July 2011 - Tanya

Pictured here is Tanya Ortiz Guzman. A lively and intelligent little girl, she was born deaf and cannot speak. About two years ago, her mother, who was pregnant at the time, suffered a ruptured gallbladder, and tragically she and her unborn baby died as a result. Tanya’s father, faced with raising Tanya and her two older brothers, left the house and has never returned. So the children moved in with their grandmother, Abigail.

Abigail came to us asking if Tanya could attend our Montessori school at the Food Bank. There was no way Abigail could afford sending her little granddaughter to a special school, but Tanya is very smart and interested in everything. Her grandmother wanted her to have a chance at an education. “I know she can learn if someone taught her,” Abigail insisted. “She just needs to be given a chance.”

Not being set up to teach children with special needs, our teachers discussed it amongst themselves and decided that they wanted to try and help Tanya. Veronica, one of the teachers, offered to get training. So she started attending classes to learn sign language and then started to teach Tanya how to sign. Veronica is also being trained in how to integrate children with special needs into the classroom with the other children.

She’s doing a great job. The other day I went to visit the classrooms to see how things were going. Tanya was signing to Veronica the sign for “play.” She had finished her work and wanted to join the other kids on the playground outside. After checking her paper, Veronica signed, “Okay. You can go play now.” With a huge smile, and a little excited jump, Tanya skipped outside to join in the fun. It was heartwarming to see how the other children welcomed and included her. She fits right in, and many of the kids are picking up sign language and are able to communicate that way with Tanya.

We have recently been asked to accept a little blind girl into the school, and Veronica agreed to go to another class to learn how best to teach her. “It’s very difficult, and there’s a lot to learn,” Veronica shared, “but it’s wonderful to have the tools needed to teach these girls.”

June 2011 The Fr. Richard Thomas library

Kids were jumping up and down with excitement, some hopping on one leg, all with huge smiles. What was the occasion? They were about to see inside our new little library for the first time. Many of these children had never even been to a library before, and now they had their own right here at the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez, Mexico. They couldn’t wait to go inside – and even though it is only one room, and the shelves are not completely full, they were delighted.
 
Thanks to a large donation of children’s books in Spanish, our teachers were able to realize their dream of starting a children’s library on site near our Montessori school at the Food Bank. The workmen built a special room to house the bookshelves and the child-size tables and chairs, and painted the walls a bright, cheery yellow. The teachers decorated the room then organized and catalogued the books. One of the teachers painted a large sign with the rules. Since most of these kids have never been taught how to behave in a library, she kept it simple and basic: 1) speak in a soft voice, 2) sign-up, 3) put everything in its place, and 4) take care of the books.

The library will be open four days a week, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and our hope is that the children will learn how to use and take care of books and develop a love of reading. Just last week a retired teacher from the U.S., who had taught ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for many years, donated boxes and boxes of her materials that she would no longer be using. She even donated a projector so that we can give audio/visual presentations teaching children their vowels, sounds and numbers in a lively and fun way.

In deciding on a name, the teachers unanimously chose The Father Richard Thomas Library, in honor of this great priest who worked so hard in ensuring that the children of the poor get a better start in life. 

May 2011 - new house for the Valenzuela's family

Last November we told you about Pedro Valenzuela and his family who had been on the house-building waiting list for a long time. Our work crews had been putting off his request due to the challenges and difficulties involved in building a house on that steep hill. But finally, as another cold winter descended, two of our work crews joined together and began the grueling work of digging out of solid rock the foundation for the new house.

If you remember, Pedro’s existing house, which is on a plot of land he has deed to, is nestled high above the other houses in the area and is accessible only by a foot path. Up and down this winding path, the men (including Pedro and his sons) lugged jackhammers, power tools, sacks of cement, and all the adobe bricks needed for construction. With the back-breaking work, broken tools, and seemingly impenetrable rocks, the workers wanted to throw in the towel several times. But seeing Pedro’s family shivering in their cardboard hut with very little protection from the freezing weather, the men buckled down and persevered. They ended up making a split-level foundation rather than trying to clear an entire flat area for the regular style house we usually build.

At last the foundation was laid. The adobe walls and the rest of the building followed quickly. On went the roof and the metal bars over the windows (a must in these crime-ridden times), and in went the kitchen shelves, interior walls and tiled floor. What an amazing house it turned out to be – one of the best our teams have ever built.

