Age Quod Agis - Jesuit High School

Dr. Jim Stempel ‘70, wife, mary, and son, Andrew ‘02, volunteer on Faith in Practice medical
missions to Antigua on an annual basis. Their passion has inspired others to join the cause.
Alumni Profile
Jim Stempel ‘70 Finds His Calling Serving Others
in Antigua; Other Alums and Parents Join mission
Introduction
Faith In Practice was born out of
a response to God’s calling to serve
the poor. In 1990, twenty-year-old
Presbyterian Minister Todd Collier
went to Antigua, Guatemala, to learn
Spanish. He returned, touched by
the people and their many medical
needs. Joe and Vera Wiatt, members of
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
in Houston, Texas, listened to Todd’s
message and felt a calling to help.
In 1993, the first surgical mission
team served at the Obras Sociales Del
Santo Hermano Pedro in Antigua.
Under the Wiatts’ leadership, a
healthcare system began to evolve
for the people of Antigua. Executive
Director Linda McCarty currently
leads Faith In Practice.
Today, the hospital, Obras
Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro,
is used to treat patients and serves
as an extended care facility. Along
with the 18 surgical and 14 triage
teams that travel to Antigua yearly,
there are 300-400 Guatemalan people
who volunteer in villages around the
country.
Jim Stempel ‘70
Jim met his wife, Mary, in their
professions: he was a doctor and she
was a nurse. Ten years ago, Jim was at a
medical conference in Ashland when
he was asked by another doctor to go
on a mission with Faith In Practice.
He agreed and went on a one week
mission with his son, Andrew ’02. It
was a life changing experience for Jim
and the beginning of his calling to
serve the people of Guatemala.
Jim and Mary’s calling to do more
and to serve those in need has been
a foundation within their family. At
Jesuit, Jim was taught to be a man for
others. Serving others in a volunteer
capacity was always what he wanted
to do, but with life’s crazy schedules
and career demands, it was easy to put
off volunteering. It wasn’t until much
later in life that Jim discovered his
passion was in serving the people of
Guatemala.
Jim’s advice for the young alums
of today is tangible: “Do cool stuff
• 46 •
now. Don’t wait. Give back to the
world.”
Jim’s son, Andrew, went on the
first mission with him and the last
four missions. He was responsible
for the technology setup and even
worked as the first assistant in the
operating room one year when many
on the mission were sick. Tim, the
Stempel’s middle son, is very involved
with the program JOIN. Katie ‘11,
their youngest, is currently working
in Paraguay this summer with Amigos
de las Americas.
The following are reflections from a
Faith In Practice mission to Antigua on
April 9-17, 2010. Besides Jim ’70 and
Andrew Stempel ’02, there were a number
of Jesuit ties to this Faith In Practice
Mission. The Kimbrels (dentists), who
volunteered on the April mission, have
two children, Andrew ’02 and Claire ’05,
who went on the previous mission. Mark
Christianson, whose Faith in Practice blog
is found at http://www.faithinpractice.
org/triplog.php?tripid=250, is the photo
journalist for the team and currently has
a student at Jesuit, Julia ’11. Dr. Bill
Crowley, an anesthesiologist and the team
doctor, has a daughter at Jesuit, Kelly ’11.
Mary Willis was a volunteer pre-op nurse.
Her son, Ciaran ’10, recently graduated
from Jesuit.
Mike ’70 and Mary Casey were
the chefs on this trip, which was their
inaugural mission with Faith In Practice.
Their daughter, Emily ’03, and son-inlaw,
Dan, also joined the mission as
translators.
Mike Casey ‘70
During my four high school
years at Jesuit, I was a member of
Sodality—a school-sanctioned service
group of students that participated in
interfaith conferences, organized the
annual Food Drive and paid weekly
visits to Doernbecher Children’s
Hospital. Little did I realize at the time
that the lessons I learned would guide
me (along with my wife, Mary, (JHS
Auction Director 2004-06), daughter
Emily ’03 and her husband) to
Guatemala in fellowship and service
as members of Faith In Practice.
The leaders of our medical brigade
Dr. Jim Stempel ‘70 and Andrew Stempel ‘02 in surgery.