Teacher appreciation!

Fabiola at the Back2Back Christmas party

We would like to introduce you to Fabiola she is the tutor for Oti's girls.  She is such an answer to prayer.  She works with the girls for 2 hours, 5 days a week.  She is doing a great job with them and we continue to see improvement in their school work.  Like many other children they sometimes lack motivation, but overall they keep trying and learning which is what we hope for.  All of the girls show artistic interest and talent.  They love to color, paint, and do crafts.  

Horizon Women's group with Oti's family

They also love story time.  Recently, we read the book:  If You Give A Pig A Pancake.  Afterwards, we did some crafts and then ate pancakes made to look like a pig face.  We all had lots of fun! We did the same story, craft, and pancakes at Casa Hogar San Jose.

Jeny wrote:  I am Erick 

Our Mobile Education Resource Center (MERC) continues to grow with items from our Amazon wish list. People have been buying items and bringing them down when they come to serve or sending it to the home office for other teams to bring down. 

Jimena with her pig pancake....aren't they cure!

Pig mask craft

If you would like to contribute to our MERC resources here is our 
Amazon wish list: www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/GCO1EZ9ZOLSA/ref=topnav_lists_1   You can send the items to our home office:

Back2Back Ministries - Cancun Site (MERC)
P.O. Box 70
Mason, OH 45040

Gracias!

For I know the Plans I have for YOU...

Jeremiah 29:11, this was the verse that inspired the activity we recently did at San Jose and with Oti's kids. The first part of the verse says,

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord."

As we continue to learn about poverty, specifically, generational poverty, we know that it often generates a sense of hopelessness in those who know no other way of life. Sadly, those who have known only impoverished living for two or more generations, can rarely envision ever getting out of poverty. Thankfully, for Christ-followers, physical poverty doesn't have to mean spiritual poverty, and this is the truth that we want all of our children and families to know and understand.

Oti's kids wanted to post their verse
& hearts on their bedroom wall.

While we want to holistically help those we serve (spiritually, educationally, physically, socially and emotionally), more than anything else, we want them to know that God's plans have been determined and established for all His children since before they were born. This truth is critical and brings with it hope. We also realize that if they only know OF Jesus, but don't know Him personally and understand what He did for them, they won't be able to comprehend why HIS plans are the best. Why HIS love is for them is transforming. Why HIS sacrifice and their commitment to Him will change their lives forever. Because the plans HE has established for them....

".....are plans for good and not for disaster,

to give [them] a future and a hope."

Oti's family (look at Oti's face)

So with five of Julie's college friends, chalk, paint and paper, the kids were reminded in a tangible way, of God's love and plans for them, and the HOPE that they can have. We are excited to do this same activity with 60+ kids at Rossy's next week as well, when another team will join us from Horizon Church.

Casa Hogar San Jose

Thanks for your prayers and support.

"And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you."

Meet Rossy

Rossy

 Last Saturday morning we received a text from Rossy, a new friend who we are partnering with, asking us if we could come to her place that afternoon to pray for some kids and their mothers who had been abused by their fathers/husbands and boyfriends.


We met Rossy several months ago through a local church, and found out about her ministry to the poor children and singles moms in a neighborhood called Bonfil. Rossy has worked in this area for about 8 years after God gave her a vision for His light shining in this place.  Rossy is a talented jewelry artist and sells the jewelry to help support this ministry. Every Wednesday & Saturday, 30-60 kids come to what we've affectionately named "Rossy's Place," to sing, hear a story about Jesus, do a craft, and eat a meal. For some of these kids, it's the only meal they will get that day.


So on Saturday, when we went to Rossy's place to help with the kids and then pray, we met Ruby, whose husband had just left her and their three young children the night before. Ruby shared her story with us and we prayed over her. We then asked Rossy to take us for a walk in the neighborhood where the kids and many broken and dysfunctional families live. During this walk our goal was to become familiar with the neighborhood, see where these kids and families live, and pray for them. As we walked through the neighborhood, we saw what looked like apartment complexes. These "apartments" where many of these families live are a single room. They hang hammocks at night for sleeping and remove them during the day. The kitchen and bathroom are in a separate building and are shared by the complex. We also saw where a local drug dealer lived, where Ruby lived, and where many of the kids live who Rossy serves. We found out that the water is only on for one hour a day in Bonfil, so if families don't get their water during that hour, they won't get any until the next day, unless they borrow or buy more.

