Splish Splash!

Sarita and I playing at the pool! 

Yesterday I had the privileged to take Sarita and her family to the pool for the day! Sara lives in the Rio community with her grandmother, aunt, and little cousin. They don't often get the chance to get out of the Monterrey heat and go swimming, so yesterday was a very special day.

Sara

 Sara and I had been planning this day for weeks. A B2B supporter had sent down money specifically to take Sara out for the day. She had tossed around many ideas of what she wanted to do from ice skating to the zoo, but finally decided on the pools at San Benito. Sara also asked me if she could invite her family. One of the main things I try to do when working with the Rio families is help them to strengthen family bonds. Many of the children who end up in children's homes in Monterrey come from circumstances similar to those that Sarita lives in. Our goal in working in the Rio areas is to help prevent children from entering the casa hogares by bringing the transforming power of the Gospel, emergency relief, and investing in the entire family. So of course, we took Sarita's family to the pool with us :)

Playing in the fountain 

Sara had a blast! I don't think I have ever heard her talk so much! Usually she is very quite and reserved, but yesterday she couldn't stop the chatter. She bounced from pool to pool and slide to slide with more energy than I knew she was capable of! It was a blessing to see how much she enjoyed the day.

Sara with her grandmother

Sara loved the time she got with her grandmother, China, and her aunt, Chavela. It was good for me to see the way they interacted with Sara and to see Sara getting positive attention from them both, something she desperately needs.

Sara ready to go down some more slides

A fried chicken lunch with Sara's family

We played all afternoon on the slides and in the pools. We ate fried chicken and tortillas for lunch, played some more, and then headed home.  Sara was completely blessed and all of us were completely tuckered out! Praise the Lord because He has extravagant love for Sara and her  family.

Spiritual Transformation Retreat

This past weekend Meme and I were blessed to go on a spiritual transformation retreat (RET) with one of the local churches in Monterrey. We had been prepping for this retreat for the past month so I was pretty expectant that the Lord was going to do something awesome for us, and in particularly for Meme. 

Meme has suffered more trauma, hurt, and pain that anyone should in a lifetime. Her story is terribly sad. Meme came to Christ 20 years ago, but I've recently discovered that she has not had much discipleship since then. This past weekend the Lord met her in new ways and I can truthfully say that she is a different woman! Praise Jesus! 

Myself and Meme at breakfast during the retreat

During the retreat we were blessed with teachings on a variety of subjects. We learned about forgiveness, the cross, the Father's love, curses, healing, blessings, and the Holy Spirit. Every teaching was clearly laid out, backed with scripture, and given with so much love. Meme told me that she had never before been in teachings such as those. She comes from a church background of "fire, brimstone, and hail" rather than of the Father's love. Meme cried through every session. The first session was on the Father's love for us. That we are His children and He cares deeply for us. During the ministry time Meme said that she heard the Lord speak to her and say, "Here I am. I've been there with you." "I don't fully know how great the Lord's love is for me," she said with tears in her eyes. "He loves me!" I could tell that this truth had sunk down into the depths of her heart.

Myself and Meme, Princesses to the King of Kings

Meme told me that the session on forgiveness really sunk into her. She said she was able to forgive and lay down offenses that she had carried for years. "I feel new and totally free!" she said. It has been hard for Meme to take a break from ministering in the soup kitchen. She told me that she now sees how much she needed to be poured into, that God had laid aside this time to meet her and that she is so thankful for this time to rest and receive. Praise Jesus!

Worship at the retreat. The theme song was "O Happy Day" by Kim Walker!

One of the most intense session of the retreat dealt with curses, both generational ones and ones brought about by our sin. We had a sheet to work through to help us recognize areas in our lives where we needed to seek freedom. Meme turned to me and said that she felt like she needed freedom in nearly every area, either from things she had done or generational sins in her family. I encouraged her that God was big enough to bring freedom to every area in her life. God met Meme in a great way during the ministry time and set her free. We were then able to throw those nasty papers onto a cross set up in the room as a symbolic act of what Christ has truly done for us.

