Dear Friends:
Wow, how our world has changed in one month! Without a doubt, the last month has been the most monumental world- wide event of our generation, and we still do not know when the end will be in sight! Everything changes when people are no longer working, or on reduced work hours, when when people are supposed to self-quarantine, when the projected deaths from this illness with no medical solution available threatens to kill maybe 100,000 or 200,000 people in the US alone over the next few months! And, most certainly the death toll will be much worse in other countries that do not have the high-quality medical system we have!
I worry about Mexico, where their President has failed to take any real measures to deal with the crisis, and it has basically been left to the Governors of the various states to do so. And, while the Governor of Chihuahua is taking real steps to warn people and to take quarantine measures, many people are just ignoring it. Last month, as it was just getting started, we heard the people of Mexico saying, “this is a disease of the rich people who travel, it is not a disease we have to worry about!” That kind of attitude will end up costing the health and the lives of many.
We had to take quarantine measures at Casa, and they have not been fun. We had to make a decision that only our Director, Ana, and her husband, Adrian, would have to stay full-time with the girls, and so we had to lay the rest of our staff off, because we couldn’t have them coming and going to Casa. Only David, our maintenance man, is allowed to come and go, and he cannot come near the girls. For this month, we are continuing to pay the rest of our staff their full salaries, and if our finances permit, we will continue to pay them.
We also have one of our college students, Briza, staying with the girls. She and Ana have become the event Directors, coming up with activities to keep the girls busy during the day! One good thing, is that the girls are all getting a heavy dose of English classes during this time! Maybe by next month the girls will be talking to us in English! Betty and Victor are doing online Bible Devotionals with the girls! Thank heaven for the dedication and innovation of all of these people as they keep the girls going!
With school canceled, probably for the rest of the year, we are headed into an unusual situation, with Maria trying to take college entrance exams, and the other girls all wanting to advance to the next grade level next year, there is pressure to come up with a way for them to continue their education without coming to school. Hopefully, the school system will figure out something.
With all of this difficulty, it is important for us to keep our eyes on Jesus! He is the author and perfector of our Faith (Heb. 12:2), He is the Overcomer (Jn. 16:33), He holds our future (1 Peter 1:3-4, 2 Cor. 4:17-18). This world-wide event has not caught God by surprise! Remember, that even this will somehow work to the good for those who are in Christ Jesus and are calle according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28)
But how tragic it may be for those who have no hope, for those who have not agreed to turn their lives over to the Lord! It is terrible to think of people dying or even going through tragedy and sorrow and having no no hope, no eternity with Jesus to look forward to! I pray above all else, that during this time, God’s people will be bold to proclaim salvation, eternal joy, all available if people will only turn to Him and Trust Him with their lives! May this be a time of great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God, a time unparalleled in our generation!
We want to pray for you during this time, we pray that whatever is destroying your peace right now, whatever may be causing you fear or harm, the Lord will help you to focus your eyes on Him, that He will comfort you, give you direction, restore your peace! May He bless you and keep you all your days, and especially during these troubled times!
Working with our group of students for years now, there is a lesson we have learned and need to act upon. From my personal recollection, during my K-12 education, my classmates, and myself included, always had a similar mindset. Most of us were on a path to a successful future. However, we have learned that our students and their families are often forced to live with a different mindset. The lack of resources, good education, and money has pushed many of them to mainly work on short-term goals rather than on long-term goals.
Alas de Amor was established to help our students and their families expand their horizons and encourage them to reach for long term goals. For this reason, we also see that there is a need for our families to be motivated and continuously focused on their goals. In March, we worked on finding their goals and dreams. We had a family activity where everyone had to create vision boards. In their vision boards, they could have a representation of the short-term and long-term goals they wanted to achieve as individuals and as a family. They also had things they wanted, such a house, a car, shoes, jewelry, a girlfriend or boyfriend and more. Everyone was very engaged in this activity and excited for their future. At the end they took their board with them and were asked to hang it in a place they could always see it. We are hoping that this will serve as a constant reminder of what they are working for.
It was important for us to have an activity like this one, because we had been witnesses of how our students struggle to stay motivated to reach their long-life plans. It is our hope that they can be motivated to complete their studies, as we know this is one of the best paths for them to have a better life.
Due to our current global pandemic, we have cancelled our meeting with our students this month. We pray that everyone is safe. Keep our students in your prayers so they stay motivated and safe during this hard time. We know that God has everything under control.
Psalms 91