WHO ARE OUR NEIGHBORS?
Todd Collier
Todd Collier is a relational bridge-builder driven by a sense of mission and dedication to people. His story has many twists and turns: from working as a disc jockey to pay his way through Princeton, to a serendipitous trip to Colombia, which in turn led to attending language school in Guatemala. Eventually, Todd became a volunteer at the Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua, where he served patients dealing with multiple ailments as well as the devastating results of years of war.
One in particular stood out: Lulu, a young indigenous woman confined to a wheelchair due to paraplegia from birth. Her lower body was paralyzed, but her upper body and mind were strong. Though she appeared to be in her 20s, her eyes reflected a maturity far beyond her years. “When I looked into Lulu’s eyes,” Collier says, “I saw a soul marked by both profound wounds and deep compassion. It was as though her gaze carried the weight of her people’s struggles and the wisdom of enduring them.” At the end of that impactful first summer, Collier asked the hospital’s leader if he might have permission to bring a group back there sometime. The leader replied in the affirmative, but Collier says it was Lulu who truly ignited his resolve. “Her gaze stopped me mid-step as I passed her sitting in her wheelchair by the iron gate of her ward. Turning back, I met her eyes and felt her unspoken message: “Somehow, I believe you will return—and that you will bring doctors, hope, and healing.” Lulu’s gaze, filled with hope and quiet expectation, sent Todd back to Houston with renewed purpose, inspiring the foundation of Faith in Practice.
After returning to America, Todd talked to everyone he encountered about joining him in medical missions, leading his first group trip back to Guatemala in 1993. “Everyone fell in love with the place,” he says. Faith in Practice now hosts 1,500 volunteers serving 30,000 patients annually. Incorporating Faith in Practice as his thesis project, Collier earned a Doctor of Ministry degree and eventually became an ordained Presbyterian minister, serving churches in Houston and Savannah. Everywhere he went, he started another branch of Faith in Practice.
“We aren’t trying to convert people down there,” he says. “We don’t care what religion people are; as Charles Wesley said, ‘If thy heart beat as my heart, give me thy hand.’” Today, Faith in Practice is the third-largest medical provider in Guatemala. At a recent gala event, Collier says he was shocked to look around and see what started as a cold-email outreach to 180 doctors with only one response had become 600 people gathered to show their support and cheer on the work--including Lulu.
But Collier didn’t stop with his medical mission. He has since been recruited to join the Memnosyne Institute, and launched the food sourcing program Food Source DFW, which bridges the gap between small nonprofits and major food distributors who donate large volumes of food and beverages. Beginning with a U-haul behind his Honda Pilot, today Food Source has transported over 35 million pounds of food and beverages, helping people locally and across the country during natural as well as man-made disasters.
“As Jesus said, if you are faithful over little, I will put you over much,” Collier says. His life is a demonstration of just that, and an inspiration to anyone willing to start small.
