The Charreada

The other day I got to go to a unique Mexico event - a charreada and exibicion, which is a horse show with events like 4-H...It was a hot day but we found some shade!
This was the opening of the event...

A beautiful view...

Jessica, Hope, and I in our cowboy clothes



The mariachi's were there playing throughout

Next door they were showing horses.

"...you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance..". - James 1:3
It's been a long day! Living in a foreign country has struggles of its own. When you have a car in Mexico you need to renew the car papers and your personal Visa every 6 months. Yesterday some of us girls drove to McAllen, Texas, a 3 hour drive, with the purpose to do this and get a few necessities. So we cancelled the papers yesterday and today came back across to the Mexico side to get new ones, only they wouldn't do it for me. The man looked through my passport and saw all my coming and going into Mexico and saw that I cancelled the day before. He told me he couldn't give me another one and that the law says you have to wait 72 hours to get a new one. He wouldn't budge. I have never had this happen in the past. So I decided to try the other bridge. We had many people praying and I felt peace. I walked in and the man looked at my passport and saw my last cancellation and said he wouldn't do it. I had to wait 72 hours. How frustrating! I don't have that many days to stay in Texas. School starts Monday and I need to prepare. Thank the Lord for my friends, the Couch's. They were in McAllen getting ready to come back also from their vacation and they said they would drive me and I could leave my car in McAllen. So I turned back around after crossing the bridge 3 times that day and headed back to the US. To top it off, the guys on the US side were going through my car and even pulled off the airbag cover...?? It's not a fun experience and you feel totally out of control and defenseless. I am back in Monterrey but my car is not. I will have to take the bus later to get it. I was only able to come because I had a Visa from flying back. It's complicated...

Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel...

Today I got to go to the graduation from Prepa, or High School, of one of my dear friends, Gabi. I am so proud of her! She went to graduation even though none of her friends did and there were only 3 from her class out of 30 that were there!! The graduation included college graduates too. Gabi got a special award for her grades and is now going to start college for journalism and work with television and movies. Gabi enjoys photography and I am praying that somehow we can get a camera for her to use for her photography class. Gabi lived at Casa Hogar Douglas before coming to Back2Back 2 years ago. I am so proud of the way she has grown the past years and become more interested in her walk with Christ! She has a special place in my heart!

Here is a prayer request I have for this year! Please pray for me to use my time wisely and how the Lord wants. I have so many opportunities here and I want to do them all but I can't. My first priority is teaching all day Monday and Wednesday and half days Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Then, I love spending time with the teen girls on campus, but I want to do it in a way that is meaningful. I also have a heart for the orphans in the Casa Hogar Douglas, especially the girls in middle school. I have people asking me to teach English. I got asked to teach Sunday School. Plus I am in a Bible Study and I take Spanish classes. I want to be used in the best way and I thank you already for your prayers.

Beautiful girls

Tonight I got the privilege of taking 3 sisters from Casa Hogar Douglas out to eat! They have a special friend in the US who gave me money to do something special for the birthday of Alondra. Alondra's favorite restaurant is Los Generales which is a buffet of Mexican food. The girls were dressed up as much as they could when I picked them up! They were so excited! I loved doing this for them because they are beautiful inside and out. They were so thankful and appreciative and fun to be with and they love and take care of each other! I thank God for this opportunity to bless them!
This is Alondra enjoying her ice cream!

Christy Ross went along too!!

Betty, me, Alondra, and Daniella

a new school year

Well I am back at 'home' in Monterrey after 6 weeks at my other home. I felt so loved and blessed as I spent time visiting family and friends and hearing what was going on in their lives. I have the opportunity to have such great friends in the States who I can catch up with like I was never gone. I thank God for friends like those. And, I met some new friends who were an encouragement to me and will be in my prayers. My support-raising went well and I am over half way so I have to do the rest from here. I am excited to be back to start a new year and be where God wants me, doing his work.
The first thing when I got back I did a bug count in my apartment: 6 cockroaches, 1 huge spider...not too bad. So I have been cleaning and settling in and catching up with my 'family' here. The day after I got back, the children from Casa Hogar Douglas came over to swim so I got to see all my friends!! And of course, I have been spending time with the girls on campus. We did an ice cream run tonight! That always is popular. Next I will start getting my classroom ready. No chance of being bored or lonely right now!!

