12 Years of Miracles
We can hardly believe it’s been 12 years since Mike and Mandy made their first trip to Haiti on June 10, 2011. Since then, we’ve seen 12 years of miracles as God has faithfully rescued and provided for His children. Truly He is the Father to the fatherless!
In this blog post, we are celebrating a few of those “only God” miracles. Read along as we remember what God has done, and honor Him for His faithfulness!
We look to the future with faith and expectation for the children and young adults in our care and the orphans yet to be rescued! Thank you for your partnership in Defending the Orphan. Because of you, we are able to do what we do!
Miracle #1 — First Trip to Haiti
Only God could have orchestrated many divine appointments on Coreluv founders Mike and Mandy Reiszner’s first trip to Haiti in 2011. On that trip, God introduced them to four key relationships:
Ms. Dorothy — an American missionary who ran an infant rescue center in Port-au-Prince called Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue. There, she cared for 13 children with AIDS and others with genetic diseases. It was here that Mike and Mandy met their first orphan, Mylove. Only God knew that years later when Ms. Dorothy retired, those children would all move to the Myan Children’s Village and come into Coreluv’s care.
Pastor CJ — A Haitian pastor who connected us with some amazing people from Maissade who would one day be Coreluv staff members. Only God knew Pastor CJ would become a spiritual leader for our Haitian staff and be instrumental in the founding of the Maissade Children’s Village, which now provides care for nearly 40 children.
Pastor Genada — a Filipino pastor that had been doing ministry in Haiti for 20 years, including a feeding program, bakery, church, water treatment center, deaf school, children’s home, and more. He was the first children’s home we partnered with in Haiti.
Pastor Nathan — a Haitian pastor with a beautiful children’s home. Not only did his children’s home inspire what we would later build in Haiti, but he was part of another God miracle in God providing land in Myan (more on that story to come!).
All of this came because Mike and Mandy gave God their YES and got on a plane to Haiti. They have continued to say YES to God these past twelve years, and the LUV of Jesus has transformed hundreds of children’s lives as a result!
Give God what’s in your hand, and He can do miracles with it! You never know what (or who) is on the other side of your obedience.
Miracle #2 — Land Given to Coreluv in Myan, Haiti
In March 2012, Coreluv founder Mike Reiszner visited Pastor Nathan’s children’s home to share that Coreluv was considering building its own children’s village. God moved in the heart of Pastor Nathan, who generously offered to give Coreluv the land to build it!
There was a team in Haiti at that time, so Jake Sangster, Coreluv’s missionary in Haiti at that time, and 20 young people drove an hour and a half to Myan to set foot on the land for the first time. They thanked, praised, and worshipped God on a hill overlooking the land.
Before long, a crowd gathered, and Pastor Nathan introduced the crowd to Mike. Pastor Nathan explained how God had called Mike and Mandy to Haiti to Defend the Orphan. He asked Mike what the vision for the land was. Dreaming a God-sized dream, Mike said, “A children’s home!” The people from the community were excited! Pastor Nathan then asked, “What else?” Mike excitedly shouted, “A school!” The crowd continued to grow in excitement and began dancing with joy. Pastor Nathan continued, “What else?” Mike proclaimed, “A hospital!”
God miraculously provided Coreluv land in Myan, Haiti. Through many more “only God” miracles and generous donors like you, we later built every one of those things that Mike declared on that day.
Truly God is able to do abundantly, exceedingly above all that we ask, think, or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)
Miracle #3 — First May Match
In 2013, we experienced another “only God” miracle on a trip to Haiti. It was Coreluv founder Mike Reiszner’s last day there, and he was scheduled to fly home the next morning. The owner of the guest house he was staying at insisted Mike meet a couple who had just arrived a short time earlier. One day difference in either travel itinerary and this meeting would not have happened!