Meme opening her letter from Beth

One of my favorite sessions was on blessings. The pastor shared with us the power that blessings have on our lives. He shared that the blessing is like fuel in a car, it accelerates your gifts and talents that were made in His image. This also greatly impacted Meme. In conclusion to the session they surprised us with letters from close family and friends. The retreat staff had sought out these people to write words of encouragement and blessing to us. It was a powerful detail. Meme and I both wept as we read words written to us from the people who love us most.

Meme was met so much those first two days of the retreat. I personally felt so full every time someone would pray for her and when God would meet her. I could tell that He was doing a big work in her life. I also felt a supernatural peace from the Lord to rest, that He was taking care of Meme's needs and that I just needed to rest and let Him do it. I desire so badly to see her healing, that often I can't contain myself from praying, encouraging, teaching her etc. This weekend I felt the Spirit of God moving me to rest and receive myself and let God use others to minister to Meme.... and He did just that! It was so fun to not minister! I know that sounds strange, but my heart desperately needed to take a break from pouring out and to be filled up. It was so refreshing to have others lay hands on me in prayer, to teach me, and to encourage me... it is what I needed.

Just when I thought all was over and my cup so full of the Lord, He yet again surprised us. The last session of the retreat was on the Holy Spirit. I've been filled with the Spirit before, but love to be filled again and again. We had a ministry time to receive what the Holy Spirit wanted to pour out to us. Meme was baptized in the Holy Spirit and there is NO denying it. The pastor came up to her and shared that he believed that the Lord wanted to pour His Spirit out on her, that it was time for her be minister with the power of the Spirit in her work. Meme said that she had never experienced being full of the Spirit before. The pastor began to pray and there was no denying that Meme had an encounter with the Holy Spirit, or as some say 'baptized in the Holy Spirit.' Meme spent the majority of that session weeping bowed on the floor. She told me later that she had never felt so full in her life! She laughed and rejoiced like I have never seen her do before! There was almost a playfulness in the way she was telling me what happened. "I feel so light!" she said. "I know that God has my family and my problems and that He is taking care of them." This is HUGE breakthrough for Meme! She has been burdened almost every day with the weights and sins of her family, finding it hard not to be consumed by them. I had never seen her so joyful and carefree. Praise Jesus!

I was also met by the Lord during this session. He spoke some clear and personal words to me that showed me that he genuinely cares, sees, and is with me. He is transforming my life and using me to transform those of others. Just when I thought my cup was full, He filled it to overflowing... isn't that the way of our God?

Celebration for us in the church

Sunday morning we arrived back at the church and were greeted with a party by the body of Christ. We were ushered into the sanctuary where they cheered and applauded for all the changes God has wrought in our lives. We are new creations! Freed beings! What a great surprise. Once again I found Meme weeping... this is not her home church and she does not know anyone there, yet she was loved and hugged by all. She had never experienced the body of Christ is this way before and it melted her heart. 

All the servants at Principe de Paz who put on the retreat for us. 

God has done some real healing in Meme that I know cannot be reversed! Today I picked Meme up from the Rio to bring her to Back2Back. When I got to her house her brother greeted me at the door. He told me that Meme had just finished sharing about all that God did in her during the retreat. "Her face looks different," he said. "Her face is full of Joy like I've never seen.... When is the next retreat?" I laughed at this. Her brother has his own host of problems, wounds, and sins. He saw the difference in his sister and was interested in a similar encounter for himself. Praise Jesus!

I asked Meme if it would be okay for me to blog about what happened at the retreat. She was delighted at the idea of sharing her testimony and experience with others. "Tell them," she said, "thank you for praying for me. I know there were people lifting us up and God has heard their prayers!" Later I found out that whenever this church puts on a retreat they have people constantly covering the entire thing in prayer and praying for each participant by name. I also know that many of you were praying for us as well. Thank you. God has been faithful!

Back2Back with Local Churches

Turquoise t-shirts were milling about everywhere, the palapa was decorated with B2B banners,  sound equipment was being tested, cookies were being set out on tables, the chiliquilies were hot and ready and our local partners began to arrive. We had been planning this breakfast for local pastors for months, had to reschedule it twice, but by the grace of God we were finally meeting with these indispensable ministry partners. 

