The Rhythm of Our Days with Back2Back

While in Mexico our days had a rhythm.  Each day we got up and ate breakfast.  Then we had the opportunity to attend a training on how trauma has effected the brain (and therefore the actions/reactions) of most of the children we would be working with.  It was fascinating to me to learn more of the science behind the philosophy of Back2Back.  Lots of understanding came with just bits of insight but the message of  hope and healing was always presented too.

Though the schedule would changed a little to fit each day, most days we would set out after training to visit the kids at Casa Hogar Manatial de Amor (MDA) the orphanage we partnered with last year and this year.

Our goal was to play with the purpose of connecting and giving the kids space to just be kids having fun (and healing a bit in that fun.)

At this point they don't have a full time cook so we provided lunch for them the days we were together.  Spaghetti and fruit were on the menu Monday.  Spaghetti was a first for many of the children.  Teaching them to twirl the pasta onto their fork and watching all the slurping of noodles was fun!

After lunch the kids left for school and we headed to work at Dreams.

Dreams is the property Back2Back has been working on for a few years.  It is designed to house orphans in a more family style setting (opposed to an institutional set up.)  At this point they are waiting on God's leading of who exactly will be placed here.  Whoever He leads here has had sweat and prayers poured out as their home has been prepared by many.

(Last year's team.

This is the  same property we spent most of our labor intense time at last year.)

As the guys sweat it out putting a large portion of the roof on the building....

we split into groups and some began to clear the field (with rakes, hoes and machetes)...

while others cleared construction debris from the rooms already completed...

 

Once we arrived back to campus in the evenings we would get cleaned up and have a quiet time and small group time focused on a specific study put together by Back2Back.  This year we focused on being part of the Kingdom of Priests.

Close to the end of each day we had a time to "debrief" as a group and focus on how God was speaking to us through the events of the day and week.  (More on debrief in an upcoming post...)

more updates to come, stayed tuned...

To Mexico We Go

 Early Saturday morning Mark took Haleigh and me to the airport.  We shuffled through all the necessary steps to check bags and get boarded as our trip was about to begin.  This would be the first step for Haleigh into her dream of being a missionary.

We arrived in Mexico without any travel bumps~ so thankful!

After a tour of the Back2Back campus and a meeting to talk us through what to expect over the next week, we settled in and had some ice breaker games to meet the other groups on campus and enjoyed a nice dinner.

Sunday morning we attended church.  The sermon was translated for us and several times the pastor thanked us for coming and challenged his congregation to help those in their community that we had traveled from another country to help.  

(This vision of local support has been a prayer for the Back2Back staff for a while now.)

That challenge was touching yet stirred some thoughts in me.  Why do we travel to Mexico to help orphans when there are several right here at home who need help also?  Not that it is wrong to help those in Mexico but why am I not helping more here at home?   This is a thought we continue to chew on.

After church we went back to campus where a couple of the orphanages' children came for a pool party and cookout.  We served up several burgers, played soccer and splashed in the pool with many kiddos.  Giving these kids a chance to just be kids who were having fun.

 A bit later in the afternoon we had this wild snack bar for the kids.  Think of a Sweet Frog type yogurt shop here in the states.  Now take out the frozen yogurt and put in every type of junk food treat you can think of... popcorn, potato chips, mango, pineapple, peanuts, with a squirt of lime juice, then these fruit chews with chili powder coating, gummy worms (sweet and sour), then if all this mixture wasn't enough it is then covered in a sweet and sour salsa juice.

The kids were so excited about this!!! They would circle back around for cup after cup with their sticky little faces smiling from ear to ear!

The start to the trip was a slower pace as we became familiar with the mission at hand and got to know our team a little better.  Monday morning the routine of playing in the morning and working hard in the afternoon would start, ready or not...

Here We Go!!

This week has been sweet as we have emptied one set of suitcases and reloaded another.  It was fun to have my mom here and not much on the schedule other than recovering from jet lag and reviewing the check list for the trip ahead.  Now Haleigh and I are throwing the last few items in the suitcase as we prepare to head out.  Early in the morning we will meet the rest of our team and our fearless leaders to head to Mexico to serve orphans and those who daily care for them.  

