December 2, 2014
–WUALTER IS NOW SPONSORED FOR BEACH CHRISTMAS 2014!!–
At the beginning of this year, one of our supporting congregations in the U.S. told us that they were interested in specifically supporting the evangelistic side of our ministry. We already had Siney, our full-time preacher, in place but we mentioned that we did have a desire to hire a youth minister to work specifically with our teens and our street outreach. But, at the time, we had no idea where to begin or who God would lead us to. Fast forward eight months and our paths crossed with Wualter Osorio.
Wualter was recommended to us by our friend Leopoldo, the preacher at the Mateo church of Christ. He had heard that we were looking for a youth minister and thought that Wualter might be a good fit given his unique background.
Wualter’s story is one that is inspiring to us and relate-able to the teens with whom he works. He grew up one of twelve children in a poor community. With a mother who valued drinking, partying and men, Wualter went to work early to help care for his younger brothers and sisters. He has family members who have been involved in gangs and violence, and he has known the pain of hunger and of a broken family firsthand. Sometime during his adolescence, a church was planted in his community. He began attending, begrudgingly at first, and eventually developed a relationship with the Lord. Through the years, his whole family has come to know the Lord and their lives have been transformed because of it.
After working his way through high school, Wualter decided to study ministry at the Baxter Institute because he wanted to use his past experiences to be able to help others. Following graduation from Baxter, Wualter worked in a few different churches and children’s homes in Guatemala and other parts of Honduras before eventually returning home to Tegucigalpa. And that is where our stories collided.
It can be difficult when working in urban ministry to merge the world of clean-cut, good-living, disciplined preaching candidates with the harsh realities of a life lived on the streets or in deep poverty. At some point, even for the most compassionate of Christians, there exists a gap in understanding. That’s why Wualter has been such a great gift. He is able to reach out to our teens in an unafraid, relatable way that tells of the hard life he’s lived but also the incredible grace he’s found. He can share past experiences and future hope. And he does it with a smile and the humility that have endeared him to our staff, teens and U.S. visitors alike.
This year, we would like for Wualter to join us on our Christmas trip. However, instead of presents, we would like to use his $125 to pay for his food during the trip but use the remainder to give him some extra cash during the holidays. Please consider sponsoring Wualter for Beach Christmas 2014.