Heading Into Hump Week

We've all heard Wednesday referred to as "hump-day" as we get past the middle of the week and look toward the weekend. Well, I'm taking some liberty and calling this "hump-week" for us. We've had three teams come to serve in June and four left in June and July. And while we're not necessarily looking forward to the end of the summer teams, we're kind of at the half-way point, which seems like a good time to let you know what's been happening so far.


With our first week and first team, a group of amazing women from Stoney Creek Community Church, we also welcomed (or didn't welcome) hurricane season - the first week of June. We had 6 straight days of rain. For some, this may not seem significant, but for us it means flooded streets, schools closed, businesses closed, houses leaking, and ministry partners suffering. The team was awesome and didn't let the rain hinder their work. Thanks Stoney Creek!  

While the first team was working in the rain, I was working with a realtor and our partner, pastor Sergio, to finalize details to purchase land in Tres Reyes, for the community center we plan to build there. We have now made a down-payment on the land, have $50,000 committed, but still need $40,000 more by July 15 to purchase the land. It is an amazing piece of property - .75 acres and exactly what we need. 

Land in Tres Reyes

Horizon College Group

As most of you know, our primary ministry is to orphans and impoverished families. That is where we spend the bulk of our time - in the trenches so to speak - living and serving with our ministry partners. BUT, an incredibly important part of our ministry is hosting teams to help us do the work. And during weeks 2 and 3 we had a team of college students and then a team of high school students from Horizon Church, led by Amy Rudge, come down to serve with us. Horizon is very involved in our ministry and a great partner. In the first week, we had 5 college students commit their lives to Christ! In the second week we saw 6 high school students get baptized as a public display of dedicating their lives to Christ.
 We also saw the miraculous and relentless pursuit of God to soften one student's  heart as she made a first-time commitment to Jesus Christ!!

So we can't wait to see what God will do in and through the remaining 4 teams coming down to serve: Trinity Baptist, Apex, Kentwood Community Church, and Journey. Please pray with us that God will have HIS way in these teams and in the lives of our ministry partners. Thank you for all your support!

Meet Marisol and Paty*

Marisol

Marisol is 9 years old. We've struggled getting to know Marisol very well because she's seems aloof and unhappy. She's less outgoing than most of Oti's other kids. Marisol is in first grade with her three other sisters, and less enthusiastic about school than her older sister Jenifer. Marisol told us that she likes helping her mom and her favorite color is purple.

Just last week when we were visiting Oti with a team we were so excited to see Marisol smile. I sat down with her and colored. I colored a flower and put her name on it. Then I wrote "Dios te ama." (God loves you.) She smiled. Someone gave her a dress as a gift and when she came out to show it to us I hugged her and told her how beautiful she was. I hope and pray that these words of truth and expressions of love will continue to soften her heart and help her realize how special and valuable she is because she was created in God's image.





Paty

Patricia (Paty)  is 8 and also in first grade. One of the cutest thing about Paty is that her hair always seems to be messed up. Some of Paty's favorite things include playing and the color red. She also told us she likes school, but we know she's struggling. We discovered that she has tried to get Jenifer to do her homework for her. And, unfortunately, Jenifer is sometimes eager to do it.

So we pray that Paty sticks with school. That she has some successes so that her confidence goes up. It would be very easy for her to give up....and really, who could blame her. But we are doing all we can, providing a tutor, school supplies and other resources, to help her succeed. Because we know that children who do not receive an education often end up in black market trades, such as drug trafficking and prostitution. Teenage pregnancy is another frequent outcome. BUT when children have access to education, they are significantly more likely to become self-sustaining individuals who can then give back to their communities and lead more productive lives.

*(These are two of Oti's eight kids. The previous two blog posts introduced Oti and her two oldest children.) 



ORPHAN PREVENTION: Oti and her 8 kids

Oti's Family

Wow! We've been here about six weeks, and already our hearts have experienced so many emotions. Being called to love and care for the orphans and impoverished here in Mexico is both heartbreaking and rewarding. 

Here in Cancun we work with two children's homes - San Jose & Esperanza. We also partner with a government organization (DIF-CAT), where the kids - from babies to teenagers - were removed from bad/abusive home situations. As I was holding a baby there today, it broke my heart to think about what she has already been through and how sad it is that her primary care-giver is a gov't nurse. Nonetheless, this is a safe place for these kids to stay when they have no where else to go. The children's homes and the DIF-CAT are reactive responses to kids who desparately need someone to take care of them. For various reasons the parent(s) have decided that they can't or won't take care of their children.

We are also working proactively with impoverished families, with mothers who desparately want to keep their children. Think of it as orphan-prevention. (We believe, and research would support it, that the best place for a child to be is with his/her family. Ideally mom, dad and siblings.) So for the next several blog posts, we want to introduce you to Oti, who is trying to keep her family together. We will show you pictures of Oti's kids and give a little info about each. It is our hope that many of you will pray for this family and each child as you get to know them.

 Oti is a 36 yr old single mother of eight children, ages 1-15 yrs. Her husband died of AIDS about a year ago.Until last year when Back2Back (B2B) started working with them, none of the kids had gone to school, because they couldn't afford the school supplies, uniforms, etc. Needless to say, they are very far behind, but Oti loves her kids and wants to keep them together...under her roof. Despite a poor housing situation, little food, and health issues, including a protruding hernia (not sure if that's the official term), Oti isn't willing to give up.



This is where Oti would launder clothes. We're hoping
to be to able to provide a new washer and dryer for her.

Currently Oti and Ricardo, her oldest son, make a little money by selling fruit and candy on the street. But Oti has a dream. She wants to make money by starting a laundering service.We this family weekly, pray for them often and have purchased school clothes, supplies and are paying a tutor to help her kids. We've done work on her house; provided food and other needs as well.

Today Jenny the oldest daughter (11) showed me her 1st grade homework. I hugged her and told her how proud I was of her. She smiled BIG and hugged me back.

We hope the story of Oti and her kids will give you a glimpse into the lives of some of the people God called us to serve. Thanks for ALL your support. We couldn't be here helping without your involvement in our ministry.