Throughout the years,many people have asked me to create a newsletter for the Mission of Love.I have been trying to get around to putting on paper some of the things that the Mission of Love has generated,but it has been no easy task.
Looking back over the years,I remember all of the generous spirits who have aided our mission.Where do I begin ?
Perhaps I should begin back in 1987.That was the year I visited San Diego and read a newspaper article about Jenny Murphy.Looking back, I realize Jenny Murphy had a very substantial influence on the founding of our organization.Jenny was a 75 year old woman who had spent the last 40 of those years dedicating herself to serving the poor of Colonia Petregal,an impoverished bario on the outskirts of the sprawling Mexican border town of Tijuana.
The newspaper article told the story of how Jenny would make deliveries of food,medicine,and mostly hope to this forlorn section of the area.Almost every day she would make her rounds from San Diego to Colonia Petrigal.She wore out seven cars and two vans in service to those less fortunate than herself.
I was in awe of the sincere way that she helped those of another country and culture.It must have taken a great vision in order to do such profound work.I wanted to be a part of this crusade.I became obsessed.I called Jennys' church.They were very reluctant,but finally they arranged a meeting with the two people who had taken on Jennys' work.The next morning Richard and Delores met me at a bakery,where we filled their station wagon with day-old bread,buns, and hundreds of gallons of water.I didn't understand why they were taking the water.It seemed to me it was just taking up space that could have been used to transport more food.I just kept quiet and kept on packing.
They told me that we needed to cover and hide all our supplies so that the Mexican customs people wouldn't search our vehicle.Again,it was easier to ask no questions.
If I had asked,they might have told me that technically,I was a smuggler,and that if we were caught we could spend years in a Mexican prison.
Was sneaking across an international border with contraband crazy ? Sure! But you should have seen those little kids follow our car up a mountainside,hoping for just a little bit of bread and water.It was a very humbling experience.
People were acustomed to walking 10 miles and waiting in line for hours just waiting for Jennys' car.I learned then just how important a simple drink of clean water can be.Stale bread can be a banquet if you are hungry.
While we were passing out food,the people cried for "La Abuelita",Little Grandmother.You see,Little Grandmother had left this Earth the previous day.She had died of pancreatic cancer.She had spent 40 years feeding the poor and providing them with medicines donated by her friends.She made her calls of compassion.She left a legacy of hope and love for mankind.
That visit to Colonia Petrigal changed my life.I was made aware that most in our world live without the simple necessities such as a clean glass of water.I had no idea how much we take for grantd every day.You might say that the little seed that became our Mission of Love was planted at Colonia Petrigal that afternoon in September 1987.