
Most of the mothers, continuing a long tradition passed on from their mothers and grandmothers, would either place a red woven hat on their baby’s head (even though this could be quite uncomfortable due to the intense Honduran heat) or, more often, a tiny red
bracelet around their wrist. This was to ward off the curse of the evil eye.
among the rural mountain people. This is the belief that certain individuals possess the power to gaze intently upon another person—especially a tiny baby—with a look either of envy or malice—and actually bring physical harm to that person. I have long been familiar with the term “evil eye”, but it was never anything that I had taken seriously. I always thought the “evil eye” was that unmistakable look my wife Sandy used to give our son Jordan from the choir loft when he was sitting on the front pew acting up during his daddy’s sermon! And, believe me, that look indeed was often the precursor to physical harm!Most of the mothers, continuing a long tradition passed on from their mothers and grandmothers, would either place a red woven hat on their baby’s head (even though this could be quite uncomfortable due to the intense Honduran heat) or, more often, a tiny red
bracelet around their wrist. This was to ward off the curse of the evil eye. When I found out about this superstition, I began to question the mothers about it. Some were Christians, some were not. To those that were not, I presented the Gospel. To those that were already Christians, I reminded them that they needed to trust God alone for protection, not some manmade item. I told them that God would watch over their child. One woman wept when I said this to her. Immediately she removed the red bracelet from her baby, and repeatedly through her tears said “Gracias! Gracias!” She simply needed to know the Truth. And the Truth set her free!
Oh, on an unrelated note, we had one really famous patient who was seen in the eye clinic one day and fitted for glasses. His name was Fidel Castro. For real! Wow, talk about a patient with an evil eye!
One of our real heroes of the week was a precious young girl named Maria. Maria's malady was a cockroach stuck in her ear! The ugly little invader had crawled into her ear canal and died. It had been lodged in there for several weeks by the time our medical team saw her. This brave and trusting young lady was so patient as our team probed and examined her ear in seeking how best to proceed with the delicate and tedious work of extracting the dead insect. Finally, after much effort, and a few tears, the unwelcome inhabitant was disinterred from his tomb. And with the help of antibiotics to clear up the accompanying infection that had set in, courageous Maria should make a full recovery. Incidents like this reminded me how much we take for granted our easy access to quality medical care here in the United States.
All in all, this trip to Honduras was an extremely rewarding experience. If you're interested in sharing the love of Christ through medical missions, you might want to check out the opportunities available through the Friends of Barnabas Foundation. (www.fobf.org) They're definitely doing a good work.
Oh, on an unrelated note, we had one really famous patient who was seen in the eye clinic one day and fitted for glasses. His name was Fidel Castro. For real! Wow, talk about a patient with an evil eye!
One of our real heroes of the week was a precious young girl named Maria. Maria's malady was a cockroach stuck in her ear! The ugly little invader had crawled into her ear canal and died. It had been lodged in there for several weeks by the time our medical team saw her. This brave and trusting young lady was so patient as our team probed and examined her ear in seeking how best to proceed with the delicate and tedious work of extracting the dead insect. Finally, after much effort, and a few tears, the unwelcome inhabitant was disinterred from his tomb. And with the help of antibiotics to clear up the accompanying infection that had set in, courageous Maria should make a full recovery. Incidents like this reminded me how much we take for granted our easy access to quality medical care here in the United States.All in all, this trip to Honduras was an extremely rewarding experience. If you're interested in sharing the love of Christ through medical missions, you might want to check out the opportunities available through the Friends of Barnabas Foundation. (www.fobf.org) They're definitely doing a good work.
Pastor Danny