Pedro’s wife Maria, crying tears of joy told us, “I used to look at my 5 kids and wonder what would happen to them if Pedro and I were to die — they wouldn’t have anything. Pedro is a good man, a hard-worker. He would tell me, ‘One day I will make us a house of adobe.’ But times got worse and worse. It was all we could do to make enough to feed the kids. Even my 13 year old son works in a little store making tortillas. He brings me whatever he earns. I would cry out to God, begging Him, ‘God, please help us. We need a house – not for me, but for my kids.’”

Really sobbing now, Maria continued, “He heard my prayer. God heard my prayer! He not only gave us a house, but the most beautiful home in the whole neighborhood. Thanks be to God! Thanks to all of you!” 

April 2011 - The Sharing Box

Many years ago, Father Thomas gave a teaching to the people at our Food Bank in Juarez about how important it is to share what God has blessed us with. Even if we have very little, we need to share some of what we have with others who are in need. Using the Scripture from Acts 20:35 where Jesus says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” Father Thomas challenged them to believe what Jesus said and put it into practice.

As a result, someone came up with the idea of a “sharing box.” They took an old crate, and with bright red paint, wrote that scripture from Acts on the side of it, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Then when the sacks of groceries were distributed to the people, those who wanted to could put some of the food they had just received into the box to share with those who were in greater need.

The ones who did this started to share wonderful stories of how the Lord blessed them. Several experienced the multiplication of food. One lady shared, “I cooked the small amount of beans I had taken home with me, and the pot became so full, I had to share them with my neighbors because there were too many beans for my family to eat.” Others gave testimony that after contributing to the “sharing box” someone would drop by unexpectedly with extra groceries for them.

After a while, the “sharing box” fell into disuse. The crate was stuck in a corner, and the only thing it collected was dust. Until a few weeks ago.

In the recent months, more and more needy people have been showing up at the Food Bank as the economic situation in Juarez deteriorates. Many young people, who are healthy and strong and want to work, cannot find employment. Others are barely eking out a living and run out of food for their children. As they line up for help, sometimes we only have a few potatoes left to share with them – which they are very grateful to get. Then someone remembered the “sharing box.” “Hey, let’s get out the box and any of us who can, let’s share some of our groceries.”

So once again, after the regulars on our list receive their weekly groceries, they freely put into the crate whatever they feel led to share – a bag of rice, a can of tomato sauce, some pasta – and then that gets portioned out to the newcomers. It’s beautiful to see how these poor people, who are in great need themselves, share with those who are worse off.  And when those who put something in the box leave with joy radiating on their faces, one can truly see that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

March 2011 - Brrrr!

Last year in March I wrote about the cold winter we were having — but like many of you have also experienced, this has been an even colder winter for us. We had an arctic cold front that swept through the area dropping temperatures down to 9 degrees below zero. Mike Halloran, who manages the Lord’s Ranch, said that in the 30 years he has been living there he can only remember temperatures as cold as 9 degrees above zero. This was by far the coldest winter we’ve had since Father Thomas started the Ranch in 1975.

As a result of the frigid weather, many of the pipes froze and broke around the Ranch, including the 6 inch pipes coming out of one of our main water tanks. This tank holds the water pumped up from our well for all of the houses and buildings on the Lord’s Ranch to use. Because the pipes had cracked and split, when the ice inside the pipes and tank melted, all those 10,000 gallons of water sprayed out on the ground. Mike had to dig a deep hole with the tractor to contain the water as it spurted out so that all those gallons wouldn’t flood the house nearby. Thankfully we have two main water tanks, and the pipes out of the second one were not damaged so we still had water.

But many people in El Paso and Juarez were without water — some for several days. There was also a complete power blackout in some areas, while others were without power on and off, and still others had no natural gas.

As you can imagine the cold has been particularly hard on the poor in Juarez. Many of the people we serve, if they have any source of heat at all, have gas heaters that cannot be left on overnight due to the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. So they grab any blankets they may have and stay wrapped up in bed. Thanks to some generous donors in El Paso, we were able to buy several hundred thick, warm blankets and distribute them to those in need. Just in time, because the following week we had another cold snap — not as brutal as the previous one, but very cold nonetheless. When we went to visit the people in their homes the following day, many were still in bed bundled up against the icy cold.

As I write this letter the outside temperature is 68 degrees with warm sunshine streaming through the windows — a very welcome gift from God. As they say here, “The sun is the blanket of the poor.”

