A NIGHT OF TALENT!!!!

Has anyone heard of pureNRG before? JORDAN, CAROLYNE, AND CAROLINE were just hereon a trip with Back2Back. We had such a blast with them. they are super fun, energetic, andwere eager to serve.
One of the nights they were here, they put on a mini concert for ALL the casa hogars (childrens homes) we serve here in Monterrey. Instead of it being just a concert from them, all the homes had something prepared as a little present to them. It was such a fun night. The Douglas girls performed a tambourine routine and the rest of the homes sang a couple songs. i am pretty sure it was all of the childrens homes first time to see anything remotely like a concert. There was lots of kids, LOTS OF SMILING FACES, lots of food for dinner, and most of all LOTS OF FUN. i am sure you can tell by the pictures above that ALL the girls were totally in love with Jordan. it made me think back on my Hanson days. oh the memories. haha.
i also had the privilege of debriefing them one night. these three teenagers blew my mind. Their focus is completely devoted to God and there was no doubt in my mind that God has specifically chosen them, to share the Gospel in such a unique and fun way, for a reason.
Jordan, Carolyne, and Caroline- i had so much fun serving the Lord with each of you and getting to know you. You all are so unique and i am excited to see where God takes you in your journey. Praise God for the way that He has handpicked you three and for the ways you are glorifying His Kingdom.
Everytime i play bannanagrams i will think of you all. God Bless and and thank you so much for all that you did while you were here. Blessings!!!!!!!

God is on the MOVE!

Living among 40-50 jovens (teens) here on our property helps provide a different community than most people are used to. Everyday i am talking or seeing teens and i love it.
God is more and more giving me a heart for these sweet girls that live here. I have the advantage of being an example, being consistent, and being there for them when most people come and go. And the exciting thing is, they are so much fun to be around.
As most of you know last year, Kenzi and i started a little Bible Study with the Hope House girls. It was great. As summer came and went and then i went home for more support raising, it has been a little bit different and harder for me to schedule time with all of them. After all, they are teenagers and i am old now compared to them so my ideas of fun might not be so fun to them. Or they have to work, or i have to, and they also have school. So needless to say it has been a little bit harder but my passion for them keeps growing and growing. I love hanging out with them.
Kathia (in the last picture with me) is one of the girls that i constantly hang out with. she reminds me so much of me when i was in high school: loud, likes to dance, interested in boys, likes to burp, and so much more. She is one of the girls in our Hope Program that has touched my heart since the first time i met her. She is a special one to me. I know God has extremely BIG plans for her life and i cannot wait to see all of it unfold. I think and pray for her constantly. She can do so many things and i pray her decisions from here on out will be a reflection of the Lord and how He has worked in her life. God has specifically brought her and all the other jovens here on the property for a specific reason. Our heart... is to break the cycle of mothers having babies and putting them in childrens homes and those kids growing up to be mommies who put their babies in childrens homes. God can do that. And we (as a staff) believe wholeheartedly that we have a God that is faithful and has reason for doing things He does.
It is so fun to live where you work. Most people would probably not like that very much. But i am in love with it. the fact that hanging out with these teenagers is considered work is incredible to me.
I feel like God is on the move here among our campus. With staff and with jovens. The other day in our staff meeting we were praying for the jovens and the HOPE PROGRAM and i just felt the presence of the Lord and knowing that He was and is here. He is gonna be with us through the hard, difficult, easy, happy times. God has so much to show them and i am praying that they would open their hearts up to hear and see what is in store for their individual lives. They are all doing accountability and Bible Study on monday nights. Please join me in prayer for them. That they would feel the Mighty Presence of our Mighty King. That they would listen when He is whispering to them and that they would realize they were created special in His image. That no matter what they have people surrounding them that love them and believe in them when no one else does. That God has specific promises to them that He plans on revealing to them and revealing His faithfulness. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD! we all know it is true. lets claim that in Jesus name for these jovens. If God is on the move, then we are about to embrace a sweeter taste of who He is as our God.

El Grito!!!!!!

September 16th is a big day here in Mexico. It is their Independence Day! We call it el grito because they all come together in multiple parts of Mexico and yell "Viva Mexico". This year was very different from last year for me. This year we got to celebrate with Casa Hogar Douglas kids. Everyone dressed up and it was super fun. We had a big dinner and held a carnival for a fundraiser/ fun time. The kids danced and played lots of games. It was so cute.
Then after all that, we took some of the jovens and friends downtown where there was music and a massive firework display. i realized after 20 minutes of watching the fireworks that that is the reason we (Americans) have lawn chairs so we can sit and not have to strain our necks watching them. haha. We made it in time to grab some traditional Mexico food, listen to music they had playing, and to take part in el grito. The governor came out and addressed the people and we all yelled as loud as we could "VIVA MEXICO". this night was super fun. Then we also got to take part in their national anthem. Their were so many people downtown it made the night very fun. I love experiencing more of Mexico's culture!


sorry it took me so long to post. i promise i will get better at this.