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March 2005
Dear Friends and Family,
HOLA! We are looking forward to the dedication of Casa de Misericordia-House of
Mercy Ophanage on April 7 at 7pm! And we are thrilled that our own McKendree U.M.C. team, along with many others from many
places will be here to share in the joyous celebration. The people of McKendree have played a vital role in the building of
the orphanage and in the essential support of Karen and myself. We are grateful to all of you!
To date, we have 13 children living in the orphanage, ranging in age from 4 months
to 14 years. (We have had several children who, for an assortment of reasons, have spent from a couple of days to a couple
of weeks with us and then returned to their families.) Sarita, the housemother, lives in the orphanage with her two teenage
daughters, giving us a grand total of 15. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment. There are doctor, dentist and orthodontist
appointments, therapy sessions, drop-off and pick-up at a number of different schools at different hours of the day and night;
as well as pharmacy, grocery and school supply shopping – trips to the park and Friday “Pizza/Movie” nights.
There are lots of birthday celebrations and cakes with piņatas. The children love to go to church. We all attend Iglesia Metodista
de Mexico. Templo San Pablo on Sunday mornings and Senor de Senores (the church that McKendree put the stucco on 3 years ago)
on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday nights. They actually beg to go! We spend a great deal of time at the Piedras Negras DIF office
(the Mexico equivalent of Family and Children Services) attempting to unravel red tape
and locate documents. Trips to the children’s school and visits to various relatives are necessary in order to obtain
the children’s paperwork (birth certificates, school records, etc.) as we attempt to place them in schools near the
orphanage. We are working with the DIF to streamline the process – unfortunately neglected, abused and abandoned children
often have no tangible credentials.
When we moved to Mexico
I actually thought I was prepared for the change of language and culture. After all, we had been “across the border”
on many mission trips. What I did not anticipate was just how intensely emotional it would be, dealing with the overwhelming
problems of such at-risk children. We have a 4-month-old baby boy that was abandoned by his mother and a 5-month old girl
whose mother was sniffing paint thinner and was nursing. We have two sisters, ages 4 and 5, which were taken from their prostitute
mother. There are two brothers, ages 14 and 12, whose mother is in jail for drug trafficking. The 12 year old has spina bifida
and is wheelchair bound. They have not attended school in three years. Last week we received two more brothers, ages 9 years
and 18 months. Their mother left them with a neighbor and a month later had not come back for them. The mother is a prostitute
and a drug trafficker. Last Monday Sarita brought the 9-year-old to us saying that the 14-year-old boy was hitting him. In
talking with the boys we discovered that the 9-year-old that was initiating the fighting. The boys come from the same neighborhood
and the younger one was afraid that the older one would turn him over to the drug lord. He said that his mother had told the
drug lord that if he ever saw her child he could just take him. This precious little boy has seen more in his short life than
any 9 year old should see. We have a 12-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather. She stared me straight
in the eye the day she arrived and said that I was bad because I am a man. You can only imagine what it felt like two days
later when she looked up at me and called me “daddy”.
I have given you a brief look at the difficult lives these children have lead,
but- now for the Good News! We are blessed to have a part in giving these children a beautiful, safe, healthy and most of
all, loving place to live. When Karen and I walk into the orphanage there are shouts of “mommy” and “daddy”!
and 15 pairs of hands outstretched to greet us. It takes a few minutes to make the rounds, but we have enough love to go around.
The 2 boys that were worried about the drug lords are now getting along famously and realize they are loved and are safe.
Through the DIF we are able to minister to some of the parents during their visits. Joe Torres led the mother and father of
the 5-month-old girl to Christ. They now are receiving counseling and are going to church with us. We have made frantic phone
calls to some of you, sharing immediate needs – and many of you have responded by sending “above and beyond”
gifts of money, clothes, and supplies to assist in the care of these precious children. (One of our teenage girl’s stepmother
sold all of her belongings, including her clothes, after she came to the orphanage – one phone call netted two moms
sending a total of four boxes of clothes for her as well as a cool set of dominoes and a number of board games.) Gracias a
Dios!
McKendree’s Psalm 151 Praise Team presented us with a beautiful picture that
is hanging on the wall in our living room. There is an engraved plaque on the frame that reads: “One hundred years from
now, it will not matter what kin of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what
my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.” The other
night Karen and I were watching a televised movie based on the life of Mother Teresa and her work with the Missionaries of
Charity in India. Referring to the people
dying on the streets of Rome, Italy
she says, “the worst form of starvation is the starvation of love.” We thank each and every one of your for your
giving to us so that we may show God’s love to the children of Mexico.
Gracia y Paz,
David & Karen
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