"Sunday In Monterrey"

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.