Meet Karla!
At nine years old, Karla was getting ready for school one day, complaining that she didn’t want to eat her breakfast or go to school. Later, on the way to school, she locked eyes with a boy her age on the side of the road, dressed in rags and begging for food. She saw a single tear and the despair in his eyes. Her family gave him some money, but Karla was overwhelmed with compassion for him and forever marked by what she saw.
From that moment, Karla dreamed of rescuing orphans and providing a home for children. She wondered if some of her family’s land in the mountains could be used for this, but she kept that to herself.
In her journal, she wrote her dreams of orphaned children running around, being happy, and knowing their identity and purpose. She dreamed about a children’s home, a clinic, and even a school.
She kept this dream close to her heart as she grew up. She volunteered at many orphanages and helped children on the streets. At 19 years old, she gave her life to Jesus after feeling despair and emptiness without God. She realized she could never accomplish God’s purposes for her life without Him. She began attending church and continued serving at orphanages. She saw children with an orphan mentality and a lack of identity, which broke her heart.
Eventually, she got married, and she and her husband, Pastor Bolivar, became Tegucigalpa Worship Center’s pastors. They started her own non-profit, Seeds of Love, to minister to children and share with them their God-given identity.
By God’s sovereignty, they were connected in Honduras with Pastor Randy from Dwelling Place Church in Houston and began to work together. One day, Karla’s father, Papa Miguel, said to Karla and Pastor Randy, “You know that dream to have to build a home for orphans? Why don’t you use some of our family land for that?” Karla was amazed at what God was doing!
Dwelling Place Church invested in the land to begin to prepare the infrastructure, but Pastor Randy knew that their church was not equipped to operate a children’s home, so they made the introduction between Pastors Bolivar and Karla to Mike and Mandy Reiszner at Coreluv.
Karla’s family has donated over 30 acres of land to Coreluv to build the Cedros Children’s Village. Once built, Karla will serve as the director. It’s a beautiful, peaceful property in the mountains, away from the noise and crowds of the city. It will be a place of healing and restoration for children. We can’t wait to break ground in 2024!
“My dream is that children find their purpose and know that their identity is in the Lord, and they will become the agents of transformation in the community.” —Karla
Learn more about how you can provide sustaining care and the six basic needs for children who will soon call the Cedros Children’s Village home at coreluv.org/defender