Teddy is 12 years old and has spent almost all of his life at Gabriel House. He has 9 brothers and sisters who live a few hours south and we're able to bring him to visit them every couple months. He loves to play jokes on his friends, speak English, and do cool tricks with his wheelchair.

Emiliano is 4 years old and was brought to us by his mom who could no longer take care of him due to overwhelming health issues. He loves music, the trampoline, and being barefoot!

Chely is one of our oldest at 29 years old. She has two younger sisters who also live at Gabriel House and although she is unable to speak, she understands everything you say to her in Spanish, and just about everything in English!

Ruben is 11 and loves to make messes. He's still working on the cleaning up part...his favorite place to be is playing in the dirt - anywhere, anytime, which (unfortunately for him) doesn't happen very often!

Sonia is 18 and the youngest of the three sisters. She's our resident princess who loves attention and being the center of it! She also loves to have her nails painted and like her sisters, communicates "yes" and "no" by moving her eyes.

Martin is 8 years old and most of the time loves living with lots of kids who play with him, although sometimes it's hard to share with all those friends! He loves to swing, look at watches, and sing. His favorite word is papaya, and he uses it for everything - anger, elation, sadness, and when he's excited. Pull up to the gate and you'll hear a high pitched voice yelling, "Papaya! Papaya!" **Reunited with his family - May 2013. Please join us in praying for a smooth transition, lots of patience, and peace for the family.**

Jaime is 12 and one of the happiest kids at Gabriel House. The only time he cries is if he wants an extra plate of food or if people are playing outside and he's in his bed for a nap!

Victor, age 28, loves two things - eating junk food and being outside. While the first one doesn't happen very often, he's outside all the time, where he loves to watch for and wave to every single truck that drives by!

Sergio is 15 and attends the off-site school for kids with disabilities. He LOVES stuffed animals and anything to do with music - he'll sing and dance all day, every day!

Pilar is 8 and our resident "mama." She's always helping and loves to color. Sometimes, if markers and coloring books are out for kids to use, she'll grab them and color on the top bunk where no one will disturb her!

Alejandro is 18 and the middle of the three brothers. He loves to write, read his Bible, and make new friends. He's also our local law enforcement - he knows what's right and what's wrong and is quick to remind his brothers and sisters of that when they've forgotten!

Jose Ramon, 18, is the son of one of our shift supervisors. She is unable to take care of him because of his disabilities, but is able to see him every time she comes to work!

Jose is 20 and our resident handyman. Although he struggles with traditional school, he is SO talented at repairing things around the house. He eagerly waits for groups to come do construction projects so he can oversee their work and help out wherever needed.

Marcos is 10 and loves to play chess (someone taught him in English!), build seemingly impossible Lego creations, and eat salty things.

Thelma is 14. It's been incredibly exciting to watch her over the past couple years as she's realized she's quite capable of a lot of things that she could never do! She now feeds herself, wheels herself around, and points to where she wants to go to ask permission. A few years ago she wasn't doing ANY of these things! Her favorite thing in the world is to play catch.

Ely is 22 and the middle sister. She's full of joy and a bright light in the midst of the darkest day. She loves to laugh and be in on practical jokes!

Darrell is a sweetie who loves to be held! He's also recently become aware that his hands are attached to his body - he loves to stare at them and move them around.

Javier is the (edit: second!) newest addition to Gabriel House. He's a year and a half old and still getting used to his 30+ brothers and sisters, but a very smiley and happy baby! He's far behind developmentally, but we're working hard to tap into all of the potential we know he has.

Antonio, the youngest of the three brothers, is 14. He's got a beautifully sweet spirit and is a prayer warrior. He loves to write letters and help our staff in any way he can.

Jose Eduardo is with us during the day so that his mom can go to work. He's very timid but with the support of his brothers and sisters at Gabriel House, he's learning how to feed himself and walk without holding on to anything!

Ivon is 15 and loves to be sung to - her face lights up when someone breaks out in a song! She also enjoys being out of her wheelchair, crawling around and exploring the front yard. Thanks to a group from Bakersfield, CA, we now have astroturf covering the entire front yard and a beautiful roof that provides abundant shade so our kids can spend almost half the day outside.

One of our "treasures," Mimi is 6. She isn't able to show much expression, but she has been known to smile when someone picks her up or she's brought outside and the sun shines on her face!

Kimberly is 10 and loves to watch her brothers and sisters be silly. Even though she can't talk, she has a great laugh like many of our kids!

Angelica is 12 and LOVES to be tickled and spoken to. She gets a huge smile on her face when someone starts talking to her!

Irene (Nene) is 9 and one of our most active kiddos. She loves bracelets, bubbles, and visitors!

Esmerelda (Esme) is 14 and the most ticklish kid at GH. She loves to be outside, out of her chair, and bouncing on the trampoline!

Jose Manuel is 5 and a precious little boy. He has many medical needs but we are giving him lots of love as we keep him safe and comfortable.

Betzy came to us a few years ago as a skinny and scared little girl. She's 11 now, has put on a healthy amount of weight, and is absolutely full of joy. A day with Betzy will include LOTS of laughs!

Lidia is 7 and really enjoys drinking her juice. Regular food just isn't as exciting to her - if she had it her way, it would be all juice, all the time!

Eymi is a sweet 9 year old girl who loves to be outside and sung to. She has a great smile that will capture your heart!

Heriberto is 11 and spends a lot of time watching his brothers and sisters. He's the strong silent type but will burst out laughing if you sneak up and gently tickle him!