Our History:
A Place Called Gabriel House
As a child of eight I saw a film of a nurse in a foreign country giving medical aide to small children. I was changed forever and made a promise to God, “One day I will become a nurse and help poor, sick children in another country.”
In 1990 I fulfilled that promise when my husband and I sold everything we had and came to Mexico. We had raised our own children and now wanted to give our lives away doing something that would make a difference in the lives of others. We were 46 years old and believed God had something for us to do.
We had nothing in the way of material things, we didn’t even speak Spanish, but we had our educations and felt a strong calling from the Lord. I had become a Registered Nurse and my husband, Ted, had become a teacher. We had a small pension Ted had earned with 20 years of service in the military but no job in Mexico or any prospect of getting one.
We began our journey of helping the sick and handicapped in Colonia Loma Linda, Ensenada BCN, Mexico. We volunteered our time to help a doctor who served the poor and was compensated with whatever the people could give him.
Some of our work was in Maneadero, a small farming community south of Ensenada, where we would go with the doctor to treat the poor who could not afford medical treatment or medicine.
We began to see handicapped children, the poorest of the poor. They were the most helpless because they had no way to help themselves. Many of them had extreme malnutrition and multiple handicaps.
As children of field workers they were often left alone or in the care of brothers and sisters who were just a few years older while their parents labored in the fields all day. These children’s very lives were in danger. They were neglected, abused, and helpless to do anything to help themselves.
We began to understand this was what God had sent us here to do, to take care of these children. We would take one at a time into our home. We would nurse them back to health, help the mothers understand how to care for their children and then send them back home to their families.
One day a neighbor told us about a little boy high in the hills who was being kept in a cage. The neighbors described the horrible conditions of how he lived. He was kept in an old filled-in outhouse all day without air or light. He slept on a dirty mattress with a feed sack tied around his neck at night to serve as his blanket and to keep him from thrashing around and hurting himself when he had nightly epileptic fits. Aside from epilepsy, he was also extremely mentally retarded.
We went immediately and found this little boy. His elderly parents gave him to us almost the minute we arrived.
They were goat herders and could not care for him in the fields while they tended their herd. They had tried to take him into the pastures with them but he would walk off and one time was lost for 2 days and nights. They found him only because he had stepped on a cactus and could walk no further. Miraculously he was not attacked and eaten by coyotes; the Lord preserved his life.
His parents loved him greatly but from the meager income from their goats, there was no money for medical care of any kind.
We learned from his birth certificate that his name was Gabriel and he was eight years old. We took him home believing that we could make a difference in this one life.
Gabriel was malnourished and he had lice. He was terrified; screamed and ran through our house for several days. At night I held him captive in my arms until he screamed himself to sleep. It took about a week before he decided he was safe and being cared for with three meals a day and a warm safe place to sleep.
Thus, Gabriel House was formed.
We knew God was leading us to care for other children like Gabriel and it did not take long for us to have six children who were handicapped, then 12 children, then 16 children. We became very crowded in the 2 bedroom house that we rented at that time. We also had to pay three ladies to help us take care of the children.
We were quickly outgrowing our budget as the number of children grew. Ted’s pension of $700.00 per month was being strained. We prayed for God to provide for the needs of our growing family.
We decided through much prayer and believing God was leading us to find a permanent home to buy to house Gabriel and the other children God would send to us we formed a Civil Association so we could purchase land and buildings in the name of the children. The children who would live there would have a permanent home.
One day Ted and I returned from shopping for food to find an American at Gabriel House. He saw our need and promised to help. He told us to find a bigger and nicer home and then to call him. We found our present home and called him. This wonderful man has paid for our house for 16 years. He first paid the rent now he pays the house payment. Because of a miracle donation of a down payment we are now buying a permanent Gabriel House for all our children.
Gabriel House operates totally by faith. For its entire existence we have relied on the goodness of God and His ability to touch the hearts of many to meet the needs of Gabriel House. Most of our financial donations come from small churches and families who faithfully send us monthly donations from the US and Mexico.
Today we have 30+ children with various profoundly handicapping conditions.
Throughout the years we have seen many miracles. God has miraculously healed some our children who came to us HIV positive. Other children have learned to walk and talk who were never supposed to walk and talk. Children have come to us with holes in their hearts, not expected to live and God has healed them.
We have come to know that God’s hand is on Gabriel House. It is a place of blessing, healing, and joy. Those who bless Gabriel House will in turn be blessed.
Ted and I love our lives. The blessing derived from the experience that God has given us of serving these dear children is immeasurable. This is my childhood dream come true.