Dear Friends:
It is our 23d Anniversary! It is an eventful time at Casa de Amor! The Bible teaches us that God has a special heart of love and compassion for orphans —A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely; Ps 68:5-6 NASU and it says, He is the God who keeps every promise, who gives justice to the poor and oppressed and food to the hungry. He frees the prisoners and opens the eyes of the blind; he lifts the burdens from those bent down beneath their loads. For the Lord loves good men. He protects the immigrants and cares for the orphans and widows. But he turns topsy-turvy the plans of the wicked. Ps 146:6-10 TLB (We are praying that will be a lesson Putin will learn right now!) In Deuteronomy, God proclaims judgment against those who do not treat them well "'Cursed is he who is unjust to the foreigner, the orphan , and the widow.” Deut 27:19 TLB. And James tells us, “The Christian who is pure and without fault, from God the Father's point of view, is the one who takes care of orphans and widows, and who remains true to the Lord-not soiled and dirtied by his contacts with the world.” James 1:27 TLB
In 1999, we started a ministry in the small border town of Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico, a town that has grown over the years, but it contains probably no more than 6,000 people. We were able to get a property, and over the next several years, and with hundreds of hours of help from our volunteers, we were able to build a facility that is about 6000 sqare feet. We have bedrooms that each hold 3 girls, a living room, kitchen, computer and homework room, and then a large meeting room and a volunteers quarters. Initially, we were informal, and took care of little children whose families were having a difficult time caring for them. Times evolved, and eventually, in 2012, the government told us we could no longer have an informal program, and that we needed to be licensed by the state. They informed us that what they really needed was a shelter for older kids who were not likely to be adopted. After prayer, our Board decided that we should prepare our shelter for teenage girls. Let’s see. These are girls who are suffering from abuse, abandonment, have their hormones going crazy, and who have no role model for their lives—easy, right?!
We looked at other orphanages in Mexico, and realized that most of the kids in them and the orphanages themselves, were entirely dependent on government funding, and so the kids were generally still living in poverty, often in very large orphanages where they did not receive much personal attention, and where it was really difficult to meet their individual needs because of a lack of resources. They were being raised in an institution, not a family, so they were acquiring no family skills, and little learning about the role of a good parent in their lives. Further, once they turned 18, and the state no longer felt any responsibility for them, they were essentially turned out on the street to make their way. Some made it through high school, some did not. Some were not even able to read. To us, this looked like a recipe for disaster.
So, we decided that we would model our shelter after a family. We would limit it to 12 girls, and we would work on helping them to develop a relationship with the Lord, and teach them family values of love, discipline, and compassion. We would stress the importance of a good education, so that they could become self-sufficient as adults. Their model would be a house “mom”. House “dads” can be trickier because of the potential for abuse. We wanted to assure them that as a part of a “family”, we would always be there for them, even as they got older.
Because of all of our supporters who pray for us and the girls, and who contribute financially to this ministry, we have been able to follow the vision we believe the Lord gave us. We have had some great house “moms”, one of whom is Ana, our current house mom, who goes out of her way to be a great “mom” for the girls. It is no small thing to find a great house mom in a small town of mostly illiterate adults, and we are so blessed to have her. She and we are constantly looking for support persons to come alongside and help, as she really cannot do it all herself, and so we ask that you continue to pray that we will get good support staff at Casa. We are also constantly looking for additional finances, especially as our girls get older and we encourage them to go on to college, which can get pretty expensive, but it is such a wonderful thing to be able to help them prepare for a good future, instead of being trapped in poverty.
At around the same time that we changed the direction of the orphanage ministry, we also formalized a community ministry, working with Pastors to identify the poorest families in their congregations who needed help to keep their kids in school and doing well in school. So, we established a formal scholarship program. That program typically has anywhere from 115 to 150 kids in in for any given school year. God has led us and blessed us in leading the way to establish the first public high school in Palomas (thanks, Eunice, for hearing the Lord on that one!) Now, for the first time, kids in our program also have the opportunity to receive scholarship help to go to college! Some of our college kids have already graduated! We currently have 5 girls from the orphanage who are in college! Thankfully, God has laid it on the hearts of many to help support all of these kids in this ministry, and so far, we have not had to turn any young person away from help. Of course, this is a constant topic for prayer, as we often wonder how needs are going to be met—but through all of you listening to Him, He has been faithful, and so have you! God bless you for that!
We have an amazing leader for the scholarship program, which we call “Alas de Amor” (Wings of Love), in Berenice Herrera. She, and all of her family have been an amazing blessing to this ministry, with her parents even taking time to work with local Pastors, encouraging them and giving them vision (Gracias, Beto y Elva!)
This month, our housemother, Ana, is getting eye surgery to remove cataracts. Ana is really a living miracle, as she has had many afflictions in her life, almost died more than once, and she is not yet 30 years old! God has given her wisdom beyond her years, and a great mother’s heart for the girls. Anyway, please pray for her, that God will restore her vision fully! Also, one of our girls from Casa who is now an adult, Abi, when she left Casa about 3 years ago, ended up living with a boyfriend and his parents. She has a 2 year old and a new-born baby, and kept hoping her boyfriend would get out of the party life. Unfortunately, he hasn’t, and so she and her children have come back to live with us for awhile in Casa while she figures out how to get on her feet. Ana said that her kids cry a lot at night, and the other girls are getting a true-life picture of what it means to have kids—It is a great natural birth control lesson!
As far as the future, right now we are down to 4 girls at Casa primarily because of Covid-related reasons, but it looks like we are about to get 6 new girls. Please pray with us that we will get 6 girls who will really benefit from what we have to offer. We continue to believe that a relationship with the Lord and a good education are the key tools to transforming our girls in Casa, our kids in Alas, and the community of Palomas. We can always use more volunteers to help us in areas from building repair, becoming a big brother or big sister to kids in our program, being a sponsor for student, or helping on our ministry week-ends the second week-end of each month (March 12 this month). You can be a big help even if you don’t know Spanish! We are currently developing our plans for improving all areas of the ministry, as we look at our goals, and what has and has not worked in the past. Again, we need your prayers in hearing from the Lord on these things!
May God bless you and fill you with His Spirit!
Jim and Pat
In February we met with our students and their parents. Our volunteers talk to them about the value of friendship and its importance. We took time to meet with our four high school seniors to talk about their plans to continue their education, where they want to go, what do they want to study, etc. In our upcoming meeting we will be helping register for their exams and help them ensure start college in the fall.
This upcoming month we will start the admission process for next fiscal year. Please keep us in your prayers so God continue to guide the Alas team and to help our students to persist and stay focus with their education.