Report from the Border

We have two reports from friends of Casa MAMi who went to Reynosa this weekend. Here is a report from Pam Howard of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Houston. She and a group of ladies (3 in all) delivered some books for the growing library:

Just wanted to send a quick note to say we had a great visit at Casa Mami and there were no problems what so ever crossing the border or while in Reynosa.

Mikey wasn't there on Saturday, but Carla let us in. She wasn't aware that we were coming but gave us a warm welcome. We got the books out to read to the girls after they finished breakfast and we read and played with them for several hours. The girls went nuts over the books. Different girls asked Gail and Laura if the books were in English. When they said no that they were in Spanish, their faces just lit up. While we tried to keep chaos to a minimum by only bringing out a dozen or so books at first, the girls found the rest of them when no one was looking. Oh well...... We read to girls, some of the girls read to us and each other, the older girls huddled together and even a couple of the staff was seen reading to even more girls. A fun time and happy chaos was had by all. I got really tickled when one of the older girls, Fernanda, pulled out the copy of the Narnia Chronicles. While she was excited about that title, her eyes got big and said "but it's so big...." It was a single volume (over an inch thick) containing the entire Narnia series. She and another gal were seen with it later in the morning.

About 11 or so, a couple of ladies from a church in Rio Bravo came to give the girls a Bible lesson on Paul so we collected and put away the books. There were some that tried to hide the books but I think we got most of them back in the office. Carla said they would take care of getting them upstairs where the library is now. We stayed for the Bible study and participated in the circle prayer at the end. I was asked to lead part of the prayer for the girls. That's a bit out of my comfort zone, but I just gulped and said ok.

After that, another mission team just showed up with food. They seemed to all speak Spanish. I'm not sure that Carla knew they were coming either. We had asked the Bible teachers for directions back to the bridge and they kindly ;offered to lead us to the bridge by letting us follow them. Since the other team was there, we didn't want to interfere and didn't want the ladies to have to wait for us so we said goodbye at that point. The ladies we were following made one stop and spoke with a man who then came to our car to help with final directions. We think he is a dentist. He gave his dental office brochure. Getting back across the border took about 30 minutes maximum.

We only counted about 30 girls at the house when we were there. There were at least 4 new ones that we didn't recognize from October. The girl with the young baby in October was not there. There is another girl with a 3-month old baby living there now.

We did take pictures which we will pass on to you Kathy. I left my camera in Gail's car so probably won't be able to get my camera until next Sunday. Gail also took pictures so we should have some good ones for you. We also took some group pictures with the Bible teachers.

Thanks to each of you for your assistance. Bruce, the map you gave us worked perfectly. We had no problems finding Casa Mami. There was a military presence at the border but it wasn't scary. We are glad that we decided to go.

Other news for this date: Sister Elma and her family traveled to Tampico for her son's wedding. José lives in Dallas. Her daughter lives with her husband and son in Houston. Both of the Fonseca Velásquez children are married to Mexican nationals and living in Texas. They are all serving the Lord in their churches and communities; a blessed family.

Here is a report from Olinda, of Christ United Methodist Church in Sugarland, Tx. Their church canceled a trip in February because of border violence:

Sorry- we ran out of time and Sister Elma had told me she would not be there- her son was getting married. We drove to the different locations where we do Food and Medical Clinics. Everything looked the same. There is a Federal checkpoint 50 feet past the border. Very intimidating- 10-12 troops with rifles and a mounted gun on a jeep. They did not stop us- waved us on. We saw 2 other checkpoints on the road between Reynosa and Rio Bravo. Same thing- we were waved on, they were checking random cars- mostly male drivers.

Spoke to 3 different Pastors at different times and all said the same thing. Its safer now than before. The federal agents are keeping an eye on the local police who were very corrupt. The federal troops are only focused on drugs and guns. The all also said that after 10 pm is when the gang activity starts so we should not be out by then.

We felt very safe and definitely are going to resume our mission trips. Our next trip is April 5th and we do have plans to visit the girls at Casa Mami.

FYI: Casa MAMi MX is the US non-profit that supports Casa MAMi. This week we are having our annual board of directors meeting in Memphis. Several will participate via conference call. The Lord has been gracious to the ministry. We hope to have a broader church support in the coming year so that all financial needs will be met. We also are beginning to think of life after 18 years of age for some of the girls. A sewing clinic trip is planned for May and a music clinic trip with construction and VBS is planned for June. Both offer opportunities to donate sewing machines and musical instruments. The girls are doing beautifully, glory to God! We covet your prayers and always appreciate your financial support. Thank you for your partnership in this ministry. Please let us hear from you! Dios les bendiga~

"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Galatians 5: 14