My name is Isabella Pucilowski, and I have grown up at Saint Anna’s, becoming more involved here since 2021. Currently, I attend Sac State, pursuing a degree in Liberal Studies/Elementary Education to teach 1st to 4th grade in the future. Over the years, I have explored various opportunities for spiritual growth. One of these was my trip to Project Mexico last summer, where I built a house for a family in need. For my next phase of growth, I applied to serve at St. Innocent Orphanage (January 2025 - January 2026), living and working with the children there.
One wonderful aspect of the upcoming year is that I will continue my studies online and complete my BA degree by spring 2026 after I return home. Saint Innocent Orphanage is located in Rosarito, Mexico, and Project Mexico operates out of the orphanage. Project Mexico welcomes volunteers from Orthodox churches across the U.S. to stay on the orphanage grounds and build houses for families in the surrounding areas.
Saint Innocent Orphanage is one of the few Orthodox orphanages in North America and & South America, and has recently opened the first and only Orthodox Infant Orphanage: Casa Cuna. All of the children raised at Saint Innocent are provided with a loving home and consistent care, are engaged in liturgical life by attending services, and even engage in opportunities to serve the community. Their life at Saint Innocent Orphanage is full of educational/career opportunities, spiritual guidance, and warmth from those caring for them. It is a contrast to the harsh life they could fall into if left on the streets without care or guidance.
During my time at Saint Innocent’s, I will begin by caring for the infants in the Casa Cuna. Were it not for Saint Innocent orphanage, these children would often otherwise be sent to a shelter that is likely understated, leaving infants without the care they need. Saint Innocent’s is in the process of constructing a larger building to house more infants, and they have already welcomed a few. My shifts with the children will involve feeding them, putting them to sleep, and providing them with loving engagement and care. As my Spanish improves from the Spanish lessons I will take while there, I will be able to work with the older boys and teach them English/tutor them in their classes.
Engaging in acts of love and service is a simple way to cultivate humility and grow in loving-kindness. These are qualities I aspire to nurture in myself while working with the children at the orphanage. My goal is to gain knowledge and experiences that will strengthen my mission. Since this will not be paid work, my financial support depends on the generosity of others. An estimated $500 per month is typically sufficient to cover the basic and unexpected needs of a staff member. These needs include food, hygiene and health products, gas money, travel costs for arriving and returning home, etc. Through your loving encouragement, financial support, and prayers, I will be best equipped to serve the children of the orphanage.
I hope my updates about what’s happening there over the next year will inspire you to send me a letter, give me a call, or come for a visit; each would be a hopeful and loving reminder that our work at the orphanage is significant and in line with His will. Thank you all for your love and encouragement as I embark on this next phase of life! Glory to God in all things!
February 2025 Update on life at Saint Innocent Orphanage
After having lived on the ranch for nearly 3 weeks now, I have begun to feel more and more settled and accustomed to the rhythms of life here. Saint Innocent Orphanage currently houses 10 children under the age of six, four of them newborns, and their particular home is called “Casa Cuna”. In the “Casa Hogar”, on top of the hill on the property, live the other 25 older boys, ages six years old through college age. The Casa Cuna is located about a minute's walk from my home, “Casa Blanca” or “Saint Xenia house”, where a few of the other American female staff live as well.
My new “permanent” schedule indicates I will be working; night shift once/twice a week from 9pm-5am, two morning shifts from 5am to 1pm, and one afternoon shift from 1pm - 9pm. When we are not working, most of us run errands, spend time and eat meals with the boys, attend church services and visit fun spots around Rosarito and Tijuana. Most of us also make frequent treks back into California to access things that don’t exist here. It is such a blessing that the ranch sits atop a hill overlooking the ocean, and the drive to it is under 10 minutes. Though nearly no two schedules are the same between us, there are still many opportunities for us to spend time together. Most recently, one of my housemates hosted a Supra/Keipi, a Georgian feast, where we each brought different dishes and gave toasts on multiple different topics. Some topics included Christ, the Theotokos, Elders, The presentation of our Lord (the day we celebrated), among many others. These special gatherings make the difficulties of the ranch beyond worth it. My own experience has been that even the difficulties themselves are in the end fulfilling and wonderful; it is always bittersweet medicine to be humbled!
There is much work to be done here, and it can be exhausting, but the Theotokos and all God’s saints are at work as well, and by the grace of God we tend to manage the difficulties well. Even from my outsider’s perspective during my first few days, I could see that the beauty of the shared goal we all have to provide for the children creates a particularly strong familial understanding between us. And yet of course, we are all frequently faced with the various temptations that are specific to us volunteers at the ranch. However, the struggle through these things bonds us together. One great challenge for many of us is the language barrier, and the nature of the childrens’ situations and the varied pasts they come from present unique struggles. It is unknown to most of us the details of each child’s origins and how they ended up here, much less when or if a good family will find them and take them home. All things considering, we take great care to be sensitive to these things and to give them a healthy and fulfilling childhood while here! I am often encouraged by the essentially miraculous situation that these children are in to be able to attend services often. They are also surrounded by spiritual fathers and other fatherly and motherly figures who, while never being able to truly fulfill that need for a child, come as close as we can. The children here are well socialized, are held to relatively high standards, attending private Christian schools and participating in sports. They are fed well, bathed daily, given plenty of clothing and toys, and their everyday needs are consistently met with kindness. This is not to mitigate the sorrows of a parentless life, but there is a specific marvelous beauty that exists in the fact that the children here are given the best situation that we can possibly give them.
When I consider that I have committed to a year here, I mostly feel a yearning to stay even longer. I have begun my 3rd-to-last semester of schooling online, and I am now enrolled in Spanish classes in a nearby language school. I have taken up the project of knitting hats for the children here, after my godfather passed along to me yarn and needles that once belonged to my godmother Markella, memory eternal! The things I learn here every day are irreplaceable and I am now slowly beginning to accept what everyone here says; I did not bring myself here, but was brought by Christ through the intercessions of the Theotokos. Though I have not been here long, I already feel mostly at home and am really looking forward to what lies ahead.
Truly, I feel blessed to be here and am encouraged that I am capable of this holy work despite how unequipped I often feel. If you think of it, prayers for the children and all those supporting them here are thoroughly appreciated. Through the support of you all and the many giving hands that have donated to help sustain me while here, I thank you so much!
March Update
