Ben and Nely serve with Legacy in the country of Honduras.

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Ben was born and raised in a large, Christian family in Hershey, Pa. Ben was saved at the age of 6. God called him to full-time Christian ministry at the age of 18. He has BS in Youth Ministry and Health Fitness and Recreation and an MA in Christian Ministry. Ben first moved to Honduras in 2015 to teach Bible and PE in a Bilingual Christian School and Children’s Home. It was there he met Nely, a Honduran teacher at the same school. Nely also grew up in a large family but was raised Catholic. At 16, when she went off to college she was introduced to evangelicalism by some friends and began to understand what a relationship with Jesus truly meant. They worked together for 1 year, dated for a year and were married in 2017 where they continued to serve in the school and home until 2019. Ben, along with 4 other pastors planted Valley Church in 2018 while Nely became the director of the Christian school.

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In 2019 God led them to the Island of Utila, off the coast of Honduras, until the birth of their son, Santiago, moved them temporarily stay with Nely’s family on the mainland of Honduras.

 

2020 was a year of transition and difficulty for everyone. The Fortney’s moved to the Island of Roatan, the sister island to Utila, and began ministry in the area of Jose Santos Guardiola. They are active in church planting, children’s ministry, youth ministry, and are excited to partner with the many ministries of Legacy including RAC.

 

Ben’s passions are discipling others in Christ-likeness, preaching and using sports a relationship building opportunity. Nely thrives in the educational environment and looks forward to tutoring and pouring into small local schools in the area.

 

2020 also brought an addition to the family. Ben and Nely welcomed Martha into the family permanently. Although, they have had a special familiar connection for almost 6 years, God has allowed them to become official foster parents for her moving forward.