Juan’s story captures the heart of Mission Lazarus. We don’t come to fix poverty - we come to walk alongside men and women as they discover their God-given potential. Seeing Juan grow from a local mason to a leader shaping others’ futures is living proof that transformation happens when faith, opportunity, and hard work come together.

In the small village of Jayacayan, where job opportunities are scarce and most women are expected to stay at home, Nancy Mondragón has learned that hope can be planted like a seed. At 28 years old, she lives with her husband, their little girl, and her in-laws in a modest home where every bit of income matters.

When Elisson first arrived at Mission Lazarus, no one could have imagined the man he would become. His family had very little material resources, but what they lacked in wealth, they made up for with determination and a quiet hope that life could be different.

In the quiet mountain town of San Marcos de Colón, Honduras, a small bootmaking shop once stood—humble in size, but rich in craftsmanship.

Juan Herrera didn’t own a pair of shoes until he was 12. By then, he had already spent years waking up before dawn to load 1,000 bricks into his father’s kiln then returning in the afternoon to unload them. That was life in his remote Honduran village: relentless, rugged, and without options.