Posts by Helen Houser
Shoe Campaign Celebrates a 75th Birthday
Nancy Brown is the mother of six and the grandmother of 15. She recently celebrated her 75th birthday and in true Nancy style, the only gift she wanted was for her family to contribute to the annual Casa Franciscana shoe campaign. The campaign is to help children in Guaymas have shoes to attend school and…
Read MoreShoes for Coronavirus and School
July 2020 Dear Sisters and Brothers, Last year, you provided shoes, a requirement for school attendance in Mexico, for 635 children. God bless you for caring and knowing that education is the main road out of poverty!! As in the United States, it is uncertain when the children in Guaymas will return to school this…
Read MoreFather’s Day Prayer and Thoughts
(Republished from 05/2018) Dear brothers and sisters, As Father’s Day approaches and I walk the barrios of Guaymas, I’m reminded of a prayer with an origin attributed to the Methodist Church in Africa: Loving and Merciful God, our thoughts and prayers today are turned toward our fathers.For those whose fathers have increased the joy in…
Read MoreOur Role in Injustice
FROM THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS Province of Saint Barbara ◊ Office of the Provincial Minister An Open Letter to My White Brothers and Sisters who are Roman Catholics Dear Sisters and Brothers May the Lord give you peace. I am writing this open letter as a fellow Roman Catholic since I am assuming that because of…
Read MoreA Photographer for the Wealthy and the Poor
Robert Keith is a well-known photographer commissioned to take pictures of Sandra Day O’Connor, Larry Fitzgerald, Jennifer Lopez and others that you would recognize. We are so blessed that for 12 years, Robert chose to serve God and the poor by contributing his creative talents as a member of the CFO board. His pictures bring…
Read MoreCoronavirus Tax Deduction
Dear Friends, The COVID-19 virus hits the poor especially hard. At the Guaymas Mission, we are seeing increasing numbers of families in the daily food line. Our goal is to keep our neighbors at home by providing beans and rice for them to cook in our food bag deliveries. Our daily guests at the Meson…
Read MoreCoronavirus: Desperate in Guaymas
Waiting for food box while practicing healthy distance
Read MoreDenise Nagel Youth Center Turns One
Feliz Cumpleaños (Happy Birthday) to our Denise Nagel Youth Center!! Located in the barrio called Fatima, it is now celebrating one year since the doors opened February 22, 2019. A big event will be the Youth Center’s first soccer game complete with uniforms!! About 30 young people come after school each day to learn computer…
Read MoreEarth Day Awakening
One year, to observe Earth Day, I decided not to consume resources such as water, electricity, gasoline, disposable items – you get the idea (sort of a one day Lent). I did allot myself three gallons of water. Very quickly my day deteriorated as I was unable to make coffee in my electric coffee maker. …
Read MoreI Am Hope (Soy Esperanza)
This Easter we celebrate Br. Ivo Toneck who left this earthFebruary 29, 2020, after 32 years at the Casa Franciscana Mission. I would like to relate some memories of this remarkable friar. Not long ago, Ivo made his usual arrival in his beat-up pickup truck which is shown in this picture for his final ride…
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