Our Story
Meet the Founders
For over 15 years, Michael and Celeste Peters visited the Casa Hogar Alegre (Happy Home) Orphanage in Chiapas, Mexico. The kids are well-loved and cared for in the orphanage.
But after a few years, Michael and Celeste hearts were broken as they watched many of the teenage girls leave the orphanage unsuccessfully. Some tried to go back to relatives, but many just ran away. Unfortunately, too many flew into the arms of men that don’t have their best interests in mind.
Michael and Celeste began to pray about finding a way for these girls to have a transition home. A safe place where the girls who have outgrown the orphanage could be individually mentored and acquire the skills we typically teach and model for our own kids.
Eventually, Michael heard God saying, “So, if this is bothering you so much, what are you going to do about it?”
Reina’s Hope was established to provide a family home environment, help, and encouragement for girls transitioning out of the orphanage.
Meet Reina
Reina, like many of the children at the orphanage, was not orphaned in the traditional sense. She was rescued to live at the orphanage when her father placed her and her brothers up for sale when she was only two years old. She received a good education and so much more.
However, when she was 16, she and her brothers were returned to the same small village they had come from. The village was so poor, Reina knew this was not a place to survive, let alone thrive.
“Michael and Celeste Peters have shown me the love of God. They have modeled a godly marriage and family and encouraged me. Through their encouragement and mentorship, I graduated law school after leaving the orphanage and plan to help other girls in need find hope for their future.”
Timeline
1960’s
Family Connection
Celeste’s missionary parents landed in the state of Chiapas, Mexico after escaping the revolution occurring in Cuba at that time. There, Paul and Vera Northrup met up with Jesus Castelazo, a pastor ministering from a large church in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. Eventually, Paul and Vera became mentors to Pastor Jesus’ daughter, Elizabeth, (“Mama Liz”), and over the years remained advocates and supporters of her and the orphanage from the time of its origin.
2004
Our First Chiapas Trip
Michael joins one of the frequent teams from their church which were making annual trips to Casa Hogar to support Mama Liz and connect with the kids at the orphanage. He takes their oldest daughter, Audra with him. She is 8 years old at the time. Within a year, Michael, Celeste, and their 3 daughters were making regular annual trips to Chiapas, establishing relationships and pouring into the lives of those rescued, housed, and nurtured by Mama Liz.
At any given time, there could be as many as 150 children, from infants to adolescents who have been rescued from abuse, abandoned, or orphaned by their parents. The Peters family has bonded with so many of these “rescued ones” through their many years and frequent visits to Casa Hogar.
2007
Our First Encounter of the Ranch
Their first visit to the ranch was in 2007. Traveling once again with the team from the church, the Peters family visited the small mountain community of Las Margaritas and toured the ranch property owned by Mama Liz. They had no idea then what plans the Lord was making for them and this beautiful ranch.
2014
Relationships Grow Deeper
As they returned year after year, Michael and Celeste begin to notice that with some frequency, many of the adolescent girls that they and their girls have grown so close to and bonded with over the years, were no longer at the Casa when they returned. They instead were met with heartbreaking stories of the adolescent girls running away, searching for hope and another life outside of the protective walls of the orphanage. Over the years, story after story emerged of many of these young girls finding themselves in desperate or abusive situations as they looked and longed for love and belonging.
2015
Shock and heartache when the Peters return and are introduced to 3 new infants, the children of 2 of those girls who had grown up at Casa Hogar. The girls found themselves pregnant or as young mothers unable to care for these vulnerable ones and returned to drop them off to instead be raised at the Casa.
The Call to Break the Cycle of Abandonment
The Peters came to the realization that what is needed is a “transition home.” A safe place where these girls who have “outgrown” the orphanage could be individually mentored and acquire the skills we typically teach and model for our own kids as we live life together in a traditional family setting. They began to formulate a plan to create a home for these girls where they could continue the work and efforts that Mama Liz had poured into them, giving the girls more time to grow, learn, belong, dream.
2016
Spying Out the Land
Celeste and Michael return to Chiapas on a “reconnaissance mission” searching for that home. Exploring various communities for a property that would match their vision and plans, they re-visit the Las Margaritas Ranch. Almost immediately they realize the allure of this property; its resources and its beauty, Purchased by Mama Liz several years earlier with her own vision for its use, she had recently put it up for sale realizing that the demands on her at the orphanage prohibited her from investing all that was necessary to sustain this ranch as well. The perfect property had miraculously become available. Aguas Sagradas “Sacred Waters” is a ranch of approximately 15 acres located on the outskirts of the city of Las Margaritas in Chiapas, Mexico.
With Elizabeth’s prodding, Michael & Celeste determined to purchase the ranch. In doing so, they relieved Elizabeth of the burden that it had become, and at the same time, provided much-needed revenue to the orphanage and the kids that she was caring for.
2017
Purchased the Land
Michael and Celeste purchased the land in 2017. They name it “Aguas Sagradas” which means “Sacred Waters” and began making regular trips down to the ranch for preparations to build their first home for the girls. Arturo is hired as a ranch manager. Crops are produced that bring in enough revenue to cover the cost of the ranch. In the United States, Michael and Celeste continue their fundraising efforts to finish the preparations on the ranch including paying it off completely in 2021.
2021
Breaking Ground
Despite the challenges of 2020, through your support, Reina’s Hope gained momentum. We broke ground on the first home in February 2021. In addition, major electrical and sewer infrastructure projects are completed to accommodate future "casita" builds.
2022
Construction of Casita #2
In 2022 Michael and Celeste relocated permanently to the Aguas Sagradas Ranch to continue construction plans and oversee the numerous preparations to welcome their first girls. In April, 2022 construction of Casita #2 began which will become home to our first girls and the additional staff required to support our programs for them. As provisions allow we will continue on the construction and expansion of the facilities in order to accommodate all those that the Lord has destined to come here. Until they all come home.