Christmas 2023 in Mexico

Project Mexico Holiday Special

In this heartwarming video and photo collage, the staff and children of Project Mexico and St Innocent Orphanage in Baja celebrate Christmas and all its blessings at the only 100% donor-supported Orthodox Orphanage in North America. Since 1988, Project Mexico has been building safe, secure and weather-tight homes for some of the most impoverished families in Northern Mexico. Every home is constructed over four days and built entirely with volunteer labor. Once complete, these homes are provided so these families can build a brighter future for themselves and their children.

Casa Cuna San Felipe Infant Orphanage

By Noelle Robadaik, Education Coordinator

A few years ago, during the Nativity season, I visited the Tijuana DIF Shelter with some of our orphanage staff to bring tamales, hot chocolate, and candy to the children there and spread a little Christmas cheer. This facility is where children wait to be reunited with family members or moved to an orphanage after primary caretakers lose custody. All of the boys in our care have been in this facility or at a sister facility at some point. At times, more than 250 children have called it home. When we entered the nursery, we were met with rows of hospital-style bassinets filled with babies, some asleep, others lying awake staring at the ceiling. The two women caring for them told us that by the time they had fed and changed each child, it was time to start over again. They were able to meet the most basic needs of these babies, but nothing more.

But most alarmingly, although we spent at least forty-five minutes in the nursery, we heard no crying. These precious babies had found that their cries received no response and had stopped trying. At that moment, I realized we needed to help these children, and we began to explore the feasibility of expanding our orphanage program. The effects of neglect and abuse in the earliest years of life have severe, lifelong consequences. 

While helping the boys at St. Innocent Orphanage navigate the obstacles created by poor care in their early years, I have been overwhelmed with the desire to prevent other children from living the same traumas. Now, after years of planning and with support from our Board of Directors and generous donations from the Phillip Giannakis Foundation and others, we have started building our own nursery and created a temporary facility to care for a few infants and toddlers while the building is finished. 

In our nursery, children will receive so much more than the basic necessities. We will provide them with a loving and attentive home and opportunities for the healthy attachment and physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development they would otherwise be denied. Watching the walls of the nursery being built fills my heart with joy, knowing that generations to come will receive a loving and stable beginning of life and a brighter future. 

I feel so blessed to have been a part of this ministry for so many years, but the time has come for me to finish my time working here at Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage and start the next chapter of my life. The first time I came down on a homebuilding trip as a young high school student changed my life, and since then I haven’t been able to stay away. 

I am so grateful and proud to watch our ministry grow and develop. Embracing my changing role has been bittersweet. My time caring for the boys in their day-to-day activities has come to an end, but now I take on the equally important role of praying, contributing what I can, and spreading the word about the beauty of the orphanage. 

This ministry cannot function without the countless people who support it in different ways. Your support, whether through constant prayer or donations to keep the lights on and pantry full, fills us with strength and allows us to expand our ministry and continue to serve our Lord and the needy of Tijuana. Please prayerfully consider supporting our growing ministry while keeping the boys and staff in your prayers. 

The Church Grows

By Father Demetrios Swanson, Resident Priest

The very first Liturgy in the Americas was celebrated off the coast of Alaska in 1741, nearly 300 years ago. It was celebrated onboard the ship of captain Vitus Bering (the namesake of the Bering Sea) on the feast of the Holy Prophet Elias, July 20. Our beloved St. Innocent arrived in Alaska 80 years later. He traveled extensively throughout Alaska, teaching, baptizing, building churches often with his own hands, translating the Gospels and Services into the local languages which he had learned through intense study, all while keeping detailed accounts and journals.

St. Innocent was unimaginably industrious, still famous in scientific circles for his detailed studies of the natural environment in Alaska. While there, he took at least one journey down the North American Pacific Coast reaching as far as California. It is thought that his goal was to reach Mexico. He never did. Or so I said in a recent sermon here at the St. Innocent Mission, our little chapel within the walls of St. Innocent Orphanage. After the sermon I was corrected by Presbytera Carmen Sosa who said, “That’s not true. St. Innocent did make it to Mexico. We have his relics here in the church.” I wanted to cry. She is correct.

