Washer reports converting to Christianity while studying to become an oil and gas lawyer at the University of Texas at Austin.[6][7] He moved to Peru where he became a missionary for 10 years.[8] In 1988, while in Peru,[9] Washer founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support indigenous missionaries witnessing to people of their own culture.[10][11] Washer later returned to the United States, and has resided in Radford, Virginia since 2010,[12][13][14] where he continues as the missions director of HeartCry.