By Tracey Breashears Schultz, Bishop’s Associate for Leadership

Deacon David Hope-Tringali moved to Houston (August 2023) when his spouse, Pastor Jennifer Hope-Tringali, accepted and moved for the call as Senior Pastor at Christ the King in Houston. I recently talked with David about his call as a deacon, his ministry for and with Tree 4 Hope—a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to providing a bright future of long-term hope for children, elders, and their families in Guatemala and around the world through educational, health, and mental wellness outreach programs—and more about how this ministry began.

When he describes his role as a deacon, David speaks about being a translator and interpreter. He says this because a deacon understands their call as being a bridge between the church and the world. David notices that often, the church has a language the world doesn’t speak, and vice versa. He stands between the church and the world and helps each understand the language being spoken. This is an even more appropriate metaphor since David speaks (and interprets) Spanish after his many years working and living in Guatemala.

The ministry of Tree 4 Hope began when Pastor Jennifer was adopting her son (and David’s stepson), Jonathan, from an orphanage in Guatemala. A process that was supposed to take two weeks ended up taking two months, and during that time, Jennifer visited the orphanage and got to know the community. She came back to the states and spoke with her home church at the time, Tree of Life in Harrisburg, PA, and they created tie quilts for the children and took a group to Guatemala to deliver the gifts. One trip turned into another and into another.