PLAINVIEW, TX — Eleven members of Wayland Baptist University’s Ben and Bertha Mieth School of Nursing boarded a plane Monday carrying blood pressure cuffs, medical supplies and a shared prayer — that God would use their nursing skills to minister to families in rural Honduras.
The “Mieth on Mission” team departed May 18 for a weeklong medical mission trip serving communities surrounding Valle de Angeles and Granadilla, Honduras. The effort marks the first international mission trip led specifically by Wayland’s nursing program.
Dr. Rebekah Grigsby, dean and associate professor of nursing, is leading the trip alongside Sarah Perez, interim associate dean and assistant professor of nursing. Nine nursing students from Wayland’s San Antonio campus also are participating.
While Wayland teams have traveled to Honduras for medical missions in previous years, this trip represents a new chapter for the Mieth School of Nursing. Grigsby joined last year’s university mission trip led by Dr. Adam Reinhart and Donnie Brown to explore whether the experience could become a dedicated opportunity for nursing students.
“This is a medical mission trip for the Mieth School of Nursing, but we are going to the same place and working with the same missionary,” Grigsby said.
The team is partnering with missionary Joe Denton and Tree of Life International to provide wellness checks and ministry outreach in rural villages throughout the week. Students will go door-to-door alongside a local physician conducting blood pressure and wellness screenings while also helping lead children’s clinics and ministry activities.
According to the team itinerary, outreach efforts will take place in Granadilla, Quebrada Grande, Villa Nueva, Nueva Esperanza, Cantarranas and El Censo before the group returns home May 25.
Grigsby said the trip reflects the nursing school’s mission to prepare students to care for both physical and spiritual needs.
“For me there is no better way to share the Gospel than by my actions in caring for those I encounter,” the dean said, referencing Luke 9:2 as a guiding scripture in her professional life. “Their needs may be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual and I can share God’s love through my actions. This is what I emphasize with students when I take them on mission trips.”
She said she hopes the experience will challenge students to see nursing as more than a profession.
“I pray that this will be a life-changing experience for our WBU-MSON students,” Grigsby said. “That when they go home, they will envision a way to use their nursing career as a means to serve globally, beyond their day-to-day workplace.”
Students participating in the trip are Erica Arias, Maricela Avila, Paul Caballero, Meggan George, Anjolique Pokorski-Goodman, Ashleigh Hunt, Shannon Money, Abigail Nunez and Ashley Thompson.
Grigsby said support from the Wayland community already has encouraged the team as they prepared for the journey.
“We are a team of 11 boarding the plane, but I truly feel our whole school is supporting us through prayers and encouragement and are part of this journey through us,” she said.
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