"Who will care for me? Who will be my family"? These were the poignant words spoken by Gabriel Kuaney a "lost boy" from the Sudan, who spoke at a Millennium Development Goals workshop in December at Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix about his experience of being torn from his family and home by war. In those basic questions, Gabriel summed up the message and the hope for the MDGs.

Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefforts Schori has said that the church's larger vision will be framed and shaped in the coming years by a vision of shalom, a Hebrew word for peace, a peace that is embedded in the MDGs - a world where the hungry are fed, the ill are healed, the young educated, women and men treated equally, and where all have access to clean water and adequate sanitation, basic health care, and a promise of development that does not endanger the rest of creation.

Pam Skuse from Mision Mexico Refuge in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, came to Arizona in November and spoke at Episcopal churches throughout the Valley. She talked about the 47 children living in the refuge she founded along with her husband Alan. She spoke of children who had been lost, abandoned, abused, and unwanted. These children, like Gabriel, probably asked "who will care for me, who will be my family?" These children, unlike many others all over the world, were blessed to have Pam and Alan care for them, and to have many brothers and sisters to be their family. In Tapachula, Mexico, there are many children living on the streets, begging, selling drugs or themselves, or entertaining the passerby's for a few pesos by lighting the petrol in their mouths to shoot off a stream of flame. The children of Mision Mexico have escaped that life because of the existence of Mision Mexico Refuge. Pam and her husband Alan are living the Church's vision of Shalom, caring for the least, the lost and the lonely through the refuge.

Seven years ago, Pam and Alan came from Australia for a month of Mission work in an orphanage in Tapachula, Chiapas. Seven years later they remain.......caring for 47 children. Pam and Alan have created a model that is based on family and on love. All of the children call them Mom and Dad. Their motto is Dando Amor, Vida y Esperanza: Giving Love, Life and Hope.

The house that the children currently live in is a ramshackle house owned by the government, with no running water, no air conditioning, the roof leaks, and mold is growing on the walls and ceilings. As of this writing, land has been donated and a new home is almost complete for the children with running water, and rooms for the children to sleep and study and grounds to play in. Donations are still needed to complete the house and the children all have ongoing needs that can only be met through the support of others. A chapel is also being built on the grounds of the refuge that needs additional funding. This will be the only Episcopal presence other than a chapel in the northern part of Chiapas. The orphanage and chapel will be dedicated and blessed by the Bishop of Southeast Mexico, Bishop Benito Juárez-Martínez on June 28. At the time of the dedication and blessing all 47 children of the orphanage will be baptized. It will be a wonderful, blessed day!

If you want more information about the refuge or you want to help or to visit, you can talk to John Mather, Trinity Cathedral's deacon who has been working with Pam and Alan to help the children and get the new orphanage built. There are so many ways that you can help or get involved. Helping the children of Mision Mexico is one way to play a role in the movement to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and participate with God in this vision of Shalom and homecoming for all of God's children.

If you want to find out more about this MDG project or others, or you have an MDG story you want to share, you can email the Diocesan MDG Committee in care of: myra@trinitycathedral.com.

On the net: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ONE/