12 days in.......

So we arrived in MX on Sept 8 after a week of travelling. Julie said it felt a little strange having one-way tickets to MX. But this is our new home. And it's great to be here. We have our apt and have bought most of our appliances, but since the container with all of our "stuff" in it has not arrived, we're still living with our generous friends and co-laborers, the Matt and Julie Cooper. We've already had a full 12 days. Much of our time has been spent either taking care of visa/residency stuff, getting our apt, and most importantly, serving with two teams, at Casa Hogar San Jose, Cass Hogar Esperanza, the DIF (an emergency shelter for kids) and a small rural community called Tres Reyes.

When we talked about a story for this blog post, we struggled to keep it to just one. We have been so blessed, but also so challenged by the work to be done, as our hearts break for these kids and families. But we landed on one story told by the picture below of Edgar.

Edgar is 20 years old. He is one of seven teens plus five others who are visiting us from our Monterrey campus. Edgar came to Cancun on his first mission trip to serve the orphans at San Jose and Esperanza. But the BEAUTY here is that he himself is an orphan. He lived in Casa Hogar Galena, outside Monterrey and then moved onto the Back2Back campus in Monterrey so he could finish high school and then go on to college where he's now studying sports science. He is here this week serving the orphans and impoverished because he too has a heart for and clearly understands what these kids are up against. So with Mari (5 yrs old) on his back he is giving back by loving and serving those in need, in much the same way that he was and is being loved so well by the Back2Back staff in Monterrey. Edgar's redemption story is the fruit of many investments made by so many others before us. That's what we're about! And I believe this is exactly what God has called our family to here in Cancun, Quintana Roo, MX. We're feel so privileged to be serving with Back2Back. Thanks to all who are helping make this possible, by partnering with us and supporting us.



These are three of the kids who live in the rural community called Tres Reyes. Back2Back has been able help a couple families in Tres Reyes; working on one home and building another. Gloria has six kids. Lucy, her oldest, is 16 and has a 11 month old baby named Ruth.

 
This is Gloria in her home. We delivered food, diapers, and other supplies that she desparately needed. And then we prayed over her and her family.





Nick was the life of the party as the kids at San Jose got horseback rides from him. It's sooo cool to see him laughing and playing with them and the joy on their faces as this big Americano gets down on the ground to give them a ride. Nick is doing awesome and has had a lot of fun both working and playing with the kids we serve. I'm so glad God is using him. The nuns at San Jose wanted to thank us so they served us an amazing meal of empanadas and tostadas.

Pastor Victor (the one in the white shirt) allowed us to serve him and his family and friends a meal. And then he told us his story of how God miraculously rescued him from a life of crime. After spending several years in prison for drugs and stealing, God invaded his life and made it clear that He had another plan for Victor. We are in awe of where he came from and how God is now using him. Victor has planted four other churches, and now pastors this church in Tres Reyes. B2B partnered with him to complete the roof on his church and provide a feeding program for the people in this community once per week this summer.  

Prayer for courage & strength

It was our last Sunday at Journey Church before we move and we are so blessed to be part of such an amazing community of believers. We have been asked several times over the past several weeks, "Isn't it going to be hard to leave all that's familiar and comfortable, to drop off Eliza at college, and move so far away?" Yes, it will be hard. It is hard, especially on days like yesterday when we say good bye to our Journey family, and many other close friends and our family. BUT, God has not called us to do the "easy" thing. And for us, His call is to GO. Go to Mexico and advocate for the orphans and the impoverished. And it is our belief, based on what we KNOW of God..."that He who has begun a good work [not an easy work] in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Please continue to pray for our final preparations.

Commisioning service at Journey Church 8-28-2011





Servanthood....a quote from Maxie Dunham

"The way most of us serve keeps us in control. 

We choose whom, when, where and how we will serve. 

We stay in charge. 

Jesus is calling for something else.  He is calling us to be servants. 

When we make this choice, we give up the right to be in charge. 

The amazing thing is that when we make this choice we experience great freedom. 

We become available and vulnerable, and we lose our fear of being stepped on, or manipulated, or taken advantage of.  Are not these our basic fears? 

We do not want to be in a position of weakness."

Creative Thinking!

On our recent trip to Chicago to get our Visa's we stopped by Lyon & Healy Harp factory to pick up a BIG shipping carton & foam padding to ship my harp to Mexico.  When we arrived they laughed when they heard we were going to try to fit the box & foam into our mini van....but we made it work.  We tied the box to the top of the van, securing it with rope through the windows.  The guys from L & H were so helpful!  Notice the top right corner of the picture...Erick had to hold the rope the entire way back from Chicago to Grand Rapids!   

