Crossing A Continent In Support Of ASJ

March 22, 2017

Jim Beezhold is no quitter.


It’s what pushed him through almost two dozen marathons in his younger days, and many competitive triathlons. When he started to experience joint pain in his 70s, it’s what led him not to quit, but to switch from running to biking. It’s what pushed him, at age 72, to bike from Seattle to New York City with the fundraising bike race Sea to Sea.


Now 81, Jim pushes himself just as hard. This June, he will be the oldest participant in Sea to Sea’s annual bike race, this time from Vancouver, Canada to Nova Scotia. He’ll ride the ten-week course, which covers over 4,200 miles, alongside approximately 100 other cyclists, biking all day and making camp in pup tents each night.


Sea to Sea is an annual bike race co-sponsored by Christian development organization World Renew, and Partners Woldwide, a global Christian network that uses business to fight poverty. Since its founding in 2002, Sea to Sea has raised $5.5 million for hundreds of different poverty-fighting organizations.


“I really identified with the recipients, World Renew and Partners Worldwide,” said Beezhold. “When they announced that we could identify with a third charity, I immediately thought of ASJ,” he said. Now a certain percentage of every dollar he raises will go to ASJ’s (formerly known as AJS) work doing justice in Honduras.


Beezhold became involved with ASJ through his church, Crossroads Christian Reformed Church, in San Marcos, California.


He says he has a lot of respect for ASJ’s lawyers who protect witnesses and victims of violence, “ASJ lawyers take on very dangerous work representing ordinary citizens,” he said.


He sees this work as something that could be a model for the rest of the region, or even in the United States.


“At ASJ, they’re doing a job that no one else is doing in the world, I think,” he added.


For Jim Beezhold, the opportunity to combine one of his favorite activities with some of his favorite missions wasn’t to be missed. “I love to bike,” he said, “It’s the best way to see God’s country since you’re not going 75 miles an hour”.


But more than that, he says, “I regard this trip a mission which in the past has been the most physical, mental, and spiritual experience of my life.”


Donations to Jim Beezhold’s ride can be made at seatosea.org with his name in the memo. If you are interested in biking or racing in support of ASJ, you can find more information here. If you’re looking for a biking opportunity in Honduras, contact us to see how you can participate in Coast to Coast 2018!


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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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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