In 1995 Project Mexico received a piece of St. Innocent's bone and shortly afterwards the first Orthodox Church in Northern Mexico, our little chapel was named St. Innocent. A miracle. For almost 30 years St. Innocent Mission has been celebrating the Divine Liturgy, baptizing and communing Orthodox Christians, and sanctifying the earth within the walls of the St. Innocent Orphanage. It has been a true orphanage chapel ministering mainly to the orphanage needs. But like the treasure it is, it has also attracted hungry seekers of Christ and has seen the receiving of more than a handful of new Orthodox Christians.

Our community currently numbers about 40 members, not including the 22 Orthodox orphan boys. With this seed of a community it is now the most beautiful and perfect time to continue the work of the great missionary St. Innocent of Alaska outside of the orphanage walls, focusing attention on the local community by building a new temple in their midst.

The orphanage chapel will continue to minister to the needs of the orphanage. At the same time we hope to now build a local parish which our orphan boys can attend with their families even after they leave the orphanage and the orphanage chapel.

On the very feast of the Prophet Elias this past summer we purchased land in central Rosarito. We will build a temple on it within the next year. By God’s grace, we will soon be announcing “Blessed is the Kingdom…” from within the heart of Rosarito, echoing those same words which began the Liturgy on that ship floating in the Northern Pacific waters 300 years ago.

The mission continues. The Church grows.

St. Innocent, pray to God for us.

Farewell Noelle

A Letter from the Presbytera Merilynn Andruchow

ONE OF OUR SHINING STARS OF ST. INNOCENT  ORPHANAGE STAFF, NOELLE ROBAIDEK, is moving on. Thank God, in 2008 the Theotokos (Mother of God) called Noelle to serve at Project Mexico/St Innocent Orphanage. Noelle has been serving the ranch for over 15 years. She first volunteered on homebuilding teams during the summers of 2008 and 2009. Then served as a summer Intern for 5 years. And at the end of her internship, she began work as a full time English teacher in Tijuana, Homeschooling the Junior High School boys. She was also in charge of the after-school homework program. Finally, she became the Education Coordinator for the boys at the ranch whose ages ranged from five years old to 20 years old. Now her full-time missionary work has come to an end. 

When I first met Noelle she was interning. I was so grateful when she moved onto the ranch full-time to help with educating the children. Since my biological boys were also being raised at the ranch, I was thrilled that they would be growing up in her shadow. For more than a decade Noelle has taught through example how faith should be lived. Noelle had the courage at the age of 15 to listen  to the call, to take the risk and leave her home in Wisconsin to begin her journey in a 3rd world country to help the poor and needy. Her unconditional love for the orphaned boys reminds me of how the mother of God, the Panagia, must love us. Loving us even when it hurts. Her unconditional love for the boys who are truly wounded by being exposed to too much pain and anger. 

Noelle’s light, her joy, and leading by example will truly be missed on the ranch. I will never forget walking into her house one night to see four of the boys with green facial masks on their faces cleansing their pores. Or when Noelle would stay up late to help the boys study for exams. Or holding one of the boys tightly as he sobbed because of the abusive memories left by his biological mother. Thank you, Lord, through the prayers of St. Innocent, the Theotokos for choosing Noelle to serve her blessed children. And thank you Noelle for responding to the call. Glory be to God!

Witness to Love

By Theodora Veronis

AFTER MY FIRST HOMEBUILDING INTERNSHIP IN MEXICO IN 2018, I THOUGHT TO myself, ‘this was a great summer, but once was enough. I need to be thankful for this (opportunity), keep it in my soul, and bring this joy to the next adventure life gives me.’ But the following summer I found myself at Project Mexico again. I felt similarly at the end of that season, thinking that the summer of 2019 would my last full summer. Yet, I applied again for 2020.

