Life Lessons

Last week we had a medical and construction team here. This year because of all the work that is being done on the community center, the construction team had three very very busy days all of which included mixing, moving and pouring cement. If you haven't done it, it can be pretty tiring. Our construction team was fairly small, so we were all constantly on the move, shoveling and moving buckets of sand and gravel, then filling and moving buckets of cement. Then doing it all over again....all day.


About half way into the third day, one of the 14 year old boys we work with in Tres Reyes (Tony) got my attention and asked if he could help us. Given how exhausted we all were, and knowing we still had 3-4 more hours of cement work, his offer was appreciated by all of us. So I invited him to help. About an hour or so later he told me his friend Louis, also 14, wanted to help. I welcomed him as well. They both jumped in and worked hard for over three hours. Their contribution was significant and helped us finish the huge cement pour in the large palapa.

Rewind to the previous day..... Tony and his two sisters were scheduled to meet with the tutor for a few hours. They've been meeting for over a year now, helping the kids get caught up and stay on track with their grades. We've told the kids how critical it is that they show up and be on time for their tutoring sessions. We also explained to them that we pay the tutor to be there with them. On this day of tutoring, all three kids, including Tony, left the tutoring session early....a couple hours early. They said they had  other things to do. Needless to say it frustrated the tutor.

Back to the cement work..... After Tony and Louis finished  their work with us, I pulled them aside with one of our other staff who has been working more closely with the family, and  told them how much their work helped and that I was proud of them for working so hard. I told them I wanted to pay them for their hard work. But I also needed to help Tony connect his hard work and earnings with what he (and his sisters) had done to the tutor the previous day. I told him that I wanted to pay him 100 pesos, but because we had to pay the tutor, even though he left early, I couldn't pay him as much. I could only pay him 50 pesos. His friend also got paid 70 pesos. As I explained this to Tony, my prayer was that  he could understand, at least to some degree, how his actions were costly, not only to the tutor and Back2Back, but also to himself.


My children often received "teachable moment" lessons from me as they grew up. Some stuck. Some probably didn't. I pray that the reality of how actions have consequences will give Tony something he needs as he grows and matures.

Word for the Year.......MORE

In 2007, our family was asked to help start a new church plant in Caledonia, MI. In October of that year, along with about 50 other individuals, we launched Journey Church. At the first service of the 2008, our pastor, asked the congregation to identify a "Word for the Year." A word that God was giving us that would define a goal, a new direction, or just an area that God was laying on our hearts. That first year my word was "Waiting." I was waiting, although not very patiently, to see if God  was going to call our family to the mission field. (In case you didn't know, He did.)

Ever since that first year of identifying God's Word for the Year for me, Julie and I, along with Journey Church, have continued this practice. We have found it very helpful and signficant. So this year, when Julie and I began talking about our Word for the Year, she quickly identified "Joy" as her word. For me, it took awhile, but just this past week, God gave me the word "Appetite." My prayer and ongoing pursuit is to have an appetite ONLY for God. Not for what He can do for me. Not for comfort. Not for anything this world has to offer.

In-Depth Parenting classes by a
licensed therapist and volunteer

Yesterday, Julie and I were listening to the "Word for the Year" message online, and our pastor spoke of the word God gave him for Journey Church for 2014. That got Julie and I thinking - is there a Word for the Year for our site? Our staff team? Our ministry partners? And you know what, we believe the same word that our pastor chose for Journey is a great one for our site - "MORE."

More depth with the children and families we serve
More miracles
More kids excelling in school
More lives transformed
More restoration of families

More progress with the Tres Reyes Community Center
More volunteers

Kids at Rossy's  reading the Action Bible

More Staff
More teams
More team members, whose lives are deeply
impacted when they care for the Fatherless and Widows
More wisdom and discernment
More of an appetite for God

Now to Him who is able to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory. (Ephesians 3:20)

Pray with us that God will give us Immeasrably More, all for His glory and honor.

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."

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!

Grumpy isn't good...but God is!

It was Tuesday morning and the team still had three days of work left. I woke up grumpy because I was dreading the day ahead. We had scheduled two cement projects two days in a row, and this was the second one. The first cement day took a lot longer and was much harder than we anticipated. In addition we were short-staffed and were planning to divide the team; some to work on the cement and the others to do a medical outreach. On this day, the cement project would be even harder since we had to lift buckets full of cement up to the beam at Pastor Victor's church (La Hermosa). So with an already tired team, fewer people to do the cement work, and a baking hot day, I felt my grumpy attitude was justified.
















Erick woke up feeling overwhelmed, anxious and worried....for all the same reasons. The combination of my grumpy and his anxious could have been the deathblow.....BUT, God, yet again, surprised us! More cement than the day before, fewer hands (both staff and team), and a tired group of people, and yet we finished earlier than the day before AND ran a medical clinic. We also got to pray for Pastor Victor and one of families in his church, both of whom helped us all day. Here is a pictorial look at this surprising day. To God be the glory!

Matt Marvin saw 28 patients from Tres Reyes.
Anna Conrad (Back2Back staff) translated.