Ashley Horta is leaving Moorestown and dedicating six months to helping those in need.
Twenty-year-old Moorestown resident Ashley Horta has always felt innately drawn to helping people. She said she felt like she was on the right path going to school for elementary education but wondered if she was being called to do more.
A conversation with a family member visiting from Oregon answered that call. She said her cousin had participated in Youth With A Mission, an interdenominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization, and having felt deeply rewarded after going on brief missions trips in the past, Horta knew this was the answer she was looking for.
Horta attends Rowan College Burlington County where she will earn her associate’s degree in December. In January, Horta will embark on her missionary journey, and she will return to finish her schooling at Rowan University in the fall.
While Horta was initially hesitant about taking a semester off from her schooling, she said the decision to give back felt right. She said she debated applying to YWAM all summer, but a conversation with a friend who texted her out of the blue that she had gone on a mission to New Zealand convinced her she was making the best decision.
“It made me really think maybe I am supposed to do this,” Horta said. “I’m going to regret it if I don’t try.”
Horta applied and much to her delight was accepted to YWAM. Now, Horta is in the process of raising $10,000 to finance her mission — the cost of which will cover her flights, housing, food and other expenses related to her mission work.
In January, Horta will spend three months training to be a missionary with YWAM in Kona, Hawaii. Following her training, Horta said she gets to pick where she wants to lend a hand from a list of locations around the globe.
“You basically go where you feel you’re called to go,” Horta said.
Depending on the state of YWAM’s Puerto Rican center, she said her hope would be to travel to Puerto Rico and help hurricane victims trying to rebuild and recover from the storm’s devastation. Being of Puerto Rican heritage herself, Horta said the destruction feels particularly devastating.
In high school, Horta did some mission work, but she said travelling to the Dominican Republic for two weeks with her church Fellowship Alliance Chapel located in Medford was the experience that really changed her life. She said they spent several hours a day building a church, but it was the joy from local children who came to listen to the music her group played that fulfilled her.
She said she felt like she was making an impact, and to this day, she still receives messages from people she met on the trip who said her group’s visit changed their lives.
“I love helping people — I really do,” Horta said. “It just brings joy to me.”
Horta said right now feels like the right time to step out of her comfort zone. She said she was initially nervous about the idea of leaving her family and hometown for six months, but she knows the experience will open her eyes and maybe even inspire neighbors and friends to volunteer their time.
Horta’s father set up a donation page on Nov. 1, and she said even within the first two days the response was overwhelming, with more than $1,000 raised. In addition to setting up a fundraising page on Facebook, Horta is also making paintings in exchange for donations. She said people tell her what they want — a Bible verse, flower or animal — and she’ll create the piece and mail it to them.
She said she appreciates any donation someone is willing to make and that even a $1 donation or simple prayer helps.
“I really appreciate every donation I get, whether it’s either financial support or prayer support,” Horta said.
To donate to Horta’s mission trip, visit her “Raising Money for Ashley Horta” Facebook page at