When I wasn’t able to return because of the pandemic, the spirit of the ranch continued to live in me, but my expectation of interning again slowly faded. Anytime I spoke of Project Mexico, I smiled and remembered my experience with fond memories. It is a place that is so near to my heart. I was convinced that my summers of homebuilding were finished. However, God had plans for me to return to the ranch with a different mission. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work closely with the children at St. Innocent Orphanage.

The lesson I have learned is that the education program is much more than teaching lessons and helping the boys catch up in areas that may have been delayed. As a fellow coworker pointed out to me, when the boys get to the ranch, they aren’t at school anymore. This is their life. The work that the staff do cannot be placed in a category because that isn’t the way that life at home functions. C.S. Lewis compares the love that comes with our faith to salt. Faith and love, like salt, are not meant to be isolated. They exist to enhance everything around us! Faith and love are not simple pillars of the organization, rather they are present everywhere and fulfilling in all things. I have witnessed those who work at the orphanage put in tireless hours because they are who the boys have as a family. They are not just teachers who are planning lessons but are people who are using their gifts to share love as they help out with homework, wrap textbooks, or size for uniforms. They share love when the kids get distracted or act out or share stories about their pasts.

I had a professor who told me that a good life is one where you admire those you surround yourself with and are proud of who you are becoming. I can confidently say that my short time thus far has put me on that track. Anyone who ministers with Project Mexico learns that there is a thin separation between work and life. The boys who live here are not projects that need fixing but are children of God who have been placed in our lives to love. This type of love is one that takes priority above all else. It is at times too much to bear. I have not yet fully been able to understand this feeling. I have a long way to go before that happens. However, I have at least witnessed the love and service since I began this path, and I am grateful.

A Letter From the Chairman Dennis J. Awad

A Letter from the Chairman Project Mexico & St Innocent Orphanage

I begin this letter with a heart full of gratitude and appreciation for your unwavering support of our mission. Your commitment to Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage (PMSIO) has had a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals, and I want to express my heartfelt thanks.

With your help, we’ve been able to bring many of our dreams and projects to fruition—I’d like to tell you about two of those projects right now.

Over the past 2 years, we’ve been working with DIF, the public institution that oversees orphanages in Mexico, to explore the possibility of establishing an orphanage for newborn babies and children up to 5 years old. I’m thrilled to announce that a unanimous decision was made by the PMSIO Board of Trustees to construct a separate housing complex on our 16-acre ranch that will provide food, clothing and shelter for these innocent abandoned children. We have broken ground and the foundation has been laid for Casa Cuna San Felipe Infant Orphanage!

It’s thanks to your spirit of compassion that we’re able to create a home for these vulnerable babies and young children, a place where they can grow, learn, and dream. We still have a long way to go, and we are counting on your ongoing support as we move forward with this huge undertaking.

But our mission doesn’t stop there. We have taken another monumental step, one that has filled our hearts with immense hope and excitement. With your prayers and support, we have embarked on the journey to build the first Antiochian Orthodox church in Northern Mexico! This endeavor will not only serve as a place of worship but also as a symbol of unity and belonging for the local Mexican community, whom we have welcomed and supported spiritually at our modest orphanage chapel. We have now secured the necessary property for the new church, which you will be able to visit this year just 30 minutes south of the border.

As we look to the future, we acknowledge that it is your ongoing financial support that will propel us towards our goals. PMSIO is deeply honored to build these life-changing missions hand-in-hand with each one of you.

Sign up online for our newsletter or follow us on social media for updates on our progress. Together, we will create a brighter tomorrow for those in need, and we are eager to share the blessings we have received with the communities we serve.

Sincerely,

Dennis J. Awad

Chairman

Powerful Presence

A Letter from the Executive Director and Priest, Fr. Nicholas Andruchow

Why do we have ears? To listen to the angelic hymns praising God. Why do we have eyes? To see the beauty in God’s creation. Why do we have hands and arms? To provide a hug of encouragement in times of crisis. This perspective fuels us here at Project Mexico. Through the pandemic and in the midst of caravans of migrants, surrounded by poverty and suffering, hundreds of Jesus’ followers have come physically face to face with the people who need help. The power of God flourishes when we show up, are present and make a difference. This year the Orthodox Church once again reveals it’s true colors by building 24 homes and laying the foundation so the children of the Lord can find refuge.

