Under one roof,,,,almost

For five years now, I've known the children of Manantial de Amor's children's home to be under three roofs. A boys home, a girl's home and a home in Villa Juarez. There are new laws in Mexico for children's homes and that has meant bringing some of the kids together under one roof. Right now these kids are at Villa Juarez waiting for construction to finish so that they can move to a B2B site called "La Tierra Prometids" or the Promised Land. The plan is that the kids would stay there for a year or two while we build there permanent location across the street.
One girl who just came to the home wrote a friend and told her, " I am very sad not to be with my grandma every day. But here we can get the love that we need, and we see grandma every weekend. Its very much like a family." Would you pray for these kids and there transition. Please pray for their new school, for living on one property, for their health physically, emotionally and spiritually. Thanks.

a small miracle,,,,, is there such a thing?

Normally I would never post a picture of my mom like this, but I will always remember this day my mom fell and need stitches. Greg and I were home in Ohio for about 2 weeks in August. It never seems long enough to spend time with family and friends, especially when now my mom is in a nursing home. About 1/2 through the week at my in-laws I get a call from my sister that my mom fell as she tried to stand from her wheelchair hitting a spot above her eye causing her to get stitches and xrays just to make sure everything else was ok. I went quickly to meet my dad and sister at the hospital wondering if my mom would be in a worried state of mind or just out of it with the interruption in her routine. Since she was diagnosed with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's routine has been very important to her. As I entered the room, I was shocked to see my mom smiling away and surprised to see me. She immediately asked about Greg, my husband, and our three boys. She continued the questions with and how long will you stay this time. I was amazed not only with the clarity of her thinking, but the ability to recall my family and that we had traveled from Mexico. For the next four to five hours we visited with my mom as if she was a new. The mom I remembered, witty, compassionate, social and pleasant. She greeted nurses and lab techs and doctors as if they had entered into her personal living room. Physically she was a site to behold as you see in this picture taken a few days later, but mentally she was as clear as she has been for a long while. When we all returned from the hospital to the nursing home the head nurse as us if we had noticed a difference in Mom's mental capacity. She too had seen the clarity and calmness in mom that morning as they waited for transportation to the hospital. My Dad and I stayed with my mom for another hour or so until I had to leave. At the end of our visit, you could see my mom slipping back into her hallucinations and confusion. I had the chance to see my mom on several other occasions while we were home however she was never as clear as that day. I praise God for the miracle He gave me of that special day with my mom. It seemed like such a small thing that one could easily overlook. But for me it was a big miracle that only God orchestrates. Praise God for such a special gift to me.

The Whiteds

Ever do something the world would say is just crazy. That pretty much describes our friends David and Stacy Whited. They have been blessed with a great job that allowed them to take a year and join us in Monterrey serving the kids with whom Back2Back works. Their kids Colton 17 and Averee 15 years old spent their Jr. and 8th grade year with out kids. Their plan was to return to Nashville, Tenn for Colton's senior year. However after a trip to El Limon, a children's home we work with about 6 hours south of Monterrey, God called them to move there and serve them. They are trusting in God's perfect plan for their life. Is God asking something "crazy" from you? Are you choosing to obey?

Staff Kid VBS 2011

I have a great friend at B2B named Angela. She is a gifted Bible teacher for kids. With the help of the nannies this summer, she and they put together a great VBS for the staff kids. We had a great turn out and all the kids had so much fun with games, crafts, Bible stories, and snacks.

Privileged to share our lives.....

Greg and I have the opportunity to spend a good part of our time with the Mexican orphan and those who work and care for these kids. However in summer we host the majority of our groups and we have a different privilege. We get to welcome to work with us many interns and summer staff. This summer Greg and I both had the chance to share life together with a few of these interns. We meet with them, pray with them and challenge them. Its just great opportunity to be a small part of their lives as God has brought them to Mexico to work in and through them. These high school and college aged kids pay money to come help us for a month to two months. They do things like wash out garbage cans, pour concrete and push swings. They love on the kids we serve then give their time away to the groups that have come for the week. They are the cream of the crop. We learn a lot from them and are encouraged by the energy and faith that they bring to the table. Here are just three girls I came to know fairly well the month of July.

Ninja Day

God continues to bring groups to our campus this summer to love on the kids in the children’s homes in Monterrey. This summer the Lord has led us into “ Play with a Purpose” activities with our groups and kids. These activities have aided us in helping group members to have meaningful interaction with the kids we serve and to help them develop socially, emotionally and psychologically. We have been excited to see these activities help us and our groups serve our kids even better.
One day this summer, we had the opportunity to have Ninja Day at Manantial de Amor children's home in the town of Villa de Juarez. With just two girls and 11 boys, this home was made for "Ninja Day". Staying with the Ninja theme, we taught a short lesson on the story of Caleb and Joshua. Ninjas are spies just like Caleb and Joshua were in Bible times. We talked about how Caleb and Joshua were spy who knew that, with God, they were more than conquerors. As you remember the story, Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies of 12 that thought God would allow them to conquer the Canaanites in order to win over the promised land. We dressed as ninjas and played ninja games. Each group member was paired with a child to first get dressed as a ninja than play games like "stand off", "star wars tag" and yes, "Ninja". We ended the day sharing watermelon and prayed for one another. I won't ever see a Ninja without thinking of these adorable kids like Christopher, Dana or Luis Carlos. We are more than Conquerors.

Thanks Anderson Hills United Methodist Church

Casa Hogar Douglas has had their stove for more years than we will ever know. I'm am certain that when it came to them it was used. The workers at Doulas fight cockroaches daily and the number one source of their food was that stove. The amount of grease built up on that thing could feed thousands of cockroaches. Sometimes the groups that serve with us get the fun job of spraying for these creepy crawlers. I will never forget about hearing how Anderson Hills UMC ( the church Greg grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio) cleaned and spray for these cockroaches one day. The stories made my skin crawl. While it made the group's skin crawl too and they decided to do something about it. Above is a picture of the new stove. Gone is the cockroach feeding frenzy. They great thing is that Jim, the captain of Douglas and a poor community that we work with that we call Rio 3, cleaned the old stove and took it to the soup kitchen in Rio 3. So really this new stove was a double blessing. Thanks Anderson Hills UMC. The kids are grateful. Tacos taste better on a clean stove.