Are we freakin out yet......? Nawwwww...

Many of our friends and family are asking us how we're doing now that we're three weeks away from departure. We thought it may be helpful to give you a "freak-o-meter" rating.....
A little about the last several weeks....

• Went to Indiana Wesleyan Univ for Eliza to compete in a photography competition for a scholarship. (she won first place!)
• Successfully completed a "mock-pack." We packed all our stuff up in boxes and bins, borrowed our church truck, got 10 friends to help, and loaded, then unloaded all our stuff. It went incredibly well...only took 1.5 hrs to pack and unpack and we had spare room on the truck. The mock-pack allowed us to see exactly how much we'll be able to fit on the 20' container in Miami.
• Shared our story (Julie & I) at Amway with 40-50 of my co-workers. It was blatantly Christian and the response from them was incredibly receptive. Many of them talked with me afterward and took a prayer card.
• Ended my time working at Amway, as of Friday, Aug 5. Whew, was that surreal. But the group I work with most closely with in HR threw me a little party and generously supported our work in MX. Thanks GTD team!!
• Went to east Michigan to attend a graduation open house for Eliza at Flint First Wesleyan Church. They have been so gracious and kind to our family. We feel like part of their church.
• Spoke at Whiteford Wesleyan Church in east Michigan to share our story. They are interested in sending teams down to work with us in MX. Thanks, Whiteford!!!
• Some of our long-time camping friends threw us a good-by (for now) party and blessed us with a special prayer book. We have many memories with these families as we have been friends for 10-15 years. Thanks ya'll. We love you!

Over the next few weeks before we leave we will......

• Send Nick off for the last year to Camp Barakel in northern Michigan. He's gone to this camp for the last five years with his best friend Grant.
• Drive to Dayton, OH with a small moving truck to a storage unit, to store anything that is not going to MX with us. We will also go to the Back2Back offices in Mason, OH for the first time to see the home office and staff.
• Drive to Chicago to the Mexican consulate to try to finalize our visa work. We pray that this trip will mean we don't have to go to Monterrey before we go to Quintana Roo. We will also pick up a packing container for Julie's harp.
• Have a few more mtgs with families to share our story.
• Attend two commissioning services (Kentwood Community Church and Journey).
• Say many good-byes and shed many more tears.

So, are we freakin out...not too much....okay, maybe a little. But we're trusting God all the more. And he has been soooo faithful and gracious throughout this transition; we know He is trustworthy. Thanks for all your prayers and blessings.

#4.....Discouragment

"See, the Lord your God has given you the land, go up and take possession of it as the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged." (Deut. 1:21)

I've told several people now that it feels like we're rounding the third turn in the Indy 500, and the checkered flag for this race is when we arrive in MX. As we get closer to that flag, the temptation to be discouraged by what we have yet to do and yet to raise can be overwhelming. There are so many things that we have to "figure" out that feel so far outside anything we've ever done, and we feel so at the mercy of others, it can press in pretty heavy at times. And my (Erick) way of dealing with this stress and discouragement sometimes is not pretty. Then when I don't handle it well, I get more discouraged with myself.

We know we need to look back and see how far God has brought us, but my human, rational side says, "We've still got soo much to do and soo far to go that the past feels almost irrelevant. And so I ask myself, "Is this really a journey I have the courage to continue?" But as Dean Vander Mey said in his article When All Hell Breaks Loose, "You see Satan seeks to discourage the beloved people of God so they no longer operate in faith. Satan [knows] full well that without faith it's impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). So we press forward through the challenges that come with any new chapter of life, using faith daily as the weapon of choice when discouragement presses in.

"If Satan can get you divided, decived, and distracted from God's purposes and goals, you will end up very discouraged. If Satan's schemes work and you bite this bait, God's plans will go forward....but without [the Mowery family]. We will become P.O.Ws."

Erick climbing the wall at Family Camp

Eliza climbing the wall

#3...Deception

More and more I see the need to ask God to show me the areas in my life that I am being deceived.  I don't want to believe lies about Him, about me, or about others. I thought about this song the other day because it describes our journey so well. 

The Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns

Oh,what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is, and he's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,You you'll never win

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Here is a link to the video of the song. 
You can pause the music on the mixpod by pushing the ipod pause button to the left.

The Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns

I want to be able to discern what is true and what is a lie.  I want to listen & recognize God's voice...the Voice of TRUTH. 

Pray for Truth