St. Leo the Great
This month, we sent Sister $2,180 in designated scholarship aid. Two students are now attending University — this is unheard of! Many younger ones are excelling in school because of your scholarship aid. Thank you, thank you!
This is how you can help break the cycle of poverty, by adopting a student. Continue reading
John 13:34
“Jonathan S. is a teenager who lives with his mother and four siblings in a little 
borrowed house at the edge of the railroad in Tijuana. His father died 3 years ago. Jonathan always looks for work, so he can help his family. He sells doughnuts and makes mud bricks on weekends. Now that he is studying in 8th grade, he sometimes abandons school because he does not have school supplies, uniforms, or shoes. His mother works making mud bricks to be able to care for her four younger sons. The Casa helps the family with food, uniforms, and scholarships. With this help for Jonathan, he no longer needs to work making mud bricks on weekends (besides, that is not a suitable environment for a teenager). All his family thank God for the support they receive at Casa de los Pobres.” Continue reading
Psalm 22:9 
Those whom the Casa serves are destitute. The people live in drafty shacks that are infested with rats and other critters. They often experience the trauma of empty stomaches, cold nights, insecurity, and premature death. The Sisters offer rays of light and hope to many men, women, and children through the services offered at the Casa de los Pobres. Continue reading
From Sr. Armida: “Thank you for all of your efforts to support this place of endless needs and requests. Begging is not easy. I see the fear people try to hide when asking for help. God bless them — they are humble and innocent. The needs of the poor are simple: from baby formula to a handful of beans, from a tablet for pain to a wheelchair, from a plea of prayer for a sick person and to assistance for burial.”
Psalm 18.
Fifteen hundred families came via many bus lines or on foot 
from the hills and dumps of Tijuana, Mexico to attend an early morning Mass in very cold weather. Humble men and women stood in line for hours to receive a bag of beans, rice, oatmeal, sugar, tuna, canned milk, fruit, and instant coffee. A breakfast of cocoa and hot cinnamon buns was served to those waiting in the long line to receive the gifts.
The patio was decorated for Christmas and a live manger scene was created by bringing two or three animals from the City of Mercy Mental Hospital in Rosarita Beach. Continue reading
“Mrs. Maria L., 29 years old, came to the Casa some days ago and was very nervous and in anguish. She could hardly explain what was happening to her. She is married to Juan who works as a mechanic and earns 1800 pesos ($100) a week. They have an 11-year-old son in the 6th grade and a daughter in the 2nd grade. The daughter suffers from epilepsy, and they have no medical insurance. She was receiving treatment in a mental health hospital in Tijuana. On their last visit, they were told that because of some hospital changes, it was decided to stop treatment to children with certain disabilities.” Continue reading
St. Anthony Claret, Bishop
From grateful children who received school supplies:
“Thank you for your support all these years. 
May God bless you and your family because your kindness with the school supplies helps us. I thank the Lord because I’m healthy and I feel happy due to all the blessings I receive.” Alex G.
“My name is Juan Carlos. I am 11 years old and in the 6th grade. Math is my favorite class and soccer my favorite hobby. When I grow up, I want to be a lawyer, but I know that I have to study really hard in order to become one. That’s why I thank God and you so much for all the support that you’re giving us. May God bless you and your family for your kindness.” Continue reading
“Many, many thanks for the economic support that you have given to us during the months. Thanks to this, we can obtain stability in the school environment and with regards to school expenses, and I know that not many others have the opportunity to be able to continue. You have given us great help that motivates us to continue forward. I hope this continues, as I also wish the same and hope to continue with a career. God bless you with love.” Mariana Q. (graduated high school with a 9.3 GPA, equivalent to about a 3.7 or A-) Continue reading
Sirach 29:11
“Around 8:30 pm in late June, yelling voices at the gate were asking for help. 
Three young men who had just arrived in Tijuana were saying so fast, ‘WE ARE VERY HUNGRY. PLEASE SOME FOOD.’ We opened the gate, had them sit on a bench, gave them juice, water, and bread. They kept saying in between crying how hungry they were. It was heartbreaking. One of them had much fever. We got them food, and they calmed down and explained how they got here and how one of them had been working in Mexicali. He earned some pesos which someone stole.
“Their clothes were dirty and torn. They said how bad they felt. They were very cold and looked for warm sweaters. We found them a place to spend the night. The next day they came and had showers in the new place for showers we now have in the new bathrooms. They know they can come for breakfast and the taquitos lunch. May God bless us all. We thank Him for his Divine Mercy.” Continue reading
Psalm 91:13
“A man named Louis O, 36, came to Tijuana from another place where he was working as a driver of heavy trucks. Because of the very bad roads, he left to come here, because he was afraid of the danger to his life. He could not work with that tension, as he wants to work peacefully and support his family.
It has been one year since he left the family to come here, and he thanks God because he found a job as a mason assistant in Tecate, B.C. What he earns is not enough to send much economic help to the family for the feeding of his children who are 10 and 8 years old. Continue reading