October 2024 Newsletter

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

2 Corinthians 4:5

The sign on the gate of Loma de Luz states it plainly: “Dios Obra Aqui,” God is at work here. I am reminded of that truth in many ways each day.

Although we each work here trying to do our best to serve those in need and in this way to serve our Master, it is He who is at work here. And, He doesn’t just work through us…. He also accomplishes His purposes through our employees, our patients, our students, through our children, through our neighbors, through our relationships with one another, and, most importantly, through His Holy Spirit.

Here recently some of our young doctors shared how they had been ministered to through our patients. Then a couple of our teachers shared how they had been encouraged and ministered to by their students. It dawned on me that I should share a few of these stories with you.

So I asked the community if they had any stories to tell of how they have been blessed in recent days. Now, more people have shared little vignettes of the Lord at work here, at work on us–so many that we don’t have enough room to share all of them. We may have to condense some, and we already plan to use some of them in the next newsletter as well. I think and hope that each story shared here will in turn be a blessing to you, as they reflect how truly God is at work here.    

God's grace,

Jefferson McKenney, M.D.

from Dra. Osiris—Story #1

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of  it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

 –Psalm 34:1-4

mission hospital honduras patientDinorah is a patient who praises the name of the Lord, for she sought Him, and the Lord heard her. He delivered her from her fears. She was hit by a car 14 years ago, leaving a deformity on her right foot. Because of this, she had an ulcer formation in her ankle that was not able to heal. She spent multiple months hospitalized in one of the main public hospitals of Honduras and even went through multiple skin grafts. Sadly, all these interventions failed. She had to learn to live with this ulcer and her deformed foot for 14 years.                             

Time passed by, but she continued to fast and pray for her health. Then one day, someone talked to her about Hospital Loma de Luz. She tried getting an appointment, but, living so far away, it was hard for her to come to the hospital. As she recalls, she now realizes it wasn’t God’s timing yet, for He was working in her heart during those hard times of suffering.

When the time was right, the Lord opened the doors for her at Hospital Loma de Luz, and she was able to be seen by Dr Daisy, who was very touched by her case and helped her through this process. Dinorah has been very responsible and compliant with her treatment and wound care appointments. To our surprise and for God’s glory, the ulcer is now almost completely closed and healed.

She is now a candidate for surgery to correct her foot deformity. She was happily sharing her testimony with tears of joy for what the Lord has done in her life.

from Dra. Osiris—Story #2

patient voluntarily leading worship

     But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!” He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”  –Luke 19:39-40 (NLT).

 At Hospital Loma de Luz, we love praising the name of our Lord. Every day, before clinic starts, the patients receive a brief message from the Word of God by two of our staff members. Twice a week, doctors also play and sing worship music together with the patients before clinic starts.

 As life is full of setbacks, the persons who usually share a sermon were not able to do it on this particular day. However, this did not stop patients from praying and worshipping together. Under the Lord’s Sovereignty, this was not a problem, for He used a female patient that bravely took the initiative to stand up in front of everyone to share a brief sermon and then directed prayer and worship time. All the patients happily followed along. To our surprise, we found them praising all together by themselves the name of the Lord. It warmed our hearts to find them singing and praising by their own initiative. Sometimes we are the ones who encourage our patients, but at other times, they also greatly encourage us.  

Without a doubt, God works here in amazing ways!

from Dra. Daisy

honduras mission hospital patient

 Hello, everyone, I would like to share with you this beautiful story about one of our patients. She has attended several consultations for her rheumatoid arthritis condition, and she has been a testimony and example of love and service given to the care of our hospital. 

