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7/31/2019 FFK Newsletter 2005
1/6
Merry Christmas!!!
November 30, 2005
A Simple, Humble Loving Man
By Alex Hernandez
I have known Fr. Frank for the last
two to three years. Every time he visits
our home, he enlightens us with the good
news of the gospel. He is a simple, hum-
ble, loving man with-
out a doubt; a man
with a vision of help-
ing the poor. Hisgenuine love for our
children is over-
whelming to any onewho meets him. I see
this all the time in our
childrens eyes and in
the way they interact
with Fr. Frank.
We all enjoy being around him; he
always has a smile for all of us andmakes sure that every one has one too.
He pokes your belly, underarms or makes
a funny face. Oh yes!! He has his ways.
Fr. Frank not only has brought tons of
clothing, toys, computers, washers and
dryers machines but most important he
has brought us HOPE to all who have had
the opportunity to share and shake his
hand.A couple of years ago, he donated a
substantial amount of
money to change the
roof of the local com-
munity San JorgeChurch. As you can
see, he has not only
touched our childrens
little hearts but he has
also extended his love
to a whole community.
Note:Alex is a former pequino who at-
tended college in the US and returned to
work at NPH Nicaragua. He is in charge
of the birthday celebrations (see page 3)
and correspondence with the adoptive
God parents.
Fr. Frank receives hugs during mass at Casa Asis
To all my friends and friends of the or-
phans,
I just returned from three months with
the children in Nicaragua. I thank God
for giving me this calling. I cant explain
the joy that comes to me with the success
that I see.
These children come to us with great
needs. They need the basics of food,
shelter and education but most impor-tantly they need love and the need to dis-
cover Jesus. Imagine yourself as a childwho has lost your parents through death
or abandonment; who has possibly been
molested or beaten and has drifted to the
streets to fend for ones self and stealing
to survive. Then a hand reaches out and
gives you food, shelter, education, love
and spirituality. Most of our children
grow with our program but many chal-
lenges remain. It takes time, patience,
love and resources to change a childs
mentality who has been neglected, vio-lated, unloved and does not know Jesus.
My reward has been to see this change
in most of the children. My agony is
those who slip and dont change. My
agony is all who do not get the opportu-
nity because our facilities are not large
enough to take on more.
I am going back to Nicaragua in late
November. The Lord has given me extra
strength while I am with the children.There are so many that need love and
need to know Jesus and in a small way I
think I can help.
Thank you parishioners of St. Isidoresfor your generous help. Please continue
as we need more teachers including cate-
chism. We need larger facilities. We
need to buy books in Spanish in addition
to clothing and food.
With love and Gratitude to Jesus,
Fa t h er F r a n k
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Page 2
The Amphitheatre Is FinishedRemember the amphitheatre that was being built by Father Franks Kids next to the chapel at the orphanage in Rancho Santa Fe,Honduras? As you can see in the pictures above, the pillars have been set in place, the roof has been added and the interior com-
pleted. It now provides 600 additional seats for masses and special events.
Honduras
Workers are unloading two containers thatarrived in Nicaragua while Father Frank was
there. One brought new clothing and a com-
mercial washer and dryer. The other container
had 243 bicycles, tools and bike repair parts for
setting up a repair center where the children
can learn how to repair and maintain bicycles.
12 MONTHS OF EXPENDITURES FOR FATHER FRANKS KIDS
Your donations are the life line of Father Franks Kids. As you can see from this list andthe articles in this newsletter, much is being accomplished through your generosity. Ithank you and encourage you to continue helping these wonderful children.
09/21/2004 $ 324 Air Conditioner for Nicaragua
09/23/2004 $ 3,746 Two ice machines for Nicaragua
10/07/2004 $ 2,122 Icons for Casa Asis Chapel, Nicaragua10/18/2004 $ 1,650 Five Sewing machines for Nicaragua
11/12/2004 $ 1,982 Printing and postage for the newsletter
01/13/2005 $ 435 Cost of CPA for filing non-profit corporation status
01/14/2005 $ 6,371 Shipping 40-foot container to Nicaragua
02/05/2005 $ 673 Medicine for treating lice in Guatemala
02/28/2005 $ 43 Coffee maker for Nicaragua
06/15/2005 $ 4,286 Shipping 20-foot container to Guatemala
06/15/2005 $ 2,976 Shipping 20-foot container to Miami for Honduras
07/05/2005 $ 5,288 3 rubber jump houses for Nicaragua
07/05/2005 $ 427 Digital camera and printer for Nicaragua
07/10/2005 $ 223 Mass Missals for Nicaragua
07/29/2005 $ 7,636 Commercial washing machine and dryer for Nicaragua
09/03/2005 $ 4,100 Shipping 20-foot container with clothing andmerchandise to Nicaragua
09/03/2005 $ 6,400 Shipping 40-foot container with bicycles to Nicaragua______
TOTAL $48,682
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Page 3
Paul, on the road to Damascus topersecute Christians, was called uponto serve the Lord. Father Bill Wassonwas studying to become a lawyer and
received a calling to study for thepriesthood in Mexico, which he didand when ordained became a Pastor inCuernavaca. In 1954 a boy was ar-rested for stealing from the poorbox. Father Wasson, rather than presscharges, asked for custody of theboy. A week later the Judge sent himeight more boy thieves (homeless or-phans). This was the beginning ofNuestros Pequenos Hermanos (OurLittle Brothers & Sisters).
