Food Boxes
My dear brothers and sisters,
Some of you who visited our Casa Franciscana Mission in Guaymas, MX will remember Roberto, the elderly man who always wore his weathered cowboy hat. He walked approximately a mile down a precarious graveled road, with the help of his cane, six days a week to eat at the Mesón de Jesus . He brought with him a jar to take food home to his disabled wife, Lupe. She waited in their meager shack as he carried the container a mile back up the steep hill.
Not long ago, Roberto passed; leaving his sweet wife alone. Lupe is like many others, too old or too young or too weak to work or physically come to our dining rooms. In the Franciscan way, she became one more of God’s lambs to receive our monthly food boxes.
Each month our friars, social workers and nurse carry these life sustaining boxes into the hills for the humble poor. Each visit brings social contact, comfort and the knowledge that God has not forgotten them. During this holy season of Lent each year, we ask you to please help us to continue to help Lupe and others like her.
What a meaningful spiritual practice to begin or to continue if you participated last year! For $40 or whatever you are able to give, a box can be delivered with food, hygiene items and in some cases, medicine. I invite you to live the love of God by service to your neighbors. Also, please pray daily for them and for the people who minister to them.
Mil gracias and lenten blessings,
Fr. Tommy, OFM
Fr. Tommy:
In my many, many trips to Guaymas, and visits to the barrios with Fr. Martin, Irma and Rosio, I met Roberto and Lupe in their home. It was one of those special times when the memory never leaves you.
Lupe was sitting on the bed in their one-room house, and it was obvious that they had nothing to spare in terms of sustenance. I was overwhelmed with what we all experience in those visits, WHY!
Rosio explained to me how Roberto walked that difficult path to the Meson each day to get food for Lupe, and a little nourishment for himself. I had just walked that path and I had trouble keeping my balance. I couldn’t imagine how precarious it must be for Roberto. What love he must have had for his Lupe. I was brought to tears.
Rosio asked if I had some money that I could give them, and when I pull some dollars from my pocket, Rosio graciously pulled a $20 bill from my hand and gave it to Lupe. It wasn’t enough. Nothing would be enough.
I pray that all of those who support the Casa Franciscan Mission would experience what it does for the poorest of the poor in that place called Guaymas. What the Mission does with so little can only be witnessed firsthand. But, for those who can’t ever make that journey, they need trust in you, your team and the Holy Spirit, and know you save lives everyday. The rewards in heaven for those who say yes, can not be imagined.
Peace & Good