Letting Go and Saying Goodbye.

In February of 2017 I (Julie) was looking at a piece of land in Bonfil a community where we serve with one of our program managers.  We were considering it as a potential site to build a Back2Back education/community center. As we walked around we came to a tree, and at first I was confused as I looked at the tree. Something about the tree puzzled me but I couldn’t figure out why. Then it struck me. I was looking down at a tree that was completely horizontal - laying on its side. And yet from this fallen tree, there were new trees – saplings - that were growing straight up from the trunk. We all just stood there staring at the tree and the owner of the property told us the tree had fallen over in 2005 during hurricane Wilma.  She said that the tree was her favorite so she just couldn’t cut it down or remove it. And now twelve years later the fallen tree has produced four new trees. When we were standing there looking at the tree I felt God prompting me to take a picture so that I would remember it.

In times like these I sense God is telling me…. “Pay attention to this.” Or “I want you to remember this.” And this experience with the tree was one of those times.  I had no idea how God would use the image of that fallen tree many times over the following months. He used it to change my heart and my mind regarding what He was calling me to, which meant He was calling me away from Cancun. During this same season, I had made a new playlist for the times when I walk.  I call this my “walking with Jesus time.”  It’s when I pour my heart out to God and He helps me process things.  Many of the songs were about:  Trust, Surrender, and Faith.  And it was during one of my walks with Jesus I realized the image of the tree was a picture of surrender….of letting go, of laying down my life and trusting God.  He was asking me a very hard question: Could I let go of everything I held dear here in Cancun and trust Him with His plan?

When Julie shared this story with me, I was challenged as well. For six years, we have put our hearts and souls into the ministry here. Into the lives of the children and families we serve - into the staff we serve with - into the mission teams who came down to serve alongside us. I have told many people that these six years have been the hardest six years of our lives. But they have also been the most transformative and the most fulfilling. And although we didn’t know if we’d be here for 3 years or 30 years, we knew God had called us here to love and serve the marginalized. Frederick Buechner once said: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” I would add to this, that it’s also the place where your heart is broken and restored…. many times over. It is the place where hope reigns supreme, even in the midst of hard things.

So today we are transitioning into the next chapter of the story that God is writing. We know He is the best author. So, while leaving is very hard and we are grieving the losses, we are also very grateful and excited for the next opportunity God has given us to take the Strong Families program, as well as other programs to the other Back2Back sites. We are so thankful for all who support us and ask you to continue with your prayers and financial support.

There are two passages that God has been using to speak to me recently.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance

Psalm 78:2-4

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

Thanks for reading this. And thanks for continuing to be part of our team as we continue our missionary journey, taking the good news (and the Strong Families program) to other countries. 

Humbly,

erick & julie

Body of Christ

I (Julie) love when God surprises me with an unexpected beautiful moment and He prompts me to slow down and savor the moment.  During the summer, we can get so busy with the logistics of having so many mission teams in a short period of time that we don’t get to see the normal programming that is happening each day.  We were purchasing all of the food we needed for the soccer week day camp and delivering it to the community center.  I was pretty focused on getting the supplies into the kitchen but as we walked past the palapa I saw Maria….standing up in front of 31 other mom’s reading a Bible.  The sight of her reading made me stop what I was doing because a year and a half ago she admitted to one of our tutors that she couldn’t read very well and wanted to sit in on her children’s tutor time so she could get better at reading.  I paused for a moment and then went back to work unloading the food from the van.  But God had more for me to see that day….more than just the tasks that I had planned.  Ximena, our Tres Reyes Program Manager, came to me to ask if I could help pass out Bibles to the women who have been coming to the weekly Bible Study.  The team from Ohio brought the Bibles down for us from the US office but I couldn’t remember how many we ordered or if we’d have enough for everyone.  While Ximena & I were moving the Bibles out to the palapa I was praying that we’d have enough for every woman.  We got a great discount on the Woman’s Devotional Bible in Spanish and Elizabeth who is the Psychologist, and also teaches the Mom’s Bible study, wanted to make sure each woman had her own Bible.  She was very excited about the devotionals that the women could read on their own within the Bible.  Elizabeth’s enthusiasm rubbed off on the women and they eagerly came to the front table to receive their own Bible.  The women hugged us and were so grateful.  They took the Bible and were clinging to it.  That visual picture will stay with me, and I remember thinking….this is why you brought me here today God…..for this moment.  For me to see how hungry the women are for the WORD of the LORD.   Every woman got a Bible that day all 32 of them.  We didn’t have any extra, but we had just enough! 

32 women with their new Women's Devotional Bibles

For me (Erick), it was a Saturday Bible class with the teens that stopped me in my tracks. When mission teams are here, they typically sit in and help with the Bible classes on Saturdays. And during this time, I usually move around from class to class to observe. On this particular Saturday, one of the teachers invited Julie and I to come to the first part of her class to see three of the teens play their recorders. It was cool to see their pride and confidence as they played and the other 12+ teens watched and listened. But that wasn’t the best part of the class. The lesson for the day was from 1 Corinthians 12:4-29 where Paul is telling of the importance of all parts of the body of Christ. Each member of the body has a unique and valuable role. The teens took turns reading various verses, and when one stumbled on a word, another would help him. I loved seeing that grace and kindness. When they finished reading the verses their assignment was to choose a part of the body, draw it, cut it out, and place it on the Cuerpo de Cristo (Body of Christ). Each teen took the next 15 minutes or so creating their own version of the eyes, the nose, the hands, the feet, the head, the arms, the legs, etc. These human body parts represented their part in the Body of Christ. As they completed their part, they each went up and taped it to the body. As you can see in the picture, their individual renderings of their significant part made for a very unique looking body. And that is the point. They are each unique. And together they each have an important function to play in the Cuerpo de Cristo. After everyone had taped up their part, they each went up and signed their name by their body part, creating a sense of ownership and responsibility for their specific part of this beautiful body. When I went up to sign my name by my part (the intestines), I was moved by the idea that 15 teenagers, Mexican and American, all shared the responsibility of creating this body. And each of them has a duty and privilege to use their unique gifts and talents for the glory of God and for the good of His Kingdom. On this day, we were literally His Hands, His Feet, His Eyes, His Legs, His Arms, and even His intestines. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched these teens, worshiped their Creator, and prayed for their futures.

Teen Bible class in Tres Reyes with mission team members from Ohio
The video below is one of the Mom's saying her Bible memory verse.