Jeanie Kellett couldn’t help but smile as she thought back over the past few days. The October METAD trip to Nicaragua had been such a great success — the rural cancer prescreening clinic they had planted a year ago was running smoothly, and a large shipment of equipment and health supplies for the clinic had arrived safe and sound. God had shown up in a big way, and many women’s lives would be saved as a result.

Now, miles away from the clinic, Jeanie was preparing to meet with a one of the head doctors at the Ascension Regional Hospital in Juigalpa—and, for the first time since she arrived in the country, she began to feel self-conscious.

For years, Jeanie had supplied this faithful partner in ministry with large shipments of equipment, including full laparoscopic units for their surgical rooms. But today, all she held in her hands was a package of reusable trocars — small, seemingly insignificant accessories for surgeries.

“I’m really sorry, I only have a small donation this time,” Jeanie said as she met with the doctor. “I’m so embarrassed to only give you this.”

But as she looked up at the doctor’s face, there was something in his eyes she didn’t expect:

Tears.

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Jeanie, a long-time partner of International Aid, has made it her mission to serve our Lord as He calls her, and currently that is to improve women’s health in Nicaragua. For over a decade, God has used Jeanie to equip missionaries and hospitals in Nicaragua’s poorest neighborhoods with International Aid medical equipment, vitamins, baby food and other health supplies.

While these shipments have contributed to feeding programs, building programs and health instruction programs, one of the recent focuses has been to help diagnose and treat the symptoms of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer.

Through Jeanie’s network of hospitals and clinics, God has established a system where impoverished, underprivileged women in rural Nicaragua who are diagnosed in rural prescreening clinics are sent to compassionate larger hospitals that help them receive affordable cancer treatment and surgeries.

One of these compassionate hospitals is the Ascension Regional Hospital in Juigalpa, Nicaragua. For years, they have faithfully served those in need and, in turn, Jeanie has worked hard to serve them. She has secured many shipments for this hospital, most of which were large shipments containing equipment from International Aid.

When Jeanie arrived in Nicaragua in October, she initially hadn’t planned on making a trip to the hospital in Juigalpa. Therefore, her original shipment of equipment for the trip didn’t contain any donations for the city hospital. However, while she was on her trip, she received word from an IA employee who had found reusable trocars.

Trocars, which are small surgical accessories that help doctors conduct invasive surgeries, are typically disposable — however, Juigalpa had been asking Jeanie to secure some reusable ones.

“I have had them on my list forever, and finally International Aid found some,” Jeanie said. “They shipped them down to me, and I was able to bring them to Juigalpa.”

Yet, in comparison to previous gifts Jeanie had given to the hospital, a package of seven-inch trocars seemed incredibly insignificant. Thus, Jeanie was caught off guard by doctor’s emotional response to the small donation.

“You don’t understand,” the doctor told Jeanie. “We have had to stop laparoscopic surgery because we didn’t have these. We haven’t been able to treat one patient since we ran out of disposable trocars.”

Then Jeanie heard the words that brought tears to her own eyes:

“Because of this donation, we’ll be able to start laparoscopic surgery again tomorrow.”

Praise God for the work accomplished in Nicaragua last October, and for providing the small gift that now has saved numerous lives by making surgeries possible once again!