Local pastors gathered at the breakfast

Last summer B2B Monterrey invited several youth from neighboring churches to help out with our new VBS program. We needed their cultural wise, fluent Spanish, and fun-loving attitudes to make VBS a success. The local youth were interested, B2B was greatly appreciative, and VBS turned out to be a lot of fun. After that summer were saw more than ever how indispensible local churches are to what we do for the orphan. While we are supported in many ways by USA churches and groups, these partners cannot meet all the daily and cultural needs as the local church body can. It is our desire to call the local church forth in the ministry to orphans; to envision them, equip them, and partner with them in this call. We desire to see Mexican Christians caring for abandoned children in their homes and more churches ministering in the casa hogares.  With the language and culture already under their belts, local Christians are one step ahead in the game. B2B has a great need for the local church to stand back to back with us in this ministry.  

Reading about how their churches can be involved in orphan care

A hug from a local pastor who as been a long time supporter of B2B

We were surprised the morning of the breakfast to receive 37 guests representing 18 different churches and/or ministries in Monterrey. This was more than we had expected! In the mix there were familiar faces and new faces too. We took the group on a tour of our campus , sat down to have marvelous chiliquilies, and from there began to share about the ministry, the orphan, the mission, the call, and the need. 

Antonio, Gabo, and Todd sharing the vision

Maru, the cook of the morning!

Chiliquili fixin's!

The breakfast

Attention was held as Todd, Gabo, Juan, Priscila, and Antonio shared about why we do what we do, what the Bible says about the orphan, and the great need for the local church to be involved in this mission.  The response was equally encouraging. Many pastors have invited B2B staff to come speak at their churches. Others are interested in participating in a mission trip with B2B. And still others are offering  their services at the children’s homes, with the Hope Program, and to staff as well. We are greatly blessed by these prospective partners! Please continue to pray for our relationships with local churches and for wisdom as we begin to take the next steps forward with local church partnerships.

Local pastors reading about how to be involved with B2B

Our development team and more! 

A New Song!

"God saved us from the Egyptians

Lets sing to the Lord

God loves us very much

Lets sing to the Lord

God created us

God healed us

God protected and provided for us

Lets sing to the Lord. "

(Written by the children in Rio1)

My favorite day of our Worship unit with the kids in the Rio was when we taught the Children about Miriam praising the Lord after he saved the Israelites from the Egyptians. Miriam took up her tambourine and praised the Lord with a new song! After learning about Miriam we decided as a class that we would write a new song to the Lord just a Miriam did. Cheque got on the guitar, I got out the dry erase board and we began to write a song of praise to the Lord, worshiping Him for the ways that he loves us. Cheque and I started out the song but in no time the kids were shouting their ideas as well. It was the kids who came up with most of the words and reasons why we praise the Lord. It was beautiful for me to hear these children, who live with very little, shouting out reasons they have to praise the Lord! Oh how true it is!!!! Within 20 minutes our song was done, Cheque had a tune, and we all began to worship the Lord with a new song! We have now added this song to our collection and sing it each week :)

Me teaching the kids about Miriam and how she praised the Lord. 

Why do We Worship?

This Spring we have been teaching the Rio children about worship. It has been fantastic! A donor supplied us with money to purchase instruments for the children and thus the idea sprang into action. Our heart was to teach the kids not only how to worship the Lord but reasons we have to worship Him! When we truly know His character there is nothing left to do but worship. 

Cheque used to be a percussion major! He taught the children how to use shakers, tambourines, rhythm sticks, and the triangle. The children love using the instruments to praise the Lord! I've also been very impressed with the way they respect the instruments. We talked about how these are not toys but tools we can use to praise the Lord. They listen well and do a great job playing the instruments.

Monse with the tirangle

Eduardo with the rhythm sticks

Cheque leading the children in worship

After several lessons in our unit on worship we had the kids make their own instruments that they could take home with them. Here is Fernanda with her shaker and below is Naomi with her tambourine.

Our goal is to teach the kids why we praise the Lord through examples in the Bible. Above the kids are playing a game with a memory verse about praise.

One of the Bible stories we studied during our unit on worship was that of God providing and protecting the Israelites in the desert. He sent them a cloud to protect them by day and fire by night. He sent down manna from heaven as food for them. One of the reason we worship the Lord is because he protects us and provides for us. Above is an activity we did with collecting "manna". 

