Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Eakes. Them and their team share their story with us below:
El Nido (the Nest) began as a tribute to Debbie Eakes’ history and her love for family and new life. Her connection to midwifery and a Christian heritage began with Debbie’s great-grandmother, Trinidad Casillas. Trini’s personal relationship with Christ began while being ministered to by a partera (midwife) during the birth of one of her children, in Mexico. After the death of her husband, Manuel, Trini moved to America to begin a new life with their eleven children.
Debbie’s grandfather, Johnny Hernandez, reached out to Trinidad and her eleven children and helped her with her transition to life in the United States. Trini’s faith grew as well as that of her children.
In time, Johnny married Trinidad’s fifth daughter, Rebecca. They lived in San Ysidro and Tijuana. John and Rebecca had a daughter, also named Rebecca, who married Ray Zuniga and had three daughters. One of those daughters was Debbie (Zuniga) Eakes. After the divorce of Debbie’s parents, Rebecca and her daughters were welcomed into the shelter of Debbie’s grandparent’s home, El Nido.
At 16, Debbie became pregnant, and the decision to parent her baby girl, Lindsay, changed her life forever. She left the safety of “the nest” to begin her own life as a wife and mother. Six years later, when she was left alone with two daughters of her own, she found herself receiving generosity from her family and moved back under the shelter of her grandparents and
El Nido.
Thirty-three years ago Debbie met her husband, Mark, while he was in the Navy. They married and moved across the country 5 times, ending in Chesapeake, Virginia. They adopted a son in Monterey, California, had a biological daughter in Virginia, and then adopted 3 more sons in Virginia. After retirement from the Navy, Mark attended medical school and residency before moving the family to Minnesota. They co-founded El Nido Birth and Family Ministries and although Mark is no longer practicing, Debbie continues to grow El Nido’s ministry with the help of the board.
Debbie’s story has now gone full circle as she finished midwifery school in 2020 and is now a Certified Professional Midwife. Her first birth post-completion occurred on the anniversary of Rebecca Hernandez’s death and guess what they named their baby girl? You guessed it, Rebecca.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Establishing El Nido was not an easy road. When they lived in Virginia, Debbie served through other organizations to develop the curriculum she now teaches today. She also served as a doula for many of the women that she met at the local Crisis Pregnancy Center. She has moved 4 times since she started midwifery school and has taken 15 years to complete her 6 apprenticeships and school curriculums.
She has weathered the storms of Minnesota and its people while putting down roots. Mark and Debbie co-founded the nonprofit to serve women through education and providing services throughout West Central MN and East Central South Dakota.
As you know, we’re big fans of El Nido Birth and Family Ministries. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
El Nido provides a full range of services to support parents as they begin their parenting relationship and believes that an investment of time and resources in a family is an investment in the future.
Several categories of classes are offered including prenatal and childbirth preparation for the expectant mother and her partner, covering the topics of labor, comfort techniques, and medical procedures involved with childbirth.
Classes for siblings and dads are also available to help them understand crying, sleep habits, infant safety, and their emotions regarding a new baby. Parenting classes are available either one on one or as a group.
Lactation support provides the expectant and new mom general support, knowledge for understanding the hows and whys, and support for dealing with lactation issues that may arise, Lactation provides a healthy start to life while at the same time protecting the mother’s health and well-being.
Doula services offer emotional and physical support to both the expectant mother and partner before, during, and after childbirth. Services are put in place to provide the mother with the most gratifying and satisfying experience that she can have during pregnancy, birth, and into motherhood. Doula support allows the whole family an opportunity to relax and enjoy the experience of pregnancy and motherhood.
Homebirth midwifery services provide birth in the comfort of the client’s home and are a setting for low-risk birth. We have 90-minute prenatal visits and postpartum visits in our office. Education and lactation support are included and all the paperwork and cleanup are done by our team.
Mom-to-Mom support groups offer opportunities for friendships and mentoring relationships in which the compassion of Christ is demonstrated. Mom-to-Mom is an opportunity for women in all stages of motherhood to meet and share experiences and wisdom.
Job experience is available for our clients at El Nido’s business, Taste in Time, an ice cream and sandwich shop. Flexible hours make this a good choice when childcare is at a premium in Southwest Minnesota.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
El Nido owns the “Taste iN Time” ice cream shop. But, I can’t actually eat ice cream. Again, back to nostalgia for me, my grandpa, John, used to work in a dairy until he retired. He used to take us to visit the ice cream section where we got to pick an ice cream off the conveyor belt.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elnidobirthandfamily.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057609281315
