August is a time when our NPH community steps back and reflects on the life of Father Wasson, our dear founder of NPH. The work he did, grounded in faith and a higher purpose, lives on today well after the day of his passing, August 16, 2006. Donna Egge, NPHI Mission Minister and Director of Family Services, shares words of gratitude and inspiration that comfort us as we remember Father Wasson and all that he stood for, and that we continue to work for today.

Dear NPH Family,

As we come to the time of year when we remember Fr. Wasson intentionally, I can’t help but imagine just how proud he is of his pequeños and pequeñas and our global NPH family that continues to flourish today.  His goals from over 40 years ago (click here to read more) align with the goals we have today: education, vocational training, encouraging potential, becoming productive members of the respective communities. This is what WE DO! And it is possible to reach these goals, because we commit to never losing sight of the deep faith that inspired Fr. Wasson and inspires us today. This hope that rises from our faith, pushes us constantly to be the family that our children desperately need. It is through living and experiencing the founding principles from Fr. Wasson, of Sharing, deep felt Security, hard Work, and Responsibility that allows for the transformation and reaching of goals by our children and youth.

I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Fr. Wasson well. I didn’t spend years growing up with him as my mentor. But I AM a dreamer! I imagine a world where the cycle of poverty can be broken. I AM inspired by a deep faith, by things that are mysterious, transformations that can’t be readily explained. I can see the feeling of belonging in the eyes of our children. And this I know to be the gift of Fr. Wasson for us today.

To LIVE this dream into reality. We are each called to remember, this month, our dear founder and in his name commit to work hard and to share what we have and what we know and what we believe, to provide security of love and education and the promise of a better future, and to be responsible together in our responses to the needs of our NPH family and the extended world in which both we and our children live.

Luz de Maria from NPH El Salvador reflects on her memories of Fr. Wasson, “I had the honor of meeting and knowing Fr. Wasson, who from the very beginning inspired me with this secure feeling as he told us, ‘I am your father, and this is your family now.’ I felt that truly this was the right home where I needed to be. NPH has taught me many things since I was received into the home. I can say without fear that here I have learned to dream and make those dreams become realities.”

May everyone today take a moment and give thanks to God for the presence of Fr. Wasson in our lives. May his dedication to his faith and his vision inspire us deeply in the coming year.

Paz y Bien,

Donna Egge
NPHI Mission Minister and Director of Family Services