NEWSLETTER: DECEMBER, 2006

Many of our words in English have double meanings. I'm thinking of the word rare. Hundreds of kids with whom we work are locked into the strata of the poorest of the poor, seldom getting enough motivation and education to get out of their barrios. It's true that we work with what many would call the losers of society. Human debris!

Shocking to us and fortunate for them God sees us as all alike.

I was reminded of this the other day.

I had a couple of photos that I carelessly sat on a magazine that was on my table and rushed downstairs to locate something in my car. Later that day I happened to glance at the magazine sitting on the table and was surprised to see a picture of a beautiful little girl on the cover with the caption Rare Jewels. I looked again and noted that I had thoughtlessly set the photo of a beautiful little girl from Zona Norte in the setting of the magazine. Rare jewels? I never thought of these kids in that way.

That "by chance lesson" reminded me that God sees all of His kids as jewels, never as losers! From the beautiful little girls and boys we show you to, well, . . . even someone like Benjamin.

Benjimin, 13, passed through our lives one cold December afternoon. He had been working the dump and saw our big group. I met him standing and watching us. He was dirty, tired, cold and hungry. We talked with him for a bit. And we gave him some food and then he wandered away as quietly as he came. Rest assured that in God's dictionary Benjamin qualifies as a jewel. Indeed a lost jewel.

As dirty and tough as these kids are and as hard as they are to love, they have a certain vulnerability to someone who will take time to love them.

Changing to a brighter subject. The Holidays are definitely here. There are certainly plenty of adjectives to describe Christmas. Family, warmth, color, carols, food, and baby Jesus. Because Jesus came to give, giving definitely is a big part of Christmas. Hundreds of our little "Jewels" are expecting, after all we haven't disappointed them for years. If any of you folks would like to put in a little extra to help express Christmas to these kids it would sure be appreciated. Christmas is an expensive month.

May we take the opportunity of this letter to express our wishes and prayers for a real nice Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year.

For all of us, von