Over 15,000 children have beenraised with love and spirituality and
have received an education. Most
complete high school and some go on tocollege. Currently the orphanages inMexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Hon-duras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guate-
mala, Peru and Bolivia, have about 3,000orphans in their homes.
Father Frank attended an annualconference as a guest of a St. Isidoreparishioner eight years ago. He receiveda calling and has been blessed by a won-derful response from St. Isidore parish-ioners and friends of the program. FatherFranks Kids is one of many supportgroups which have grown to include sev-eral countries in Europe and Canada inaddition to the United States.
Father Wasson, Father Frank, butmost importantly the children say
Gracias AmigosFather Bill Wasson
The NPH (Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos) Story
There are presents
...and cake thats great for eatingand wearing too!
Birthdays are
special days
and a time for
celebration. At
Casa Asis
(left), since
there are only37 children,
each child gets
his/her own
birthday party
with great
food, a piata
full of candy,
and games to
play.
At Casa Santiago, all of the birthdays for the
month are celebrated on the same day. So youcan imagine the excitement when that day ar-
rives. Besides the good food and celebration, the
birthday celebrants get to go to Managua for theday where they can swim and attend a movie.
7/31/2019 FFK Newsletter 2005
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Page 4
Christmas in NicaraguaBy Stan Stokowski
Marthe, my wife, and I spent ourChristmas of 2004 in Nicaragua with35 ninos at the Casa Asis orphanagein San Jorge. It was a wonderful ex-perience being part of a caring familyof Nicaraguan workers and volunteersfrom all over the world. Everyonethere had a mission ofgiving attention and loveto the ninos. Most inspir-ing to the both of us werethe many volunteers whogive their time and moneyto serve orphans and thepoor. They are living thelife of Jesus. They see a need and fillit. Most importantly they live amongthe people, eat their food, and gener-ally live as the people do. The volun-teers we worked with were from theNetherlands, Austria, Russia, USA,and Italy.
The contrast between the USA andNicaragua is considerable in terms of
material wealth. However, there is aslow, quiet pace, a rhythm, a concernwith the basics of life there. There isvery little artificiality; people are veryfriendly. We both felt that our stressfulpursuit of material goods in Americadoesnt necessarily make us any hap-pier. On the other hand, Nicaraguaneeds our help materially and person-ally.
We met the ninos, volunteers, tias,
and staff. Tias (aunts) are the babysit-ters of the children. They are like thechildrens mothers. There are threetias each for the chico group (2.5 to 4years old) and for the grande group(up to 7 years). The Casa consists oftwo dormitories (one with the kitchenand the office), a chapel, a school,playground, an enclosed playground(concha), a laundry area, and bodegas
(storage areas).The dormitories have
2-level bunk beds, ashower, toilets, and aneating area. Each grandehas his/her own electrictoothbrush and a bag fortheir personal stuff. The
clothes are stacked according to sizeand they are used in common, no per-sonal clothes. They are washed daily.
Marthe and I helped out by playingwith the ninos, and working around theCasa. Because of her cooking experi-ence, Marthe ends up in the kitchenoften. Twice a week they have pan-cakes with mango sauce and home-
made yogurt. Oatmeal twice, eggstwice, and corn flakes on Sunday, allwith a big glass of milk and bananas.The children wake up about 6:30, getshowered and dressed. They eataround 7:15. The volunteers and theworkers eat after the children areserved. Then the children go outsideto play. If school is in session, theolder children will attend school on thegrounds
There is always room for ice cream! This
treat came compliments of Father Frank -
no wonder he is so popular.
