Joel (also spelled Yoel) joined the Micah Project in 2010. His younger brother Axel had left the streets to join Micah in 2008, and through him, we made the connection to Joel. At the time, Joel, Axel, and their younger brother Julio lived with their mom in a seedy motel room in one of the most dangerous sectors of Tegucigalpa’s outdoor market district.

Joel and Axel’s younger brother Julio joined Micah in 2013. Joel was doing really well, and he graduated from high school in 2014.  Axel eventually left Micah after a years-long struggle with addiction, and in March of 2015, he was gunned down in that same market district at the age of 19. Joel and Julio were greatly impacted by their brother’s death, and it took both of them several years to come to terms with this terrible loss.

Then, in 2022, Joel’s younger brother Julio was killed in a hit-and-run accident on his motorcycle. Julio had been flourishing as a young adult and he and Joel were extremely close. The loss of both of his brothers was devastating for Joel, but we are grateful that his Micah “brothers” have surrounded him and provided that family support he needed through difficult times of grief.

As he reflects in the video above “I believe God took my brothers, but at the same time, He gave me many brothers through Micah.”