Honoring Sister Karla
At 24 years old there were not many opportunities for Karla. She was newly married and had a young daughter. The rugged rural mountains where she had grown up and lived in her entire life hadn’t afforded much. In particular she didn’t have the opportunity to continue learning in high school. But what she did learn was how to work. Both Karla and her husband were committed to helping their young family get ahead. He farmed and she worked anywhere she could, often picking tomatoes or peppers for farmers in the region. The days were long, the pay was bad, and the treatment was worse.
When Karla learned about a coffee farm that not only focused on employing women but was also managed by a woman, she jumped at the opportunity to work there. The five and half kilometer daily hike, coming and going, was a small sacrifice to make in order to have a good job. That was November of 2018.
Fast forward six years. Karla was now a key member of the team of women that operate Mission Lazarus’s coffee farm, Finca San Lazaro. Not only was she a leader amongst her other team members taking care of coffee, she was also active in the daily morning Bible study. Karla’s hard work and honesty earned her the opportunity to work in the bed and breakfast on the farm, helping take care of the guests that come from all over to experience the beauty and peace on the mountain. Karla had gone back to school and was to enter the 10th grade in just a few weeks through the Lazarus Academy adult education program that is offered to all our employees. She was determined to not only provide a better life than what she had for her daughter but to also provide her with a great example.
This all came to an abrupt and unexpected end on Sunday, January 26, 2025. Karla hadn’t been feeling well so her husband took her to a clinic in San Marcos de Colon, about 20 KM away. While at the clinic her condition worsened and unexpectedly Karla suffered a heart attack and passed away at 31 years old. This tragedy has left Karla’s family, in particular her 10 year old daughter, in shock. Her absence from our team has affected everyone at Mission Lazarus, not only at the farm.
Karla experienced many new things through the San Lazaro Coffee farm. She found a place of belonging, support, and thriveable wages, but more importantly she found Christ. Karla’s story didn’t end with her death, honestly, it’s only just begun. We mourn the loss of a beloved teammate but rejoice in the fact that she’s with her savior in heaven.
We sincerely mean it when we say that your purchase of coffee is transforming lives. It’s actually doing much more than that - it’s transforming eternities.
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