Jay Mirelez at the 858 Mirelez Surgery mission at HHG
Meet Jay Mirelez, CST, CSFA, CSA
Jay Mirelez, CST, CSFA, CSA, has served as a volunteer with Faith In Practice since 2009. He is currently the mission team leader for the Mirelez Surgery team from San Angelo, Texas that serves patients at Hospital Hilario Galindo (HHG) providing much needed general and gynecological surgeries. For Jay and his team, serving patients at HHG has become a labor of love and a calling from God.
Jay first served on Dr. Gene Huebner’s Antigua surgery team in 2009. Jay served with this team consistently each year, helping to support as a scrub technician, along with providing recruiting assistance, and supply procurement for the team. Through encouragement and support from Dr. Huebner, Jay started leading his own team in 2017, and the Mirelez surgery team has been serving at HHG ever since.
Dr. Huebner continued leading his team through 2019, as the 2020 team was cancelled. Faith In Practice missions resumed serving after COVID, and the Huebner team transitioned to what is now the Wani surgery team. Dr. Huebner has since returned to serve, and has volunteered with the Mirelez surgery team for the past 2 years, most recently with the 858 Mirelez team.
Sandie Mirelez, Jay’s wife, is a registered nurse who serves on the Mirelez team as a co-leader, supporting as the team administrator and nurse circulator.
Jay’s most recent mission in May 2025 with the 858 Mirelez team became an even bigger family affair. Jay and Sandie’s sons, AJ and JJ, joined the Mirelez team. AJ is a scrub technician who’s pursuing a nursing degree, and JJ is a surgical first assist. Although the Mirelez family works at the same hospital, Shannon Medical Center, and their paths will sometimes cross at work, being able to serve the patients of Guatemala together as a family was a unique and special experience.
In preparation for mission trips, Jay says his home transitions to a temporary storage facility with supplies and equipment stacked and spread throughout his living and dining rooms. “[AJ and JJ] help me pack the trunks, and do the inventory, and count all of the supplies, so they have seen all the planning, but they haven’t participated,” explains Jay, as he describes his sons’ involvement prior to the 858 Mirelez mission.
JJ was supposed to join the Mirelez team in 2020, however the mission was cancelled due to COVID. So for Jay, being able to finally share the Faith In Practice mission experience with his children was an event that had been many years in the making. This year, the Mirelez family served together in Dr. William “Bo” Whitehead’s operating room during laparoscopic procedures.
“At the team dinner,” Jay recounts, “I kinda lost it seeing everyone sitting there together.” Jay smiled when he said he knew his family enjoyed the mission experience because both of his sons asked him when the Mirelez team dates are for 2026.
Jay is the president of Concho Valley Medical Missions, a non-profit organization in San Angelo that he, along with Dr. Whitehead and several others, founded in 2017 with the goal of “raising funds to help with mission activities within our community, as well as mission trips to remote areas of need.” CVMM raises funds throughout the year to support the travel expenses of mission volunteers, and purchase medical supplies needed by the team to complete the surgeries they perform in Guatemala. Jay explains, “I’m always having to replace one or two people [close to the mission start date], and it’s very difficult.” Funds raised through donations and fundraisers organized by CVMM provide support for team members in need, as well as ensure there is money set aside for last-minute recruitment of very important volunteer team roles that they cannot do without. These volunteers are asked by CVMM to participate in the fundraising events the following year. This “pay it forward” commitment has been successful, and Jay says, “you’d be surprised how many people from the previous years just come and volunteer even if they are not serving [with a mission team] that year.” Concho Valley Medical Missions also raises money for other medical needs in the local community.
Jay credits several others, God, and the Guatemalan patients as the reasons he started serving and continues to serve with Faith In Practice. “I would not be doing all of this if it wasn’t for Dr. Whitehead and [Dr. Gene Huebner],” Jay explains – “They were the two people who encouraged and inspired me to do this.”
When asked what motivates Jay to continue to serve and lead surgical mission with Faith In Practice, Jay explains, “The faithfulness of the Guatemalan people is very impactful for us. That’s not something you see here [in the US]. Especially that first day when we go meet the patients. We introduce ourselves and tell them we are going to pray for them, and then they start praying for us. That’s very humbling that they are such spiritual people.”
“Every year we do just a little bit more than we did the year before,” says Jay about his Mirelez surgery mission team. “It’s not something we set out to do, but it just happens. And that’s God work, putting the right people in the right place at the right time.”
Jay says he always tells people who ask, “You think you’re going to help people, but in reality, [serving with Faith In Practice] is going to change you.” He concludes by saying that every Faith In Practice mission trip he participates with has that life-changing impact.
Faith In Practice surgery teams serving at Hospital Hilario Galindo in San Felipe, Retalhuleu provide a variety of surgery services, including general adult and pediatric, urology, uro/gynecology, gynecology, and ENT procedures.
If you’re passionate about volunteering, we invite you to explore exciting opportunities at www.faithinpractice.org/volunteer and discover the various impactful roles available. Join us in making a difference in Guatemala!
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