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.