NEWSLETTER: APRIL, 2004

There are those of us who are into hugging and those of us who aren't. I'll be honest; I'm just not a hugger. I'm always uncomfortable when Eva comes over, hugs me and gives me a little kiss on the cheek. And she does this faithfully every Thursday.

Eva has been with us for years. She is a tall, thin woman who was once quite attractive. A widow, she has a couple of children and little else. We give her groceries and fifteen dollars a week. Eva is one of those people who we could say is just plain "un-lucky." It seems everything always turns out wrong for her. Like the time she and the kids left to visit a relative down south. When they returned, their little shack and everything in it had been stolen. Just gone. We helped her with a new one.

Eva is older now. Many of her teeth are missing. Little by little facial cancer has taken over. She has only one eye. But she keeps on keeping on with out complaining. Attractive she isn't, but, in a sense, beautiful she is. True our ministry is with children but we can't overlook the many Eva's we have. I'm sure God places people in our lives for a divine reason. I needed to learn a lesson about hugging and loving the unlovable and showing it in a loving physical way. Eva was my lesson. She will be there tomorrow and I can count on her hugging me and kissing me on the cheek ... and yes, I'll hug her back.

Tomorrow we will be taking about thirty American kids across the border with us into Mexico with us. We will be meeting about three hundred of the poor in Grupo Mexico. Indeed we can talk numbers but in reality each one of these people -- like Eva -- is an individual with a story all his own. And many are just plain "un-lucky!" Thank you for allowing us to represent you to the poor across the border. Please continue to pray for us and, yes, pray also for Eva.

In His love, von