The Rio

With our principal ministry being our home, it isn't often that we get out to serve in the orphanages or impoverished communities that Back2Back is connected with.  But last Saturday we made it a point to do just that.  We went out to a poor community called the Rio with several other staff, where we helped serve a meal at a soup kitchen, put on a small children's program while the director of the soup kitchen gave a small program for the adults.
The people in this community live in makeshift homes constructed out of whatever materials they can find - cardboard, scraps of metal, plastic tarps, mattress springs...   The houses are very close to a riverbed which overflows whenever Monterrey receives heavy rains.  When Hurricane Alex hit earlier this year, most of the houses were washed away and had to be rebuilt.

Some houses in the Rio

Ana walking through the neighborhood

Aside from the just plain obvious need, Back2Back decided to work in this community because a lot of the children who end up in the orphanages come from situations like this.  If we can minister to the families who live here while they are still together, perhaps we can help them remain together and avoid another child being put into an orphanage.  Studies show that even if materially a family has nothing, but the children are with their parents, they will be emotionally healthier than if they were in an orphanage, even if they have better physical conditions in the orphanage.  Back2Back therefore is trying to help these families meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.  

Women of the Rio enjoying a meal in the soup kitchen

Spending a day in the Rio humbles you and makes you realize how much you have.  It also encourages me that the education and life lessons that we share with the boys in our house will make it possible for them to begin to break this cycle of poverty in their families and be able live a life very different from this in the future.

Thankful

This was definitely a different Thanksgiving for us.  Since moving to Mexico, we usually celebrated Thanksgiving with a small group of friends in our home.  This year we celebrated with 150 other people with a buffet style spread, including 8 huge turkeys, and ate in a big white tent.

After the meal there was a time of worship and a short reflection.  But my favorite time of the evening was actually after the formal, planned program had ended.  A group of students from the Hope Program picked up the instruments and microphones and continued worshiping well into the night.  A lot of times it takes a lot of asking and reminding to get our teens to participate in community events, so it was so refreshing to watch them do this out of their own initiative.  

If I may take a moment to brag, the young man sitting on the box drum (I'm sure there's a real name for that instrument, but I don't know what it is!) is Leo, one of the boys who live in our house.  He is 17 years old and finishing up high school.  He is very intelligent and gifted in the arts.  He got 100% on his math final exam this week, and is an incredible artist.  But his real passion is drumming.  Whenever he plays, he becomes so animated and always has a huge grin on his face.  He plays the drums every Sunday at a church in Casa Hogar Douglas, a nearby orphanage that Back2Back supports, and several people have told me that seeing Leo play is their favorite part of Sunday morning.  I'm excited to see what Leo decides to study in college and how he will use his talents in the future!

The Heart of Back2Back Ministries

Check out this short video about what Back2Back Ministries is all about. We are blessed to be a small part of this ministry!

Parties, Parties, Parties

This week has been filled with parties!  First, one of our boys, Omar, turned 21 years old.  We combined his birthday party with a goodbye party for him and Saul.  Both boys will be leaving this month, and starting on their own in the "real world".  It's a bittersweet time.  On the one hand, it is fun to see them prepare and get excited about job leads, and help them with their resumes, and teach them how to make salsa (a very important life skill to learn before one heads out on their own!)  On the other hand, we will be sad to see them go.  They have been great guys, and they are very responsible and great role models for the other younger guys.  But a bird's gotta fly...

Omar and Saul at their party

This month Ana turned two years old!  We had a Toy Story party for her and all the Back2Back kids the day before her birthday.  We projected Toy Story up on a big screen.  It took her an hour and a half to eat her cupcake because she was so interested in watching "The Buzz" and "Oobies" (Woody).  It's fun watching Ana grow up.  In so many ways she is such a big girl, and yet in so many ways she is still my little baby.  What a fun age!

The Birthday Girl

This Is What It's All About

Last month we had the privilege of seeing three of our boys graduate - two from college and one from high school.  All of the teens in the Hope Program come from orphanages and have chosen to continue their studies after free public school ends after 9th grade.  By helping these students obtain a degree and by helping them acquire important life skills along the way, this will hopefully help break the cycle of poverty and bad decisions that would put future generations in the orphanages.
Unfortunately, one of the boys, Marcos, decided to leave the Hope Program with just a high school diploma.  Saul and Omar received bachelor degrees in law and computer studies, respectively.  It has been fun these past few weeks helping them prepare for life in the "real world" - resumes, job interviews, house rental, making lists of furniture and other home items that they need.  They will be moving out of our home in less than a month, and it will be exciting to see what they will achieve!  We are very proud of them!

Saul, Omar and Marcos - proud graduates!

What Are We Doing??

We are now living in Monterrey, Mexico and working with Back2Back Ministries as house parents in the Hope Program.  We are sharing a home with and parenting six boys ages 17 to 21.  And yes, there are days when we ask each other "What are we doing???", but for the most part things have been going very well.  We are enjoying being able to invest in the lives of these young men.  In the past two months, we have learned a lot about psychology, justice vs. mercy, patience, tripling recipes, hair gel and video games.  Check out http://www.back2backministries.org/index.php/internationalMinistry/mexicoPrograms/ to learn more about Back2Back and the Hope Program.

Left to right: Eduardo, Leo, Omar, Ana, Ruben, Edgar, Marcos and Saul.

Entering the Blog World...

Today we are taking that scary first step into the world of blogs....
We decided that with the change of ministry it would be a good time to also try another message of communication with our friends and loved ones, so we'll see how it goes!!