Dear Friends:
How are you doing in our crazy world? Are you feeling stressed out? Angry, depressed, or resentful? Having financial issues because of the pandemic? I think the past year has been very hard on just about everyone! It has been hard on the ministry, as well, as most of our volunteers have not been able to come and help each month, we have not been able to get new girls at Casa, and expenses have only gotten higher, as we are in an aging building. For example, one of our swamp coolers went out, and we have not had the funds to replace it.
We all have stories about the stress and problems we have had during this time. It is important for us to keep a godly perspective in the midst of all of this. Phil 4:6-9 tells us
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (from THE MESSAGE.)
Sometimes it is hard for us to do that! If I focus on my latest problem, or my finances, it is easy for me to get worried, or even depressed. If I focus on the pandemic, it is easy for me to become angry. There are so many things out there that try to rob our peace in the Lord! So, let’s challenge ourselves: Every time one of these things comes up, let’s commit it to God in prayer!
Graduation time is here! One of our girls at Casa, Andrea, is graduating from high school, and she is hoping to attend a college of Communication in the city of Chihuahua starting in August. The school will cost about $100 per month for tuition, plus books and room and board. We are also looking for a suitable family for her to stay with. It does appear that she will be able to work while she is at school, so this will help.
Nahomi is graduating from Jr. High to High School, where she will start this fall. She and Vanessa have turned 15, and we have been trying to celebrate their quinceañeras, which has been a challenge with the pandemic, and then Nahomi hurt her foot and couldn’t dance, which is a “must” for a quinceañera! But, the state of Chihuahua has finally started getting back to normal, and so this month we will celebrate their “graduation” into being “eligible” young ladies. (Not that we would let them go out on dates yet, but to them, it means they are growing up.) There will be a prayer service for them, followed by a party with traditional dancing with their “dad” and where I will also give them a “Promise” ring. This is a very special ceremony in which I encourage them, pray for them, and explain to them that the ring symbolizes their commitment to God to remain “pure” for Him until they marry. It would be a great month for people to come for a visit if any of you, our sponsors, wish to come! Now with the Pandemic rules about over, and with most people vaccinated, travel is safer. We will be there this coming weekend, June 12. If you are receiving this electronically in MS Word format, double-click on the link to the left, and you can watch the promo for the quinceañera! Sorry, I’m not tech-savvy enough to embed this in a pdf.
We are now expecting all of our girls 15 and older to have part-time jobs, and even though they only earn a minimum wage of maybe $3/day, they give us ½ of their earnings to save for their future, and they have a little spending money available for things like make-up(!) Most importantly, ALL of our girls had excellent report cards this last grading period, with almost all 10s (like an A in our grading system). This shows how helpful our two Anas have been (they go over their work with them and make sure they understand it), and also how hard our girls have worked! While many kids were left behind during all of the online schooling, our girls have had the support to do the best they have ever done!
There is a special highlight here I want to mention. About 16 years ago, we received a baby girl whose mother was an addict, and in fact, this baby girl had to be weaned off of drugs. She already had severe developmental delays, and we were very concerned about her. Eventually, she was adopted by Manuela and David, who served as our house parents in those years. She really struggled in school and she was placed in the lowest group. Several times in the last 3-4 years, it looked like she was going to drop out. But, we and her parents continued to encourage her. When the Pandemic hit, she started coming to Casa and doing her studies with our girls. What a difference the personal attention has made! She also made very high grades in school this year, she is happy and feels good about herself, and she has overcome a very difficult past! She will be going on to High School next year! What a blessing this has been to see!
We are looking to DIF to send us a new group of girls over the next couple of months as we get ready for the new school year. It has been really hard to get new girls during the pandemic, as the courts have been pretty much closed, and it has made it difficult for DIF to get final custodial papers on the kids in their system, which in turn means it has been difficult for them to send us anyone. Please pray with us that DIF will send us the additional girls whose lives can be turned around by our help.
With 4 of our Casa girls who are now in college, and more getting ready soon, we would really like to increase our college fund for them! We maintain a special account to make sure we have the money for our girls to get a higher education. But, with all of the costs we have had to pay, that fund has dropped significantly in the last couple of years, and if you would be interested in making a one-time gift or provide monthly support to help build it back up, that would be an answer to prayer! We are currently spending about $2,000 per month on college for these girls, and our fund is depleting quickly! Vicki is in nursing school, Maria is studying psychology, Briza is studying to become a nurse, and Cielo is studying to become a special education teacher. Lulu talks to us from time to time about going to college, but she has not yet decided on a program.
