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Dear Roxanna,
“Hope” is commonly used to mean a wish, but to us it means so much more. When I sat down to think about what I wanted to share with you, I thought about what events had occurred and the constant theme was that of hope.
Last week, we had a visit from Dr. Kevin Sheehan who brought with him a young made named Reagan Ochan to meet with our students. Reagan shared that at the tender age of three, he loss both his parents and became an orphan. At the age of ten, he became the sole supporter of his family of fourteen, and supported them by selling biscuits. He learned how to play lacrosse and eventually became one of the most skilled and talented players in Africa successfully participating as the youngest player in the World Games in Israel.
Now, Reagan spends his days teaching, spreading and celebrating the spirit of hope through the game of lacrosse in the worst slums in Kenya and Uganda. But the dream that always fueled his existence was to come to the United States, be the first person in his family to get a college degree, play lacrosse at the highest level and return to lead his family out of poverty. After many years of struggle, rejections, denied visas, and disappointments, Reagan arrived in the United States and is enrolled at Nassau Community College. Hope is extremely important; we cannot live without it. Hope gives us strength and helps us endure. Our hope comes from God, and is the confident expectation of what He has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness. Meeting Reagan showed our students the true power of hope.
The theme of hope continued when on Sunday, February 25th , we hosted our first "House Gathering" to share the good news of The De La Salle School. It was an opportunity to share our mission with some people who had never heard about us. Mr. Moriarty, Mrs. Turano, Mrs. Becker, Mr. Holden, Mr. Spohr and I shared our mission of hope with over twenty-five guests who attended.
We left the event with many of the attendees wanting to learn more about our school, wanting to come and visit and wanting to help support our mission. What an exciting, hope-filled time it was! Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Holden and Mr. and Mrs. Turano for hosting and sponsoring this wonderful event for us.
Thank you too for all you do to support our mission. You provide hope to the young men entrusted to our care. You are the wind beneath their wings and it is because of you that they have the opportunity to fly.
“They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE…PRAY FOR US
LIVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS…FOREVER!
Mrs. Roxanna De Peña-Elder
Executive Director
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