Profile: The Rev. José Peña-Nazario
The Rev. José Peña-Nazario has dedicated his life to helping the less fortunate.
"My life changed drastically when I felt the call to pastoral ministry and then to mission."
A mission trip to Honduras in 1998 transformed the Rev. José Peña-Nazario.
 "I've never lived before in such extreme poverty, and endured the kinds of limitations people endure in Honduras every day of their lives; they are hard to describe. For three weeks I slept on a bare floor, and the change of diet made me lose 13 pounds."
Nazario began attending The United Methodist Church at the age of 12, in his hometown of Culebra, Puerto Rico. He stopped going during his teen years, but as a graduate student aspiring to obtain a masters degree in biology, he began to sense a deep need to find meaning in his life.
"When I was 25, I started to develop a closer relationship with Jesus." Nazario became a member of The United Methodist Church in 1980 and in 1987 he made the decision to go to seminary to become a pastor. "My life changed drastically when I felt the call to pastoral ministry and then to mission." He served as a pastor in Puerto Rico from 1987-2001, but it was the mission trips to Honduras that kept touching his heart.
"I'll never forget witnessing the death of a little girl due to malnutrition, but I always remember being witness to the survival of another child due to the church's quick response."
"When I returned to my ministry in Puerto Rico, the vision and my call to ministry had changed. In reality, I felt very uncomfortable when thinking of the contrast between the month I spent in Honduras and the very comfortable facilities I was surrounded with in my work."
When Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras "it left a deep mark in my soul," he said. He continued to travel to the country on mission trips and "on each trip God's call to become a missionary in Honduras intensified."
 In January 2001, he was commissioned by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministry as a missionary. "With the blessing of my bishop Juan Vera Méndez, I moved to Honduras."
"During my pastoral visitations I found myself among families that had no food for the main meal of the day," he said. "I'll never forget witnessing the death of a little girl due to malnutrition, but I always remember being witness to the survival of another child due to the church's quick response."
Nazario has served in 9 of the 12 United Methodist churches in Honduras and has lived in three different areas of the country. "The time I've spent serving in Honduras has been the one that most profoundly shaped or marked my life."
He is currently serving as mission superintendent and works with developing congregations. "God and his purpose brought the meaning I was looking for in life."
The following people contributed to this Profile:
Audio story by Mike Hickcox; print story by Kathy Gilbert; video courtesy of Here I Am Lord: Missionaries of the United Methodist Church.
UMC.org Profiles are produced by Pam Price, 615-742-5405.
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