As a young girl, Oralia didn't have a father that gave her hugs, or know the love and care of a mother, who would talk to her about the road of life and give her direction. She had parents, but she was left on her own. At age 7, she went to work for a woman caring for her four little kids. This woman didn't interact much with Oralia or give her any direction, but she did take her to church, where Oralia heard about Jesus, but didn't internalize anything. She went to church for something to do, but really didn't like it and thought it was boring. Even though she didn't want to learn anything, God's word did not return void. A seed was planted in her life.
At 14, she met her future husband. She and Sebastian were soon married, and Oralia quit going to church. At 16, she gave birth to her first son who became very sick at 2 months. Oralia had no mother to turn to and her in-laws didn't like her. She'd never had a chance to just be a child or a teenager. Inevitably, the pain from her childhood started to come out. She was angry, sad, and alone. She began to remember the things she had been taught in church. She remembered hearing that God cared for her, but she didn't feel or see God anywhere.
In her early 20's, Oralia was hired by the missionary family who lived at Hogar de Vida, doing work for the wife. She saw something different in this woman's life and wondered if she could be like her. She wanted to be like her. She decided to learn more about this living God who loves all people and makes all things possible. She began to search for Him in prayer with a deep hunger, because she realized that the missionary wife had what she wanted and needed: the love of Christ. She began to go to church again and soon asked Christ to be the Lord of her life. This decision began the healing of her heart that would take years, but eventually she was able to forgive her parents and others that had hurt her.
Sebastian was born into a very poor family. Like Oralia, his parents didn't provide him much direction, nor did they encourage him to go to school, so by the age 11 he quit. His father treated him as an adult and expected him to work accordingly. He and his younger brother worked long hard days to help provide for the family. At 16, he married Oralia. He continued to work wherever he could and was gone from home a lot. The jobs he found were difficult and unpleasant, so when the missionary family offered him a temporary job at Hogar de Vida, he decided to take it. The job eventually became a permanent full time position. Sebastian, Oralia and their kids moved on site to help with the care of the children. Meanwhile, Sebastian was learning about the love of Jesus and asked Him into his life as his Lord and Savior.
Sebastian and Oralia's responsibilities at Hogar de Vida continued to grow and in 2008, they became the Directors of the home. Because of their past, and the healing that God brought into their lives, they are able to minister to children of similar backgrounds. They have a unique understanding of what the children are going through, and God has taught them through various people and circumstances to be good and loving parents. They are able to comfort the children (see Hermerlinda's Story) and lead them through the process of forgiving. Now they have 30 kids they care for; kids who are loved and nurtured and are being brought up to love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us In all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." II Corinthians 1:3-4
