December 2006 - Josefina and Jose Reyes

For Martina and her husband Jose Reyes, life seems to be a series of trials and suffering. Martina has asthma and chronic bronchitis and requires continual supplemental oxygen so she can breathe. Her body is wracked with pain and she stands more often than she sits, as that is easier on her body. Her husband has cataracts and is practically blind. They live in a broken down shack next to their son’s. Their son works to support his family and his elderly parents, but it is a big struggle to make ends meet. Adding to their woes, the propane gas tank that is fuel for heating and for the little stove Martina cooks off of is regularly stolen by neighborhood thugs. Defenseless Jose and his wife are unable to ward off the thieves.

When we drive up to their home on Mondays and Fridays, we inevitably find Martina and Jose Reyes out on the little porch. What they call their porch is a section outside covered overhead by some loose planks of wood where they put two rickety chairs in the dirt. “It’s warmer out here,” insists Martina, and anyone looking into the dark, cramped interior of the place they call home knows what she says is true. There is a saying in Spanish, “The sun is the blanket of the poor” and Martina and Jose Reyes take full advantage of the warming sunshine on these cold winter days.

We have tried to prioritize who needs a new or fixed up house the most, and after we finish Mariquita’s new home (she’s the blind lady we wrote you about earlier) we plan on making
Martina and Jose Reyes a better and more secure place to live.

As we enter this beautiful season of Christmas, we want to thank all of you for your generosity and support. We couldn’t do this work without you. Thank you for being a part of our family.

November 2006 - All Saints Day party

Every year at the end of October we have a very special celebration for the children at our weekly prayer meeting – an All Saints Celebration. In their catechism classes that month, the children are taught about the saints and how they help us with their intercession. The lives of different saints are discussed and the children learn about some of the heroes of the Church. Each child is encouraged to choose one of the saints and learn more about their life. Then they are to dress up as that saint and be prepared to share a little about the saint’s life before all the adults assembled.

On the chosen day, as the prayer meeting gets underway, a wide variety of creatively dressed children start to arrive. You can spot a little St. Francis with a stuffed lamb under his arm, a Mother Teresa with her blue and white sari, a St. Therese the Little Flower clinging to a bouquet of roses, and a Padre Pio with his crucifix and rosary. This year a pair of identical twin brothers each dressed up as St. Martin de Porres (see photo above), complete with dark greasepaint on their faces. Many times it’s hard to tell who the child is dressed up as, and you just have to wait until the time of the speeches to find out who this little person is trying to be. As the excitement builds, the musicians begin singing, “Oh when the saints go marching in…” and the children march around the room in their colorful array. When it is time for them to share about the saint they chose, some kids speak confidently from memory, others read the information from a card, some sing a song and still others get stage fright and the teacher has to do the explaining.

The celebration concludes with Mass honoring all the saints. Then as the children leave, they are all given a bag of treats to enjoy at home — a satisfying reward for a job well done.

Septermber 2006 - Mariquita's House Floods

You may have seen in the news about the recent record-breaking storms in our area. It was scary at times. The rain came down in sheets and dramatic lightning bolts electrified the atmosphere. Waterfalls formed in the desert landscape, turning dry gulches into mighty streams that washed away everything in their paths. El Paso, known as Sun City, did not see the sun for several days. These downpours flooded many areas and destroyed a lot of homes and property. The situation in Juarez, Mexico was particularly grave. Certain houses, especially those made of cardboard or unfinished adobe brick, dissolved in the rains. Roads were eroded away, making it difficult to get to some of the homes we deliver food to on a regular basis.

Mariquita, one of those we visit each week, is a blind lady who is always joyful, . Her house was built in the bottom of a gully with steep steps made of old, discarded tires leading down to it. During the worst days of the storms, one of her daughters came and took her home to stay for two days. Eager to return to her little shack, Mariquita had her daughter take her back after the rains subsided. To their horror, the place was submerged in 1 to 2 feet of muddy water. Her son came to help and they filled bucket after bucket of thick, heavy mud, trying to empty her home of it. It took them long hours to complete the job.

When we arrived, her son was sprawled out on the bed sound asleep, exhausted from the hard work. A mouse scurried up the wall and out a hole in the ceiling. There was evidence of the muddy mess everywhere but instead of complaining, Mariquita had a big smile on her face and told us, “I didn’t think you would make it today. I thought the condition of the roads would have kept you away. Thank you for coming!”

Because of all the flooding, the terrain outside Mariquita’s house is now too rough and dangerous for her to walk on since she can’t see. So when she washes her clothes by hand in a bucket, as she is used to doing, she then crawls on her hands and knees dragging the bucket with her until she reaches the clothesline where she hangs her laundry. We are hoping to build her a house in a better location soon .

August 2006 - Pedro and Josefina

Pedro and Josefina’s plight came to our attention about a year ago. Living in a tiny room attached to their son’s house, they were virtually abandoned and uncared for. Although they have several children, only one daughter really cares for them and she lives 8 hours away in southern Mexico. Next door to them lives another son who is a drug addict.

Pedro suffers from a heart condition that makes him very weak. The doctors tell him he doesn’t have long to live. His wife, Josefina, has advanced diabetes and became blind 15 years ago as a result of the disease. Their children don’t care about them apart from letting them live in the cramped room. “The only ones who visit us are three of our little grandkids,” Pedro sadly told us.

