t i e r r a n u e v a
. . . on earth as it is in heaven
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Bob Ekblad Executive Director - www.bobekblad.com Bob Ekblad is executive director of Tierra Nueva and The People’s Seminary in Burlington, Washington. A minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he holds a ThD in Old Testament and is known internationally for his courses and workshops on reading the Bible. Bob and his wife Gracie minister at Tierra Nueva and at their home-based retreat center New Earth Refuge. They have three children, ages 16, 14 and 12. |
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Gracie Ekblad Executive Director Gracie Ekblad, along with Bob, began the work of Tierra Nueva in Honduras in 1982. There, she led Bible studies, ministered, visited, and taught sustainable farming techniques and preventative health education through natural means. Gracie is the assistant director of Tierra Nueva and a minister in the Presbyterian church. She currently homeschools their youngest daughter, and their two sons are in high school. |
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Nick Bryant Family Support Center & Honduras Special Projects I first came to TN looking for something to do for the summer, a place to live and learn from people who had experience working in Central America and with migrant farmworker families in the Skagit Valley. But I guess I got hooked. Or maybe I've fallen in love. Whatever it is, I'm still here, and I have this increasingly unabashed affection for the place, for the quirky community in which I find myself, for the time I get to spend with the people that come in, and for the opportunity to drink deeply from the wealth of thought, experience, and love that I've found here. If you're ever in the area and thirsty, I hope you'll come by for a drink. |
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Roger Capron In 1988, a term of service in Guatemala with Habitat For Humanity changed the course of my life forever. There, I began to receive a call on my life to work with the marginalized for our mutual liberation, healing and salvation. I knew someday I would put this new passion to work at a job that gave me deep satisfaction—because it would also be my vocation, my calling. . Roger has recently been commissioned to a new role at the Public Defender's Office in Mount Vernon. |
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Ryann Lachowicz Migrant Outreach and Administrative Assistant
My domain here at TN is with administrative work and the Family Support Center. I see myself as a searching one, hungry to encounter who God really is and get swept up in God's agendas of life and hope. I came to TN like a moth to a lantern. I can’t seem to resist the life I’m finding here! Ever since I brushed up against this place, my world tipped upside down and the new picture is captivating. I'm always eager to meet new people interested in what God is doing at Tierra Nueva and to dialogue about our journeys. |
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Chris Hoke Jail and Gang Chaplaincy UNDERGROUNDS coffee Like the migrants we accompany, I arrived here after a long journey north up the West coast, looking for something more. After high school, I left Southern California and my years of upper-middle class church involvement and leadership to live among the poor in inner city East Oakland, attracted to the lifestyle Jesus modeled. Soon I was hooked, after a year building relationships in a homeless shelter, run-down living rooms and street curbs. Yet I only had more questions, which led me to the lecture halls and streets of Berkeley for four years. The more I learned, the hungrier I grew to see the kind of kingdom Jesus offered and the more I wanted to distance myself from the church. Weary of cynicism and empty of faith, I arrived here in Skagit Valley desperate to hear good news. Now, in labor camps, in the jail, and surrounded by the community at Tierra Nueva, I'm discovering good news alongside migrants and inmates, with a new hope in Jesus and his church, with its power of love to kick down the gates of hell all around me. |
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Finding Tierra Nueva has changed my life. Here I found people, in the middle of it--the meth, the gangs, the poverty, the hopelessness--and it's not bringing them down. Here they are, lifting people up, raising up this valley. So now I'm here too. In the migrant camps I'm learning to speak Mixteco and Triqui, enjoying fresh tortillas, and watching God's Kingdom come, bringing light to the darkest places. |
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Amy Muia Jail Chaplaincy, Family Support Center, and Communications I've been at TN since 1999, when I became coordinator of the Bible program in the migrant camps and served on the board. In 1990, I was forever changed by a trip to Central America that awakened me to the realities of oppression, poverty and violence. I found in Tierra Nueva a place where I could serve the most marginalized, where we could study the Scripture together and discover God's heart for the healing and liberation of us all. In 2005, I was deeply changed by a new work of the Holy Spirit at Tierra Nueva. All my study and preparation suddenly became filled and empowered. What I love about Tierra Nueva is this unique blend of Word and power--that we can, in the wind of the Spirit, reach the most marginalized in our community and around the world. |
