Saturday November 10, 2007 Proyecto Juan Diego held an Open House for our collaborators, friends, and communtiy members of Cameron Park. The day was held from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon and began with a blessing of the new facilities. The blessing was followed by a short program and a celebration. It was a day of celebrating a dream come true for all of us at PJD! (Watch a video of the event below by clicking on the arrow under the Juan Diego picture....be patient it may take a minute.)

In our new facilities, we have begun a program working with Senior Citizens of our community. Older adults from the colonia gathered at Proyecto Juan Diego for a day of acvities and companionship.

Our day started with cholesterol and blood sugar screenings followed by a small snack. We continued the day with a craft project, excercises, games, and lunch followed by faith sharing. In small groups, the seniors reflected on all they have been grateful for in their lives by making a collage. Our time together ended with a heartfelt prayer of thanks. We learned a lot about each other through our time together...we have some undiscovered artists in our neighborhood, some great story tellers, and people of tremendous faith! We are all looking forward to the next time we gather to share our lives together.

As Thanksgiving approaches we give thanks for all those who have supported our work at PJD especially the Daughters of Charity, our local community, and our families. We also give thanks for those we serve for they are truly a gift to us!

When Proyecto Juan Diego’s staff were doing their survey of the local community, we found a 46 year old man, bedridden, paralyzed from waist down. He and his wife live in a 3 room home which they share with another family and their newborn baby. The man had been working and fell off a step-ladder 4 months earlier. He did not have any insurance because he was a part time employee and therefore had no medical benefits. The company did take him to the emergency room and immediately surgery was done for his injuries- but no other follow-up was given- nor did he have any hope. When we met him, he was able to get up in a wheelchair with assistance but was not really using any of his lower or upper extremity muscles. They were deteriorating. We purchased a trapeze to place over his bed so he could move himself around. We also took a physical therapist to his home to evaluate him. She in turn gave his wife and I instructions how to follow-up with specific exercises. Now, four months later, with the continual follow-up of the physical therapist and PJD staff, he is feeling tingling sensations in his lower extremities and his muscles in the upper extremities are getting much stronger. He now has a hope for a fuller life with more possibilities than before. We are also helping the wife to adjust to the extensive care that is required for someone who is paralyzed. The family cannot express the benefits that our presence brought to them. They have many challenges to face in the future but now have a support system and people around them that understand and care.

Written by Sister Phylis Peters, DC and Blanca Escobar

Proyecto Juan Diego has begun its summer activities.
This year the PJD has hit the streets of the colonia surveying the people of the community. One survey is being done in partnership with UTB School of Public Health. The survey questions target diet and exercise practices. The other survey has been developed by the PJD to find out the health and citizenship needs of the people. The staff has met many wonderful people in the colonia through these door to door surveys and we have already begun to help those in need.
We have begun “The Great Bible Reef” summer bible camp for K-12 grades. There are 4 different sessions based on grade levels. Currently, thirty-one children in K-2 grade are attending camp. The teens from the youth group are teaching and assisting in the classes of crafts, dance and drama, science, and bible. The youth have been a great example to the children. We have all learned that God’s people: CARE, HELP, TRUST, BELIEVE, AND LISTEN.
The portable offices and classrooms have been moved to PJD new site. The flooring has been laid and bathrooms constructed. In the months ahead, the buildings will be painted, electricity, water, etc. connected. It is moving along slowly but surely (and not so surely). We look forward to moving in at the end of the summer.

Neighborhood Gardens

Blanca helps Sylvia S. plant a tomatoe plant- they grow best when 80% of the plant is buried.

In Brownsville Texas, February 2 is the offical date of the last possible frost, so as soon as the date passed it was time to start planting a garden! Blanca Escobar and I headed out with the bed of her green truck filled with 3 gallon plastic pots, gardening tools, plants, and seeds. We stopped at the homes of 7 people who are diabetics, to begin small container gardens to help them to grow their own vegtables. At each home we planted a tomoatoe, brocoli and jalepeno pepper plants along with radish and squash seeds.
Now, every other week like a county extension agent, I visit the people and their plants. The plants are a good excuse to stop in and see how these folks are doing. It gives me an opportunity to talk with them about what is happening in their lives. A month into the gardening project the plants, for the most part, are growing well- the seeds have sprouted and the plants already have buds which will soon bear fruit (even the brocoli, a cool weather vegtable, is flowering!)

I watch as Francisca prepares her containter to plant the tomatoe plant.