HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) – The rhythm of the tambor, vibrations from the strings of the guitar, and voices shouting out words of praise and celebration fill a small room with about three dozen chairs spread out, with homemade food placed on tables sitting beside the wall.

While singing or praying, you can hear people saying phrases like “El Espíritu Santo me llena de paz,” or “en mi vida has sido fiel.”

About 10 to 40 people come every Sunday to this Huntington church, located in a back room in the River Cities Community Church on Sunday mornings. This church, “ Hay Esperanza ,” isn’t like others in the Mountain State. The music, the message, and the prayers are all in Spanish.

“Hay Esperanza porque es algo que da como la posibilidad a la población hispana de encontrar apoyo, salida, y de saber que no están solos,” Pastor Henry Garcia said.

Translation: “’There is hope’ because it’s something that gives the possibility for the Hispanic population to find support, an exit, and to know that they’re not alone.”

Pastor Garcia came a long way from home in 2014: Medellín, Colombia to Huntington, West Virginia, United States.

“Siempre tenemos de niños sueños, planes por hacer,” dijo Garcia. “Cambiamos mucho los planes que tenemos de inicio. Para mi, ha sido una experiencia, un cambio después de estar digamos en el mundo de los negocios. Y también viví en un tiempo bastante violento en Colombia cuando estaba la guerra de los carteles en Medellín. Bueno pues estaba estudiando en la universidad.”

Translation: “We always have dreams as a kid, plans to do. We change a lot of the plans that we have from the start. For me, it has been an experience, a change after being in the world of business. Also, I lived in a really violent time in Colombia when there was war with the cartels in Medellin. That’s when I was studying in college.”

Decades later, Garcia now lives more than 2,000 miles away from home because he felt called to plant churches. This mission also originiated in Colombia.

“Yo llegue a los Estados Unidos con un propósito y algo especifico. No vine con la idea de muchos llegan a los estados unidos, con el ‘sueño americano.’ Yo llegue con un propósito de servir a Dios, de servir a la comunidad. Ya era algo que estaba haciendo en Colombia. Ya tenía esa pasión por servir.”

Translation: “I came to the United States with specific goal. I didn’t come with the idea that many people have when they arrive to the United States, the ‘American dream.’ I came with the goal to serve God, to serve the community. It was something that I was already doing in Colombia. I had that passion for serving.”

His church planting in Colombia, through “Hay Esperanza” ministries, allowed him and teams of missionaries to spread churches across Colombia, Costa Rica, and Perú. Though after praying about wanting to spread churches in the United States, he received an answer:

“Me escribieron y me dicen lo siguiente: ‘Henry, usted quiere venir a los EEUU para que le plante la primera iglesia hispana en Huntington, y a la vez, tiene la posibilidad de aprender inglés,” said Garcia.

Translation: “They wrote to me and said to me the following: Henry, if you want to come to the US to plant the first Hispanic church in Huntington, and at the same time, you’ll have the possibility to learn English.”

Thanks for signing up!

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Breaking News

He now leads “Hay Esperanza” ministries in Huntington, and the ministry group has since planted churches in Beckley, Ashland and Cross Lanes.

“La población hispana en los EEUU es la segunda población más grande, y está creciendo cada vez más. Necesitamos crear oportunidades. Necesitamos crear alternativas para esta población y como asimilar este nuevo territorio por ellos. Muchas cosas son nuevas para esta población.”

Translation: “The Hispanic population in the United States is the second largest population, and it’s growing more every day. We need to create opportunities. We need to create alternatives for this population on how they can assimilate to this new territory. Many things are new for this population.”

All their services are in Spanish, and he helps provide resources to people in the Tri-State area who do not speak English, such as information about medical clinics, housing and more.

Garcia said, “En español porque una gran parte de esta población no habla inglés, y se comunican, nos llevan aislarse también porque no tienen lo significante con el lenguaje.”

Translation: “It’s in Spanish because a huge part of this population does not speak English, and if they don’t speak it, they become isolated because they don’t have the significant language.”

People like church attendee Pamela Delgado, from Durango, Mexico, say “Hay Esperanza” has changed lives.

“Siempre vivi en México hasta que cumple 22 años. Me mude a California. Me vine porque, pues, siempre buscamos mejores oportunidades, dinero, mejor calidad de vida,” Durango said.

Translation: “I always lived in Mexico until I was 22 years old. I moved to California. I came because we always searched for better opportunities, money, a better quality of life.”

Two years ago, Delgado moved to West Virginia, knowing no one and finding it difficult to build a community.

“Fue un shock cultural y en el idioma porque realmente yo decía, ¿‘donde hay hispanos?’ porque entre nosotros, nos buscamos cuando vas a la tienda, cuando vas a hacer actividades afuera, y realmente porque por ejemplo en Ashland, que es donde nosotros vivimos, no hay tantos hispanos. Si hay, pero pues no nos vemos tan como en mente. Entonces, era ir a la tienda, y para mí, era muy complicado porque no estaba acostumbrada hablar el idioma.”

Translation: “It was a cultural shock and a language shock because I said, ‘where are the Hispanics?’ Because between us, we looked when we went to the store, when you would go do outside activities, and really in Ashland for example where we live, there weren’t hardly any Hispanics. Yes, there were some, but we didn’t really see many like we had in mind. So, going to the store, for me it was really complicated because I wasn’t accustomed to speaking the language.”

Delgado said in her former job in California, she mostly spoke Spanish and was constantly surrounded by people who understood Spanish. Though moving to West Virginia opened her eyes to life beyond what she was used to.

Delgado said, “Alguien en California alguna vez me dijo, ‘si quieres realmente conocer como son los Estados Unidos, vete a la otra costa del país. Y realmente lo vas a saber correcto.’ Y es realmente es verdad.”

Translation: “Someone in California said to me one time, ‘if you want to really know what it’s like in the United States, go to the other coast of the country. Really, you will see it correctly.’ Really, that’s the truth.”

Yesica Monge from El Salvador felt similarly when she moved to West Virginia 12 years ago.

“Vine con una buena basa de inglés, pero en realidad aquí completamente diferente. Las personas hablan muy rápido, acortan las palabras, o sea que te quedas con las nubes,” she said.

Translation: “I came with a good base of English, but in reality here it’s completely different. People speak really fast, shorten words, it leaves you feeling confused.”

Though Garcia and his wife Evie, who met through the church after “Hay Esperanza” began, said helping families like Delgado and Monge is why they got started in the first place. They see a growing need in West Virginia to build support for Spanish speakers as more people in the Hispanic population have moved to the Mountain State over the last 10 years.

Garcia said, “Hacer un servicio cristiano en el español, da momentos no solo de la oportunidad de orar a Dios, pero de identificasen con gente que habla su mismo idioma. Es bastante especial en el momento cuando hacemos algo en español en un lugar donde se habla tanta en inglés.”

Translation: “To do a Christian service in Spanish gives moments that aren’t just an opportunity to pray to God, but to identify yourself with people that speak your same language. It’s just so special in the moment when we do something in Spanish in a place where so much English is spoken.”

US Census data from 2020 shows that of the more than 1.7 million people living in West Virginia, 34,827 people are Hispanic or Latino in West Virginia. That’s compared to 62,080,044 Hispanic or Latino people across the in United States

“I love serving alongside him and supporting him,” Evie Garcia said, referring to her husband’s passion for helping others. “His love for the Spanish-speaking people, his love for the world is something that inspires me every single day. The way that he serves the Spanish-speaking community.”

“Hay Esperanza” also supports more than 60 children in Medellin, Colombia through church outreach programs and mission trips.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOWK 13 News.