THE HURRICANE…

On August 20th we prepared for 60-mile-an-hour winds, five inches of rain and power outages. Thank God the storm was not as severe as we feared, even though it was still a difficult day. That Sunday morning, I preached to the boys and to the missionaries to have hope. As we waited for the worst of the storm to arrive, I encouraged everyone to pray as Jesus guided us to pray (Matt. 6:11). Ask for help and He will answer. Our Father, give us “our daily bread”. I emphasized that in the Greek and Latin (ἐπιούσιον supersubstantialem) it stresses that it is not just “daily bread” rather it is nourishment that gives us the ability to rise above the challenges, no matter if there are muddy roads, pressures from school or the reality of being abandoned. The meal that gives us the power is communion, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man (John 6:51-53) or as I referred to it in Spanish “superpan” (superbread in English). By partaking of this “Supersubstance” (as translated in the Latin from the Greek) we can do great things in Jesus.

FROM BIRTH TO DEATH

Since 1996 the St. Innocent Orphanage has been a home for children forgotten by the world. Now we have been challenged to start taking infants into our facilities. Babies recently born into tragic homes will be cared for on our 16-acre ranch. The Mexican government is asking us to love and nurture a small handful of newborns so that the essential human touch of love can be transmitted in those vital initial months. Most of the babies will be adopted to Mexican families. Still, some will continue to live at the St. Innocent Ranch receiving the individual care and opportunities to grow in the love of God. This Christian upbringing happens through the excellent staff and dedicated Orthodox missionaries who sacrifice in order to care of our boys. We are blessed to announce that we are building an Orthodox church off the ranch for the people of Tijuana. This will allow our ministry to fully integrate into all the stages of our boys’ life. As little children they are entrusted to our care surrounded by the Sacramental Life. As adolescents, we teach them to be Christians and now as adults, they will have a Church to attend so their children can learn what it means to be faithful Orthodox believers. And as they approach their last days in this world they will have the Church to carry them to eternal life.

COVID-19: A Letter from Executive Director Fr. Demetrios

Operating a Non-Profit During a Crisis

Remain Calm and Minister to Those in Need

Like many organizations, we are concerned and being proactive in our response to COVID-19. Like many non-profits, we are no strangers to crisis, especially operating a home building volunteer program and orphanage in Baja, Mexico. We are responsible for the lives of our boys and staff on the ranch as well as hundreds of volunteers who join us each summer to build homes for families in Mexico. With regard to the current world crisis, we will approach this as Orthodox. Listening to the science and experts, remain calm and minister to those in need and at risk.

First and foremost, the safety of all Project Mexico boys, staff and volunteers is paramount to the successful operation of the orphanage, ranch and our teams on our build sites. At the Orphanage, we are practicing and implementing strict hygiene protocols to limit exposure and contamination. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide additional updates to the trustees as it evolves. 

First and foremost, at this time do not anticipate any change to our summer 2020 Home Building schedule. However, we are preparing contingency plans in the event that travel restrictions and travel bans are still in effect in the summer. As of now, the restrictions seem to point towards a relaxing of restrictions around mid-May, though we know this is correlated to the containment of the virus. 

We are waiving our 90-day cancellation policy. You can, if necessary, cancel your home building work trip up to 24 hours on the day of your trip. In fact, with airlines waiving change fees, and lowering fares, now may be the ideal time to book your flights and retain maximum flexibility. 

Please understand that this is a dynamic and ever-evolving response to the rapidly changing situation around the world and in the US response to COVID-19.

If business returns to normal this will leave us in good shape for the summer home building 2020 season. As we develop contingency plans and opportunities to support our ministry in response to this crisis, we will release those as soon as possible for you to have the options you need to: continue to support our ministry and to address the safety and travel concerns of your group members and parishes.

As the stock market has reacted to the pandemic,  your financial support of the Orphanage is more crucial than ever. We have a loving and dedicated staff caring for 17 growing boys. Our Orphanage may prove more crucial than ever in the event of more children being orphaned due to the Coronavirus.  

