Each time Dr. Richard Hogan of Sewickley has traveled on medical mission trips, he has been able to feel his faith grow and God's presence, he said.

His latest trip to Honduras, taken last month with a St. Stephen's Church group, was especially inspiring, he said.

“All of us were able to share in that special moment when someone made the decision to pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Hogan said.

The Honduras trip was his third to that country. Hogan has made seven mission trips in all.

Hogan treated a variety of ailments in Honduras, from headaches to congenital heart disease, and had a special role in opening evening worship with songs.

The mission team from St. Stephen's in Sewickley totaled 15 people, ranging in age from 18 to 80, who tutored, provided medical care, and offered a children's ministry and Bible studies.

“Our lives become so busy at times that we don't stop enough to realize how much God is doing in our own lives as well as those around us,” said Hogan of why he volunteers for the trips. “These trips help me to appreciate that truth more than anything I ever done.”

Another team member, Bruce Newell, a retired Navy admiral, 79, of Sewickley, made his first trip to Honduras. He previously has completed missions to India and Israel with his wife, Theresa.

His role was in the mission trip, which included teaching at a local school, was lauded by Betty Kaszer of Sewickley, who with her husband, Mike, led the mission group.

“He is a natural evangelist,” she said of Newell. “He had people give their lives to Christ in the jungle, including three students.”

The Kaszers will make a presentation about the Honduras trip at 10:15 a.m. Sunday in the lecture hall at St. Stephen's, 405 Frederick Ave., Sewickley. The team will make another trip next June.

During the latest trip, team members treated 300 people at a clinic; provided medicine purchased with money it raised; vitamins donated by Brother's Brother Foundation of Pittsburgh; distributed food to children through Feed the Families program created by the Kaszers; and distributed toys, 25 soccer balls donated by Dicks Sport Goods and $200 worth of tattoos, face paint and bracelets donated by Party Ants of Sewickley.

Mike Kaszer said many team members want to return to do more work, either on their own or with a group.

“They were so impressed and overwhelmed by what they saw there,” he said.

Hogan also said he intends to return.

“I definitely feel compelled to go back to help the population we are serving, but a major reason I go back is because I get so much personally out of each trip,” he said. “I know that it changes my life.”

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