On Christmas Day, the Orellana Family provided our residents with a Christmas Feast! More so, they shared the priceless gift of their presence of peace and love!

Sarah has spent many hours at the House as a volunteer. Their oldest daughter, Isabel, has also spent time volunteering through her high school. 12 year old-Christian, was the first person to contribute to our grassroots fundraiser.

They are a tremendous inspiration and example of a FAMILY OF FAITH! They are generously supporting their brothers and sisters in Christ during their greatest time of need.

May God continue to bless them!

They are pictured here with one of our dear residents.

Please read the beautiful reflection from Sarah:

I felt called to volunteer my time at the Heart of Mary House starting last September. I wasn't sure what to expect as the only hospice experience I had was with close family members. My first day was quiet, the resident at HOMH was quietly sleeping, so I mostly spent my time sitting next to her in prayer. It wasn't much but it felt like God was calling me to keep going, so I continued.
Eventually more residents came and some passed on. I learned to cook breakfast for them, change sheets and play card games. I talked to my children about my time there and they asked to come. My oldest daughter chose to volunteer at HOMH to fulfill her school volunteer requirements. She spent time with long time resident Abel, who was an avid soccer fan as is Isabel. They hit it off, watching soccer and playing card games that she could never win.
Isabels enthusiasm to be there spread to my other kids and we decided as a family to go on Christmas Day. There were 2 residents in the House that day, Abel, who was visiting with his family, and Jojo. I had not met Jojo but I could tell from the attendant that it was not a great day for her, she was suffering. I was concerned that we would be in the way. But the attendant told me to take the kids to her and she would let us know if she didn't want to visit. The kids and I chatted with Jojo for a few minutes and then she asked us to leave the room. When she invited us back in she had surrounded herself with stuffed animals and decorated herself in Christmas gear and had a Christmas toy dancing around playing Christmas music. It made us all laugh so much and brought tears to my eyes. In her time of suffering, when we were there to serve her, she was still bringing joy to us.
A few months later during Lent we challenged the kids to a game of Lenten bingo. Each square of the bingo card had a form of prayer, almsgiving or fasting you must complete to mark out the box. One box said give to the poor and my 10 year old son Christian said he wanted to give to the Heart of Mary House and handed me an envelope of cash. I assumed he had given me $10 or $20, but counted it up and realized it was $121, all the money he had. It reminded me of the poor widow who gave all her wealth, a few pennies, in the Gospel of Mark.
The Heart of Mary House has been a blessing to our family. It has taught us all how important love and compassion are at every step in someone's life. And even though it requires giving of themselves, my children have continued to ask to go back to spend time there with the residents.

The Heart of Mary House provides housing and 24/7 care to the dying poor. To qualify, they must have a prognosis of 3 months or less, a signed DNR and a hospice medical provider. They pay nothing to stay in the home, neither does their family. We also do not receive any government funding or bill their insurance. We are donation based and utilize volunteers and independent contractors to provide the care our residents require. We become their family and we love them as our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Grace abounds in the Heart of Mary House!

We welcome you to become a friend of the Heart of Mary House! There are three ways to become a friend of the house.

First and foremost, please pray for the mission, those who we serve, and those who are serving.

Second, join us in the day to day care we provide our residents and in keeping the house functioning. Volunteering in the home gives you a first hand experience with serving the dying poor.

Lastly, making a monetary donation allows us to provide a consistent and high standard quality of care to the residents in the home.

This is our first grassroots fundraiser! We are very excited to bring this opportunity to partner with you as we continue to serve 'the least of these.'