“…the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Mt.21:42
The following is from Dr. Mark Claussen, a general surgeon and frequent volunteer at Loma de Luz.
Do Not Grow Weary…
Not quite three years ago, when I was making my first visit to Loma de Luz, I had instructed the Emergency Room staff to call me for any surgical emergencies and let Dr. McKenny sleep. After all, that was why I came, right? To give Loma de Luz’s solo, do-it-all surgeon (general surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, ENT, etc.) a little break.
I was abruptly awakened in the middle of the night by a knock on my guest house door, with a voice telling me I was needed in the Emergency Room urgently. A man had severe urinary retention, was in terrible pain, and multiple attempts at placing a urinary catheter to drain the bladder had been unsuccessful. They were hoping I could place a suprapubic catheter through his abdominal wall directly into the bladder to relieve the ever-building pressure.
I am normally a general surgeon in a small northern Minnesota town called Bemidji (population about 13,000). We have a well-equipped regional hospital, so I see a wide range of surgical problems from a large region in the northwest corner of our state. The variety of procedures I get to do is one of my favorite parts of my practice. But I don’t do suprapubic catheters—or even difficult urinary catheter placements, for that matter. That’s what urologists are for.
As I hurriedly donned my scrubs, I could hear the rain pounding on the roof, so I also put on my rain poncho. As I entered the utter blackness of the night, flashlight in hand, I crossed the parking area to the two successive wood-slat, cable-supported swinging bridges suspended over 50-foot-deep gullies that separate the dorm building from the hospital.
Walking over the bridges, with the unsteady feeling of walking on a huge trampoline, my shoes, socks, and scrub pant legs were quickly soaked through in the downpour. As I made my tenuous journey, I was struck by several thoughts at once.
First of all, and most obviously, I wasn’t in Minnesota anymore. It rains in Minnesota, but not like this. It seemed more like I was walking under a waterfall than individual raindrops. I have made many trips in the middle of the night for medical emergencies, sometimes in difficult weather, but nothing like this. It was as if the rain was testing my commitment.
Secondly, there was a mixture of insecurity and excitement. Would I be able to help this man effectively and safely? Would I have to disturb Dr. McKenny after all and admit that I wasn’t up for the task? Advocates of short-term mission trips often talk about “getting out of your comfort zone,” “expanding your boundaries,” or “putting yourself in a place where you have to trust God” as ways God uses to grow our faith and enlarge our vision of what He can do. In that moment, I was there.
Lastly, and somewhat surprisingly, I was filled with the sense that I was exactly where God wanted me to be—wet and a little muddy, in unfamiliar territory both geographically and medically. I knew about six words in Spanish. I didn’t know where anything was. I didn’t even know what equipment was available. I was willing, but somewhat desperate and depending on His guidance. In the midst of this, I felt His presence and His peace.
Upon arrival, through the translation of the young Honduran Emergency Room doctor, I was able to assess what had been tried, drain the gentleman’s bladder without surgery, and relieve his stress—and my own. It was a good moment to teach the staff and thank God.
Since that first visit, I have returned about twice a year to cover the surgery schedule when Dr. McKenny or the newest staff surgeon, Dr. Christy Stoller, has to be away for family or administrative reasons. The travel days are always a bit tiring (at least it’s the same time zone as Minnesota), and the Honduran roads are a challenge.
But God’s imagination in His creation is on full display. The facilities at Loma de Luz, in the middle of the seaside jungle, are impressive and a testimony to His provision. The El Camino school and Children’s Home are raising a next generation of godly leaders.
The staff that has been gathered display the “body of Christ”, functioning in its many complementary talents and gifts on a daily basis.
Every visit I make, I am impressed—bordering on overwhelmed—by the “daily basis” in which these children of God serve those around them and each other. Sure, I serve others in Minnesota, sometimes when they are in a severe crisis, but most of our “complaints” and efforts center around the “god” of being maximally comfortable and entertained. I come here, and I am humbled.
Many of the patients here have to travel by bus or borrowed car to get care. Sometimes their previous care has been poor or, limited by affordability, out of reach. A recent man in his sixties said he had lived with a painful, growing hernia for over twenty years because he was convinced he would die if he had surgery. He said he came to Loma de Luz because he knew that “God was here” and he would live through surgery.
I have repaired hundreds—maybe thousands—of hernias over my 30+ year career, but never one in which I felt more honored to be part of someone’s healing and physical restoration. Patients are prayed for, worship time is held in the waiting room each morning before clinic, the gospel is shared with love and compassion, and the name of Jesus is lifted up day in and day out.
My prayers for the staff of Loma de Luz are beyond counting. For provision of material needs, of course. For money to keep running and to expand, yes. For new workers—both long- and short-term—certainly. But I think my most frequent prayer is the blessing of Galatians 6:9:
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
How is the kingdom of God built up? Brick by brick, person by person, day by faithful day.
Go. Send. Support.
—M.C.
A Report From Dr. Jeff
In the first quarter newsletter of each year, we want to present “the big picture” of Cornerstone Foundation & APAH / Loma de Luz stewardship of the previous year—basically, what we did with God’s resources.
“APAH” is the Honduran non-profit in close partnership with Cornerstone USA, accomplishing the work in Honduras. “Loma de Luz” refers to the entire work there (hospital, children’s home, school, agricultural work, and more). Although intricately interrelated, we first divide the consideration into income and expenditure of the Cornerstone Foundation. Then APAH / Loma de Luz follow that.
Cornerstone Foundation Income 2025
This is a graphic representation of the resources which God made available to the Cornerstone Foundation in 2025.
As you review this, keep in mind:
- The Cornerstone Foundation receives no aid or support from any governmental agency or any specific Christian denominational organization and utilizes no resources for political purposes.
