This Christmas I was once again involved in a Christmas present drive sponsored by Loreto's chapter of Caritas.

A week or so before Christmas, using a photo of the Caritas tree on the patio of the Loreto Mission from last year, I designed a bilingual flyer asking for donations of wrapped presents and recruited the neighbor's kids to plaster town.

A few days before Christmas I was approached by some private donors in the US and Canada who wanted me to buy, wrap and donate presents on their behalf in Loreto. The generosity of the donations surprised me and motivated a massive shopping project resulting in 425 presents! I would never have been able to wrap all these presents and label with gender/age without the help of many friends here in Loreto, including Carmen of Café Ole, Alejandra of Las Parras and neighbors, the Higueras). It wasn't until I was loading the last present into my car at 2am on Dec. 24 that I noticed that one of the Higuera kids had taken the time to write "Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo" on every one of the over 100 presents they had wrapped!

When I arrived at the Mission early on the 24th, I wasn't sure what to expect. I unloaded all the presents and placed them beneath the tree for a photo (the only one I had from last year was with only 3 presents!). Then we separated out presents to be taken on later days to outlying ranch areas, including San Juan, Ligui, Agua Verde and San Javier. Finally, Rosita's pick-up was loaded with gifts and she said those magical words "Do you want to come along?"!

We spent all of Dec. 24th distributing presents in an area of Loreto known as Colonia Miramar, while other Caritas ladies delivered presents in other Loreto Colonia neighborhoods. I should have taken more photos, but I was too busy trying to find the perfect gift for each child. I have never felt so much sincerity in a "Muchas Gracias" nor felt such true emotion through the squeeze of my hand from a generous mother. Just a few days after Christmas, I also joined Rosita and her husband Carlos and took photos of them distributing presents in San Javier.

It truly amazes me that a small grass-roots effort by a handful of friends can create such a special Christmas for hundreds of children. I'm thrilled to be in a position to do something that results in so much happiness for others, and I send my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped in ways both big and small. I hope my photos help convey the joy you created in the true spirit of Christmas.