Piedras Negras

For those that met Father Pepe, this news will be a bit of a shocker. As you may know, he was moved from Acuña to nearby Piedras Negras several years ago. We’ve helped him and the people of Piedras, although our main focus has been in Acuña.

In May of 2011, one of his workers from a shelter was abducted. A bag was placed over his head and he was taken to an unknown location. His abductors told him that until the people in charge of the shelter began paying (for protection) employees would be taken. The abductor placed a revolver to the victim’s head and plaid Russian roulette. The hammer of the pistol fell on an empty chamber and the victim was released.

Since that time, more threats and other actions followed. Father Pepe received so many death threats that the bishop moved him to an undisclosed location.
The shelters continue to operate and we will increase our presence and support in Piedras Negras.

We Just Keep Doing

As violence continues to surge across Mexico I am certain that I have no solution. I am also certain that we will continue to help one child at a time and not become discouraged because we can't immediately solve the big picture.

When we began, we never envisioned a 'war on poverty' or providing medical help to every child in need. Instead, we walked down the dusty streets gave away sacks of groceries.

People from all walks of life continue to send money and we continue to pay for life changing medical treatments; we continue to support shelters for children and we continue to help in the best ways that we can. It seems that every week we see another miracle.

We can all become discouraged when we focus on what we cannot fix. However, when we focus on little Ambar and Juan Pedro receiving prosthetic limbs, or when we sit with the children as they eat the lunches we provide - there is great satisfaction.

I do not know how long the drug violence will last and we've had to curtail mission trips for the time being. But, I return to the border every few weeks to bring a few more children to the hospital, to help a few more families over a rough spot and to make sure that the people know we are still with them.

We fix the things we can fix and we do it right now!