Barnabas Blog

April 26, 2026 Our "Sus Manos" (His Hands) team is back in the U.S. As we reenter life here, we see things differently. We notice the little things: hot and cold running water; being able to flush toilet paper down the commode; not wondering if water is safe to drink; roads that are paved and free of dust clouds; large air conditioned stores with many, many choices; comfortable homes with central air conditioning; and electricity that is generally reliable (We had two power o

Called to Serve - April 24, 2026 On our last day in Honduras, our medical mission served Cañada de Balín. The community has 250 residents and 60 families. We ended up serving fewer families than we had anticipated due to it being harvest time, a vivid reminder that of the fact that 90% of the people work in agriculture. The closest health facility is 2.5 miles away but rarely has a doctor or sufficient medical supplies. The community lacks a midwife and there is no health

We are One Body April 23, 2026 We began our day gathered around a huge table for breakfast. Our morning prayer focused on Paul's teaching on the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:14-17, 26-27). "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ." Our prayer leader noted that a group needs to become a team in order to be effective. We arrived as a group, but soon became a team, with each assuming a unique function. We work

Love, Peace, Healing - April 22, 2026 Our day began early with a group picture of our Friends of Barnabas U.S. Team and our Honduran colleagues. We work together seamlessly. Today, we visited the community of Aldea La Paz, The Peace Village, another agricultural community of about 215 persons in 54 families. The long, unpaved access road was very bumpy, but we arrived at a church and school facility with a peaceful garden. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared, "Blesse

An Earthly Mission - Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Today, we had a long 2-hour drive to another small, isolated agricultural community, Macuelizo. Macuelizo has 240 residents in 88 families. Yesterday, in La Germania I, we saw 47 families. Today, it was just over 30 due to a funeral, a reminder of life's realities and challenges. We set up our medical stations in their sprawling three-room school and campus, including vitals, weights/measurements, vitamins/deworming, and the eye,

The Face of Christ - 4.20.2026 Today's community was remote. We passed many groves of coffee trees as we drove miles up a steep dirt road deeper into the mountains. La Germania I is a mountain agricultural community of about 280 persons. There are 35 children in the local elementary school. We were greeted by many smiling faces of all ages when we arrived. Those we served ranged in age from infancy to 98 years old. In a touching moment, one team member even heard the hea

Sunday, April 19, 2026 Our Mountain Medical Team was warmly welcomed by the Honduran staff of Friends of Barnabas. We were greeted with many smiles and hugs. We were assured more than once that we are family. Getting here was an adventure for 12 of us. Instead of a half day trip, we flew from Richmond to New York (due to a cancelled flight) and spent a night in Miami, arriving a day late. Although the extra travel tired our bodies, the delay did not dampen our spirits. As th

March 27, 2026 1Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Friday started early with a full Thanksgiving breakfast with Honduran and American staff together around a long table. The morning prayer before breakfast reminded us all what a blessing it is to serve together, each using our gifts to provide care for families in need. Today we served in the community Colonia 3 de Octubre, a village not too far from Al

March 26th, 2026 - March Mountain Medical Team We awoke early this morning after a long night of rain. Fortunately, the rain had subsided by time we had breakfast. After we got on the bus we made our way the Community of Piletas, meaning “piles of rocks”. As we left the main road we were held up by a group of ranchers who were moving a group of cattle down the road. Making our way past the cows, we had a very bumpy ride over holes and large stones to get to our destination. C

March 25th, 2026 - March Mountain Medical Team The entire brigade met early this morning for our group photo in front of Barnabas House. We began our trip to Las Margaritas, a community of approximately 260 people. Our team “Muchos Manos” visited this community last year as a medical brigade and this is the fourth year the community has been with the program. We arrived to see a large number of patients waiting for us outside the gate area of the school. We were assisted in u

March 24, 2026, March Mountain Medical Team “Here I am Lord. I will go if you lead me!” This verse from Isaiah was featured in the devotion both Monday night and Tuesday morning, so this became our theme for the day. And thus, we were led into the clouds towards El Matazano community. We woke up early this morning and after an excellent breakfast by Karen and Albita we left for El Matazano. This is the most remote village that we travel to this week, almost two hours awa

March 23 rd , 2026 We woke up early on Monday excited for our first day of clinic in Honduras. After an excellent breakfast the medical staff met with our Honduran doctor to prepare for our day. The bus was loaded and we headed to Plancitos de Suyapa, a community of 120 families and an estimated 700 residents. After a reasonably short drive up some steep hillsides in the mountains we arrived at our clinic location. We were greeted by smiling faces and excited children. They c

March 22nd, 2026 March Mountain Medical Team “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10 We started off our day with a devotional before breakfast. In the devotional we discussed a story by some missionaries in Spain who paused to pray while their train was leaving before their supplies were fully loaded. The train then stopped after pulling away and the remaining passengers

March 21 st , 2026 We began our trips in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 21 st . We arrived at various airports in New York, North Carolina and Virgina. Despite some minor delays with airport check-in, we did not find the lines too much of a wait. We were able to get on our way without difficulty. We arrived on schedule in Miami, Florida where we were able to meet up with the rest of our team. The weather was cooperative as we took off from Florida without too much

Friday, February 27, 2026 Team Esperanza Closed Our Week in El Cacao. What a special day! Our team members felt called to give out five crosses today to community members who touched our hearts in special ways - from their faith, their gratitude, their goals and perseverance and their need for reassurance and prayer. The day included a combination of challenging situations with patient care and lighthearted interactions that included some soccer play and fingernail painting.

Thursday, February 26, 2026 This sun showed up this morning on the way to Las Delicias, but soon it hid behind the clouds as we travelled along the foggy road up the mountain, to finally shine again when we arrived - revealing an impressive blue sky. Today Team Esperanza was impressed with the gratitude and positive response of our patients, with the support that we witnessed family members giving to each other, with the patience that the patients exhibited as they waited for

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 Plan Grande was the destiny God planned for our team today. We found smiles everywhere. The sun showed up and smiled at us, the community brought a lot of kids - over 60 total- that shared their smiles as well. Curious looks, laughs and songs filled the atmosphere with joy. The community provided us with spacious, clean and organized facilities which enabled our team to work easily. Our dental team was very productive and was amazed by the enduran

Tuesday, February 24,2026 God took us today to El Lanillal - high in the mountains on a rainy and foggy day where we found our joy. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a lot of volunteers and a warm and caregiving family that opened not just their home, but their hearts. God bonded us emotionally with the community. We experienced joy in finding many healthy families and many examples of gratitude. Colleen (from our medical staff) had her heart touched by how a grandmother t

Monday, February 23, 2026 God put us on the path to Ojo de Aguita community -a one hour and ten-minute drive from Alfredo House. Our first day was a mix of feelings, but at the end of our day, we saw how God has control and a purpose. In the middle of the chaos created by equipment malfunctions, we saw opportunities for improvement - how a soft voice and gentle skills promoted calmness and eased anxiety, how in the middle of a rush there was the opportunity to enjoy a playful

Sunday, February 22, 2026 Team Esperanza (“HOPE”) arrived Saturday and has been busy settling in and preparing for our week ahead. It was like a mini reunion at the Miami airport as many of the members have served on this team before. New team members were warmly welcomed and immediately felt included. Sunday activities included a pontoon boat ride on Lago de Yojoa (the largest lake in Honduras) where we enjoyed the beautiful natural surroundings as we not only bonded with na