At Mustard Seed, we tend to like to go to movies during the winter. So, last Saturday, February 26, we had a day of roller skating and going to a movie. The movie of choice on this occasion was Big Mama’s; Like Father Like Son. The continuing saga of the Big Mama story is a big hit with our kids. Combined with some roller skating and a stop for pizza, and the result is a fine break from winter’s cabin fever.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, the Dog Days. You know, the middle of August; temps in the 90′s; when a pool; a large glass of iced tea; a book and a lounge in the shade are about all you can self-motivate to think of.

There must be a term for the reverse Dog Days. Early in January; snow and ice everywhere; temps never above 30; dark by 4:30 in the afternoon. An ennui similar to August can set in, but now it’s a book; some hot coffee, and a chair by the fireplace.

Thank goodness for the holidays. The period from Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a busy one at Mustard Seed. After the Thanksgiving gifts to our families, the planning starts for the Christmas store. A small army of friends and volunteers make our Christmas store go; from accepting and sorting the donations; organizing the sales room downstairs; and making the hot chocolate and baking the cookies for our shoppers. A tiring but exciting annual endeavor at Mustard Seed.

What adventures await us in 2011? We will soon find out.

The icon of Our Lady of Guadelupe recently spent a week at the Mustard Seed house. It is tradition that the statue of Our Lady is passed around the Mexican American families, and her arrival is marked with a great deal of pomp and cermony.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                              

                              Our Lady of Guadalupe

  In 1531 a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
She identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth.
She made a request for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested her for a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question to the Church’s local Bishop, and sent her native messenger to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assorment of roses for the Bishop.
After complying to the Bishop’s request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on the native’s tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 478 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
It apparently even reflects in Her eyes what was in front of her in 1531.
Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the “Nican Mopohua”, a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.
There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands rearranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her. Yearly, between 18 – 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica, making it Christianity’s most visited sanctuary.
Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12th. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.
During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.  

The above is from  www.sancta.org

 

Mustard Seed friend and volunteer Kathy Zayatz recently brought  several of our kids to her home for a seminar on cooking in the kitchen.  Jenny; Diana; Veronica, and Vanessa worked with Kathy to prepare several items, including several white icing chocolate cakes.  Mrs. Zayatz has done some cooking at Mustard Seed and the girls had expressed interest in doing some baking; particularly baking a cake from scratch. So the girls visited the Zayatz kitchen; prepared a lunch and baked a cake.

“When you really want to show some love, keep the flowers and say it with spaghetti”; Rachel Ray 

 

 

 

 

 

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This quote was written on a bookmark by Sister Pam sometime ago…reflecting back, I don’t recall exactly what I was going through (probably the same turmoil that comes with my indecision) but the words of encouragement continue to motivate inspiration.  I can begin writing about my gratitude towards the folks at Mustard Seed, but in all actuality we know how much we personally appreciate them. So, I will stop.

Instead, I wanted to briefly engage the MSMM Alumni that are out there in this interconnected web.  We—as in the recent and past kids—have begun to reconnect online (become a fan on facebook if you haven’t already). Gratefully, connections are occurring, and in that we must also encourage anyone who is willing and/or able to give back a helping hand to do so right now.

Mustard Seed is celebrating 20 years, this is a time for DaKids to assist either monetarily or through ideas. Large or small, we would greatly appreciate financial contributions in order to continue moving forward.  If you can’t right now, but would like to be added to the mailing list, feel free to send us an email.  Either way, we would love to hear from you! Hope you are enjoying this harvest season.

Peace and Love,

E

P.s. Also, please take your time scrolling through this website and discover the “reflections” and “donate online” tabs.

P.p.s. I want a reunion…in the near future.

Submitted by Edith M.  Gonzalez, a Mustard Seed kid from the 1990′s, and who is currently a member of the Mustard Seed Board of Directors.