Desert Blooms

Desert Blooms is a monthly newsletter that the Sisters of Charity mail out to their faithful financial sponsors to keep them up-to-date on what's going on with Proyecto Santo Niño.  It also tells of little stories about the lives of the children, their families and the grace-filled moments of the people who get involved with the project and how lives are changed forever.  Read on and get a glimpse of how the Child Jesus works through the clinic and the community.

September 2009

This is the month when Mexico celebrates its Independence Day. Unfortunately most Mexicans, especially at the border, feel held captive by the…

August 2009

If you walk into the big activity room of the clinic on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. you will find a group of our moms and staff…

July 2009

We gave ourselves a little vacation at the end of last month but before the last session we had a retreat day for the “grupo de apoyo”.   Sister…

June 2009

      Bryan de Jesus (who was Joseph in our Nativity scene last Christmas) is ten years old.  He is a midBrian de Jesusdle child of a large family and was born…

May 2009

     scan0002_textmedium The end of April and the beginning of May hold BIG celebrations in Mexico.  Swine flu was not able to curtail our Santo Niño parties for “Dia…

April 2009

      The month of March blew by- literally and figuratively!  Such strong winds and so many activities- and we missed sharing the stories with you. …

February 2009

      In our last two letters we told you about Mari and her children, Leslie, Ricardo and Milagros.  Ricardo was baptized at our Christmas party. …

January 2009

      We’ve just returned from our Christmas break but must tell you about our beautiful Dec. 20 celebration at Santo Nino.  Eighty-some children and…

December 2008

     006_6

 Our Nativity Scene 


      The Cast:


                  Jose……………………………………..Brian de Jesus


                  Maria……………………………………Concepcion (aka…

November 2008

In this season of gratitude we are counting our blessings at Proyecto Santo Nino:


   1. Cristina was able to register most of our special children…

September/October 2008

Where did the month of September go?  All of a sudden it’s October and we haven’t told the stories of last month!  It was our biggest birthday month…

August 2008

This summer the Thursday morning session at Santo Nino has been devoted to continuing education of our mothers and staff.  Most recently they…

July 2008

We’re entering our summer monsoon season: late afternoon and evening rains that cause local flooding resulting in extra hardships especially for the…

June 2008

It is hard to believe that Miriam has been with us now for two years.  When her mother was dying of cervical cancer, Miriam was kept locked in a shed…

May 2008


So many of our Santo Nino mothers have stories that we get in glimpses.  One such mother is Isidra and her story has gradually blossomed since the…

April 2008

There are always new arrivals at Santo Nino.  This month we welcomed another “Jesus”, age four months.  He has cerebral palsy and he does not like…

March 2008

Somehow the month of March escaped us!  With Sister Janet’s illness everything got a little crazy but we had an opportunity to see how the mothers of…

February 2008

The month of January has flown by and we are already full of stories for this February edition.  Last Saturday was “mothers’ day” at Santo Niño…


January 2008

The new year brought very cold weather to our area as elsewhere.  There were days when the pipes in the clinic froze, despite the good insulation…

December 2007

This is the season for reflecting upon a special mother and her Special Baby.  Two of our special mothers with children who are “extra-special” have…

November 2007

This is the season of gratitude and we find many reasons to give thanks to God for the blessings we receive each time we cross the border to serve at…

October 2007

Our new organizational plan is in full swing and seems to be working beautifully.  We have a clinic “team” of five women: Gloria, Sophia, Lucy,…

September 2007

It was so good to have Sisters Carol and Flo with us for a few clinic days last month but now we’re back to our small team, ever reliant on our…

August 2007

We have another angel watching over us.  Alan Javier went home to God on July 25.  He was our most fragile child, suffering from a syndrome that had…

July 2007

In February we told you about Oscar, the father of one of our special girls, who has suffered with Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Since then we have watched…

June 2007

The month has flown by and many volunteers have come and gone.  Several college students from Mount St. Joseph have been great assistants and gained…

May 2007

This is Mother’s Day week and we have been surrounded with examples of maternal love and care at the Santo Niño project.  Last Saturday, after…

April 2007

These days we find ourselves attending to many extra needs in the lives of our special children and their families.  We continue to worry over the…

March 2007

Last week was one of our busiest ever at Santo Niño.  We had the regularly scheduled clinics on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as well as training…

February 2007

Last Saturday was the Day of the Oscars in Anapra.


Oscar, Patti's son, is eight year's old.  He has cerebral palsy and has been coming to the clinic…

January 2007

The new year brought Christmas-like weather to the border and we were grateful to have new portable propane heaters to keep the clinic warm.  Even…

December 2006

On Saturday December 16 we held the first Santo Niño Fiesta Navideña (Christmas Party!)  For almost two weeks every car or van of ours that was going…

October 2006

This is the story of two mothers and their special children.  Paula and Lorena came to the clinic faithfully throughout the past summer, taking…

August 2006

Well, the rains have continued and continued!  When Sisters Ann, Flo and Juana arrived on August 1 we were in the midst of a flood.  All the…

July 2006

We have been longing for the monsoon season to begin, in part because the Anapra roads are so full of loose sand.  Our cars, trucks and vans are…

June 2006

We have wonderful news about Miriam!  In late May Fr. Bill’s workers began construction of a small room at the front of Teodora’s house.  (Teo is the…

May 2006

Let us bring you up to date on Miriam and Natividad.  We have been able to bring 

Miriam to the clinic 2-3 times a week for a bath and a meal, after…

April 2006

April Fool’s Day found us in Anapra, wondering if we would see any new children- or if any of the four new ones from the previous session would…

March 2006 (Part 2)

Yesterday was an all-time high for our Santo Niño Project in Anapra.  We saw 22 

children!  At one point there were four new families in the waiting…

March 2006 (Part 1)

They say that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and so we are sending a 

chapter entitled "Miriam and Natividad".  We have mentioned them to you…

January 2006

Gloria met us at door of the clinic last Saturday with the news that she discovered 

three new children for the Santo Niño project.  “Two of them are…

December 2005

Our last trip to Anapra before Christmas was December 17.  We were loaded down 

with food boxes for each of the families of our special children,…

October 2009

     The cooler weather is upon us and the children have been sick.  Brian came with a fever, sore throat and stuffy nose.  While the first thought…

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