The season is beginning to change, even in south-of-the-border Piedras Negras, Mexico. The sky is a brilliant autumn blue, there is a hint of coolness in the ninety-degree air, and the nights are almost chilly! Here at the Casa, to date, we have 22 children in our care. The population numbers constantly fluctuate as the length of the children’s stays varies. To give you some idea, we have ten girls and boys who have lived here for over a year and seven more that have been here more than six months. Some children have gone back with their families and one child has been adopted by a Mexican family. The short-term kids are here because their parents were caught shoplifting, were using their kids to beg for money on the streets or for some other minor offense. In august we received a 3-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother. Their father is a cocaine addict and the mother is a prostitute. Ricardo and Karla, our house parents, said these toddlers came in cursing like sailors, obviously having already seen and heard more than most adults in a lifetime. The oldest is a clinger. When I walk into the Casa she races to me, wraps her tiny little arms around my neck and hangs on tight. Her brother is more distant and cries about every thing. So far in the month of October we have received three more children. One youngster is a 13-year-old girl that had been in another orphanage for three years and had recently been returned to her mother. It was anything but a happy homecoming as the mother was very abusive to the teen. As a result the DIF sent her here to us. She instantly fit in with the Casa kids. Always smiling and very cheerful, she has become best friends with one of the Casa teenage girls. We also received a precious 5-year-old girl with absolutely no front teeth and oddly high cut bangs. The authoritites picked her up on the streets, begging for money on behalf of her father. She has been very tearful and always wants to know when her “Papi” is going to come for her. The most recent addition is a 1-year-old boy whose parents were caught shoplifting shirts. Scared, angry and aggressive, he had all our little ones crying in the first few minutes, hitting and pinching them. As desperate as these stories may appear, in just a short period of time these street weary, emotionally distraught children were laughing, playing and singing to the top of their lungs about Jesus. You would be amazed and blessed beyond measure to attend one of their nightly devotionals. They pray the most beautiful prayers you have every heard. They thank God for salvation, their Casa home, food, house parents, the cooks, the cleaning lady, the Americans who love them and provide for them, and always for their birthparents and families, wherever they are. Ricardo, Karla and Ricardo’s Mom, Felisa, continue to do awesome work with the kids. They are the most patient, loving and giving people I have ever met – possessing the gift of spiritual insight for parenting an ever-changing houseful of diverse and often abused children.

Saturday morning, October 14^th, I walked into the Casa to see which parents had come to visit. I was met by Perla, our oldest, who was crying profusely. Her brother and cousins had come to tell us that Perla’s father had fallen from a tree and was in critical condition. We drove quickly to the local hospital and were there for about thirty minutes before he passed away, around 1pm. Perla was devastated. I stayed with Perla and her family the rest of the day. She asked that the oldest Casa girls come to the funeral home with us. We were there with her until three in the morning. We all returned that morning at 9am. The funeral service was at 4pm, followed by the burial. This was my first experience at a Mexican funeral. When we arrived at the cemetery we all walked being the hearsse as two men with a guitar and an accordion played and sang beautifully. We asked the girls if they wanted to go with Perla back to the family residence. They all wanted to be there for Perla. We were there until 11 that evening. In all of the two long days and nights I never once heard any of them complain or ask to leave. We are a big family that loves and cares for each other very much. A family from Georgia is in the process of adopting Perla. When they heard the news about Perla’s father they immediately came down to Mexico. The DIF director met with them and said it would be more than appropriate for Perla to spend the following week with them at their hotel in Piedras. It was such a blessing for her to get away and be with her future family, which inclues three sisters.

Many thanks to all of the volunteer teams and individuals who have done a tremendous amount of work in and around the orphanage complex. Beautiful block fence walls that have been painted white now surround us. And locking, black wrought iron gates have been installed at the entrances. There is a lush lawn of St. Augustine grass between our home and the house parents’ home. Inside the Casa the girls’ rooms have been sponge painted pink on white and the boys’ room sponge painted blue on white. (“Tool Time” Ricardo has built and decorated some great toy boxes and shelves, providing practical, attractive storage for the children’s belongings!) Thanks, too, to all of you who have provided school uniforms, school supplies, food, clothing, personal care items, monetary gifts, etc. – Great Is Your Reward In Heaven!

On the home front, our daughter, Melissa and son-in-law, Rob, and our beautiful ten-month-old granddaughter, Ava, are doing just fine. Ava has been crawling and pulling up and is into everything – it won’t be long until she is walking. Our youngest daughter, erin, is now in Costa Rica for the first semester of the study abroad portion of her Trinity University degree program. She loves it in San Jose and has made some very good friends. I’m sure that her Spanish language skills have greatly improved. It is a language immersion program – each student lives with a local family, requiring them to converse in Spanish, and all of the classes are taught in Spanish. Her second semester will be a Border Links study in an Arizona/Mexico border town. I think that just being there will be quite an education.

As many of you know, Karen’s mother, Donna Jean Seay, passed away on September 18^th. Karen and I together made the decision that she should return to Atlanta to assist her brother and sister in caring for their mom. Despite the valiant efforts of the gifted St. Joseph’s medical personnel she was unable to recover from the debilitating effects of diabetes. She lived her last few days at Hospice Altanta, where many family members and friends from around the country were able to gather, have prayer and say their goodbyes. “Miss Donna” was a wonderful Christian mother, a blessing and friend to many – and an ardent supporter of the Casa de Misericordia. She will truly be missed. Please continue to keep the family in your prayers.

As always, we close by saying how tremendously blessed we are to be a part of the ministry at the Casa de Misericordia. Even in the midst of our own personal loss and grief, we rejoice in the miracles that happen here in our midst every single day. Moment by priceless moment we watch God’s love changing the lives of the Casa children, not just for now but for eternity. We are thankful for your generous finanacial support of our ministry, which makes it all possible.

Grace & Peace,

David & Karen