You may have seen this week that a caravan of more than 4,000 people, mostly Honduran, is currently walking to the United States. The photos in the news are hard for Kurt and me to look at—I find myself hoping not to see the faces of people I may know—neighbors from the poor community where we live, youth from ASJ (formerly known as AJS) impact programs, or our children’s former classmates. The caravan is dangerous and the prospects of gaining entrance to the U.S. are slim. But I understand the frustration and the hope behind it.
A Reflection On The Migrant Caravan
October 23, 2018
By Jo Ann Van Engen, ASJ Co-Founder
Honduras has struggled for more than a decade with rampant corruption and violence. A few years back, it earned the title “Murder Capital of the World” and the very real impact of government corruption can be seen in the poor quality of Honduras’ schools and hospitals. It is hard to find a job, hard to live in violent neighborhoods, and hard to watch government officials more interested in lining their own pockets than in improving the conditions of the country.
Honduras’ problems are big, but not impossible to solve.
ASJ has spent the last 20 years working to address violence, impunity, and injustice. For example, an ASJ-led police purge and a crack-down on drug trafficking and organized crime have brought the homicide rate down to half of what it was in 2012. Hard work by ASJ and other organizations is also bringing government corruption to light, which is the first step towards accountability and systems that work. We are seeing change. But for many of the poorest people in Honduras, this change is still understandably hard to believe in. If Honduras adds 20,000 jobs to its economy, but you still don’t have one – you are not going to feel that the economy is improving. If one month ten people are killed in your community, and the next month, it’s five, the difference is remarkable – but you don’t necessarily feel any safer.
The people walking in this caravan are both frustrated and hopeful – frustrated by the difficulties and injustices they face, and hopeful that they can walk toward something better.
I may not agree with the decision they have made, but I understand it, and my heart and prayers go out to them, just as my heart goes out to my friends here in Honduras who pray every single day that their children will be able to stay in school, find a job, and stay safe from the violence outside their doors.
As friends and supporters of ASJ, you have prayed with us repeatedly for this country. In this situation, we once again invite you to join us in prayer for the well-being and safety of this group currently walking north, as well as for the renewal of the systems in the country they have left behind.
I invite you to take a moment today to pray the following prayer — at the dinner table with your family, at work, with friends, in your church small group. Join me in covering this difficult situation in prayer.
In Christ,
Jo Ann Van Engen
Lord, we know you want the best for your children and you ask for us to want the same. Your plans are to prosper us and not to harm us. Still, this prospering can be difficult to see in our broken world.
Help us to see hurting people through your eyes and to empathize with those whose lives are so much more difficult that ours. In the face of crisis, help us to avoid becoming cynical, dismissive, and unfeeling. Help us to do all we can to make your kingdom come, in this situation, and in every situation of pain or injustice that we come across. Help us now, today, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you. Amen.
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.
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
A call to action for Honduras
The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
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.
Calvin alums turn faith into action through nonprofit
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Thank You for Moving Forward With Us this Summer!
When Policies Shift, Families Pay the Price * by Jo Ann Van Engen