February 2011 - Armando's testimony

Armando Enrique has been going to the Food Bank for about a year now. He comes with all his family – his wife, his 4 children, his 9 grandchildren. He is 54 years old, but when he was younger he was part of the original group of men that Father Thomas named the “apostles”. Father Thomas would meet weekly with this group of men from the Food Bank, teaching them from the Word of God and instructing them in the faith.

Some time ago the police went to Armando’s house demanding, “Where are all the drugs that you are selling?” “I don’t sell drugs,” Armando told them. “I have this marijuana because I smoke it, but I don’t sell drugs.” The police arrested Armando. On the way to jail Armando prayed and prayed, “Lord Jesus, please help me. Help me.” He also asked Father Thomas to intercede for him, “Father Thomas, you were my teacher. You taught me to believe. Please help me now.”

He was put in a holding tank to be processed, trembling and shaking from the cold. An officer said, “Are you cold?” When Armando said yes, the officer brought him a blanket. But even with the blanket Armando was freezing. He started making the sign of the Cross saying, “I belong to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,” over and over again. He felt someone touch his back, but no one was around. Suddenly all the cold left him and he felt warmth flood his body.

They transferred him to the federal prison and Armando shared, “I felt like God had stationed His angels all around me. I wasn’t afraid. No one mistreated me. I told the Lord, ‘You know we don’t have any money to pay the bail or to get a lawyer. But I put my trust in You.’” The officer in charge asked him, “Are you going to call a lawyer?” “No, my lawyer is the Lord Jesus.”  “Yeah, right.”   “No, really, the Lord is my defender. I have no money for a lawyer, but Jesus will  defend me.”

In his cell, Armando started singing praises to God. His cellmates said, “You know a lot of songs. Teach us some.” So they all sang songs of praise to God. One song they sang over and over again was, “I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back, no turning back.” Tears flowed as Armando sang, begging the Lord in his heart, “Help me not go back to drugs. Free me from my drug addiction.”

Due to his addiction to marijuana, Armando was never able to eat until he smoked some pot. Now in prison he was unable to eat the food. His companions urged him, “Try to eat a little.” And he tried but was unable to stomach the food. His cellmates even snuck him a joint of marijuana, “Here, smoke it so you can eat.” “No,” Armando said, “I’m not going back to that. No turning back.” Days went by without him being able to eat, but he refused to smoke any marijuana even though the inmates offered it to him. A week later the guards came to the cell and called out, “Armando Enrique, come with us. Your bail has been paid.” Armando thought they had made a mistake because he didn’t know anyone who could afford to pay his bail. But it was no mistake and he was released from jail. (He learned afterward that a relative had sold a small truck to get the bail money.)

He shared with the community, “I confess I was a drug addict, smoking marijuana often. But I say to all of you – no more. God has healed me. I haven’t gone back. I am now able to eat well without the use of drugs, things are good at home, and with His grace I will stay free from drugs. I felt like the men in the fiery furnace – they were in the flames but not harmed, and an angel was with them. I went through this trial but was surrounded by angels, and came through the experience healed. God is merciful and gave me this opportunity to change, and I don’t want to return to the life I was living.”

January 2011 - Sofia's community center

A woman named Sofia came to see us at the Food Bank last month wondering if we could help her. On her own initiative she had started a community center where she focused on helping single moms with children, and the elderly. She relies on donations but with the economy in Juarez like it is, the donations have stopped coming in. Unemployment is high and jobs are very scarce. “I’ve asked all around trying to get help for the people in need who come to the center, but no one has responded. Can you help us?”

  

We went to visit her center and found a run-down adobe room with chipped paint flaking off the walls. In the corner were some small cabinets where supplies are normally stored but which now stood empty. As we were talking to Sofia, some people helped a weak, elderly lady into the room. We learned that she was 87 years old and had not had anything to eat for 7 days. She had been abandoned by her relatives and some neighbors had found her in bed. The electricity and water were about to be cut off at her little house because she had no money to pay the bills. Sofia asked those present if they had any food to share and everyone pitched in from the little they had to provide some groceries for this poor widow. We gave Sofia the money needed to pay the woman’s utility bills for the month. 

Sofia’s center is in a different area than our Food Bank, and we are going to start supplying them with rice, beans and potatoes each week to distribute to those in need, like the 87 year old widow we met that day.

Thank you for helping us help them.

May the Lord bless you with a happy, healthy New Year!