From Loss to Legacy. Help Is Build A Sanctuary of Love

Hello, my name is Lourdes Creus and I am raising funds for 1.) Mother of Fairest Love Retreat Center and 2.) Juan Heredia who risked his life at the Rattlesnake Falls to recover my brother Val Creus and his two friends Matt Shoenecker and Matt Anthony.

My brother Val Creus and his friends were working on building a shrine for Mother of Fairest Love in Chino Hills. Two weeks before my brother passed away, the statue of Mother of Fairest Love arrived in Covina, California from Rome. It took years for the statue to be completed. She is currently at St. Louise de Marillac in Covina. Mother of Fairest Love is geared towards helping families like mine. I am divorced with two young girls, 11 and 12 years old. I teach at a high school, and I am surrounded by kids who are lost, broken, unloved, confused, and in major need of intercession of love from Mother of Fairest Love.

Have you heard of John 15:13, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”? Matt Shoenecker and Matt Anthony died trying to save my brother. When my brother Val jumped by the Rattlesnake Falls, the undercurrent had taken a turn for the worse. Without thinking, Matt Shoenecker and Matt Anthony jumped in to save my brother. They never resurfaced. When Juan Heredia found my brother, Matt Shoenecker was holding my brother’s hand 47 feet below the waterfall, and Matt Anthony was 45 feet under. Their bodies have passed, but their souls and legacy live on.

As I cope with the loss, I have asked God why this happened. Kuya Val, Matt S., and Matt A. were doing God’s work diligently every second of their lives. Though I will never understand, as I am not God, and I do not understand His ways, my heart has been fully transformed. My heart was lukewarm for 49 years, and now it is throbbing forcefully after seeing true love amidst our world. In my eyes, Matt S. and Matt A. died for the love for my brother Val, just as Jesus died for the love for us.

And so I am asking for your help in spreading this raw, authentic true love that I witnessed two weeks ago. The money I collect will go towards the retreat center for Mother of Fairest Love and a portion will go towards Juan Heredia who risked his life to find Kuya Val, Matt Shoenecker, and Matt Anthony 47 feet under the waterfalls.