The couple traveled from Atlanta to Haiti because they felt God was asking them to partner with an organization on the ground there that cared for orphans. In fact, this couple had spent years supporting and serving an orphan ministry in Zambia, Africa. God was asking them to expand their resources to Haiti because He also desired to use them there. They arrived in Haiti laser-focused, believing they would soon meet that specific organization God wanted them to connect with. In that divine meeting with Mike, God connected them with Coreluv and revealed that this was the ministry He was asking them to partner with.
After returning to the U.S., the couple offered a generous donation with a challenge – they would match everything raised in the month of May up to $50,000! At the time, that number felt impossible. It was more than Coreluv had ever raised in a month. This was the perfect setup for an “only God” miracle.
The Coreluv team got to work to partner with God in being a voice and sharing this opportunity with their relationships to double donations with everyone they could. By the end of the month, God provided MORE than 50,000 in May!
With those funds, we were able to continue building the Myan Children’s Village in Haiti, which has provided care for over 100 children since then.
Since then, God has continued to provide each May through generous upfront donors who commit to matching everything that comes in during May Match. Through May Match, we’ve built the Myan Children’s Village, Myan School, Myan Hospital, and Maissade Children’s Village in Haiti; launched four feeding centers in South Asia; and most recently, are moving forward with building the Cedros Children’s Village in Honduras.
God is endlessly creative and faithful to care for His children around the world! He is looking for those who will partner with Him to be His hands and feet to care for orphans. Thank you for joining us in Defending the Orphan.
Miracle #4 — Sibling Rescue
When we began constructing the Myan Children’s Village, we knew it would be a Christ-centered, loving home for orphaned children who would be welcomed into a loving family. But only God knew their names and stories. The day the Myan Children’s Village opened, we met five of those children.
In March 2014, Coreluv’s founders, Mike and Mandy Reiszner, were visiting an impoverished village in Haiti. As they walked, they came upon a mud hut, and what they saw inside would change their lives forever.
In that hut, they found five siblings completely abandoned and severely malnourished. One of the girls, Cassandra, was crippled and lying in her own waste on a dirt floor. This was the first time Mike and Mandy had experienced such a situation.
This was no accidental meeting but a divine encounter on the very day the Myan Children’s Village opened its doors!
That day, they rescued Cassandra and her siblings (Sandra, Inaida, Marjoritha, and Carl). They opened the doors of the Myan Children’s Village, where 14 orphans would now receive their six basic needs in a loving family. They are now “orphans no more” and have been introduced to their Heavenly Father!
The miracle continued with the restoration of childhoods and transformation in these children’s hearts. Today, you will find Cassandra and her siblings in a loving, Christ-centered home. She is receiving her needs, being educated, and growing up in the purposes and plans that God has for her!
Miracle #5 — Provision for Maissade Land
An “only God” miracle that was years in the making took place in Maissade, a small community in central Haiti where residents live on as little as $1 a day. One of our Haitian staff carried a deep burden for his hometown. He dreamed of sharing God’s word with impoverished children living in the village through a Saturday morning Bible club and feeding program.
Coreluv began providing resources for this program in partnership with a local church. As the program grew, so did Coreluv’s involvement in Maissade. On one visit, we discovered something that changed our lives forever: 40 orphaned children at the Bible club, desperate for food! These little children were without shelter, proper care, or HOPE! Our hearts were pierced with the Father’s LUV, and we knew we had to defend these precious orphans.
In 2014, we launched a campaign to raise funds for these children. We secured a small 3-bedroom home through generous donors that would temporarily meet their basic needs. Although this home provided shelter, it was still too small for their long-term care, especially with the growing need for orphan care in the community. With such a great need, we needed God to do a miracle!
When it came time to look for land to build a children’s village there, we discovered that God had been orchestrating a beautiful story. Unknown to us, our Maissade staff had carefully stewarded the resources entrusted to them, allowing them to save for four years toward the land! This miraculous down payment jumpstarted the fundraising efforts to purchase land in Maissade.
In January 2015, Coreluv purchased seven acres in Maissade, now home to the Maissade Children’s Village! Nearly 50 children now call the children’s village home and receive their six basic needs in a loving family.
We thank God for His miraculous provision to provide a home for children in Maissade who are “orphans no more!”
Miracle #6 — Meeting physical and spiritual needs in Haiti
One of the six basic needs we provide is healthcare. In Haiti, not everyone has access to or can afford even basic healthcare. Through generous donors and partners, we were able to build the Myan Health Center that provides that care to both our children, as well as the community.
In 2016, we hired Dr. Nativita, our first full-time Haitian doctor. She faithfully coordinates the healthcare for our children and manages the Myan Health Center.
Since then, we have hosted many medical mission trips to Haiti. Doctors, dentists, physician assistants, pharmacists, nurses, and occupational therapists have given their time and talents to serve the people of Haiti. In total, we have treated over 5,000 patients. We also educate the community on hygiene and healthcare practices.
The miracle of our medical mission trips is that we can pray with every patient that comes to be seen, and we have seen over 100 people profess faith in Christ through these clinics!
We thank God we have been able to minister to the community, meeting physical and spiritual needs through these trips.
Thank you to all who have participated in this miracle through the years!
Miracle #7 — Prasana’s heart
Hena currently serves as our feeding center director in South Asia. Before working with Coreluv, God had broken Hena’s heart for orphans and the “untouchable” children in her country. She trusted that God knew their pain, tears, and struggles and firmly believed He would send someone to help bring these children out of darkness and give them hope.
Through a divine appointment in 2016, God connected Coreluv’s founders with Hena, and we quickly realized this was an “only God” connection. In meeting Hena, God connected our hearts together to bring the LUV of Jesus to orphans in South Asia.
Through partners like you, we have provided hundreds of thousands of meals to children who otherwise would not know where their next meal is coming from. Along with food, we provide hygiene kits and educational classes and share the LUV of Jesus and the hope of the gospel.
The miracle continued in 2019 with a young girl named Prasana. She began attending one of our feeding centers, and we soon learned that she was very weak, with heart issues. We were able to have her evaluated and discovered that she had two holes in her heart and needed to receive surgery within two weeks or she would go into critical condition. Her body was starting to turn blue because her heart could not pump the oxygenated blood her body needed.
The doctors gave her a 30% chance of surviving the surgery, BUT GOD did a miracle in Prasana’s life when He allowed her to come through successful heart surgery with no post-surgery infections! Not only did she survive, but today she is thriving! She is healthy and strong, able to run around, participate in games, and have fun with the other children at the Coreluv feeding center.
We praise God that he sees every child, and each one is precious to Him!
Miracle #8 — Land for Stateside Offices
Another “only God” story happened in 2018 when Coreluv needed stateside offices. Before then, local churches had graciously provided places for the Coreluv stateside team to work. But the team continued to grow to the point where Coreluv needed their own space in Houston.
The Coreluv team had begun looking for a larger office space to lease. Instead of jumping into something, we believed God could do a miracle, as He had done so many times before.
After bringing this need to God in prayer, we learned that God had put on a generous donor’s heart to DONATE land for Coreluv to build their own stateside offices! We were blown away by God’s favor and provision.
The miracle continued from there, as our contractor heard about what we do and generously donated his labor, only charging us for the materials to build the offices.
Since then, the facilities have been used to dream, plan, and administrate God’s amazing work around the world. Many of you have visited for events, prayer services, worship nights, and volunteer opportunities.
Now, as we move toward expanding into Houston and serving vulnerable children in our city, we are looking and praying for a building downtown. Will you join us in praying for another “only God” miracle?
Miracle #9 — Water in Maissade
In 2016, when we broke ground on the Maissade Children’s Village in Haiti, we attempted our first drilling of a well to provide clean water to the children in our care, as well as the local community. The closest clean water source required crossing up to four rivers and hauling heavy water buckets home to their families.
But the attempt was unsuccessful. So we tried again, but we were unsuccessful again. At this point, we explored other options, including pumping water from a nearby river and purifying it.
In a divine appointment, our staff watched a movie about a well dug in Kenya, in which multiple attempts were made before God miraculously provided water. We decided in faith to drill one more time in Maissade and believe God for a miracle.
On its way from Port-au-Prince to Maissade, the drilling truck broke down. Our team prayed, and after a few hours, the truck was back on the road. When the truck arrived in Maissade, they began drilling. First 100 feet, then another 100, then another 100. Still no water, Finally, at 400 feet, God did a miracle, and we hit water!
Through this well, we have provided clean drinking water for our children, our staff, and the local community. We are so thankful to everyone who partnered with us in prayer and financially to see this miracle come true.
Miracle #10 — Meet Rosemanie!
God is the Father to the fatherless, and every one of our children has a miracle story of how God knew them, saw them, and rescued them! Today we want to share with you one of those stories.
Rosemanie is one of the young women in our Transition Program in Haiti. She is preparing for adulthood and is already a leader and role model to the younger girls in our care. But her story didn’t start like this.
Years ago, a pastor in Haiti was asked to perform a funeral for a woman who had tragically died during childbirth. This left Rosemanie and her two sisters without a mother. Worse, their father said he “existed but was not living” and had no way to provide for himself, much less his children. Working with the local authorities, Rosemanie and her sisters were brought to a local children’s home. Eventually, that children’s home was forced to close, leaving Rosemanie and her sisters without anyone to provide the care they desperately needed. It was then that Rosemanie and her sisters were brought to the Myan Children’s Village and welcomed into a loving family.
Since then, we’ve watched God raise up Rosemanie as a role model to the younger girls. She loves to sing and dance and is always willing to help in any way she can. She’s a natural leader, and we know God has big plans for her life!
As a young adult, Rosemanie is a part of Coreluv’s Transition Program, receiving higher education, job skills, and spiritual development. In 2021, she made a deeper personal commitment to follow Jesus. She has completed trade school and just recently graduated from discipleship training school!
Thank you to everyone who has invested in the lives of children like Rosemanie. You are a part of the miracle story God is writing in their lives! We can’t wait to see where her story goes from here.
Miracle #11 — Protection through the pandemic
Throughout the global pandemic that began in 2020, we saw miracles as God protected our staff, children, and families we work with around the world. Despite lockdowns and hardship that gripped many with fear, we experienced the supernatural peace and protection of God the Father.
In Haiti, our staff doctor, Dr. Nativita, was able to assist the local government and train the community on hygiene and health safety. We saw our staff remain confident in their hope in God, and we saw His protection as none of our children or staff contracted the virus.
In South Asia, as lockdowns and breakouts devastated much of the country, God miraculously protected our staff and the children at our feeding centers. In fact, God gave us favor with local authorities and allowed us to continue feeding children throughout the lockdowns.
We praise God for the miracles we saw as He was faithful to care for His children!
Miracle #12 — Miracle at the bank
In the midst of a worsening crisis in Haiti, we experienced an “only God” miracle at the bank in 2022. Cash is required for most purchases in Haiti, but supply chain disruptions led banks to drastically ration withdrawals. In October 2022, one of our staff was at the bank to get cash for necessary food and supplies, but the bank didn’t have the cash we needed. A businessman in line overheard the situation. God softened his heart, and he agreed to let us write a check for his cash deposit. It was a HUGE sum that God miraculously provided to meet the pressing needs of our children and staff! This was no coincidence but a divine appointment.
We thank God that He continues to work miracles! This video shows the reaction of our staff when they heard the news. They broke into song, singing, “See how the Lord loves me! He loves me! He loves me!”
We thank God for 12 years of miracles as we continue to say YES to Defending the Orphan. Thank you for partnering with us on this mission.
Be a part of the miracle – Become a Defender
The miracle stories you have read about were all made possible through people like you partnering with Coreluv to Defend the Orphan. One of the greatest ways you can make a difference in the lives of orphans is by becoming a Defender, a monthly partner with Coreluv. As a Defender, 100% of your support goes directly to providing the six basic needs: clean water, proper food, healthcare, education, job skills, and a Christ-centered loving home. Learn more about becoming a Defender at coreluv.org/Defender