Farm Animals

If you live in or have visited Indiana, chances are you're going to see farm animals, whether by accident or on purpose. Julie and I are fully embracing our life in Indiana, so recently we went to the 4H Fair near us and while we didn't embrace the animals, we did see and appreciate them. We are grateful for farms and farmers. (Oh, and I lost the staring contest with the llama.)

In addition to learning more about farm animals, Julie and I also attended training about Trust Based Relational Intervention, specifically when working with children who have experienced trauma. We also attended coaching training that an be used to coach staff, parents, or whoever we may need to coach. Regarding the Strong Families curriculum, we are beginning the process of converting content into in-class training material. In official terms it's called instructional design. I'm including a link HERE to a Prezi presentation we created for our site directors to update them and describe some of the modules we're creating. (It's 4 minutes or less and has a video.... of us.) We head back to Monterrey and Mazatlan, Mexico for about 3 weeks in Sept/Oct to do more site reviews in preparation for future training.

Nick started his new job in Bloomington, IN last week and starts classes at IU next week. He's excited. Eliza also started a new job at a chiropractic office. She is very interested in holistic and alternative medicine. Nate did extremely well in his first round of pre-nursing classes. He starts his next 9-week cohort next week. 

This month, we're asking you to pray with us for more people to join our support team. We have some ongoing new expenses and other expenses that are far more than we were paying in MX. We know God owns it all and are trusting Him. So we are also inviting you to pray about joining our team if you're not already on it. 

Prayer Opportunities

• Pray that God will raise up more partners to join our support team.
• Please continue to pray for Julie's health. She sees another doctor this week.
• Pray for Eliza and her new job, that it will be fun and fulfilling for her.
• Pray for Nick not get too stressed out as he starts classes and works.
• Continue to pray for Julie and I as we move down this path of identifying the best ways to help the children and families we serve and how to roll out global training.

Humbled & Grateful.
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.

Connecting Through Art: Two Stories - One Theme

“Will you color my heart?”  It was a simple question a little girl asked me to translate for one of our mission team guests.  The little girl was sitting with her new friend on the cement basketball court after playing relay games.  We gave the children sidewalk chalk to let them draw.  The little girl had drawn a heart and she wanted the student from Taylor University to color it in. I was taking pictures and didn’t hear the girl at first, but then I heard her say it again…. "Will you color my heart?"  Once the college student knew what the little girl wanted she immediately began coloring the little girl’s heart.  I couldn’t help but think that even though the little girl was asking for something tangible, something she could see….the college student was actually making deposits into this little girl.  These two girls were connecting their hearts through art. We are still building trust with the community in Tres Reyes and over time these little “deposits” will make a difference. 

The children in Tres Reyes love to paint!  When given the chance to paint or play…they often choose to paint.  I think it’s because they don’t have the opportunity or supplies.  And since Cancun is a relatively young city they do not have any art museums. So little by little we are bringing art to them.  Recently we had a painting lesson with the children from Tres Reyes.  We introduced them to the painter Wasilly Kandinsky who was an Abstract, Expressionist painter.  Expressionists use color to express their emotions.  Many of the children we work with have experienced trauma and do not know how to express their emotions in a healthy way.  The thing about art and music is that it can be a beautiful way to express yourself.   We had a variety of different projects going on this day, and at one point I noticed how quiet it was.  The children were so engaged in painting and were concentrating so much. 

But one girl caught my attention. She was working so diligently on her painting, and would stop and look at the example, then look back to what she was painting.  She was still working when the other children had finished and we were cleaning up.  She wanted her painting to be perfect. This young girl was connecting to her own heart through art. 

We're thankful for the opportunities we have to pour into these children and families. It is God's desire to heal all of our hearts, but  especially the fatherless and the vulnerable. Pray with us for God to heal hearts...in Tres Reyes, Bonfil, Cuna Maya.....

Viva Italia!!

I’m passionate about learning!  I’m also passionate about art, music, and food. So when all of these things are combined….it makes for a wonderful time (at least in my opinion). 

Recently we had an event at the Back2Back group house for the children of Bonfil.  It was an art & culture night where they learned about Italy, ate Italian food, and saw paintings & sculptures by Michelangelo.  

Before everything started, I was in the kitchen with a few of the girls from Bonfil and I had to get into the fridge for something.  When I opened the door the girls stopped what they were doing and looked inside. Both of them had the same expression on their faces and stood there and said….Wow!  They were amazed by all the food that was in the fridge. Sometimes I forget all the things I have….like food in the fridge because it’s normal for me, but seeing their reaction I was reminded it’s not normal for them. 

One of the main reasons we wanted to have a night of art & culture was to expand their world beyond where they live.  Many of these kids don’t see much outside of their immediate community.  So we started the night by giving the children a passport with their picture in it, and they were given a stamp in their passport to get into the event.  

For dinner we ate baked ziti with salad and rolls while Italian music played in the background. This type of dinner was a new experience for these children, so it was fun to explain what parmesan cheese was and how to use it on the pasta.  After dinner our tutor in Bonfil (Itamar) talked about Italy and focused on some fun facts about the country and where it is located.  She then taught us about Michelangelo and some of his famous paintings & sculptures.  We saw a picture of the Sistine Chapel, Pieta, and David. 

Fun facts about Italy                                                                        Baked ziti....yum!

To top off the night we made copies of The Creation of Adam, where the hand of God is reaching out to touch Adam’s finger.  We taped the copies to the tables….flipped the tables upside down, and asked the children to climb under and start coloring.  We did this to help them understand how hard it might have been for Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling.  At one point I couldn't stand it any longer, I just had to see what the children were doing and why they were so quiet.  So I crawled under one of the tables and joined Danny & Ana.  They both were so engaged in what they were doing I just loved watching them.  

Danny                                                                   Danny & Julie                                                        Ana on the far right

Under the table I had “a moment” where God’s Presence was so obvious and completely overwhelming.  He loves these children so much!  They are His masterpiece.  I began to think about what it takes to create a masterpiece.  Typically, it doesn’t happen quickly. It took Michelangelo four years to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and 6 years to paint the altar.  I thought of words that could describe what it takes to make a masterpiece.  Words like passion, perseverance, patience, process, and beauty.   The process of change and transformed lives takes time.  That night I looked at Ana and Danny realizing that it may take years to see what God is doing in their lives, but along the way I can see pieces of His masterpiece coming together to create something beautiful.  

Ana with Kristin Lakes (Renovia team from Indianapolis, IN)