II Thessalonians 3:13 "do not be weary in well-doing"

This morning I called Sister Elma to find out just how much longer it might be for the second floor to be ready. Her husband, José Luís answered her cell phone and I could hear Sister Elma talking to people. I knew that this was not a normal Saturday morning. Soon, Sister Elma explained that a 14 year old girl, who was admitted a week ago, escaped in the middle of the night. Sister Elma was working to have the police search for her, and getting ready to talk with the girl's mother. She said that the gir had many problems with her mother, and that she had been brought to the Casa Hogar under those circumstances, with much counseling and psychological trouble. I asked how she escaped; "from the second floor out to the street, where the wall has not been closed." Please pray for everyone! The work of this ministry is spiritually, emotionally, and physically draining, but full of JOY! An escapee is hard on the girls who live at Casa MAMi, the staff, and family, as you can imagine. I think, in the last 7 years, I have heard of this happening maybe twice before.

In November and December we had no money for construction materials and labor expenses. Some of the Mexican suppliers and architect friends gave advances and tried to keep things moving along. Praise God, as of this week, we have our money problems solved and are hopeful that the upstairs will be habitable by the end of February!! In talking with Sister Elma, Iearned that Diego, the construction supervisor we hired in June, has been having "spiritual problems". (In Oct. I thought his eyes looked very yellow and dark.) So, these architect friends have some different crews helping complete the job. This is good, but let's pray for Diego and all the staff, laborers, etc. As you can see from these pictures, the cooking arrangement is still less than optimum: no oven that works, all meals prepared on the griddles! The second floor is coming along; there will be a stair case in the patio, with ironwork over the large openings that give a breeze to the hallway on the second floor. Since the runaway of last night, there is greater urgency to complete the second floor. What a blessing that we wil be able to accomplish this in the next few weeks!!

This picture of the residents with bubble wands is a reminder that when you visit, any toys or play activities are greatly appreciated. The spiritual maturity and happiness of the children is one of the blessings you will receive!

Please visit this link to read about a little girl in Memphis who celebrated her birthday by asking guests to bring donations to Casa MAMi in lieu of gifts for her! (The link is in the box you will find toward the bottom of this entry. Just click on it and you should be able to view an article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.)


Finally, the title of the blog today is a reminder that the work of Casa MAMi is every day and full of surprises! Please support this ministry in prayer, every time you think of them. Our prayer support is very important. And, as always, THANK YOU for your generous gifts and visits!! Dios les bendiga!