Just arrived…..the Herberts!

My name is Shane Herbert and I am from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I grew up in a small town called El Sobrante. Fun Fact: Tristan, the director of El Ayudante, grew up about a half mile away from me in the same town. The first time I ever met him was in Honduras! Small world!

My wife Jessica and I have three children: Shasta(9), Cash(7) and Cole(3). We were married in 2006 and have lived in the Bay Area ever since….until one day God called us to Honduras.

I was approached by our missions coordinator in March of 2013. She caught me in the parking lot of our church while it was pouring down rain and asked me if I wanted to go on a missions trip to Honduras. My immediate reaction was, “absolutely not!” She basically told me she was not going to leave the rainy parking lot until she got the answer she wanted. I have always told everyone she has a black belt in Jesus. So I finally told her “Yes, I will go, but I need to talk to my wife”.

A few nights later I thought it would be a good idea to ask my 8 month pregnant wife if I should go to Honduras in August. By the way, we were on a double date with my parents. I thought I would be safe from any physical punishment in front of my mother! As you can imagine, she said, “Absolutely not!”

About a week later I was at work and received a text message from my wife. It read; “I think I want to go with you and bring our three month old son.” I texted her back jokingly and said, “Who has your phone?”. I believe this was the first sign that God sent to both of us. My wife completely changed her mind and was ready to go on a missions trip with our three month old son.

So after many obstacles, we arrived in Honduras with my mother and mother-in-law(who thought we were crazy). It turned out that Cole opened so many doors for us with families in the community. They love babies in Honduras. It was an instant connection for us. We had a great trip. God started to plant a seed in my heart for missions. I had never even considered the idea of becoming a missionary because of my job. I was a police officer in the city of San Francisco. I was very protective of my family and my surroundings. But God started working on my heart very quickly.

Over the next couple years I continued going on missions trips to El Ayudante. Each trip God kept speaking to me that this is where I should be. I had spoken with Tristan several times about the possibility of working at El Ayudante. After many ups and downs, families moving and positions opening up, in October 2015, we were asked to come to El Ayudante full time. That’s when the real journey began. God worked incredible miracles and we raised our funds and were fully funded in 5 months. God worked on our families’ hearts as well as ours.

We are so excited to be part of this blessed ministry. We believe in the vision of El Ayudante. We have been part of the vision, and we are ready to see what God has for us and El Ayudante in the future. I am looking forward to working with each and every team that helps the long term vision of El Ayudante through short term teams.

“And I have heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8