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all star converse United Church of Christ in La Me
(La Mesa Courier, La Mesa, CA) – You never know where or to what
a visit to the in-laws could lead. The “where,” in Ron Young’s
case, was Casa Hogar, a small orphanage in the tiny mountain
village of San Antonio de las Minas, Baja California, Mexico; the
“what,” 30-plus years of active participation by the people of the
United Church of Christ of La Mesa (UCCLM) in providing for the
daily needs and fulfilling the hopes and dreams of the children
living there.
It was 1968, when Ron,converse all star chuck taylor Sponsored Lifestyle, a young professor from the University of
Illinois, and his wife, Rinda, joined her parents on a trip to
Ensenada and made that fateful stop at Casa Hogar – the first of
several to bring desperately needed food and clothing to the
orphanage.
Three years later they moved to San Diego, Ron to teach at San
Diego State University, both to join UCCLM. Professor Ron started
something new at State – “orphanage runs” by his students every
semester.
The church folk got involved in 1978, when Kathy Sowa, UCCLM’s
secretary and Christian Ed leader asked the congregation for ideas
for a youth outreach project. Ron had just the one. The youths’
first sojourn to Casa Hogar, by then a “bustling orphanage with
some thirty boys and girls,” was to take toys and food – and to
play with the children. Language, they quickly learned, was no
barrier to kids having fun.
When they learned that the youngsters slept on cots and pads on
the floor, the church’s second outreach project – to buy 15 bunk
beds – was born. The whole congregation got into the act, funds
were raised easily and Ron and Kathy finagled a huge discount on
beds and mattresses. A caravan of cars and motorhomes filled with
bed parts and mattresses made the trek south (the first of many,
many such journeys in the decades to come), where UCCLM youth and
adults got to work – with screwdrivers,all star converse, crescent wrenches,converse all star chuck taylor, sweat
and “tears of joy,” building beds. It was, Ron remembers, a very
full day.
New beds…old, inadequate bedding. The next youth project was to
get donations of sheets and blankets.
Caravans to Casa Hogar during Epiphany, taking a picnic lunch
and presents to the children,converse allstar, quickly became a tradition. The
children, in turn,converse all stars, put on wonderful Christmas pageants for their
guests.
On…and on…and on it went from there, eventually becoming a major
church outreach program.
The orphanage was growing and children were leaving as they
became older…leaving for uncertain futures and lives. The need to
educate them and get them involved in productive lives in their
community became the congregation’s new goal, a challenging one in
a country where family connections are the key to success and
prosperity. While they continued – and continue – to provide food
and clothing,converse all star, a new emphasis was placed on collecting money for
tuition (public education is very expensive in Mexico),converse all star ox, books,
backpacks and uniforms.
“During the school year,” Ron elaborates,converse all star shoes, “we pay for all of
their tuitions, uniforms, transportation, a healthy breakfast each
day, school books and supplies and two after-school tutors to help
those who need the extra review boost to keep their grades and
learning at level.”
Thirty-plus years of sharing and caring later, the children of
Casa Hogar are thriving and excelling academically. Among them are
graduates of business college, secretarial school, beauty school
and most recently, law school, who are staying and blooming as
leaders in their community in the Ensenada area. One UCCLM family
sponsored the child they had “adopted” so many years ago as he
progressed through his law degree program, which culminated in the
summer of 2010 with an internship in Mexico City working with and
observing the Mexican legal system and spending time in seminars at
the Mexican Supreme Court. Eight special scholarship funds have
been set up by individuals and families (many via memorial funding)
and there’s a large fund established by members of the former New
Creations UCC when they joined UCCLM. 100% of all donations go
directly to the orphanage.
Recent events – new border restrictions and requirements
(passports are needed to re-enter the U.S.) and a disturbing
increase in banditry on Baja’s back roads, have gotten in the way
of the much loved caravan trips – a temporary obstacle,
participants hope. “We haven’t given up,” Ron reports. In the
meantime, UCCLM’s involvement continues. There are, as Ron says,
“no limits to the love,converse all stars Death penalty may be sought 85, caring and generosity of the people of
UCCLM or to their commitment to the youngsters of Casa Hogar.”
UCCLM’s outreach to Casa Hogar has had a major impact not just
on the children but on the people of the church, for whom “our
orphanage” and the programs with which they support it are an
exciting and meaningful ministry of love. Ron explains, “The
children’s gift of love to us over the years outweighs anything we
could give to them. Our gift has been to Mexico, giving them a good
supply of educated citizens who are proud of their country and are
becoming positive leaders in their community.” |
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发表于 2013-6-4 05:13:02
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