¡Aquí estamos, envíanos!…Here we are, send us!
We want to share with you that God is calling our family to the mission field! We both knew we wanted to be doctors before we even met at Abilene Christian University, and though being pre-med was something we had in common, our faith was what connected us. Our passion for missions was born from multiple short-term trips to Latin America during undergrad and medical school.
After completing training (Jared in Pediatrics, Jenny in Family Medicine), we began our ministry in Africa in rural Malawi. We walked alongside our small clinic for two years while it opened a maternity hospital, delivering babies and caring for sick newborns. Then for five and a half years, we served in Kenya and Malawi teaching in African Christian family medicine residency programs. We have now been called back to the beginnings of our missions journey, Latin America.
In November, we were able to visit a team in Honduras that is building a Christian mission teaching hospital in central Honduras, Hospital Yojoa (Click HERE to learn more about the hospital). We will be joining this team and moving to Honduras in early 2025. The need in Honduras is great, and God has continued to give us a heart to serve and love the underserved in this world as well as train, mentor, and disciple the next generation of clinicians. We are excited that God has opened up several doors for us to begin serving again overseas.
The Need: Honduras has a population of about 10.3 million people and is the 3rd poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. At least 15% of the population lives on less than two dollars a day.
The maternal, infant, and neonatal mortality rates are three times higher than in the US. While there are a lack of physicians in Honduras, there are even fewer hospitals. There are only 29 public hospitals for 10.4 million people. Only 19 other countries in the world have less hospital beds per person than Honduras.
The Mission:
To love and serve:
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace.” (Peter 4:10) We are called to love and serve the poor and underserved in this world. We have been called to use our medical skills to serve as medical missionaries.
To care for the whole person, physical and spiritual needs:
“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” (3 John 1:2) We are called as medical missionaries to care for the whole person, physically, and spiritually.
To increase healthcare access for the marginalized:
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31: 8-9). Our team is building a 150 bed full-service Christian mission teaching hospital in central Honduras. Hospital Yojoa will be located near the Lago de Yojoa region to allow for easy access for patients from the numerous rural mountain villages. It will be 5 minutes outside the city of Santa Cruz de Yojoa, an area where women must travel nearly 2 hours to receive a C-section.
To teach and mentor the next generation of young clinicians:
In the Western Hemisphere, there are very few Christian mission hospitals that operate as teaching facilities. Most mission hospitals in the region do not have the patient volumes necessary to offer a comprehensive medical education. We believe a Christian mission hospital in Honduras will be pivotal in improving the healthcare system not only of Honduras but of the entire region. We believe it is essential to teach, mentor, and disciple clinicians and medical professionals so they can continue to serve the physical and spiritual needs of the underserved well into the future.
Partner with Us:
Currently, we are in need of additional ministry partners to partner with us so that we may begin serving in Honduras next year. Here is how you can partner with us today:
Pray: Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the coming months as we prepare to serve. If you would like a prayer magnet, then Contact Us, and we will send you a magnet to put on your fridge. On our website, we have specific prayer requests on our Partner with Us page. We also send email updates with additional prayer requests so Contact Us to get on our email list for regular updates.
Emotional/Social: Encouragement and connecting to us and our ministry socially is very important for the sustainability of our ministry. Ways to connect with us include:
— Email: Contact us (through our website) with your email for regular updates.
— Facebook: Like us and follow our ministry through our Facebook page.
— Blog: Go to our blog and sign-up on our blog page to get notified when we post a new blog update.
We pray that God will bring people into our ministry over the coming months for connection and encouragement through conversations, emails, Facebook posts, and blog comments.
Financial: 100% of our salary and ministry needs will have to be fundraised. In order to serve as medical missionaries in Honduras, we will rely on both monthly and one-time gifts throughout the year from individuals, families, and churches.
Cambiar la historia…change the story. About 10 years ago, we visited Malawi. Mothers and infants had little access to essential lifesaving healthcare, and we wanted to help change the story. We wanted to be a part of His mission in Malawi. God brought many people to begin financially supporting our family and ministry. With this financial support, we were able to walk alongside our Malawian colleagues to help open a maternity hospital, delivering babies and caring for newborns. We were able to provide access to care and to lower the amount of maternal and neonatal deaths in the community.
In Honduras, the infant mortality rate is 3 times higher than in the US. Right now, there is no hospital in the Lake Yojoa region of Honduras, leaving many neonates and infants without access to care. This story can change….
With your financial support, we can help change the story again, this time in rural Honduras. Will you partner with us today so that we can go and serve at Hospital Yojoa? Donation information can be found on our Partner with Us page. We pray that you would consider giving a one-time or monthly recurring gift today. Your donation will allow us to be able to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the community in and around Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Honduras.
We are excited that God has called us to be a part of His story and mission in Honduras.
We pray you will commit to supporting our family and our ministry through prayer, connection, and financially as we go and serve in Honduras. We look forward to sharing stories and updates of our ministry and what God is doing in Honduras throughout this year through our blog page and email.
