I had been intrigued about mission trips for years but didn’t think I had the right skills & had never heard of a Catholic medical mission trip. I am a pharmacist, not a doctor, nurse, or dentist. One day a 19-year-old customer was picking up a prescription for malaria prevention who was going to Africa to do mission work through her church. Next time I saw her father at the pharmacy we discussed her trip. He informed me about the church’s annual medical mission trip to Mexico & that they would love to have a pharmacist so my daughter & I went. It was a broadening experience going with the other medical professionals & support crew to multiple sites in rural Mexico, with no electricity, & limited drinkable water, working with medicines labeled in Spanish, not to mention communicating through a translator. I came home with a much greater appreciation of basic necessities that we all tend to take for granted. I went with this church again to Mexico and Kentucky.
Fast forward to Deacon Mike Mims’ call from the pulpit for people to go with him to Honduras in 2014. Wow, now I could go with MY church on mission… & I did! We had conference calls with missionaries from Little Rock, AK that went to Trujillo, made educated guesses about the medical, educational, religious & social needs, taped up the STAOP gym floor to simulate the physical lay-out of the chapel/clinic, plus practiced hymns & prayers in Spanish. We went, saw a lot of patients, accomplished a ton & made it home safely.
After Deacon Mike Mims unexpected death, several of us met to see if we would/should/could go again. Although some agreed to take on a portion of the organizing duties, I was not initially one of them, but kept showing up for the meetings. I have returned to Honduras each year till COVID cancelled our 2020 trip.
I am on Mission year-round going to meetings, talking about what we do, recruiting missionaries, collecting donations, plus ordering medicines & medical supplies. I have met so many wonderful people (saints) here, on the archdiocese & state level, as well as in Honduras from my involvement with these mission trips.
~ Bendiciones, Cathy
Honduras Medical Team
The Medical Team has a hidden gem & her name is Cathy Neill. An ever-present leader from the start, mostly staying behind the scenes supporting our doctors & nurses, Cathy brings her pharmaceutical expertise to those who are in dire need. Cathy serves as secretary of the Archdiocese Mission Council & as treasurer of the Texas Mission Council annual conference.
Honduran Medicine & Health Care
Think about what it must be like for the communities that we serve when a family member’s health takes a turn for the worse. We are ever so grateful to have such wonderful doctors, pharmacists, dentists & nurses go on mission with us to make a difference!
Sickness or an accident is a nightmare for people in the countryside & the urban poor. It may take hours to get a patient to a hospital by traveling over long dirt roads that often lack public transportation. Doctors may be unable to do much for a patient if the patient's family cannot afford to buy medicine. If the patient is an adult, the household may have to struggle to make a living until he or she recovers.