Our desire is to come alongside Rossy to help her love the kids and reach the families. Our prayers are that God would restore broken families, give us opportunities to introduce Jesus to the kids and parents, and give us wisdom about how Back2Back's can most effectively partner with Rossy in Bonfil.

Christmas with the Families

It's 80 degrees outside, the sun is shining and I'm wearing shorts. BUT....Christmas is here, even in warm Mexico. And although I'd rather have snow for Christmas than an 80 degree day, we have been celebrating with music, decorations and Christmas parties.

Mummy-Me game

Joseph

We invited Oti's family: Ricardo, Jeny, Marisol, Paty, Yasmin, Leti, Adela, and Rodrigo; Gloria's family: Carlos, Ansoni, Paola, Vanessa, and Baby Ruth; Dalila's family: Leydi, Jose Luis, and Zuri.; to our group house for a Christmas party. As I drove down the street toward Oti's house to pick them up, some of her kids were waiting at the end of the street. And when they saw me coming, they ran home to tell the others. They were excited. Oti was dressed in a new skirt and blouse that we bought her. She had taken more time than usual getting ready and looked very pretty. It was nice to see her "glowing." At the party, we served the families dinner, played games with them, decorated gi-normous gingerbread cookies, shared the True story of Christmas, and opened gifts. 

At the end of the night, we took Oti's family upstairs and celebrated Christmas with them. 
They each opened 1-2 gifts that we bought them (thank you sponsors). It was so fun to see the joy on their faces. This will probably be the only Christmas they celebrate, so it was special. I drove them home and got many hugs and kisses, all of which I eagerly accepted.

Thanks for the gifts!

Appreciation Dinner

Two days later, we hosted another party at the group home for our volunteers, four of whom received certificates for completing the volunteer training: Jorge, Dara, Andrea, and Samantha; our tutors: Fabiola and Sandy, and our foster family, the Lopez'. We had dinner for them, played more games, and gave them gifts of appreciation for all the time and energy they patiently devote to those we serve. We are so grateful for, what we call, our "extended staff."

Our "certified volunteers"

On a Mowery family note, this past Saturday we picked our daughter Eliza up at the airport. She will be with us for two weeks, while she's taking break from school. It's so nice to have all of us under one roof. We look forward to some good family time together. 

We hope your family has an incredible Christmas and is reminded often during this busy and over-commercialized season, just how blessed we are to have a Savior who chose to crash into our world as a baby....to save us. An "unspeakable gift," and yet we are to shout it from the mountain-tops. Felilz Navidad!

Story time

The Paper Bag Princess

We had our first Story-time with Oti's kids last month. When we read to the kids, we select books that have a positive message, communicate truth, demonstrate problem solving skills, and make the children think and laugh. So for this Story-time, we read the Paper Bag Princess about a girl who outsmarts a dragon and helps rescue the prince. One message in this story is that it doesn't matter how you dress or if your hair is messy, what matters is who you are on the inside. It also portrays the heroine as brave and smart. Everyone, including Oti, enjoyed the story. 






One of our goals with story time is to help the kids comprehend and think creatively about what they heard. So after Beti finished reading, each child decorated their own paper bag to wear, and then colored pictures of the princess in the story. 

 Second story-time;
Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse

Recently we had our second story-time with Oti when a team was here serving with us. As I was watching Oti's kids and the kids from the team, it occurred to me that, while story-time is nothing new for these kids from the U.S., this was only the second time EVER for Oti's kids to be read aloud to, outside of school. (We assume the teacher reads out loud to the kids in school.) Since Oti is illiterate, she has never read stories to her kids.

 

My hope is that they will learn to love to read! (All of them are just learning.) Along with many Americans, reading and access to books and libraries is something I took for granted in the U.S. But here in Mexico, libraries are very rare and reading isn't encouraged by many parents. For those of us with kids, it's hard to imagine having a 5 year old, let alone 12 year old who has never been read to. So story time for Jeny, Marisol, Paty, Yasmin, Leti, Adela, and Rodrigo is something special. A new form of entertainment, with new and exciting adventures! 

