Psalm 34

Dear Friends of the Casa,  

THANK YOU FOR HEARING THE CRY OF THE POOR.  You made Christmas a time of JOY for our brothers and sisters in Christ who endure harsh poverty in the dumps of Tijuana. You provided:

• 1500 bags of special food and a new blanket for 1500 families!

In December, we received $31,808.94 from our regular donors for both monthly and Christmas help, including a $1,000 anonymous donation from the San Diego Foundation and a $5,000 gift from the M. House Family Fund at the San Diego Foundation. We received $92,418.90 (total for both Nov. and Dec.) from our special Christmas appeal letter and other donors. That amount included $31,858 from the All Hallows Church Advent collection and special letters.

This money purchased the special food   (chickens and shoes were donated) and blankets. The Adult School in Chula Vista again collected staple food and toys that filled one truck and part of another. The School of the Madeleine collected 600 pair of new socks. In November, All Hallows Academy collected several boxes of food. Our check to Sister Armida this month will buy MORE BLANKETS, TARPS, food, and essentials for January. Words cannot convey how much we appreciate your love. The Sisters and people are grateful for your support and pray for your intentions daily.

Fifteen hundred families came via bus lines or on foot om the hills and dumps to attend an early Mass. The mission of the Casa is to glorify God through the works of mercy.   The people did indeed glorify God and the Holy Family by their thankfulness and joy, as they received the food, blankets, toys, and quilts.

A breakfast of cocoa and hot cinnamon buns was served to those waiting in line to receive the gifts. Humble men and women stand in line for hours to receive a bag of beans, rice, oatmeal, sugar, tuna, canned milk, and fruit. They were thrilled and grateful to receive this food and the other gifts.

How You Can Help

The Sisters will be delivering more blankets to some outlying Colonias. These nights are extremely cold and often wet. It is a good time to give tarps, extra blankets, caps, socks, and mittens. The need is never ending, as you know by now.

The people enjoy the fellowship and comfort that the Casa offers. Women often express their joy with tears. Moms were happy to receive a handmade quilt for their babies. Most of us have NO IDEA what it is like to live the way these people must live. They were sincerely grateful for these simple gifts, happy to share with others and to enjoy this festive Holy Day at the Casa with their friends and the Sisters. To the men, women, and children who come to the Casa, it is “home” and represents a refuge, security, and love. “O God, you are my strength.”

The Franciscan Sisters have been serving the destitute in Tijuana since 1957 through their soup kitchen, bodega, roperia, medical clinic, and social servicce office. They reach thousands each week through their apostolate of LOVE — serving Jesus in the poor.  100% of your donation goes to help the poor, as we have NO overhead.

MAY YOUR NEW YEAR BE FILLED WITH PEACE AND JOY