Greetings from Rancho Nazareth

Tecate, Mexico!

.....Muchos Gracias from Jerry and Annette Tobin and all the ninos from the Rancho. We arrived at the orphanage about 1 PM on Friday and were warmly greeted by the Madres and 54 boys, ranging in age from 3 to 15 years. I was overwhelmed by the warmth and joyful smiles of every person we met. Although my Spanish vocabulary is limited to about a dozen words, there was no mistaking the message of love in the faces of these beautiful people.

.....My request for soccer shoes from our View Ridge community brought 12 pairs of shoes which Jerry and I gave to the ninos on Friday evening. There was quite a flurry of activity as 54 boys tried, one by one, to fit their feet into the shoes (forget about Cinderella and her slippers!). The cleats all found feet, and 12 ninos were happily decked out in new shoes.

.....Senor Jerry and Tia Annette worked hard for the next four days, with much help from the little boys who never stopped talking, smiling, hugging, and laughing at our attempts to speak Spanish! We pruned olive trees, ate beans, took loads of garbage to the dump (that is a story in itself), ate beans, painted, repaired, ate beans, raked, and ate more beans.

.....We all took many pictures of our activities, so I will soon have some photos to share with all of you of the boys and their new soccer cleats. Thank you again for your generous donations…the boys appreciated receiving the shoes so much. I have a class picture of the boys and Madres to show anyone who is interested. I am very thankful that I went on this trip. Of course, as is always true in activities such as this, Jerry and I feel that the greatest blessing flowed back to us, filling our hearts with joy.

.....With love to the VR community --Jerry and Annette Tobin