Some of the impact of reading and the Mobile Education Resource Center (MERC) with Oti's kids include:  and increase in their desire to learn and in how they color a picture, improvement in penmanship and fundamentally, learning how to read and how it can be fun. Please continue to pray for them to learn to love reading, and to progress in school.

Nutrition for Oti's family

They all love apples (Adela)

We've been thinking a lot about nutrition lately and how much the foods we eat effect our health, how we feel, and even how we think.  As literate Americans, nutrition and healthy eating habits are often discussed. And sometimes we make significant diet changes to combat or prevent sickness and other negative effects. Changing our diet a little or a lot, while not easy, is very feasible. 

Last weekend I was holding Rodrigo (Oti's 2 yr. old) during VBS. He's a happy boy, but I couldn't help but notice his rotting teeth.

Separating the fruits from the veggies

 When we offered him a piece of fruit he said no. But as soon as the birthday cake came out, he was all over it. We've spoken to all of the kids and Oti as well, about eating less sugar (Coke, cookies, candy, juice), but eating more fruits and vegetables. But it occurred to us that Oti has lived in survival mode at least since we've known her, and she doesn't think of food as anything more than something to fill the belly. How it effects her long-term health and that of her children is the furthest thing from her mind. But one of the goals of Back2Back is to educate the people we serve about healthy habits.   

Eggplant?

So Julie had this idea of taking about 20 fruits and veggies to Oti's house and having our first nutrition lesson. We asked her and the kids some basic questions about the fruits and veggies. "What is your favorite fruit/veggie?" "What are some red fruits/veggies?" "What are some green fruits/veggies?" Then we asked the kids to separate the fruits from the veggies. It was so fun and eye-opening for us to see how limited their "food vocabulary" was. Oti had no idea what an eggplant was. She asked us how you cook spinach. It was fun and sad at the same time. But we definitely know where we can invest some of our time. Next up...cooking class with Oti. BUT, teaching Oti how to make new recipes with new food is a challenge because she can't read. It's not as easy as giving her a recipe. This may also partly explain why she sticks with the same food choices. So we'll have to be creative with the cooking class. Any ideas are welcome. Picture recipes included.

Back to School.....ALL of us

Coti (Abuelita) our hostess in Merida

Yep. We all went back to school: Jeni, Marisol, Pati, Jasmin, Leti, Adela, Julie, Nick and me. For the Mowery family, it was language school in Merida, which is a 3 hour drive west of Cancun. Thanks for many of you who prayed for us during this intensive training.
For 2 weeks, we had 4 hours of classroom instruction + 2 hrs of conversational instruction while touring the city + 2 or more hours of homework each day. Carmen, our teacher spoke no English. We stayed in a host home with Coti - also strictly Spanish speaking - who was a sweet grandmother we called Abuelita, which means "little grandmother." To try to keep up the momentum with our language study, we will continue weekly Spanish classes with Lizy, one of our Back2Back team members. Please continue to pray as we start this next step in our language study.

Rope made from Henequen

Henequen plants (bonus horse)

Antonio a Mayan field worker

While we were in Merida, we got to do a little sightseeing on the weekend, including visiting one of the few working haciendas (pronounced "acienda") in the state of Yucatan. Hacienda Sotuta de Peon was like taking a walk back in history. For those of you from the U.S. think of the old southern cotton plantations, only in this case the slaves who worked the land were Mayans. This particular hacienda harvested henequen, which is the plant used to make rope. We also got a wagon tour of the huge plantation, got to swim in a cenote (underground freshwater lake), and end with dinner. It was a very fun and interesting day.

Leti with her backpack (mochila)

Pati, Leti, Jasmin, Marisol

Meanwhile, back at the (other) ranch, Ot's kids were getting ready for school. As many of you know, Jeni (12), Marisol (10), Pati (9) and Jasmin (7) all started first grade last year. They all started second grade this year. In addition, Leti (6) started kindergarten, and we're hoping to get Adela (4) started in pre-k. They were all excited to go to school and just this week, Pati proudly told me she got a 10 out of 10 on a math assignment, cause for celebration. We also hired a tutor (Fabiola) to work with the girls five days each week, from 430pm-630pm. After 2+ weeks, so far so good. Please be in prayer for the girls and Fabiola, as they try to make up some ground on the road to catching up with others their age.

Adela ready to walk to school