Some of you have been asking how ASJ’s work will be impacted by President Trump’s recent executive order to pause all foreign aid and Secretary of State Rubio’s subsequent stop-work order on all foreign aid.

An honest look at US aid could be a good thing. However, this action does bring back memories of when the Trump Administration cut off aid in 2019 to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador because of its frustration with the increasing flow of immigrants from those countries to the southern border. Many of you likely remember that as a result, ASJ lost over 60% of its total budget which forced us to lay off many of our Honduran staff and to shut down our Peace and Justice project that had done so much to combat crime in dangerous neighborhoods. It was heartbreaking for us.

But, two important things came out of that painful event:

1. Our ASJ community in the US and around the world responded generously with encouragement, prayers, and donations and within a year, we were able to restart much of the work we had paused. A time of painful uncertainty became one of renewed trust in God’s leading.
2. We learned an important lesson: To ensure financial stability, we needed to diversify our funding. We committed to capping the percentage of ASJ-Honduras’ budget that could come from US government funds, and we built relationships with foundations and supporters who believed in ASJ’s mission and wanted to join us in that work over the long haul.

As a result, although we have been in the process of applying for some USAID grants that we are now no longer counting on, we currently have no funding that will be affected by these orders and we anticipate no meaningful interruption to our work in 2025 because of either the funding freeze or the stop-work order.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many other critically important civil society organizations. Many nonprofits with whom we partner in Honduras and in the US, including some that are very active in ASJ-led alliances, depend heavily on grants from the US government. Their important work will almost certainly be impacted by these decisions. We know how that feels, and we are grieving the uncertainty they are now facing.

At the same time, we are rejoicing that ASJ’s work will continue unaffected, and we are thanking God for so many of you. It is your faithfulness and generosity that has put us on a sustainable funding path insulated from the ebb and flow of political winds. We are so grateful.

And, we will continue to need you. In order to keep diversifying our funding even more, and to enable ASJ-Honduras to continue to grow, we’ve set an ambitious goal to increase our funding support for ASJ-Honduras by 50% over the next three years, and 100% in the next five. We look forward with eagerness to how God will continue to make a way for ASJ’s important work of supporting democracy, fighting corruption, and ending violence.

In an email I sent out after the election in November, I noted that US elections always have consequences for Honduras, regardless of who wins. I also shared that we would keep looking for opportunities to advocate for policies that center the most vulnerable in Honduras, and I promised to keep you informed on how you can join in.

To that end, I want to tell you that we will be hosting a Cafe & Conversación on February 27. Panelists from both the US and Honduras will discuss how some of the new Administration's proposed immigration policies could affect the most vulnerable in Honduras, and how we might be able to respond as brave Christians dedicated to doing justice.