We plan to continue our ministry and grow it to meet the needs. This will only be possible through your generous support, prayers, goodwill, and strength of giving to assist us in this time.  We are also coordinating with our partner ministries of the Orthodox Church to mobilize and assist them in their own COVID-19 responses.

While we are all focused on our loved ones and our own health and financial concerns, as Lazarus laying at the door of his neighbor, the poor, widows, and orphaned are always at hand awaiting whatever generosity and humanity we can give, even the widow’s mite makes a difference. In particular, with food kitchens and homeless shelters closing due to restrictions on crowd size, this leaves those most vulnerable at particular risk for exposure and hunger.  

Orthodox have been ministering to the poor, widows, and the orphaned since Pentecost and the Apostles appointment of deacons to minister to the needy. This is our faith, this is our response, this is our way, that in times of affliction and need, we respond by conquering our fear with the hope of the Lord who conquered death by trampling down the ability of death to determine our lives. He freed us from the fear of death and gave us the hope to live more abundantly, both in this world and in the world to come.  

Therefore, it is important that we muster our strength and keep those values and work even harder than before, renewing our efforts through the ministry to those in need in times of great crisis. 

I ask that you please keep all of the boys and staff and missionaries at Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage in your prayers,

With the love of Christ, 

Fr. Demetrios

Executive Director

Prayerful Preparation by John Touloupis

The Lord is my Shepherd

I shall not want 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me besides the still waters. 

He restores my soul; 

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake. 

I knew I wanted to work on my prayer life as part of my preparation for interning this summer at Project Mexico. During the school year, I get distracted by classes, assignments, and friends, often neglecting my prayer life. I’d stay up late studying or working on side projects and then crash without saying my evening prayers. In the morning, I’d sleep in after a late night before dipping out for class, skipping breakfast and simply grabbing a black coffee to start my day.

So, to prepare, I started at ground zero.

I keep an Orthodox study bible on my desk--thanks to my mom who slipped it in my suitcase when I moved to college. I cracked it open to a bookmarked page and read Psalm 23, one of the most famous Psalms and my personal favorite. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil; 

For you are with me; 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

In my previous Westward Bound, I wrote about how excited and scared I was to embark on my internship this summer in Tijuana. While I’m excited about the opportunity to meet new people, spend time in the outdoors away from distractions and to serve others, I’m still scared of the unknown.  But something began to change the more I read Psalm 23.

Whereas previously I hardly prayed, I found myself reading the Psalm once a week. Once a week turn into twice a week. Now, it’s several times a week. A prayer life began to emerge in my life, and as a result, my fears slowly started to fade away. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil; 

My cup runs over. 

As an economics major, I love logical reasoning and thinking analytically through problems. One of the fundamental rules of all economic principles implies that people are rational thinkers. I need facts.

Plans.

Order.

I consider myself a highly organized person who pays close attention to detail to ensure nothing goes wrong. 

And that stresses me out in life.

But I found when I kept reading Psalm 23, my fears and anxiety began to slip away. I found the answers to my stress in scripture. The Lord is my shepherd. He continues to guide me throughout my life with blessings and opportunities I struggle to be thankful for every day. I’m trying to be more thankful and mindful because the Lord has always taken care of me. 

I don’t need to be afraid this summer because my Lord will always be with me.

But my mind still needs more logic and reason, and as I continued to read more scripture, I found more answers. 

In Matthew 13:29-30, Jesus says not to pull the bad weeds from the wheat, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” 

The weeds represent suffering, pain, and evil while the wheat represents the good. The kingdom of Heaven allows these things to coexist while we are on Earth because we wouldn’t know one without the other. 

Without night, we wouldn’t know the day.

Without heat, we wouldn’t know cold. 

Without fear, we wouldn’t know excitement.

As the final days count down before I leave, I try to let my stress, fear, and anxiety go. My lord will shepherd over me and protect me.

As I prepare, I’ve learned to place all my trust and faith in the lord, because surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.