Another thing we do McCollum week is have a huge picnic with all the childrens' homes on our campus. We cook and prepare all day and then have food, hang out time, and a church service.

McCollum week - 4th week of June

One of Back2Back's friends, Steve McCollum, comes down every summer and does soccer camps with the childrens' homes. He also brings hundreds of soccer balls and other gear for them. This year there was a big game with his soccer team from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy versus our teens at Back2Back! We rented a soccer stadium down the road and cheered them on! It was a ton of fun...
Here are both teams

Here I am sporting my Mexico shirt!!

I got to go to the graduation of the kids at Casa Hogar Douglas who graduated from elementary school. I am so proud of them!!





Here are some of my friends:

Jazmin's Birthday

3rd week of groups

During the 3rd week of groups I got to know more new friends and worked a lot at Casa Hogar Douglas. I learned how to put up a chain link fence and got 2 of the teen girls to work with us, too! It was hot - 100-105 degrees most days!

2nd Week of Summer '09

I was privileged to get to go to a Casa Hogar in El Limon, 5 hours away, with a group from Ohio during our second week of June! We traveled by bus to stay there for the week. It is located southeast and is in the heart of sugar cane country and 45 minutes from the beach. It was my first time at this childrens' home but I had heard a lot about it and we have teens living on our campus who came from here so I was excited to get to experience it. The directors are an amazing, Christian couple and the children all love the Lord and work hard and worship hard!!
This is the main building

Here the children are putting on a talent show for us!



Game time!


Back2Back tries to help each childrens home to be self-sufficient by helping them have a business they can support themselves with. In El Limon money was donated for a soccer stadium that they can rent out to groups and make money off of..
Our projects included digging footers, cutting rebar (I learned how) and mixing cement for the footers for the stands...

We painted the whole inside of the stadium green.

First week of summer!!

What an amazing week! I got to work side by side all week with a group from my home church and some of my close friends!! One of my roommates from before I moved here, Jeanna, was a leader of the group and it was her first time here! I loved being able to show her my life and why I love this place! Heather Merrill also led the group, and is a great friend who used to live here! I knew some of the families already and got to know new people. They were all so wonderful and hard workers and I loved watching God work in their lives and grow in them a heart for Mexico. We mixed cement, painted, dug holes,...in over 100 degree weather. We also got to play with the children and take them swimming. I was so blessed and encouraged by everyone and it was hard to see them go. As Paul says, I thank God every time I remember you....

Summer Theme - Shelter!

Please pray for our staff as we prepare for our summer. The interns have arrived and our first 4 groups come Saturday. I am staying to work for the month of June and am looking forward to meeting new friends, working hard, being at the orphanages, and watching lives change through Jesus!
What is your definition of shelter?

Staff Retreat

Before our summer busyness the staff got together for a retreat in the mountains. It was way up - half an hour of winding roads but the view was amazing. We slept in cabins and enjoyed the outdoors. Our meetings were about getting ready to serve all summer and preparing for our theme. I even got to overcome another fear and rope repelled down a 110 foot rock. The hardest part was getting started. Then I loved it! Part of it was along the rock and part of it was free hanging in the air. I am so blessed to get to have these experiences and being a part of such a team!

Womens Bible Study

This winter and spring our womens bible study studied Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" about the fruits of the spirit. It was an amazing study that taught me so much!

SMCA Graduation 2009

Last SMCA field trip!

For our final day of school, we went to El Retiro Juvenil to spend a day at the ropes course. It was fun to watch the kids work together and overcome fears when they climbed and jumped the "Leap of Faith".