The Water Tower at Casa Asis. Water
comes from a well and is filtered and UV-
treated. It is good to drink - Stan Stokowski
This covered play area was built for the
children at Casa Asis by Father Franks
Kids to give them a place to play outdoors
protected from the sun. It has swings,
slides and other outdoor toys.
Faces of Casa Asis
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Page 5
Residents at the San Marcos Facility with Father Frank in Nicaragua. There is a special
bond between Father and these young people. While they are difficult for others to
manage, they respect Father and listen to his counsel.
San Marcos
San Marcos offers special care for those
with special needs. Children who were
abused, have disciplinary problems and
are unable to reside with other children arebrought here and helped by specially
trained staff. The facility offers many pro-
grams like jewelry making, pottery, woodworking, farming and many others. They
care for 1000 chickens, 21 cows and grow
the fruits and vegetables that are con-
sumed at both the San Marcos and Santi-
ago facilities. The ratio of adults to stu-
dents is much higher and the educational
experience offers much more personalizedcontact and instruction.
On my latest visit I met a young boy
who came to them with serious anger is-
sues. He was a fighter and uncontrollable.
When he got into the jewelry making class
he became focused and produced the bestjewelry of all the students. The class gave
him self esteem, a sense of purpose and
has helped to turn him around.
As the earth shook and the vol-cano Concepcion started spewing
ash, the decision was made to rent
a ferry and evacuate the 300 chil-
dren from Ometepe island. It
took all day to get the arrange-
ments made. The children
brought their mattresses to the
trucks. Then they were taken by busto the waiting ferry boat. It was a
nervous time as the earthquakescontinued (150 counted that day)
but the evacuation went
smoothly. The children spent the
night in San Jorge and, enjoyed the
new adventure for a while but expressed
concerned that they wouldnt be able to
go back to the orphanage. They were
able to return the next day and back into
their normal routine.Now, as we write
this article, the volcano has erupted
again and the staff is working frantic-ally to evacuate the children. This time
the ferry boats arent as available since
the other inhabitants of the island are
leaving also. The logistics of caring for
300 children away from the facilities
are very complicated and quite expen-
sive. Please be generous with your do-
nations this year and pray for the pro-
tection of the children and staff, and for
the Holy Spirit s guidance as we work
through these difficult times .
Volcano Concepcion shown above standing
1700 meters above lake Nicaragua on Ometepe
Island and shown below currently erupting
behind the girls dormitory. The volcano has
been quite active erupting 25 times in the past
120 years. The 1957 eruption was particularly
violent. The summit of Concepcion has in-
creased in height by 100 meters in recent times
due to eruptive activity. The danger to the is-
land will continue after the volcanic activity
has subsided because heavy rains can cause
fast moving mudslides of volcanic debris.
7/31/2019 FFK Newsletter 2005
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Page 6
Father Franks KidsPO Box 478Alamo, California 94507
Father Franks Kids, Inc. has been
regis tered as a non-profit charitable
organization. Your donations are
tax deductible.
Contacts:
Mike Hertel
(925) 855-9407
ntvsons@sbcglobal.net
Ann Ferrante
(925) 743-1935
acferrante@comcast.net
Grisell Navas(925)735-7733
2grisell@comcast.net
Lauren Rettagliata
(925) 552-8002
rettagliata@sbcglobal.net
Dick Sanders
(925) 837-0307
rwsanders@sbcglobal.net
Brent Smith
(925) 838-7743
brent@onefamily.org
Our Wish List!Father Frank is providing a link between
families in Northern California and
orphanages in Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua. Container shipments are planned
at least once a year to each of them. As you
can see from these pages, the donations are a
tremendous help for the children and theoperation of the orphanages.
The following is a list of some of the
things Father is looking for to include in
upcoming shipments:
Baby items (food, chairs, strollers, beds,
clothing)Powdered Soapfor washing clothesItems for Personal Hygiene (like soaps,
shampoos, tooth brushes, tooth paste)
Childrens Clothing (including socks,
underwear and especially good tennis shoes)
Financial Assistance for shipping and topurchase needed items.
These young ladies with Father Frank are tal-
ented singers and dancers from Casa Asis.
Their dresses were made at the orphanage with
sewing machines that were provided by Father
Franks Kids. As you can see, they enjoy wear-
ing them.
(Father didnt try to dance or sing - but our
cameras were ready just in case!)
As you can imagine, soccer (futbol) is a
very popular sport in South America.
There are several teams including these
girls and boys teams from the orphanage
that travel from the island to play against
teams from other schools. Father Frank
watched the girls practice and was amazed
at how physical they play.
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