A year of continued joy, hope, and progress

We want to update all our friends on the status of Radiant Futures and our children’s home in Chiapas, Mexico. This year has been one filled with happiness and continued joy through helping the children. The girls at Los Alamos, our children’s home, are growing well and making good progress in their development. We, Gloria and Stan Call [President & Vice-Pres], sold our house in Albuquerque, NM in January, and Stan cut back on his accounting workload so he could spend more time in Mexico. The new U.S, address for Radiant Futures is 10437 Snapdragon Dr., Austin. TX 78739 where we spend our time while in the United States.

We have had a scare this past month with Carolina, one of our two-year-old girls. She has been a normally healthy girl since we received her (at 16 days old), but she has recently developed an on-going fever, rough itchy skin, fatigue, an enlarged abdomen and neck. Our local doctor ran some tests for hepatitis. Those tests came back negative but he referred us to a pediatrician in Tapachula who, through an ultrasound, found she had an enlarged liver and spleen as well as some swollen lymph nodes. He believed she had leukemia and referred us to a cancer specialist. This specialist felt she may rather have lymphoma, and took a biopsy of some neck lymph nodes. In the meantime we gave her a blessing and spent much time in fasting and prayer. Thankfully the biopsy of the lymph nodes came back negative so he performed a MRI. This also showed no tumors but confirmed the liver and spleen are abnormal and large, so now we are in a wait and see mode, with a possible bone marrow test soon. Additionally her white blood cell count is very high, and she is anemic … but we don’t know the cause. Fortunately her spirits as of late have been very high, despite her ongoing symptoms, she is very active – running, jumping, and laughing with ease. She is loving all the attention given her by the frequent doctor outings!

This health scare has been rather difficult for all of us, as it was just last year our oldest daughter, Cecia (28) got the news that she had thyroid cancer. After two surgeries and iodine radiation she is doing very well and presumably now cancer free. We are extremely thankful that both girls appear to be improving and the Lord has blessed them so far. We ask for your continued prayers that Carolina may be diagnosed correctly and soon, and that she will be able to make a full health recovery.

At Los Alamos we have been working hard to improve the grounds, and all is starting to look quite beautiful. We have been converting the land into areas where the children can play. Currently we have a large backyard with a playground, which the girls enjoy. As one looks out the window, you can see several types of palm trees, lime trees, bananas, papayas, flowers, local varieties of trees, our basketball court, a gazebo, the playground, and the mountains in the background.

We count ourselves blessed everyday as we view all that our Heavenly Father has given us and the beautiful life we are able to provide for the children here.

We have been blessed with volunteers from Australia, England and throughout the United States. They all have great talents and come to share them with our children. We know that the lives of the children are enriched by each new person and culture that they experience. We are pleased to report that the children are able to speak both English and Spanish az this is one of the goals of this project. Lauren started kindergarten this fall; she is so excited about going to school. The school is a private school in Tapachula, which is about fifteen miles from where we are. We decided that the children’s education is very important and we look for the best schools around. In addition to her school, we continue to work with her and the other girls on their languages as well as their other developmental skills.

In addition to providing a home for abandoned children in southern Mexico, we have also had the desire to help some of the other local children with their education and vocational skills. With Stan being in Mexico much more, we have decided to build a carpentry workshop on our land. Once it is completed and furnished with woodworking machinery and tools, we will be able to instruct many of the local youth in woodworking skills, to provide them an opportunity and resource to improve their lives. It will also benefit the children here as we hope to make much of the furniture needed for us on-site and provide a woodworking school for the children, as they grow older. Any help/resources in this area will be greatly appreciated.

I learned about Radiant Futures through a web site called idealist.org. I had been using the site for months to look for work, but had a strong impulse in late February to peruse the volunteer section. I quickly found the posting for Radiant Futures and contacted Tyler [Tyler Croft, Director of Volunteers], expressing my interest in volunteering. Speaking with Tyler inspired tremendous confidence about the trip and I booked a flight to Tapachula for the following week. Family and friends were a concerned about the speed with which I made my decision, but I never had a moment of doubt.

As it turns out, volunteering at Radiant Futures has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Gloria’s dream to make Radiant Futures a reality is nothing less than inspiring. The sheer will it took her to overcome the enormous obstacles facing her makes me believe that anything is possible. She is an exceptional woman and a wonderful role model.

But even more impressive are the stories of how Lauren, Christina and Carolina landed on Gloria’s doorstep. Each child was seriously ill when she arrived and was not expected to survive or have a meaningful existence. During my stay, I was constantly reminded of the fact that these children would not be here but for Gloria and her commitment to Los Alamos.

Emily Cozart, Attorney
New York, USA

We certainly value our volunteers and encourage anyone who has an interest in helping out to contact us.

If you can help make any size donation to Radiant Futures for care of the children (especially now with the medical costs to diagnose and help Carolina) or simply wish to contact us, it is very appreciated. Your combined assistance makes helping so much easier: