After a pretty good sleep on a bunk…the top bunk. It’s a younger sister thing. I am fairly certain that had we had bunk beds as a kid, I would have been stuck with the bottom bunk and my sister would have done terrible things to me from the air. Anyway, I woke up in my dark dorm room and it was just so quiet. I am the only one in here right now. We have a large group from Family Christian Bookstore arriving today and a small group of doctors from Dayton, Ohio.
After eating breakfast and having some quiet time to myself, I met up with Kelly and Gabo Velasco. Kelly and Gabo are on staff here at Back2Back. Kelly is this five foot nothing ball of energy from Drexel, NC. She came here on a mission trip back in 2002 and like it so much that she came back every year on trips and then eventually decided she wanted to try and live a year here on what we call our STINT staff. They help out with groups and projects here on campus and do outreach in Monterrey. She met Gabo and they fell in love. Gabo is originally from Mexico City. He is like a big teddy bear and he is in charge of many of the construction projects that we have going on at Del Norte Children’s Home. He said he asked Kelly to marry him everyday for six months and her response was always….maybe tomorrow. They are just the sweetest couple and I enjoyed hanging with them and the Clouse Family also from North Carolina yesterday. We started our day at church. WE went to the Casa Hogar Douglas Chapel which sits high on a hill with views of the mountains. The congregation is absolutely thrilled because do to some awesome donations they were able to put a new roof on the chapel so they can have service there year round. The music worship was amazing. I even knew most of the songs and now know what they sound like in Spanish.
After church myself and the Clouse’s went back to campus and the we made lunch at the Velasco’s and had a great time of worship and getting to know one another. Kelly and Gabo also are house parents to the one of the girl’s homes on our campus. They have 6 girls living with them but only Katya was there Sunday. Katya is a typical 16 year-old girl. But after hanging with us all day she warmed up. We had her laughing and smiling by the end of the day! After lunch we traveled about 30 minutes away to Del Norte. It is spring break in Mexico so most of the orphans had gone to visit family. For many of them, it is the only time of the year they will see family. Mexico does not have a foster care system like the states and international adoption is very difficult here. Many of the mothers have their children but can’t take care of them, so they end up at the Children’s home but when they reach working age (typically 14 or 15) they tend to go back home and the cycle continues. That is why the Education program with Back2Back is so important. It gives kids a chance to continue their education and really be able to realize their gifts that God gave them. At Del Norte since the children were not there, it gave us a chance to look at many of the projects going on. The home is run by a 73 year old woman named Martha. Martha is amazing because she has a way of getting what she wants. She convinced Mexico to give her a 90yhear lease for the home when typically 10 year leases are the norm. She does her own fundraising and it is one of the few homes that accepts babies and mothers. She has a few mothers right now and they actually stay at the home and work and are able to be with their kids. Martha helped one of the moms get her baker’s degree and she now runs the Del Norte Bakery which is a funding source for the children’s home. Del Norte has several projects going on right now that Back2Back is helping to facilitate with some great partners. We are currently building a library, a directors apartment, more dorm space and an all purpose auditorium for the neighborhood. It is amazing to see how God has blessed Del Norte with Martha’s gifts and just amazing love and opportunities for these kids.
After leaving there we went to Manantial Del Amor also known as MDA. Connie and Edgar run this home and the boy’s home. They are also truly lovely people filled with Gods love. They actually choose to live full time with the children and their own children. They run a very tight ship and they NEVER stop praying for these kids. We are currently praying for land for them within the area where they are serving kids so that they have room for these kids to play safely and more living space. At MDA, we met Hannah “Banana” who was just adorable. She had a bag of cookies and she did not want to give them up. She was funny, talkative and all smiles. She came up to me and grabbed my leg and started talking to me in Spanish and giggling. I still do not know what she said but she seemed happy.
When we left MDA we went to the local Wal-Mart and picked up some things you can’t get in the states. The exchange rate is awesome right now so I was able to pick up several things and only spent about $5. We hen went to this Mexican restaurant for dinner called the Station and I had a great burrito. When I got back the Couch’s had invited me to their house to watch a movie so off I went and spent a nice evening with the Couch’s. AWESOME DAY!!!! Today? Wherever God take me.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
"Full"
DAY ONE…Tired and blessed…. I had no flights cancelled or delayed which is a great thing. No problems in customs even though I was bringing in a big bag of donations, letters, gifts for kids. Things could not have gone any more smoothly. But of course…I was not in control…I was greeted by two of our missionaries, Tim and Kathy Couch. They are from Oklahoma and have been married for over 27 years. Tim joked that as a teenager he approached Kathy in church because he thought she was cute and said that God told him to come and talk to her because he was supposed to date her. She did not fall for it. They are the parents of two grown girls who live back in the states. They are House Parents in our Hope Program which Back2Back started to bring teens that are past the Mexico formal education age of 9th grade on to our campus to give them an opportunity to continue their education while at the same time giving us a platform to share the love of Christ with them. Tim and Cathy have 6 boys in their home which is called the David House. Anyway, they picked me up and we swapped stories on what brought us to Back2Back while driving to an area of Monterrey called Rio.
Rio is a squatter’s village. There is a woman in Rio who just has an amazing love for God and helping others. Her name is Meme. She runs a soup kitchen on Saturday’s in Rio. People that live there come for food and for praise and worship. It was very awesome. Finally, I arrive at our Back2Back Campus. The children of our missionaries held a fundraiser here today washing cars and selling baked goods. The money they raised was being given to the International Justice Mission to help rescue kids from slavery. It was here I got to meet most of the remainder of our Mexico Staff.
This evening, I went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant where I had acchuro…flank steak covered in cheese and fresh guacamole…yum. I shared my meal tonight with Greg & Cathy Huffer who are originally from Cincinnati. Greg graduated from Anderson and Cathy from Sycamore. They have three adorable boys. There is another family here visiting that I really enjoyed getting to know this evening. Lonnie Clouse is a chaplain for NASCAR and his lovely wife Angela and two of their three children are here as well. It was really wonderful hearing about how they came to hear about our ministry and to hear their stories on how they came to have a relationship with Christ. We ended the evening at the Huffer’s house here on campus listening to the kids laughing and playing. It was really just an amazing day of fellowship. What I witnessed here today in just the very short time I have been here brings to mind a verse from Colossians 3:16 which says Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
I saw so many people worshipping the Lord in different ways…the kids with their car wash, the children at Meme’s Rio praising God in Spanish while singing and clapping their hands and the stories about how our staff came to know Christ, I can honestly say, I really feel like I am exactly where God wants me at this point in my life!
Rio is a squatter’s village. There is a woman in Rio who just has an amazing love for God and helping others. Her name is Meme. She runs a soup kitchen on Saturday’s in Rio. People that live there come for food and for praise and worship. It was very awesome. Finally, I arrive at our Back2Back Campus. The children of our missionaries held a fundraiser here today washing cars and selling baked goods. The money they raised was being given to the International Justice Mission to help rescue kids from slavery. It was here I got to meet most of the remainder of our Mexico Staff.
This evening, I went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant where I had acchuro…flank steak covered in cheese and fresh guacamole…yum. I shared my meal tonight with Greg & Cathy Huffer who are originally from Cincinnati. Greg graduated from Anderson and Cathy from Sycamore. They have three adorable boys. There is another family here visiting that I really enjoyed getting to know this evening. Lonnie Clouse is a chaplain for NASCAR and his lovely wife Angela and two of their three children are here as well. It was really wonderful hearing about how they came to hear about our ministry and to hear their stories on how they came to have a relationship with Christ. We ended the evening at the Huffer’s house here on campus listening to the kids laughing and playing. It was really just an amazing day of fellowship. What I witnessed here today in just the very short time I have been here brings to mind a verse from Colossians 3:16 which says Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
I saw so many people worshipping the Lord in different ways…the kids with their car wash, the children at Meme’s Rio praising God in Spanish while singing and clapping their hands and the stories about how our staff came to know Christ, I can honestly say, I really feel like I am exactly where God wants me at this point in my life!
Friday, April 10, 2009
"Spring Awakening"
This year more than any other year of my almost 41 years, Easter seems especially meaningful. I thought there was no more fitting time than Good Friday to journal my feelings surrounding the meaning of Easter. Easter gets its origin from an English word that comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Eastre. Who was a pagan Goddess. The festival of Eastron which was held in her honor was meant to symbolize new life, the rising of the sun and a new beginning.
I have been thinking quite a bit lately about my journey to my relationship with Jesus. I have had a truly blessed life that if one were to look at all the things I have done in my life, the shenanigans I have pulled, the people I have hurt, the self-destructive patterns that existed in my life one might ask why I have had such a blessed life. The simple answer is because “I AM FORGIVEN.” Once I was able to grasp that the events leading up to today…Good Friday is the reason my life has been and is so blessed.
God knew all the bad things and good things in my life before I did and he gave me the greatest gift that anyone could ever give me…his own son. Jesus suffered the most brutal death any of us could ever imagine. He took every sin that was committed, is committed and will be committed by any of us on to that cross with him. I think that is hard for any of us to grasp without doubt being present. And that is where my journey began…so I want to describe my journey using the word Easter to describe it.
E --- Esoteric. There was a time when I believed that Christianity was esoteric. I felt that Jesus was so mysterious by the very nature of what he did for us that he must not be available to me because I was not enlightened or educated enough to just believe and accept what he did. I felt there must be a secret that I somehow was not allowed in on. God in his infinite wisdom and because I to am his child and he knows my every thought and concern, surrounded me with incredible individuals that began to educate me about who Jesus is in a way that I could understand without all the “religious” undertones. Real people that spoke truth and love into my spirit.
A – Acceptance. I eventually came to a place in the path where I could have turned left on the path of rejection like so many people that I knew. This would mean doing things my own way and rejecting all I had learned and researched on my own about the life of this carpenter that we called Jesus. Or, I could turn right and do something truly amazing and accept that Jesus was sent to save me from myself. All I had to do was lay down all my baggage at the fork, make the turn and accept. Wow…that was the turn I took and all I can say is it is so much easier letting someone else take that baggage for me.
S – Sadness over my sinful nature. Good Friday is a sad day for me because I do have a passionate nature and I have accepted what Jesus did for me and now today we symbolize the brutal death that he took on for all of us. He took all my sins on the cross. That gift of amazing sacrifice moves me to tears every time I think about it and makes me sad for my portion of sin that he took on. If there is any day of the year where I am extremely humbled and on my knees in thankfulness it is today.
T – Touched. Although, today can be sad and humbling for me. Another emotion which could be used as an adjective or a verb is touched. I am ever so touched by the mercy and grace that is shown to me on a daily basis because of my love and acceptance of Jesus for what he did for me, but I also want every part of my being to be TOUCHED with his power and filled with his fullness. I am humbled and amazed that I can enter into a personal relationship with God himself. Me - the girl who struggles with so many things that pain His heart - have been given a position in His family. I am truly touched!
E – Eternal. This gift given to me upon acceptance is eternal. God “regifts” me every day with love, mercy and grace. I am so happy with this concept of eternity because although I have 40 years to look back on and reflect upon…I have an ETERNITY to look forward to because I believe in him and I have been promised eternal life and I am standing right now on that promise! Thank you God!!
R – Resurrection and Receive. The word resurrection means rebirth, to reawake. Springtime is a wonderful season for the rebirth of plants and flowers and all of the beautiful things that God created. There is no greater time to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus than the season of Spring. When I think of resurrection, I think of the prayer which was taught to me growing up by my Grandmother about “dying before I wake.” You know the one…Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. My hope for friends and family and even those I do not know is NOT “if I should die before I wake” but “I hope you wake before you die.” And all any of us have to do to get this eternal life is RECEIVE. I don’t know about you…but I LOVE receiving gifts. And on this Good Friday we who are willing to RECEIVE will be RESURRECTED…reawakened….just in time for Spring! HAPPY EASTER!
I have been thinking quite a bit lately about my journey to my relationship with Jesus. I have had a truly blessed life that if one were to look at all the things I have done in my life, the shenanigans I have pulled, the people I have hurt, the self-destructive patterns that existed in my life one might ask why I have had such a blessed life. The simple answer is because “I AM FORGIVEN.” Once I was able to grasp that the events leading up to today…Good Friday is the reason my life has been and is so blessed.
God knew all the bad things and good things in my life before I did and he gave me the greatest gift that anyone could ever give me…his own son. Jesus suffered the most brutal death any of us could ever imagine. He took every sin that was committed, is committed and will be committed by any of us on to that cross with him. I think that is hard for any of us to grasp without doubt being present. And that is where my journey began…so I want to describe my journey using the word Easter to describe it.
E --- Esoteric. There was a time when I believed that Christianity was esoteric. I felt that Jesus was so mysterious by the very nature of what he did for us that he must not be available to me because I was not enlightened or educated enough to just believe and accept what he did. I felt there must be a secret that I somehow was not allowed in on. God in his infinite wisdom and because I to am his child and he knows my every thought and concern, surrounded me with incredible individuals that began to educate me about who Jesus is in a way that I could understand without all the “religious” undertones. Real people that spoke truth and love into my spirit.
A – Acceptance. I eventually came to a place in the path where I could have turned left on the path of rejection like so many people that I knew. This would mean doing things my own way and rejecting all I had learned and researched on my own about the life of this carpenter that we called Jesus. Or, I could turn right and do something truly amazing and accept that Jesus was sent to save me from myself. All I had to do was lay down all my baggage at the fork, make the turn and accept. Wow…that was the turn I took and all I can say is it is so much easier letting someone else take that baggage for me.
S – Sadness over my sinful nature. Good Friday is a sad day for me because I do have a passionate nature and I have accepted what Jesus did for me and now today we symbolize the brutal death that he took on for all of us. He took all my sins on the cross. That gift of amazing sacrifice moves me to tears every time I think about it and makes me sad for my portion of sin that he took on. If there is any day of the year where I am extremely humbled and on my knees in thankfulness it is today.
T – Touched. Although, today can be sad and humbling for me. Another emotion which could be used as an adjective or a verb is touched. I am ever so touched by the mercy and grace that is shown to me on a daily basis because of my love and acceptance of Jesus for what he did for me, but I also want every part of my being to be TOUCHED with his power and filled with his fullness. I am humbled and amazed that I can enter into a personal relationship with God himself. Me - the girl who struggles with so many things that pain His heart - have been given a position in His family. I am truly touched!
E – Eternal. This gift given to me upon acceptance is eternal. God “regifts” me every day with love, mercy and grace. I am so happy with this concept of eternity because although I have 40 years to look back on and reflect upon…I have an ETERNITY to look forward to because I believe in him and I have been promised eternal life and I am standing right now on that promise! Thank you God!!
R – Resurrection and Receive. The word resurrection means rebirth, to reawake. Springtime is a wonderful season for the rebirth of plants and flowers and all of the beautiful things that God created. There is no greater time to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus than the season of Spring. When I think of resurrection, I think of the prayer which was taught to me growing up by my Grandmother about “dying before I wake.” You know the one…Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. My hope for friends and family and even those I do not know is NOT “if I should die before I wake” but “I hope you wake before you die.” And all any of us have to do to get this eternal life is RECEIVE. I don’t know about you…but I LOVE receiving gifts. And on this Good Friday we who are willing to RECEIVE will be RESURRECTED…reawakened….just in time for Spring! HAPPY EASTER!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
"Step Right In To The Heavy Hearts Club"
My heart has been so heavy today…This morning I was watching the Today Show and there was a story about a young lady from Minnesota who was a real free spirit. She traveled the country as a nanny, was well educated and a friend to many. She was back in Minnesota and answered an ad for a nanny position on Craig’s List. Answering this ad is what led to her rape and murder by a 20 year old young man that had posted the ad simply because he wanted to kill someone. Although this story itself made me very sad and angry…it was the other feelings it stirred within me that I took throughout my day. This young lady came from a very close family who has a strong love for the Lord.
During the course of the trial, the family called on their community through various social media outlets and friends to come and surround them in court and share in their grief and stand in the trenches with them. The image of 45 plus strangers standing in court everyday with this family made me think of similar tragedies such as 911, the war in Iraq and the worldwide problem of children in slavery.
My heart is heavy because I know that I am called…no…we all are called to lift up and stand with those that are grieving or have been hurt by the social injustices of THIS world. WE must give them a voice and visibility in the face of those who wish to shut them up. THAT is why my heart was so heavy. It hit me more today than in the past that I have an obligation to suffer with, pray and lift up those who are in a dark place. Now my faith tells me that if I tried to do this alone, I would fail and become all consumed. So, I began praying and asking for strength. This evening before I started writing this piece, I was reading from the book of Psalms and found this passage and it is now hanging on my mirror in my bathroom for the next week where I will repeat it every time I see it…”Jesus heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
This weekend I will be serving as a volunteer at the Outbound Movement event being sponsored by Crossroads Community Church, the International Justice Mission and several other organizations. This event is a weekend of prayer and education around social injustices and particularly child slavery. If you travel through downtown Cincinnati this weekend you may see over 500 teenagers and adults marching in prayer and unison over the Purple Bridge. They will be speaking for those who can’t and lifting up those who are weak and weary. If you see them…I hope you take the time to shout out a word of encouragement to these young people.
Right before I closed my Bible tonight, I played I game I sometimes like to test where I ask God if there is something he wants me to know or be reminded of then to show me that. So, I will close my Bible and then open it up and read whatever is on the page. Tonight, I really felt like God was speaking to me for this is the passage that leapt off the page…I kid you NOT! It is from the book of Isaiah 61: vs 2-3. It says, “He was sent to heal the broken hearted, and to proclaim liberty, freedom, to the captives. He was sent to comfort all who mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
While I now feel better, I know that this is not the time to become complacent but to put my armor on for this weekend because there are lots of children throughout this world that are being exploited and someone…me…needs to be in the trenches with them.
During the course of the trial, the family called on their community through various social media outlets and friends to come and surround them in court and share in their grief and stand in the trenches with them. The image of 45 plus strangers standing in court everyday with this family made me think of similar tragedies such as 911, the war in Iraq and the worldwide problem of children in slavery.
My heart is heavy because I know that I am called…no…we all are called to lift up and stand with those that are grieving or have been hurt by the social injustices of THIS world. WE must give them a voice and visibility in the face of those who wish to shut them up. THAT is why my heart was so heavy. It hit me more today than in the past that I have an obligation to suffer with, pray and lift up those who are in a dark place. Now my faith tells me that if I tried to do this alone, I would fail and become all consumed. So, I began praying and asking for strength. This evening before I started writing this piece, I was reading from the book of Psalms and found this passage and it is now hanging on my mirror in my bathroom for the next week where I will repeat it every time I see it…”Jesus heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
This weekend I will be serving as a volunteer at the Outbound Movement event being sponsored by Crossroads Community Church, the International Justice Mission and several other organizations. This event is a weekend of prayer and education around social injustices and particularly child slavery. If you travel through downtown Cincinnati this weekend you may see over 500 teenagers and adults marching in prayer and unison over the Purple Bridge. They will be speaking for those who can’t and lifting up those who are weak and weary. If you see them…I hope you take the time to shout out a word of encouragement to these young people.
Right before I closed my Bible tonight, I played I game I sometimes like to test where I ask God if there is something he wants me to know or be reminded of then to show me that. So, I will close my Bible and then open it up and read whatever is on the page. Tonight, I really felt like God was speaking to me for this is the passage that leapt off the page…I kid you NOT! It is from the book of Isaiah 61: vs 2-3. It says, “He was sent to heal the broken hearted, and to proclaim liberty, freedom, to the captives. He was sent to comfort all who mourn, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
While I now feel better, I know that this is not the time to become complacent but to put my armor on for this weekend because there are lots of children throughout this world that are being exploited and someone…me…needs to be in the trenches with them.
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