For all you mothers out there, we want to wish you a very happy Mother’s Day! Mothers hold such a special place in God’s plans for this world. In His divine plans, all of us are conceived, carried, and born by a mother. Mothers hold a special place in the hearts of their children, in large part because of the bond that is formed from the time we are conceived, to the time we are born, to the time we are nurtured, to the time we finally leave that sheltered nest. I remember my mother as being the compassionate, encouraging person I could go to when I was hurt, or when I needed a hug, or even when I needed to talk to someone about what was going on in my life. She was the one who made sure I had good meals to eat, clothing to wear, and that I got the guidance I needed. She was the one who doctored my wounds, made sure I did my homework, and cheered me on in every activity I was involved in. God set it up that way, and Mary was a beautiful example of motherhood for Jesus. Just think about it! Though we know He was God in human form, in his young years, he was nurtured by his mother, he was fully dependent on her, because he was also fully a child growing into a man, and he maintained that very special relationship with her throughout his life. It all started with Mary showing full obedience to God when His plan was revealed to her by the angel: Luke 1:38 "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Mary was a very special mother from the very beginning. How many people, when they understand God’s Word, either through personal revelation, or through reading the Bible, say, “Let it be to me according to your word.” Most people today, even many who call themselves Christians, say, “Let it be to me according to what I want.” But, I digress.
We really don’t know much about Jesus’ childhood, but we do know that around the time that he was ready to begin his ministry, his mother was still with him.At the marriage feast in Cana, it is clear that Mary was still his encourager, she still knew that he was going to reveal himself as Messiah, and that he had the supernatural attributes of God. She pointed out to him that these dear friends were about to be very embarrassed, even shamed, if he didn’t come to their rescue. And even though it appears that Jesus was not yet ready to reveal who he was, at his mother’s urging, he came to their rescue and transformed water into wine. (Jn. 2). Mothers have a way of encouraging us into things we may not feel we are ready for.
Mothers are the heart of the family. Typically, they are the ones who are getting their kids off to school in the morning, cooking the family meals, doing the laundry, keeping the house clean, and so much more, all for the benefit of husband and children, and by doing all of that, they are the center of the family. The Bible records that Mary followed Jesus around on his ministry, no doubt doing all of the things a mother does, even as she proudly watched her son display who he was as Messiah for the world.
She was there even as he hung on the cross, carrying our sins so that we could exchange a sin-shattered life for a life of hope and promise in Him. I can only imagine how terrible that event must have been for her. But, we should notice one thing that happened at that point as he was dying on that cross. John19:26-27 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother !" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. Jesus was saying, “family is crucially important.” Here, he was about to die and ascend to heaven, the Holy Spirit was going to come, and surely from heaven, Jesus could supply all of his mother’s needs, right? No. Obviously, he knew that his mother needed more. Even as our parents get older, they need us, just as we needed them when we were young. Mary needed a physical person, a son who could touch her, who could hug her, who could talk to her, who could help her with her own problems. And so, as one of his last acts before his death, he appointed John to act as her son. God said from the very beginning, Gen 2:18 "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." And so God made woman. Husbands and wives, parents and children—family. That is the order God created because it is good for us! Even amongst the animals in our world, God presented them to Adam and Eve two by two, not one by one. The male and female together as a unit for the family.
We see the same kind of family love and loyalty in the story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz. Family is important. There are so many people these days who are in need of a mom, or a dad, or a big sister or brother, and so many older people in need of a child to watch out for them, to care for them, to give them hugs. We have opportunities! All we need to do is to look around us! How can we act as family towards others?
I think of our girls at Casa, who, through no fault of their own, and quite possibly because of the sins of their parents, have ended up in an institution, separated from family. Those kinds of events leave horrible emotional scars on children. It is our job to do the best we can to be their surrogate parents, to help them and guide them through these critical years of their lives; to encourage them, and to physically help them as they get old enough to get out on their own and make their way in the world. Often, we are the only anchor they have, and the more we can show them our love, guidance, and physical help, the more we are following the examples of Mary and Jesus.
Your prayers and support make this possible. You are also invited to come and get to know our girls at Casa. We will be there on May 13-15. They need our physical presence as much or more than our prayers and support. Our prayers are that they will grow into godly young women who will say, much like Mary did, “May my life develop according to your plans, not mine. Help me to be obedient to your Word, not mine. Give me revelation and the courage to listen and follow You, and may I be surrounded by family, where we can mutually support and encourage one another along the way!”
Last month, we had a lot of fun with the girls, as we went to Chihuahua on Spring break. We had some great devotional times and a lot of fun!
Dear members of our Alas family,
We are happy to bring you news once again from efforts in Palomas. In the month of April, we focused on a great deal of end-of-year preparations, so we’ve been busier than usual. Thankfully, God has blessed us once again and have been able to carry on the work and ministry that God has given us.
This month, all our students had a wonderful, comprehensive lesson on the Golden Rule. As found in Matthew 7:12, NIV “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” We thought it was important to speak a bit more about this specific lesson and verse in the Bible to you all, as we believe it is one of the pillars of our work in Alas. Alas de Amor is a ministry which not only preaches but also gives love to those in need. However, we give love not because we expect anything back from anyone. Rather, we show love to our children because we wish for them to communicate with that same empathy and kindness to others around their community. Palomas, as many of you may know, can be a difficult place to live in, especially as a child. Though education is generally the focus of Alas de Amor, we know that no change can be everlasting without Christ’s love at its core.
The work we do to try to bless these children can be challenging for many reasons, and it can be easy to leave aside perhaps the most impactful aspect of our work: the love with which we serve and we give. As we can see in 2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV “ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
God calls us to give and to serve. We believe many of you have been called by God to support the Alas ministry. However, we’d like for all of us in-person volunteers and sponsors alike to reflect on the joy and blessing which is giving and serving under God.
As for our rising high school seniors, this month was filled with preparation to attend college. We had all of our graduating seniors prepare and register for their university entrance exam. This exam is for admission into the state university of Chihuahua in Cd. Juarez, UACJ. We also made sure that all our students had every pre-requisite completed for their graduation, including credits and additional graduation costs. This is an exciting moment for our seniors, and we ask for your prayer this month so that they can do well on their entrance exams and choose to continue their education.
In more general Alas news, we received over 150 applications from students wishing to be a part of Alas for the 2022-2023 school year! This is certainly a joy to see, but also a new challenge that God has presented to us. As always, we are excited to find new sponsors and funding so that we can serve all the children which God puts in our hands. We ask once again that you tell any and every person which you think would be interested in becoming an Alas sponsor. We also ask that you consider continuing your own sponsorship. As we state time and time again, Alas is nothing without our Alas sponsors, and we thank you for your giving heart.
As for May, we are making preparations for our end-of-year celebration! There will be lots of exciting new changes, such as new carnival-style games, new food and a fantastic guest speaker that will share the Gospel with everyone. Most exciting is that, after 2.5 years of COVID restrictions, we are finally able to open our Alas end-of-year celebration to all Palomas children and families! This is a wonderful way to share Christ’s love with the greater Palomas community. Your prayers are requested in this matter, and we hope that God guides us to make the best possible experience for our students. They certainly deserve it.
With that, we conclude May’s letter. What a wonderful school year it has been, and all of it possible thanks to you, our Alas family. We love you all and pray to God that you will see the fruits of your giving and blessing in your own lives.
With much love and appreciation,
Bere