Update on the Rio Community

 Last summer we had a horrible hurricane come through Monterrey.  Even though Rio 1 wasn’t one of the hardest hit areas there were still homes lost and people were in grave danger.  As a result of this and other factors, the government has plans to move this community somewhere and provide them with new housing sometime in 2011.  Because of different situations like the one above, the ministry in Rio 1 is in a transition period. We feel God is allowing this time for us to take a step back from the soup kitchen and pray and seek Him about what He would have us to do.  Would you join us in prayer as we seek God’s face and His plans for this ministry at Rio 1? As we wait for God’s answer we are continuing to build into the children spiritually through weekly Bible classes. We are also using this time to pour into Meme. She is being mentored by a women on staff and attending inner healing classes.  We covet your prayers during this season of waiting on the Lord. 

Please note that I will continue to be a presence in the Rio1 community. I try to be out there at least a couple times a week to continue serving the children even in this transition period. Thanks for your prayers for direction!  Let me know if you have any questions. 

The Carrot Seed

" A little boy planted a carrot seed... and the whole world said nothing would sprout." - The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss 

For the majority of the children I work with in the Rio the whole world has said they won't succeed, they won't thrive, they won't amount to anything,... they won't sprout. That is sadly the story of two girls, Sarah and Monse. They come from rough situations and unsupportive environments where they have been told, they won't "sprout." 

I went to the Rio about a week ago with my tutoring supplies in hand. I hadn't ever tutored kids in Spanish before, but thought it couldn't be that much different than the experiences I had tutoring in the States. The three of us girls sat down in the comedor and I pulled out a supply of books that I had with me. The girls looked through the stack and then we all decided on The Carrot Seed (La semilla de zanahoria). As an early childhood teacher I am ashamed to say that I had never read this book before! We cracked the cover and began to read about the boy, the seed, and the disbelief of the world around him. 

" His mom said, 'I fear it won't sprout.'

 His dad said, ' I fear it won't sprout.' 

His older brother said, ' I know it  won't sprout.' "

I asked the girls how the boy must have felt. They said he felt sad and discouraged. I asked them if they ever felt like that, or if anyone ever said those type of things to them. They both nodded and we kept reading. 

"Everyday the boy pulled up the weeds that were growing around the seed and sprayed the soil with water. But nothing sprouted... And nothing sprouted... The whole world said that nothing would sprout."

 "Have you ever felt like the whole world is saying you won't grow and change and that you can't do the things you want to when you grow up?" I asked. Again there were silent nods. 

"But everyday he continued to pull up the weeds and spray the soil with water. And then, one day,... a carrot sprouted.... Just as the boy knew it would." 

The girl's faces were delighted as we got to the last page! "We knew it would sprout!" they said. "and the carrot is HUGE!!!" The picture on this page is priceless. The boy in the story has a wheelbarrow and one huge carrot inside. Not only did the carrot sprout, it was much bigger and better than any normal carrot. 

We closed the book and began to talk about how we are like carrot seeds. That sometimes people will say to us, "You won't sprout... you will never be good at math, you will never amount to anything, you can't be a doctor, you can never leave this place..." But what did the boy do? I asked. 

    "He kept working hard." Was the answer. "He didn't give up because he knew the carrot seed would sprout."

    "Hmm," I said, "what do you think we can learn from this story?"

     Sarita replied, "That if we work hard and don't give up, one day the seed will sprout."

     "Good," I replied. "But there is more than that."  I went on to explain to the girls that God created them with a purpose. That He has a plan for their lives. That it wasn't an accident that they were born onto this earth. "It may seem like the whole world is against you," I said. " Your mom, your dad, or your teacher may be against you, but God is always for you. He know the plans and the purpose and the future that He has for you. You are special. You are unique, you are dearly loved, and you will sprout."  

The truth is that God believes in these girls and supports them. He is pulling up the weeds in their lives and He is faithful to put water on the soil of their hearts. The whole world may say, "they won't sprout."  But God says otherwise....

"I know the plans I have for you delclares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

And when God sprouts a seed....watch out! It is bigger and better than anything we can imagine! 

Sarah and Monse writing and drawing pictures of themselves planting a seed and then the seed sprouting. 

Sarah (4th grade) coloring her picture of an apple seed. 

Sarah and Monse with their finished stories.