Ely Bulnes (Ellie) is delighted to serve as the School Chaplain at St. Mark’s Cathedral School. The road that brought her and her family to Shreveport was a rather long and miraculous one.

Ely Bulnes (Ellie) was born in the capital city of Tegucigalpa in Honduras and grew up on a farm in the very small town in the countryside. The second of three children born to a devotedly Christian home, she received her primary education in the local public school, attended high school in the city of San Pedro Sula, and enrolled at The University of San Pedro Sula at the age of 16. In 1995, while completing her law degree, Ely served as a Judge of Peace in Comayagua, where she met her husband, Jesus Bulnes.

After graduation, she was appointed to be a Judge in a Primary Criminal Court in Tegucigalpa. Two years later, Ely was appointed as a Supernumerary Criminal Judge in the First Criminal Court in Tegucigalpa. It was there that she faced the most difficult challenge of her life, where her testimony as a Christian, her
good citizenship, and her honor were all put in jeopardy when she refused to participate in illegal matters as ordered by her superiors within the Honduran judicial system. As a result, the lives of her husband Jesús, their two-year-old daughter ElyMaria and hers were put in great danger, so they left Honduras in August of 2000.

They came to United Stated with student visas, enrolling in ESL classes at the University of Evansville. One year later they enrolled as non-degree students at Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) in Indianapolis. As they reflected on what had happened in their lives, and how God had cared for them, they understood that nothing had happened by coincidence, God had a plan for them, and they were being called to serve the Lord. Consequently, they enrolled in the Master of Theological Studies at CTS and graduated in May 2004.

Upon graduation, Ellie and her husband were both offered positions at KHCC as co-ministers to start a Hispanic Ministry within the church. They were ordained ministers by the Great River Region of the Disciples of Christ in September 2004. Two years later Ellie was called to be the Associate minister at KHCC. In august 2021 Ellie started a new journey in her life, leaving KHCC.

In June 2022 Ely had the blessing to be called to serve as St. Mark’s Cathedral School’s Chaplain. Immediately, she knew it was the perfect match for her two passions- teaching and sharing Jesus’ love. Once more she is amazed how God moves to bless her life.

Besides working in ministry, Ellie has been working, part time, as the Middle school Spanish teacher at St. Marks’ Cathedral School since 2012.