Once Pedro went to a doctor’s appointment at the hospital. A nurse came into the examining room with a hypodermic needle in her hand ready to give him a shot. “Whoa, wait a minute,” Pedro yelped. “What are you doing? I haven’t been seen by the doctor yet.” “Be quiet and let me do my job,” the nurse retorted and proceeded to give Pedro the injection. “I felt like millions of ants were running through my arm, and I fell to the ground,” related Pedro. The nurse realized her mistake and fled out of the room. When the doctor came in, Pedro was on the floor, his body wracked with convulsions. They rushed him to emergency and treated him for the reaction he was having to the medicine.

During this whole ordeal Pedro’s main fear was for Josefina. “Who is going to take care of my wife? My children won’t care for her.” Finally he was released and sent on his way. Upon
returning home he found Josefina still in bed, having soiled her clothes and sheets, because her sons and daughters wouldn’t care for her. Pedro wept as he told us how heartbroken he was to find his beloved wife in that condition. “My heart is so weak and I live in fear because when I die, who is going to take care of my wife?”

Pedro has strong faith, though, and loves reading Scripture. Our weekly visits are an answer to his prayers he says, because besides bringing groceries and fellowship, we have assured him that we will keep taking care of his dear Josefina after he dies.

July 2006 - Kindergarten Graduation

Last month we celebrated the graduation of the kindergarten class from the Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico. While the men suspended plastic tarps to create a shaded area where they could set up folded chairs on the dusty ground, the women hung green and white balloons and paper flowers along the walls. Parents and relatives filed in as the children impatiently lined up to process on stage. The recorded music began and in marched the children – some with big smiles and others looking solemn and serious. Applause broke out as the families proudly cheered them on.

Our little school was started several years ago to serve the students in this very poor area of Juarez. Aurora Villa, who directs the Food Bank, explained, “I had a burden on my heart for the children who would come here with their parents. These kids were not in school because their parents could not afford the tuition. We started a little class teaching a few kids, and it has grown from there. Now there are 54 students who attend. It is the only free school around.” Aurora is working on getting the school officially named after Fr. Richard M. Thomas, S.J.

The principal of our school was earning a lot of money at another school where she worked but she came to help us. Her co-workers ridiculed her but she said, “The poor need an education, too. How else are they going to break out of the cycle of poverty that they are stuck in?” We only teach three grades but Aurora promises the students, “If you want to study further, we will help you continue on.”


One of the students in the kindergarten class has Down’s Syndrome. When Perla first arrived at our school she was very quiet and withdrawn. But with all the love, prayer and acceptance she received, she gradually interacted more and more with the kids and progressed in her learning. About 6 months ago, her parents took her to a specialized school to evaluate her progress. After a series of tests they were told, “Perla is very advanced. She should stay in the school that she’s in.” At the graduation ceremony, the teachers awarded Perla a special gift in recognition of how far she has come.

As I handed out the “diplomas” to each child as their names were called out, I was filled with gratitude to God and to everyone who helped make this beautiful little school a reality.

June 2006 - The Death of Father Thomas

It is with great sadness that we tell you Fr. Rick Thomas, S.J. passed away on May 8, 2006 at The Lord's Ranch.

Father Thomas started getting sick around August of last year. At first it was just extreme tiredness and stomach aches, and he cut back on his busy schedule and got some much needed rest. But he wasn’t bouncing back, and he lost a lot of weight. In October and November he went to a series of different doctors and underwent many tests, but nothing conclusive was found. He told us that he felt this was a spiritual sickness.

In January he rallied and started to gain strength and weight. He wanted to run the race God had marked out for him until the finish, and he used his energy doing physical therapy and working at getting well again. He was alert and mentally very sharp all the way to the end. He celebrated Mass up until two weeks before he died.

The day he died he was having a pretty good day. He ate more than he had in a while and was
talkative and upbeat. In the afternoon, his breathing started to get rapid. Two of us were there helping him and he asked me to recite some Scripture. I opened a Bible and read Psalm 23. “No,” he corrected, “Isaiah 35.” So I flipped over to Isaiah and read aloud that beautiful chapter. His breathing got shallow and I noticed him looking off into the distance. He stared and then smiled. “What are you seeing?” I asked. “Is someone coming for you?” He got a faraway look in his eyes and silently laughed, never answering my question. His breathing slowed way down, and I started giving him CPR. When I paused, he laughed again and then was gone — as quickly as that. It reminded us of Luke 12:36-37, “be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants who the master finds vigilant on his arrival.” Jesus came knocking, and Fr. Rick opened the door right away. As the last line of Isaiah 35 says, “They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.”

While we have lost our spiritual leader, all of us here at Our Lady's Youth Center are fully committed to carrying on the good work of serving our brothers and sisters in need that Fr. Rick spearheaded for so many years. As you know, Our Lady's Youth Center is a 501(c)(3) religious and charitable organization with a board of directors and an advisory board. We are also working with the Jesuit province that Father belonged to as they decide which priest to assign here to carry on the sacramental life of the ministries. We ask for your prayers and we’ll keep you posted.