Karla Fonseca was born and raised in San Pedro Sula, the industrial capital of Honduras, in Central America. She graduated as an environmental engineer before serving in the Guatemala City Central Mission. She later earned a master’s degree in Environmental Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and is now a senior in Marriage and Family Studies in BYU-Idaho’s online program. Karla has worked as an environmental coordinator and manager and is currently the project manager at her family’s insurance business.

Karla has served in Young Womens as a president, counselor, secretary, and stake Personal Progress specialist; as an Institute teacher, ward Relief Society secretary, and temple worker in Las Vegas. She has also been a stake YSA representative and historian for the regional EFY conference, and has served as stake historian for over 10 years. She currently holds three additional callings as stake self-reliance specialist, Institute teacher, and ward Primary president. She hopes to continue in Primary in her new ward as a music leader. Karla and her husband Sergio Mejia have been married eight years and have a 5-year-old son.

02:40 Introduction to Karla and her background

04:40 Karla describes the church in Honduras and ward demographics.

08:00 Ward dynamics and the challenges that it has, covering a large geographic area but with very few members

10:00 Karla’s experience as primary president in Honduras. Learning on her own and as she went due to the lack of leaders in her area.

16:10 Principle one – Seek help from others

• Look for resources online
  
• Join Facebook groups
  
• Get help from local leaders
  

23:00 Principle two – Work together with the ward council. Karla shares her experience of how her ward council works together to support families.

28:00 Primary needs the help of the ward council because it’s not just the kids that need support but the parents too.

29:40 Principle three – visualize the potential of the children. Karla shares a personal experience she has had with the youth.

32:30 Karla shares her mission experience in Guatemala and a lesson she learned. Seeing each person as important, even the smallest child in your ward.

34:00 Final thoughts and Karla’s testimony of Jesus Christ and being a leader

Sharla Dance: teachingprimarymusic.com

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