One of the churches we sponsor in Modelo has been growing like crazy! They have a building large enough for 40 people, but they now have 80 in attendance, so they are expanding their building. In the meantime, they are meeting outdoors. They are asking people to help by paying for the blocks they are putting in to build it. It costs 13¢ per block. If anyone is interested in helping, they need about 2400 blocks, and then of course they will need to roof the extra area and put in a floor.
I want to close where we started, with some words of encouragement for you:
Ps 91:14-16 "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says GOD, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!" (from THE MESSAGE)
I don’t know about you, but I am waiting for God’s party!
Jim & Pat
Hello, Alas de Amor family. Once again, we are blessed to be able to bring you the latest news about the program and our students.
We wanted to start this month’s newsletter with some more solemn news: we have had 25 students leave our program. There are a few reasons for this number: Some students have decided to work instead of continuing their education, others simply failed out of their schools.
This last reason is a rather complicated one, as it is not necessarily the students’ faults entirely. Education in Mexico was greatly affected due to the pandemic. Most homework was distributed via WhatsApp or via little homework booklets, which is not an ideal way for students to learn at all. Whatever lessons were being given were through government-sponsored television programming, but it was simply not a sufficiently good resource for students to learn. As you can see, the low quality of teaching throughout the pandemic did a great disservice to many students who require more direct attention in order to learn.
We also had students who simply did not want to continue being part of the program, or because they decided not to meet the requirements for the scholarship. All in all, it is a great tragedy to see how COVID affected Alas de Amor, and how the situation greatly affected our students.
However, there is always a silver lining in these difficult times: We have 10 students graduating from high school, 7 of whom have already applied to a university program. This is an amazingly high percentage! We are still working with the other 3 so that they can be motivated to apply, also.
In addition, as we expand our program to include students in nearby villages, like Modelo, La Victoria, and El Entronque, we are finding more families and children who need our help. The schools are supposed to be returning to normal this fall, and hopefully that will help many students get back on track. These opportunities and victories are what motivate us to keep marching forward. When we think about how many students have been able to stay in school because of this program, and when we think about how many are going on to college, it is very gratifying. We know for sure that this program is having a deep, tangible impact in Palomas. For sure the town is becoming more prosperous as people are better educated, and even with the pandemic, most businesses have been able to struggle along. Now that the doors are opening back up, we are optimistic that the educational and work opportunities for kids in Palomas will also increase, and that, as more and more become better educated, the poverty cycle will be broken.
We wanted to highlight some wonderful people who have made a unique, special impact this month: Dr. Yolanda Leyva, Director of Oral History at UTEP and current Associate Professor, as well as Toñita, a community leader from Barrio Duranguito in El Paso, TX.
Dr. Leyva’s specialty is in border history, specifically the US-Mexico border. Her work is directly aligned with the groups of people we work with in Alas de Amor, so it is no surprise that she would be so willing and excited to help us.
Toñita too has very big reasons to be interested in Alas and its goals: Toñita was born and raised in Palomas. She only had the chance of attending her first year of grade school, as the only teacher in Palomas at the time left. She also became an orphan at a young age. These reasons have given Toñita a fire in her heart to advocate for and fight for children and their education. She works with a group called Paso del Sur, an organization focused on bettering the neighborhoods of El Paso.
Through their joint efforts, Dr. Leyva and Toñita were able to hold an auction and raise money for Alas de Amor. We feel tremendously grateful to these individuals, as they are truly taking direct action in helping causes near and dear to their hearts. Their contribution will allow us to finish the year strongly.
Alas family, that Alas has always been almost entirely supported by individuals like you, the ones who choose to help us with what they can on a monthly basis. Now, more than ever, we need your support, both in spreading the word of our cause and in your financial contributions, so that we can better serve those in need in Palomas. We are so deeply thankful for every single one of you who has chosen to give with complete selflessness. You are all truly a blessing to our students and you motivate us to work hard.
We wanted to close off with a bit of news from the volunteering efforts within Palomas itself: Though we were not able to formally have our end-of-the-year family celebration, we got the okay from municipal authorities to gather in very small groups so that we could give families and students some great teachings as well as food pantry kits and a little gift for the mothers of our students.
With that, we conclude this month’s newsletter. As always, we thank you for your fervent support and words of encouragement. We hope that you are all staying safe and may God bless you as we head into summer!
Bere