 Every 3 months we see her, and she always brings garbage bags to clean the surroundings, and 2 months ago she brought from her home these beautiful flower pots to brighten up the hospital. Undoubtedly, our patients are also part of this outreach. 

from Dr. Javier

It was 10:45 PM when I got the call. The ER was in chaos—an unstable patient had just arrived with chest pain, dizziness, and headaches. Before I could even reach the room, the nurse’s voice came through again: the patient had coded, and they had started CPR. Three minutes later, I stepped into the ER. The sight was all too familiar—three family members crying and praying as the nurses pumped away at the patient’s chest, bagging them, doing everything in their power.

 I took over, leading the team through advanced life support, doing everything by the book—intubating, defibrillating, securing IV access, administering medications. We followed every protocol perfectly, fighting to bring this person back. But no matter how hard we tried, no matter how much effort we poured in, nothing worked. Time slipped away, and at 11:10 PM, I had to declare the time of death.

 It wasn’t my first code. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a patient die or had to tell a family their loved one was gone. But it never gets easier. God knows how deeply it shakes me every time. I took a moment to gather myself, wiping away the moisture from my eyes, and asked the Lord for wisdom and strength. Then I turned to face the family.

 Three seconds of silence. That’s all it took. In that brief moment, they already knew. I didn’t have to say anything. I explained everything to them in simple words, apologizing for their loss. Tears fell as they embraced me, seeking comfort. But all I could think was, “Why? Why do we have these protocols? Why follow everything ‘perfectly’ if the result is the same? Why did this happen?” And then, out of nowhere, one of the family members looked into my eyes and said, “Everything is going to be fine, Doctor. Our relative is now in God’s arms, resting. You and your team did everything you could, and that’s okay. God has a plan for everyone, and everything that happens. As a family, after accepting this hard news, we will have a time to rejoice and celebrate that our relative has parted and is going to meet the Lord.”

 Why was this person comforting me? I nodded, thankful for their words, and headed to the bathroom to let the tears flow. How is God teaching me about faith and His plan in moments like these? After praying and reflecting, I returned to thank the team for their hard work. But I wasn’t done yet. I went back to the family and asked if I could pray with them. We held hands and lifted our voices to God, acknowledging His wisdom and purpose, even in the face of tragedy.

 As I look back on my medical career, I realize that no one teaches you how to handle these moments in medical school. They don’t prepare you for the emotional weight, as the one managing these cases and as the one bearing the bad news. Over time, I’ve come to understand that it’s only God who can give you peace and calm after these storms. He is the only one who can truly comfort you. And through it all, I’m reminded of  

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV): Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

from teacher Angela Demaris

misson teachers honduras

Thursday nights have quickly become my favorite night. That is because Thursday nights at the girl’s home of Casa Santuario is our quiet time with God. We grab our Bibles and journals, turn on worship music, and spread out across the living room, porch, and soccer field.

After a full week of the hustle and bustle of school, creating space to quietly rest in God’s presence is always so precious. 

     Between Bible class and chapel services at school, devotionals and Bible clubs at the home, and weekly church services, our kids get so much discipleship. Seeing the fruit of all this discipleship in their own relationships with God always blesses my heart. He is pursuing them and working in their hearts in the most beautiful ways which we often cannot see. This time with God each Thursday always reminds me of that. 

     The part that blesses me the most, though, is when we come back together and share about our quiet time. Sometimes they ask questions about how what they read shows God’s nature. Other times, they humbly share their prayer journal to God about His goodness and faithfulness in the midst of our human brokenness. And sometimes they excitedly share about what they read that night, which might consist of Revelation or the genealogy of Jesus.

     Their curiosity, humility, and excitement reminds me of the childlikeness Jesus talks about in Luke 18:17: “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

 While I might be their teacher at school, these girls have become my teacher as they teach me each week to pursue God with the curiosity, humility, and excitement of a child.

from teacher Haley Ens

missionary teachers honduras

As teachers, we’re always on the lookout for growth and change. We’re not just looking for excellent grades. We want to see growth in all areas of our students’ lives. 

