Let's Keep Moving Forward

May 1, 2025

Choosing defiant hope over fear.

Dear Friend,


The boy could be forgiven for being terrified.


His father had just shared that, as a result of his work, his life was in danger. The boy was only six, but he was beginning to comprehend the meaning of the word “death”, with its terrible, irreversible finality. But fear, though present, was not his overwhelming emotion. More than the terror for his father’s life, the boy was indignant that his father was in danger simply for trying to make his country a better place.


The father could be forgiven for being terrified.


The death threats had been coming in steadily, and he had to prepare his family–young as they were–for what was possible. He had lain awake nights, agonizing over whether to continue the anti-corruption work he had dedicated his life to, but which now threatened to widow and orphan his family. How was he possibly supposed to balance the dual responsibilities to his family and to his fellow Hondurans? He had done the math in his head a thousand times as he lay sleepless, and it never added up.


As Carlos looked around the dining room table at the faces he loved–faces processing the news he had just shared–his youngest son suddenly shot to his feet. “No!” he shouted. “We won’t stop. We have to keep moving forward!


I haven’t been able to shake this story ever since Carlos Hernandez, ASJ-Honduras Executive Director, shared it at our Celebration of Stories events in Chicago and Grand Rapids earlier this spring. More than anything, the simplicity of it keeps pulling me up short.


On any given day, I can list a dozen reasons before breakfast why the world is irreparably broken and why the logical choice would be to curl back up under the covers. But ever since I heard the defiant words of Carlos’ son, they have reached across the intervening decades, grabbed me by the lapels, and still haven’t let go. They have forced me to recognize that, despite all the reasons to the contrary, there are so many reasons to keep moving forward.


And that’s why I want to take this opportunity to thank you for continuing to move forward with ASJ.

We have to keep moving forward for the 2 million kids in Honduras’ public schools who received 35 more days of school than last year and a square meal almost every day they were in class, thanks to your support for ASJ’s public pressure and collaboration with the Minister of Education.

Mother and daughter receive free medical consultation during an ASJ campaign to identify and report child sexual abuse.

We have to keep moving forward for the patients of Honduras’ public healthcare system–the vast majority of them the poorest members of Honduran society–who continue to get more and more of the medications they need because your donations have helped ASJ advocate for critical changes to the healthcare system.


We have to keep moving forward for the kids who are being empowered by community-level trainings–made possible by supporters like you–that are teaching them and their communities what it means to recognize and stamp out abuse.

Young honduran woman proudly shows her ink-stained pinky, a mark Hondurans receive as a proof they have voted.

We have to keep moving forward for the Honduran voters who stood in line until 3 am in March to exercise their right to vote in their primary election despite significant irregularities, confusion, and delay.


We have to keep moving forward for each of the 10 million Hondurans who deserve to participate in a society that is safe, just, and whole.

Will you commit to moving forward with us by making a gift today?

Give Now!

I hope you will decide to keep moving forward with us because the truth is that we–all of us–can be forgiven for being terrified.


The world is in turmoil. Wars rage. Politics poison. And injustice persists. It can feel hard, sometimes, to find hope to keep going. At least, it can for me.


But whenever we feel the temptation to fear and despair, let’s remember the words of a boy who chose defiant hope over fear.
Let’s choose to keep moving forward together.


Onward,



Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

Executive Director, ASJ-US

Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic vote
By Brian ASJ December 10, 2025
Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic voter turnout and a peaceful process supported by more than 12,000 national and international election observers working to safeguard transparency.
December 2, 2025
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People,  Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
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By Elizabeth Hickel November 12, 2025
Dear friend,  I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
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