Please pray that our team will all be healthy, stay healthy and serve well with sweet unity.  My prayer is that we will have no personal expectations so we can be flexible to however we are asked to serve, yet have the highest expectations of what God will do and be in awe that we get to be part of it.

Thanks for your prayers as we go!!

What's the Purpose?

I have to be honest, when Mark said, "We have to set a date to visit our friends this summer." I was not excited at the thought.  I could think of many excuses to not jump at this.  But, as God has done so many times with me, through Mark's nudging that he felt we were supposed to do this I hesitantly said ok.  However, when the "purchase" button was hit to finalize our flights "ok" was not the first feeling to flood this mamma's heart.  It was a begrudging submission to say the least.

Turn the pages of the calendar a few times and the time was getting close.  The enemy was a work stirring up doubt about the purpose of this undertaking.  Why not visit them in the States next year when they come to visit?  Wouldn't that make much more sense?  Aren't we just interrupting their lives, schedule, and family to be there for a week?  These and so many other question stirred.  Then an email came that said, "[our youngest] just said he is so excited for you all to come.  We can't explain it but the anticipation of your visit is already blessing us."

I think that was a turning point in my anticipation.  A realization that this was a trip God wanted us to take for some reason.  What that reason was I wasn't at all sure, but I knew we were supposed to go.

We packed up all the fun things that they had ordered and asked us to bring over... homeschool books, backpacking gear, a few items of clothing and a couple special treats as well. 

We bid farewell to our gals at the park half way between our house and the adventures waiting to be had at Grandma and Poppy's house.  As they drove off with Mom and Dad there was a lump in my throat for sure.

Friday evening we were off.  The flights were long, very long. But once we arrived at our destination, proceeded through customs and gathered our luggage we peered through the glass doors of the exit and saw two smiling faces waving over the crowd.  Though I didn't snap a picture right then, mentally that is the picture seared in my mind. 

They welcomed us into their home as we had a snack and chatted into the wee hours.  After a good nights sleep we began being.

Began being? 

What?!  Yes we just began being friends, being in conversation, being a part of their world that is across the ocean and oh so different from ours, being in awe of the journey they have taken...

This week they "took vacation" to just be with us.  To take a break from their usual routine and responsibilities.  They shared their new culture with us...

I was shocked at the elaborate beauty of this mosque as

 I took it in from the area set aside for women 

wrapped in the covering we put on as we entered.

The markets amazed me.  How different from home!

 So much more communication was needed to function here.  I loved to just stand there and listen as my friend rolled this new language off her tongue as she greeted faces that have become a part of this marketing experience.  To see how relationships have been built through the simple task of buying your food.

 We visited the museum and learned of where this culture has come from and where they are striving  to go.

This is a yurt that their people customarily lived in.

Not only did they invite us to explore their culture but to be part of their family, to meet their friends and have fellowship.   Each time we met a new friend they would tell us how much it meant that we would visit.  How the encouragement would not just touch our friends but overflow to their friends.  In the beginning of the week I didn't understand this but by the end of the week, seeing how they live so much in community it began to make sense.  

A fun day at the river was sweet.

Chatting as we kayaked down the river, indulging on food grilled there by the river, just being in the sun watching the kiddo play and laugh.

It wasn't just the extra fun we did throughout the week, it was doing the everyday together.  We shopped at the bazar, we cooked side by side, we made jelly.  

The guys helped move a friend, took an adventurous bike ride and laughed a lot.

They created a new game that mimics our "punch bug" game that calls out the notaries.  (It doesn't sound funny I know, but in the moment it was too funny and has continued since we left ;)

We lingered at the table long, just being friends, being a safe place to not search for the new language's word they might need, being real about this journey, being encouraged by their bold, brave  choices of obedience.

So what was the purpose of all this? To be their friends, to laugh, to love on, to encourage!  On this side of the trip I feel it was the most purposeful trip we have ever taken.  An new insight to see how we can continue to be friends and support them well from this side of the ocean.  All in all we were humbled to watch God work and allow us to be part of loving this precious family who has been obedient to love well in the uncomfortable and unknown.

We are home now, but part of our hearts stayed with them!!