Our Saint Barnabas Mexico Medical Mission has wrapped up for another year, and I wanted to share a few photos from the farmacia (pharmacy), where I had the privilege of serving. Every day, we packed up and set up in a different community, creating a brand-new pharmacy from scratch. The rooms were incredibly hot, with very little airflow and usually no air conditioning, but seeing the gratitude on people’s faces made every long, sweaty day completely worth it.

This year, 56 volunteers from the United States joined forces with 51 volunteers from Mexico to serve together. Over the course of the week, we welcomed more than 1,200 patient visits through our clinics, providing dental care, general medicine, cardiology, psychiatry, eye care, physical therapy, and gynecology. We also offered clothing, shoes, toiletries, blessing bags, and government food assistance at every location.

The farmacia was definitely one of the busiest places to be! We worked as quickly as we could to fill every prescription possible, and many patients needed multiple medications. It was exhausting at times, but also deeply rewarding. Watching our teams work side by side and seeing the appreciation from the communities we visited is something I’ll never forget. I’m so grateful to have been part of this mission and already look forward to returning next year.

(Article and Photos by Susan Gardner)