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Troy Terpstra Youth and Arts Ministry Troy Terpstra came to Tierra Nueva by some kind of Holy accident two years ago and happily he has stayed here since. He now coordinates our children's program and is currently working on his second mural in the building. He is 27 years old and he likes to dance and run around and draw. He also very much enjoys going to rivers and things like that. p.s. If you'd like to know more about Troy's mural project, email us at info@peoplesseminary.org. |
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Elizabeth Turman Hospitality and Accompaniment, Family Support Center I moved to Tierra Nueva in 2003 from Vancouver, where I attended Regent College. While a Regent student, I attended Bob's class, "Breaking the Chains," here at The People's Seminary. I had no idea that two years later I'd find myself moving to Burlington to join TN. I love the ‘holy chaos’ of life at Tierra Nueva. Most nights I go to bed chuckling at the events of the day. I am privileged to be able to live out my passion for hospitality, for making room (literally and figuratively) at the table for a wide variety of folks, and the richness this brings. |
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Sara Wevodau Worship and Accompaniment, Family Support Center |
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Tierra Nueva Honduras Promoters |
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Ángel Davíd Calix Head Coordinator for Asociación Tierra Nueva, Davíd lives in the neighboring community of Mal Paso. When he's not checking in with the other promoters or connecting with Tierra Nueva-Burlington, Davíd has been the head soccer coach for the young men in his village. |
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Jorge (Jorgito) Calix Davíd older brother, Jorgito, also lives in Mal Paso and serves as the supervisor of accounting for TN-Honduras. Formerly a leader in land recuperation, Jorgito is a talented musician and likes working with livestock. He currently visits the communities of Mal Paso, San Francisco La Peiña, and Minas de Oro. |
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Miguel Castro One of the younger promoters from Minas de Oro, Miguel is also a retired teacher. When he is not visiting the communities of Camalotal 1, Montecitos, and Tablón, Miguel serves as a pastor for a small, evangelical church named Sena de Luz. |
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Eulogio (Ramiro) Dominguez Treasurer for TN-Honduras, Ramiro enjoys nothing more than spending a day working on his little plot of land. He specializes in composting, coffee, and small-business stores, and is also a competent administrator. He visits the communities of Bijao, Pataste, and Chacara with his wife, Elia. |
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Elia Dominguez Secretary of TN-Honduras, Elia specializes in preventative health, including diet, nutrition, and anything having to do with soy. She also has helped organize a small cooperative of women manufacturing baby carriers for sale as a small business. In addition to the communities she visits with her husband, Ramiro, Elia meets and leads bible studies with the women in Las Delicias. |
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Jorge Mejia Although the eldest of the TN-Honduras staff, Jorge has come from the most humble circumstances. Trapped for years in a debt-cycle of indentured servitude, Jorge's work with Tierra Nueva has literally turned his life around. Not only has he become a successful and respected farmer in his community, but he has also gained confidence as a promoter of small-scale horticulture. He currently visits the communities of Minas de San Antonio, Igarito, and Iran. |
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Celio Mejia Before working with Tierra Nueva, Celio served in the military. As a result, he is very punctual in his visits to Camalotal 2, Minas de Plata, and Carbonera. He also excels at teaching soil and water conservation to the small-scale farmers he visits. |
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Eda Zuniga Wife of Celio and sister of Paco, Eda has was known for her volunteer development work long before she began to work with Tierra Nueva. She specializes in natural medicine and has organized a small cooperative of women to manufacture baby carriers for sale as a micro-business. She visits Camalotal 2, Minas de Plata, and Carbonera with Celio. |
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Francisco (Paco) Zuniga President of Asociación Tierra Nueva, Paco is an accomplished farmer and livestock owner. Before connecting with Tierra Nueva, he worked as an informal primary school teacher. He now teaches sustainable agriculture and small-scale horticulture to farmers in Rio Colorado, Coralitos, and Huertas. |
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Emily Martin, Migrant Outreach
