Author
Jo Ann Van Engen is one of the ASJ co-founders. She has helped create partnerships across Honduras and North America to work together toward justice, and she serves on staff for ASJ-US as the Communications Support and Donor Liaison.
ASJ-US 25TH ANNIVERSARY/ Justicia Winter 2025
February 25, 2025
Reflecting on 25 years of seeking justice together
(by Jo Ann Van Engen)
We do not have a picture of our first event, but we creatively recreated what it looked like.
Twenty-five years ago, on a beautiful summer evening in Grand Rapids, ASJ-US held its very first Celebration in my sister Shar’s backyard. I don’t remember a lot about that day, but I do know that what we lacked in experience, we more than made up for with confidence and boundless enthusiasm.
- Here is what I remember about that day:
- Around twenty people came
- Our program for the afternoon consisted of some photos we had hastily taped to the railing of the deck just before our guests arrived.
- Shar had to run across the street to beg her neighbor to take over the grill when her husband Reed, a large-animal veterinarian who was on-call that day, raced off to deliver a calf.
- There were no sign-up sheets and I do remember how much money we raised: zero dollars.
- WE ALL ATE LOTS OF PIE!
- Everyone agreed the event was a huge success!
We have come a long way since that summer day.
What began as a volunteer effort in West Michigan to support the work ASJ-Honduras had begun two years earlier, has grown to include a talented and enthusiastic staff of six people —half in Grand Rapids and half in Honduras— who invite people around the world to join in the effort to do justice in Honduras and in their own communities.
That work has led to an ASJ community that has grown to include thousands who pray, advocate, and financially support ASJ’s work in Honduras, and who volunteer stuffing envelopes and setting up tables, help renovate new office spaces, welcome our Honduran staff when their justice work puts them in danger, and who work together in their own communities to find ways to do justice and to come alongside those whose lives are hardest.
Twenty-five years after that tiny backyard celebration, ASJ continues to celebrate the many ways that God has guided this journey. Working for justice against those who use their authority not to serve but for their own benefit, has at times been dangerous, difficult and sometimes heartbreaking. But even in those times, it has felt like our ASJ community is where it should be—answering God’s call to all of us to do justice.
ASJ-US has grown and changed in the past 25 years, but our purpose has not: to be brave Christians, dedicated to doing justice in Honduras and to inspiring others around the world to seek justice.
Thank you for taking this journey with us and CHEERS for the next 25 years!
Earlier this month, The Banner published a story written by Our Shared Ministr y by Karina Guevara and Elmer Salinas . The authors showcase the work that ASJ-Honduras is doing to help and support students in Honduras. Karina and Elmer tell the story of Genesis Garcia, an 8-year-old, whose family struggles to find consistent jobs. "Genesis Garcia Baquedano is 8 years old and lives with her older brother, Anderson, and their parents in Honduras. Her parents work hard to support their family. Genesis’s father is a painter who struggles to find consistent work, and her mother is a street vendor who spends long hours away from home." According to Karina and Elmer, although Genesis is a good student, she was struggling with reading, writing, and math. This is where the ASJ-Hondurans' program, Strong Communities , comes to be a blessing. "Through God’s grace, Genesis and her family were able to join the Strong Communities program facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Association for a More Just Society (ASJ, because the Spanish translation is Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa). Through the program, Genesis attended academic support sessions, where she impressed her tutors with her perseverance and enthusiasm. Now, Genesis’s teachers praise the program for the significant progress Genesis has been making at school." We are blessed to be able to help kids like Genesis and her family to be able to achieve their dreams and goals. You can read the full story HERE and learn more about the ASJ-Honduras Strong communities program HERE
Highlights from our 25th Anniversary Celebration in Grand Rapids, MI
MY EMPTY VILLAGE / HOW IMMIGRATION AFFECTS A COMMUNITY (by Sara Pineda)
Young Hondurans have stepped up for democracy (by Blanca Stephanie Elvir)
From the Executive Director
What does paused international aid mean for ASJ?
Something Worth Waiting For
Will you walk with us for a more just society?
The beauty of doing justice in community
What I've Been Thinking About the Past Week
