Imagining and working together
Awaken
Melissa Ledbetter
El Paso, TX – Atlanta, GA
Lead Coach + Ministry Admin
Desire Street Ministries
Melissa has lived across cities and cultures in South, Central and North America as a teenager, single twenty-something, wife, and mom of 4. Her experiences have taught her the need to understand life from multiple vantage points, and she loves to write and communicate about navigating daily challenges through funny stories that are often all around us if we’re looking for them. She believes the impact of various kinds of trauma is far greater than we often know, and she is passionate about bringing truth to light and walking with others to experience God’s hope, healing and restoration.
While raising their kids with Nate and attempting to manage their small in-home petting zoo (currently made up of cats and a hedgehog), Melissa serves as a coach with Desire Street Ministries in Atlanta, GA, as part of a team working to encourage, equip and connect leaders in under-resourced communities throughout the Southeast and Southwest.
Nate Ledbetter
El Paso, TX-Juarez, MX
Partnerships + Engagement
Nate’s full-time work for Abara Borderland Connections is focused on Partnerships and Engagement. Over the next 36 months, Nate is dividing half of his energy to jumpstart a partnership with Abara - PC(USA) to create a full-time Presbyterian Border Coordinator role to sustain a future leader.
Over the last twenty years, Nate served between cities as a pastor and peace builder. He’s passionate about friendship, (de)colonial listening, contemplative activism, restorative justice, integral mission, and shared imagination. He enjoys curating environments that set the table for others to flourish – toward Beloved Community. Nate and Melissa celebrate 18 years of marriage. He enjoys basketball, beatbox, and spending time with their four kids.