In the highlands of La Nueva Independencia, lives Doña Everarda Carrillo Velasquez, a 67-year-old woman whose life has been shaped by hard work, unshakable faith, and a deep love for the land. For thirty-five years, she stood faithfully by her husband, who lived with Alzheimer’s for fourteen of them. Today, with her feet rooted in the soil and her heart lifted to God, Everarda keeps moving forward.
“God gives me strength,” she says with a conviction that comes from deep within.
Last year, Doña Florinda Jimenez, a member of the Leadership Council, encouraged Everarda and her son to join a Foundations for Farming course. At first, she hesitated “Me? In an agriculture course?” but something stirred in her heart, and she decided to try. During the training, she visited a farm focused on animal husbandry, and something clicked. She was especially drawn to rabbit farming, and from that moment, she felt called to raise animals herself.
As she learned how to grow vegetables and diversify crops, her connection to both the land and the animals deepened. She soon began her own small rabbit-raising project at home.
At first, her rabbit gave birth to just four kits. With simple but powerful faith, Everarda called her pastor and asked him to pray for her animals. Shortly afterward, the same rabbit gave birth to eight. “God multiplied them,” Everarda says, laughing with gratitude. Since then, raising rabbits has not only brought her joy, but has become a small source of income that helps support her household.
Of everything she learned during the course, what impacted her most was the spiritual aspect. Every session began with prayer, and the group shared Bible verses and stories. That simple, heartfelt practice refreshed her faith. For Everarda, prayer became as vital as planting. One day, she stood before the group and shared a verse that had touched her deeply:
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18
Everarda treasures this verse as a personal promise. To her, it speaks of grace, forgiveness, and the chance to begin again, no matter what the past. Just as the land can be renewed after a long dry season, so too can the heart be restored by God’s mercy.
“You put your faith in God, and He guides your work,” she says, her voice soft but steady.
Whether tending her crops or feeding her rabbits, she always does so with a prayer on her lips, trusting that, just like the land, life has its seasons to bear fruit, and only God knows the perfect time.
Though her daughters live apart, Everarda is not alone. She lives with her youngest son, her five grandchildren visit often, and her home is filled with laughter, warm tortillas, and loving advice.
In La Nueva Independencia, it’s not just crops that grow. Strong women grow here too. And with every prayer, the soul blossoms.
