01/31/2026
More Than Medicine: A Mission to Proclaim Christ
Drawing from 1 Timothy 2:3–4, Ernesto Zuniga’s testimony reflects how God led him into service with North Texas Missions despite initial hesitation and feelings of inadequacy. What began as reluctance due to a lack of medical skills became a powerful calling to share the Gospel, as God redirected expectations and used obedience to ignite spiritual growth, and shape his ministry path. Through multiple trips to Honduras, Ernesto, encouraged by his wife Shelly, came to understand that NTM’s work is not merely medical, but Gospel-centered—meeting physical needs while pointing people to the greater need of forgiveness through Christ.
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This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4
I would like to begin by providing a little bit of background of how the Lord brought me to be a part of North Texas Missions. In was not until the year of 2018 that God blessed my wife Shelly and I with the opportunity to be a part of this mission trip. Before we could take part in this trip, when my wife shared with me the idea and the possibility of attending, my response was negative in the sense that I did not want to participate. The trip that NTM organizes is largely centered around providing medical care, and when I learned this, the idea that formed in my mind was my lack of medical, dental, and pharmaceutical knowledge. My wife, on the other hand, is a registered nurse—“logically, she can be of much greater use than I can,” I thought to myself—and my response to that was, “I don’t have the ability to serve in that way.” But God, who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4), used my wife and Sister Rosa, who is part of our church and also a participant in this trip, to plant in me a desire to serve in whatever way possible, and it is then that my perspective about this trip and how the Lord could use me had changed and would later also serve to strengthen our marriage and spiritual growth.
In the months leading up to the trip, my constant prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17) was, “Lord, use me for Your honor and Your glory.” When the moment of the trip finally arrived, my personal conviction was that the Lord would use my physical strengths as my primary form of service. However the Lords plan, which is always better than our own, was completely different (Romans 8: 28). The night our roles were assigned, I was approached and asked to assist with sharing the good news that is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the people of Honduras. Something I was not expecting but was eager to do. That week we shared the Gospel with over 3,000 people. By the end of the week, contrary to most people’s belief, I felt completely unworthy…..unworthy to be chosen to share the precious news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During this time the Lord had ignited a fire in myself I was not fully aware of until my return to the states. I told my wife that I felt the Lord was possibly calling us to serve as missionaries. And once again, the Lord had a different plan. In 2021, I was ordained as a minister by the local church, where I grew up and continue to serve. I now understand that this trip is not just a “medical trip”, but rather a trip to glorify God, preach His son to sinners like myself in the power and unity of the Holy Spirit. I came to understand that the medical aspect is a form of sharing the love that Christ has shown us, but not the primary goal of this mission.
I have now served the people of Honduras through NTM on 3 occasions and every year the Lord has allowed me to serve in a different way that has helped me to grow in different aspects of my life. Over the years I have noticed how the people of Honduras are willing to travel these long distances for a chance to receive what they think is the most important help we can offer…… the filling of a physical need. However just as the story of the paralytic that was brought by his friends to see Jesus for a physical need, the primary need that Jesus brings forth is the forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:5). During these most recent years, NTM has also come to know a local pastor and his congregation, and are now also able to assist them directly as well as branching out to other local churches through them. With this, a new goal of having a place of worship to where we can guide the locals to these body of believers where they can continue to develop their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I am beyond grateful to the Lord for continuing to use me, along with the people organizing this event year after year to be the light and salt of the Earth. I am also thankful to the Lord for all the donors who along with the group of NTM help to make providing care and hope to the people of Honduras possible. If you find yourself reading this and are wondering how you can be of any help… I ask that you start by praying…praying that NTM continue to glorify God, exalt the name of Jesus, and be guided by His Spirit to love God above all things and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
