Here is Dr. Cobb's Story:
With so many people lost and without hope, how do you identify where God is calling you to serve? For me, it was Honduras. A Central American country of about 10 million people, Honduras is considered one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Many rural residents depend on their livestock to provide enough for them to eat and live. Many of these individuals are subsistence farmers living in extreme poverty. All need the Gospel.
I first went to Honduras with CVM in the late 1990s after a veterinary professor at LSU challenged Louisiana veterinarians to get involved in veterinary missions. He identified an opportunity to serve with CVM in Honduras through the work of Honduras Outreach International (HOI), an organization that maintains a large, diverse ministry in the Agalta Valley of rural Olancho, Honduras. In 1997, I traveled to the HOI ranch for the first the time. I was then able to return the following year along with three veterinary students. In subsequent years, other Louisiana veterinarians and many from around the U.S. have served at the HOI ranch, and I have had the privilege to return each year with a CVM group of 10-25 team members.
Without question, each trip has displayed the goodness and glory of God as we saw Him work powerfully in the lives of Hondurans and CVM volunteers. It is impossible to recount all that God has done through these short-term trips, but there is one highlight that stands out. One year, Honduras was experiencing a widespread drought across much of the country. Several thousand head of livestock had died in the weeks prior to our trip. As our team began our work, residents asked that we join them in asking God for rain, which we gladly agreed to do. Shortly thereafter, the rain came…and came. Pastures "greened up," starving cattle and horses began to gain weight, and the Agalta Valley came to life.
It is easy to always recount the blessings and good experiences but, as with all areas of life, no mission is perfect. Hardships have included missed or delayed flights, lost luggage, team member illnesses or injuries, rainstorms, mudslides, vehicle breakdowns, an earthquake, excessive heat, airport closure due to an accident, bee stings, bat assaults, etc. Even so, God is ALWAYS sovereign, always good, always protects, and always provides!
These trips have been incredibly meaningful and a lot of fun. Along with the veterinary work, our teams spend time with local children by playing games and reading Bible stories, with parents by listening to their stories, and with the hosts by helping in their ministry. Seeing the joy when Honduran residents receive their first Bible, praying with residents in their homes, worshiping with local churches and with HOI staff, hearing miraculous testimonies from CVM team members, sharing the Gospel with rural residents, seeing God's amazing creation in the mountains, valleys, waterfalls, and beaches in Honduras, and enjoying local fresh fruit, coffee, and other foods unique to Honduras are just a few of the rewards that God has graciously provided. In a dark world, experiencing the warm hospitality and kindness of Honduran people who have little, but are willing to share what they have, is quite humbling.
I believe that God is glorified when believers have ears to hear and eyes to see the needs around them and... go. By responding, they get to see the hand of God at work and experience great spiritual growth themselves. Many of them return year after year, and some even go on to serve in long-term missions, but all return home changed by their service. I'm extremely grateful to each person that I've served with over the years and am thankful to our Lord that He enables us to continue to participate in veterinary missions.
Dr. Charles Cobb, an LSU Graduate (1978), has led and volunteered on over 30 STM trips to Honduras and other Central American locations, and has worked in private practice, the military, and with the USDA.
Volunteers pay or raise their own support in order to serve, but the CVM Short-Term Mission program relies on the support of veterinary professionals who selflessly give for CVM to train, organize, and send these volunteers out. A gift to CVM helps to financially support those God has called to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth through veterinary medicine.
THANK YOU FOR GIVING TODAY!
Testimonies from short-term volunteers working with Dr. Cobb
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers truly are few. At CVM, we praise God for those who continue to say, “Yes, Lord, send me!” Equally important is a desire and commitment to raise up volunteers and leaders who will carry on the ministry and respond to God’s call to serve. Throughout the years, Dr. Cobb has traveled with hundreds of volunteers. Two past team members provide testimonials telling of the lasting legacy that Dr. Cobb has had and continues to have on our short-term volunteers.
“CornCobb, as we lovingly refer to him, is the standard for what CVM is. He is humble, serving, dedicated, devout, wise, loving, a strong leader, a little silly, and an avid volleyball player. He has changed my view on what it means to be a veterinarian, and certainly a Christian veterinarian. I aspire to be the humble and serving man who can’t help but laugh at the punchline before he finishes any joke he tells. Dr. Cobb has impacted and likely inspired so many vets and students by just being himself. CornCobb is one of my favorite people, and I thank God that I've had the opportunity to serve with him.”
– Dr. Dave Mahoney (Peligro)
“At a Louisiana VMA convention, Dr. Cobb told me that he had 15 students signed up to go to Honduras on his annual trip to serve the people with veterinary care for their livestock and pets, but he didn't have another veterinarian to go with them. Without even thinking about it, I said, "Charlie, I'll go.” From that point on, we have traveled together annually to do the mission outreach at Rancho El Paraiso. I cannot say enough about Dr. Charles Cobb. He is a faithful and kind minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each morning before breakfast, Dr. Cobb leads his team in Bible study and prayer sessions. These sessions are always a blessing and help prepare us for the upcoming days’ work. Not only does he make sure that our spiritual needs are met, but he is also careful to see that our logistical needs are taken care of. Truly a mission trip with Dr. Cobb is an experience that one will never forget, and many times is life-changing. I have continued to go because I have seen the value of developing relationships with the people as we care for their pets and livestock. These relationships give us the opportunity to share the gospel and lead others to Christ.”
– Dr. Freddy Michaelson
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Dr. Cobb planning treatment of 