 In the first week of school, one of my students raised his hand to answer a question. This small moment surprised me and filled me with joy. You see, I taught this same group of students two years ago, and this was the first time that I saw him raise his hand to answer a question. This kind of change isn’t something that we measure on paper or in grades.

 There’s another kind of change that fills us with joy. At El Camino, our mission is to raise a generation of leaders who know and love the Lord. We want to see transformed students who will transform their communities and their country. Last May, I got to pray with several of my students as they made the decision to declare Jesus as their Saviour.

 The year was coming to an end, and the Lord nudged me to give an opportunity for students to profess their faith in Jesus. I pulled up Romans 10:9-10 on my Bible app. I planned to read it when we finished our Bible reading for the morning – whatever it would be. In my classroom, we read through Dave Strehler’s The Bible Made Easy for Kids. It walks through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. That morning, the Lord confirmed the nudging He had given me. I opened to the bookmark from the day before and turned the page. The day’s reading was a summary of the book of Romans. It was a one page, simple explanation of the gospel. It explained that we are sinners separated from God, that the punishment of our sins is death, and the good news that Jesus died for our sins. It ended with 

Romans 10:9-10: If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

After our reading and a discussion, eleven out of twelve students raised their hand that they wanted to declare Jesus as their Saviour. I got to chat one-on-one with each of them that day. Several had already declared Jesus as their Saviour. Four of them professed their faith for the first time that day. And the one who didn’t raise her hand? She excitedly told me that she was already saved and was eagerly waiting for her baptism.

These are the changes we praise God for. The transformation that we trust will overflow out of our students for years to come. We pray and believe that God will continue to work in their lives and use them for His work of transformation in their families, their communities, and their country. 

News and Needs

1 –Support for these young missionaries: Historically the Cornerstone Foundation has intentionally avoided asking for financial support. It is said that George Muller never asked for money (although he tirelessly publicly presented the work). D.L. Moody’s approach was the other end of the spectrum. We don’t see that asking God’s people for financial support for God’s work as wrong. The Apostle Paul certainly did so. But we have always tried to navigate between these two poles, more like Hudson Taylor’s approach to present the need, but not ask for money. I think we’ll try to stick with that. 

Our young Honduran National Missionary doctors are supported entirely by the Cornerstone Foundation. Most of our teachers are supported in part, or entirely, through the Cornerstone Foundation. This has become one of the largest portions of our monthly expenditures. Yet we have done this without talking about it. But now I am. This is a heavy financial load to carry each month, but we see this support of young national and international missionaries, missionaries like those who shared their stories, as good stewardship, investing in the kingdom of heaven by investing in the future leaders. If you would like to join in that support…well, here is a need.

2 – Personnel Needs: Among the several positions which we need filled at Loma de Luz, there are a couple which bear emphasizing.  We need someone, man or woman, with practical hands-on skills in auto mechanics / construction / facilities maintenance… and we always need more missionary teachers.  If you feel so called, please contact us @ Cornerstone Foundation 

[email protected].

3- Welcoming Baby Ruthie Ray Gray:

baby gray loma de luzRuthie Ray was born to Chase and Reagan Gray on August 11!  At 8.5 lbs. and 21.5 inches tall, she is definitely the smallest person at the Sanctuary Casa de Ninos (where Chase and Reagan live and  serve) and has quickly become the center of attention.

4- Welcoming Ivonee Lopez: 

Ivonne Lopez Missionary Ivonee is Loma de Luz’s newest member of the exceptional caring and capable medical team God has brought together. In her brief bio she wrote this: “What I find most rewarding about  medicine is being able to help patients during their most vulnerable moments….And when I came to Loma de Luz, I felt an environment where we can not only help patients with their physical illnesses but also with their spiritual healing, having faith that God will place His hand upon them.” 

We are joyfully grateful for the team of servers at Loma de Luz and for all the patients and students who are part of God’s work there.

Indeed, “…as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard…the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

–Sally Mahoney for the Cornerstone Foundation