- Cash donations come entirely through tax-deductible, free-will contributions.
- Donations of medications, equipment, and materials largely come from other Christian non-profit organizations. The assigned dollar values are provided by those organizations and cross-checked with standard references.
Cornerstone Foundation Expenditures 2025
The following is a representation of how those resources were utilized.
90% (actually 89.7%) of expenditures went to “Ministry.”
What qualifies as “Ministry”?
In charitable accounting, “ministry” refers to program services—the direct, mission-driven activities designed to serve people, meet needs, and advance the organization’s purpose.
For the Cornerstone Foundation in 2025, this included work at Loma de Luz such as:
- Salaries for Honduran professionals
- Missionary salaries or stipends
- Purchased equipment and materials (medical, educational, childcare, etc.)
- Donated equipment, materials, and pharmaceuticals
- Grant reimbursements (primarily for construction and capital projects)
- Payroll shortfalls on the field
In short: direct support of the work at Loma de Luz through APAH.
APAH & Loma de Luz Income 2025
The next chart represents the resources made available in 2025 to APAH & Loma de Luz through:
- The daily work of the Loma de Luz team
- The generosity of Cornerstone Foundation donors
- The contribution of short-term volunteer professionals
Keep in mind:
- APAH & Loma de Luz receive no government support
- Additional income not shown includes salaries and stipends for missionaries paid directly by the Cornerstone Foundation
APAH & Loma de Luz Expenditures 2025
From a stewardship perspective, it is noteworthy that Loma de Luz makes a substantial contribution toward its own financial sustainability.
A complex, service-oriented mission like Loma de Luz requires infrastructure beyond what can be measured in dollars:
- Regulatory compliance
- Relationships with other organizations
- Administrative oversight
- Receiving, storage, and shipping systems
Special projects and capital expenses still require additional support through the Cornerstone Foundation. However, in terms of day-to-day operational funding, Loma de Luz supplied the majority of its financial needs in 2025.
Honduras remains one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. In this context, it is remarkable that a mission hospital and school can:
- Support a foster children’s home
- Serve those in need
- Cover the majority of its operating budget
Our primary goal is to live as a witness to the hope within us—the hope of Christ Jesus.
Our financial goal is to be self-sustaining.
Over the years, through perseverance, trial and error, and the work of many dedicated people, we have made significant progress. Still, we recognize that what we can do is never enough on its own.
On any given day, this could fail—but it hasn’t.
And that is simply the hand of God.
Dios Obra Aquí.
In Christ Jesus,
~Jefferson McKenney, M.D.
The purpose statement in our charter is taken from the Gospel of Luke (4:18–19):
The Cornerstone Foundation is a not-for-profit, nonpolitical, service-oriented charitable organization. Its purpose is to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, proclaim deliverance to the captives, restore sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
News & Needs
New(ish) Missionary Surgeon & Missionary Engineer
Dr. Claussen’s opening article reflects a time from a few years ago when Loma de Luz had only one long-term surgeon. Now we have two. Dr. Christy Stoller, a top-notch missionary General Surgeon, along with her husband, Jacob Bowerman, a top-notch missionary engineer, joined as long-term staff in September. Their work has already proven to be pivotal. We are very grateful.
Licensure (from Rosanne)
It is official. El Camino has full licensure given by the Department of Education of Honduras—from Pre-Kinder through High School.
El Camino in its Early Days
“Hope deferred maketh a heart sick; but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” — Proverbs 13:12
I vaguely remember thinking, over 20 years ago, that though I was willing to naively tackle homeschooling my three kids and five other Honduran village children, I was absolutely not interested in starting an official K–12 bilingual school in Balfate, Colón. Probably because I knew I didn’t have what it took.
Some years later, a few of us decided to do the next right thing.
We converted a barn into a kindergarten and invited the first students to attend El Camino Bilingual School’s one-room schoolhouse. In faith, we added a grade each year—and have continued doing so for the past 14 years. One year at a time.
When I reflect on how God has worked in many lives at Loma de Luz, it seems He often leads in an open-ended way, showing us just enough—like headlights in the dark.
This is not comfortable for planners who prefer measurable goals and certainty. What if we had known that year after year we would still be battling government bureaucracy? That licensure would take years? That students’ education might not be recognized? That parents who trusted us could be disappointed—or worse?
If we had known too much, would we have said “no” and walked away?
The story of El Camino Bilingual School is a complex and rich testimony of how God made the unlikely happen—how trusting parents, hardworking students, and dedicated teachers and administrators simply kept doing the next right thing for over 20 years.
We may not have had what it took—but God did.
His plan had likely been unfolding long before we were invited into it.
Thankfully, God desired a Christian, academically rigorous bilingual school on the edge of the jungle in Colón, Honduras. He brought the right people, prepared the officials, softened bureaucratic resistance, and sustained those who needed endurance at just the right moments.
We will never fully know the unseen work He did.
We do know there was tremendous resistance—more than expected. Perhaps our enemy understands the power of children who are discipled for years before college, who love God and walk with Him faithfully. Combined with strong academic preparation, they become leaders capable of changing the trajectory of their culture—and beyond.
El Camino in Recent Days
Though many of us may not see the full fruit of this labor in our lifetime, we can already see that God is at work. Our graduates are excelling academically and pursuing meaningful college degrees, grounded in both knowledge and faith.
To everyone who supported El Camino Bilingual School over these 20 years—teachers, administrators, donors, and prayer partners—thank you.
Each of you followed God’s leading and did the next right thing, as far as you could see.
~Rosanne L. McKenney
Election Update
A new (and potentially more favorable) Honduran federal government has been elected and sworn into office relatively peacefully. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that God guides this administration to lead Honduras toward becoming a light among the nations.