the city

Last night Heather and Katie took me into the city. I have never been there before, since when I came with groups we stayed and worked in the outskirts. I loved it! It is a very old city with stone streets and old buildings and very romantic. It felt like a movie. I will definitely go and explore there more later.




Monterrey is a city of 6 million people and Back2Back is at the southern edge of the city. Monterrey is known for a food item 'cabrito' which is baby goat. I did not eat that!

my classroom

The door to my class

Katie

This is Katie and I. We are the only single staff members except for the high school/college students living in the teen homes. I am so thankful for her and our apartments are side by side. She will be teaching grades 3,4,5 and I am teaching K,1,2. So in the evenings when there is nothing to do and all the families are putting their children to bed, we sit and watch TV series that people own. We finished "The Unit" and are now watching "The Closer" . Next on our list that some of the families have are "House" and "Ugly Betty".

community

So everyone here just walks in each others' houses all the time. The kids play in each others' houses and everyone takes time to sit and talk. I love that, but I'm not used to the 'just walking in' part. Today I wanted to talk to Heather Merrill and tried to call first. She didn't answer so I walked over. I knocked, waited, and then slowly walked in and called her name. It felt so awkward. No big deal she was in the kitchen. That's just how they roll. I have to get used to it.

Monday

Well I went to Nuevo Pacto church on Sunday which is where the Back2Back staff attend. They told me it wouldn't be rude to take a book since I wouldn't understand any of it so I almost finished "In a Pit With a Lion..." by Mark Batterson. The worship was great and I recognized some tunes including "The Happy Song" and "I Can Only Imagine". But it was only my 3rd day and I was emotional and missing GCC. We were there for 2 1/2 hours.
It is Monday night and I haven't left the base since. That is just how life is here. It is such a change from what I am used to but I just have to deal with it. I wake up and say "Okay God I know you want me here so I am trusting in you". I have been working on my school room as much as I can.
Sunday night I had a wonderful surprise. I got a phone call from Corey Mann at Lifeline (my youth group back home at GCC) and the kids all yelled 'hi' . I felt loved.

more photos

This is the main room where groups stay.

This is where my the new school is being built!

This is the main gate to our community.

Our swimming pool

prayer requests

For those of you who are my prayer warriors I just wanted to let you know how you can pray.
First, I pray that I would let God work through me here and not worry about my feelings of loneliness and uncertainty.
Second, I would love prayer for my headaches. I get a lot of headaches and often migraines. The chiropractor helped a lot in the states but I really don't want to have to look for one here and pay for one.
Third, I know this sounds silly but it is a real fear....I am so afraid of spiders and yesterday they were talking about the big tarantulas they have seen and I could hardly sleep last night. I have a loft where my bed is and I haven't slept up there yet because there are gaps between the wall and ceiling and I am fearful!! Pray that I can turn this over to God.
Thanks and I love you all, Ruby

My phone is working, praise Jesus! It is not a cell phone but you can call me and if I'm home I will gladly answer. It should not cost anyone to call, it is an Indiana number that works through my internet. 574-968-6468

my crib

My front door



loft to bedroom and bathroom

view from my front door

Monterrey

This morning Heather and I went to get groceries. I have nothing in my apartment! First we went by the man selling fruits and vegies from his cart and we stopped and bought some. Very cheap! Then we went to WalMart actually! It was very overwhelming. They do have a lot of the same things but usually it has added hot sauce and even the mayo had lime added. The food there is not cheaper. We had to tip the bagger and then a man in the parking lot loaded our things and we tipped him. The traffic in Monterrey is crazy. No one uses blinkers and the lanes are very close together. Pedestrians do not have the right of way and when people come to a stop sign they usually don't stop. There are wild dogs everywhere... I came home and was invited to another family's house for lunch. This afternoon I have to work on getting my apartment together and getting my phone to work!!

Day 4

I can tell there were extra prayers about crossing the border. Thanks so much for that! We had an easy crossing with just a lot of paperwork and I got taxed $75 on the things in my car, but no car searches. We arrived and were greeting by lots of staff who unloaded my car for me and then I was invited to dinner. Our electric was out so I am just now getting to write. I will write more tomorrow with pictures.

Day 3

I am finally in McAllen! It seemed like a loooong day. We passed Waco, the Texas Ranger Museum, Austin, San Antonio.... Went through some rain storms but everything went well! Tomorrow we cross the border.

Day 2

Isaac, Ella, and Jenna Merrill are enjoying the pool in Dallas. We had a sunny day to drive. I got to see some neat landscape and a dead armadillo on the side of the road.

Support $

I have raised my $19,000!!! God is good and he definitely wants me here for this year!

heading out

Sooooo today after coffee and tears with my friends, I met the Merrill family in Mishawaka and we left for the long journey! Bill and Heather Merrill and their 3 children live at Back2Back but were home visiting family so I am following them back. It is nice to have a friendly face when we stop. We have made it to Missouri today safely with only some rain leaks in my car... Praying for sun tomorrow!!

new address

So if you want to mail me things, letters, packages, money -haha, the mail goes first to Ohio and they send it down in bulk.
I will be getting a Vonage phone and will post my new phone number here when I get it.

Ruby Moyer
c/o Back2Back Ministries
P.O. Box 70
Mason, OH 45040

Goodbyes

Wow goodbyes are harder than I thought!! My roommates had a going-away party for me Sunday night and it was great to have a lot of my friends at one place together. We had a great time hanging out and throwing football and talking. I kept the tears to a minimum. My roomies asked everyone to bring a card for me to open in Mexico so I would have 1 each week. I will be there 40 weeks which I think is cool. 40 is used in the Bible a lot. 40 days and nights of rain, 40 years in the wilderness, etc... When everyone left we counted the cards and I had exactly 40! So awesome!!
Then Monday night I went to my sister's house and had to say goodbye to them. Leaving my niece was the hardest thing I think I'll have to do. She was sobbing and hugging me and I cried the whole way home. I love that girl!
More goodbyes this week, but I am learning that leaving makes me appreciate people more than I did.