Doctor Who Helped Honduran People Has Soccer Field Dedicated To Him

Betty Jo Green has always had unwavering support for her husband, Dr. James Green.

The couple, deeply rooted in their faith, shared a passion for helping others.

In 1998, while the couple was having breakfast, they ran into an old friend Cheryl Ann Kuney.

Kuney shared exciting news; they were selling their house in Tulsa and preparing to move to Honduras to work with a ministry.

The Kuney’s initial plan had been to support a ministry in Honduras, but when the ministry left within the year, they saw how impoverished the area was and decided to stay and help the community by creating their own ministry, Gathering Hearts for Honduras.

"Our goal was to teach marketable skills so they can earn a living. Not just hand out to them but give them a way of living,” Kuney said.

Dr. Green, an internal medicine diagnostician, retired in 2005 but his contributions didn't end with his retirement.

He and his wife traveled to Honduras to see the situation firsthand and help the Kuney's.

Once the Green’s went once, they were hooked. Both Betty Jo and Cheryl Ann admired Dr. Green’s compassion toward not only his patients but the Honduran people.

"He had a heart that reached out to each person, and each individual was very important to him,” Green said. “He would call them up to find out if he hadn't seen them in a while. It was his heart for his people, and that bled over into the Honduran people."

"He was so compassionate and would leave no rock unturned,” Kuney said. “He went into every way to help us."

In 2017, Dr. Green passed away, leaving behind a legacy that was too significant to be forgotten; Betty Jo was determined to carry it on.

“Down there, the people were so grateful for anything that he did,” Green said. “Whether it was to pray with them, or just to give them relief from their pains, or to give them advice about what was going on in their lives."

On June 25, 2023, Betty Jo returned to Honduras for a significant event.

The Dr. James Green Memorial Park, a soccer field, was dedicated; a testament to the enduring impact of a man who had helped so many people.

"His heart is for the people,” Green said. “He loved the people of Honduras. This is his legacy to carry on, and people are doing that."