Director of Project Transformation, Lead Pastor for Washington Cathedral, and US Liaison for Amor, Fe, y Esperanza
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On the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, Honduras sits a massive garbage dump
in which thousands of families live and work. This community is
plagued by poverty, violence, the mafia, gangs and drugs, the sex trade,
and all sorts of tragic evil. This context is not fit for anyone -
especially children. I am privileged to work with a ministry called
“Amor, Fe, y Esperanza” which serves these children and families and
dreams of transformation with them. I work with local, indigenous
leadership to reach out to families in the dump, to provide a holistic
education center, a church-planting movement, and soon a self-organized
community with dignified houses for dump dwellers.
Attempting such
an audacious dream requires God’s help and wisdom. I studied at both
the School of Intercultural Studies and the School of Theology at Fuller
Theological Seminary but felt that I lacked the research skills to
innovate in a community with such deeply embedded issues. My wife and I
both felt called to Honduras and we eager to minister there. Once I
heard about the DMiss cohort program, everything started to make sense.
The DMiss program allows me the opportunity to continue studying and
yet remain in full-time ministry in Honduras. The DMiss program provided
an ideal situation to deal with a garbage dump community that has
served as my missional focus and research subject. The program is
helping our team answer the question: how do we bring about transformation in the garbage dump community of Tegucigalpa, Honduras?
The members of my cohort have provided constant support and godly
guidance through this journey. I have built deep friendships with my
classmates over the course of four wonderful years. I truly believe the
garbage dump community will experience the power of the gospel and I owe
much to the training I received in the DMiss program.