OUR STORY

Our story begins in February of 2000 when our founder, James, went on his first mission trip at the age of 13 to Culbulco, Guatemala with his dad.

The experience was life-changing, and sprung James into doing over 20 mission trips over the following 25 years.

On one of these trips, James met Brad Foltz and Pastor Yojan Marder. Yojan shared a vision that he had for his community in Marañon, Honduras and something started to stir within James. After taking several trips and leading several teams, it became clear that James and his wife wanted to do this full-time. 

Through a series of events, God opened the doors and made it clear to do something; from there, came Paradise Foundation. A foundation dedicated to equipping the next generation to impact their world for God. This is done through building schools, providing medical exams for children, helping them find proper care, as well as helping address basic needs, such as nutrition scarcity and water purification.

Over the following months, James selected specific individuals with a vested interest in serving on the board to accomplish our mission. Osmar, a Honduran native, Brad Foltz, a missionary who worked in Honduras for many years, as well as Don Taylor and Patrick Peters who have both led many trips to Central America, all sit on the board. Jake Molgaard, board member, shares a heart for missions as it was through missions trips that has changed his life and how he conducts his business.

The goal of the Paradise Foundation is to come alongside as many hardworking, intelligent local people to help them as they carve a new path for the future of their children.