Date Night

                                  Rodolfo making some Watermelon Juice :) YUM YUM! 

                                    Location: Royal Villas Mazatlan Hotel = BEAUTIFUL! 

Rodolfo and I had one fun date night last friday. Here in Mazatlan there are many fun activities to do. 
One morning, with our last group, we took them for breakfast one morning at RICOS which is our favorite coffee/breakfast place here in Mazatlan. 
When I went in to pay the bill i came across a flyer for something called SALSA AND SALSA. It struck my interest because i love anything to do with Salsa. So i continued reading and found out that it is a tour that is hands on making 7 different types of salsas. Once you have completed the 7 salsas they put on salsa music and teach you step by step to salsa dance. 
It was such a blast! We got some new recipes for salsa that were so yummy! One was a dessert salsa and it was delicious. 
During our tour we found out that the picture of the pig above "LELA" is a pig that is used for holding money for a different organization every month. The pig and SALSA AND SALSA is in Los Cabos, Mazatlan, and Cozumel. During the month with all the events that they hold in the 3 places they collect money for a specific organization. In finding this out, Rodo and I were eager to talk with our instructor for the evening about our organization Back2Back. She was very interested and hopefully some month soon, they will choose our organization to raise money for :) 
This was such a fun night and the salsa dancing was a great way to end our time. We met some nice people from Ohio and had a blast eating quesadillas, taquitos, and lots of salsa and chips:) 

Helping where needed...

Our first group of 2:


Brian from our Home Office and John came for a visit recently.
During their time here, we wanted them to sense what Back2Back Mazatlan has to offer to group members so they could go back and be a voice for us. We took them to the 4 homes that we are going deeper with. At each home we asked for a basic needs list. After meeting with the directors for bit at each home, we made our way out to SAMS CLUB to buy all the things on the needs list. Everything from toilet paper, rice, beans, soap, shampoo, conditioner... to things like medicine for the kids at Rancho. Some of the daily medicine that the children need is pretty expensive. So, we stocked them up on all their medications and necessities. 
The last home we went to was the girls home, Floreser. Because it was a Saturday all the girls were there. It was so fun seeing them and talking with Brenda (the director). Her vision for that place and for each individual girl is amazing. 2 of the pictures above are from that home. This home really touched Brian and John because they are both fathers to daughters. 
We had a great time sharing our heart for Mazatlan and sharing all the things God has blessed the ministry with so far. I was overwhelmed with the giving hearts both of these incredible men have. Rodo and I felt blessed just to be with them. 


They seemed very excited to go back and share what God is doing here:) 

Fun Surprises

Our Friends, The Velasco's, came on a trip to visit our new site:) We knew they were coming with all of their kids. But what we didn't know was that one of my dear friends was surprising us! That is right, my friend Courtney tagged along to help with kids and to hang out with Rodo and I. We visited all the childrens homes and took them to our favorite places to eat that we know of so far:) 

 It was so fun catching up and spending time with them. Courtney shows up and says "Becca I want to bless you this week. So, i went online and did research on places to get pedicures and i found one. I want to treat you to a pedicure during my time here." I felt so blessed by that. But even the fact that she did research and found a place without even knowing the city was even more of a blessing. She got the number and address. All we had to do was make the appointment and find the place. It was SO relaxing and great to be with friends while doing something girly. And i love having happy feet:) THANKS COURT! 

Steve Ross is our financial genius in Monterrey. Well he does a lot more than that :) But we had set aside some time for him to come and help Rodo and I set everything up here in our office for Mazatlan. At the last minute he surprised his wife by bringing her and their baby to visit us here in Mazatlan. During the day we worked and then worked some more. Then at night we hung out at and enjoyed each others company. It was so fun having their whole family here. and to see how big their baby has gotten since we left Monterrey! 

 Chelsie is our friend from the home office. She recently came on a trip here to Mazatlan with Life Point Vineyard in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was able to stay back from the group one day to help me understand some things i didn't about the communication from Mazatlan to the Home Office that needs to happen. She is such a blast to be around. I am always laughing when i am with her. Thanks Chelsie for the insight you gave me:) 

A Special Thanks

We just wanted to give a special thanks to our Monterrey Staff for coming and helping Rodolfo and I with Whatever was needed. We appreciate all the sweat, time, and engaging you all have done with us and with all of the children here in Mazatlan. We are blessed to have you all as friends and co-laborers. 
Todd, Lonnie, Juan, and Greg- you all have served here wholeheartedly and blessed our groups and many more. Thank you again! 

Mexico City

On our way traveling back from Cancun to Mazatlan, we had a long lay over in Mexico City. It is a place i have wanted to see for while now and i love traveling within Mexico. But often don't get a lot of opportunity for it. 
But this time our lay over was 5 hours. So, Rodo and I took a taxi from the airport and went into the town square. There is a Cathedral there as well as the Governors Mansion where they hold the "grito" (independence day) every year. I have seen it broadcasted every year so it was fun seeing and exploring it in person. We didn't have that much time so things were a little rushed. But, i get to officially say i have seen it:) 
we took tours through both places and just walked through the market. It was to my surprise to how cheap things were in Mexico City. Mazatlan and Monterrey are pretty expensive compared to it. I got a scarf and a silver bracelet for less than 4 dollars. Seriously inexpensive. 
We tried to find a place to eat in the square but everything had a wait. So, we decided to head back to the airport and just eat there. 
We had put our bags in lockers at the airport. So, when retrieving our bags from the lockers, we stumbled upon our favorite Italian restaurant in Monterrey that is not here in Mazatlan. So, we had to eat there. It was perfect. They had our favorite things and we were very full after all the bread we devoured. 
Mexico City was fun and if we ever have a big lay over like that again i wouldn't mind seeing some more parts of it. 

Our 5th group

Lots of pictures from week with this group. It was so fun having our 5th group here with us in Mazatlan. A group of 21 from Riverview Church in Michigan. 
We did a cookout at the Salvation Army Home, went to church, dug trenches in the back of Salvation Army so rain won't flood the dorms, worked on more posts out at Rancho, moved huge rock piles, finished the driveway at rancho, and went on a fieldtrip with Rancho de Los Ninos. 
The majority of the pictures in this  blog are from our fieldtrip to the AQUARIUM. The group split up and took a child. They had time to explore the aquarium and then all together we went to 4 different shows. There was a man swimming with sharks show, a parrot show, a falcon show, and a sea lion show. All of them were fun and different. At the sea lion show everyone got wet and some of us got to kiss a sea lion. I personally got to kiss the sea lion 3 times. 
I asked Monica (the director of Rancho) if all the kids get to go out often. She said no. Some of them have severe problems and don't get out very much. Rodo and I specifically asked for ALL of the kids from Rancho to come. I am sure they were worn out afterwards. It was such a fun day and lots to see and experience. Our group was blessed to get to know Rancho and spend the day with them at the Aquarium. 
My friend, lets call him john, was able to go. He is a 17 year old boy . He is also one of the kids that doesn't get out often because he is blind. At the childrens home he is always sitting on the floor, swaying back and forth, and pounding his fists on the floor. But we insisted that he came. We had 2 group members with him. I taught them how to say directions in spanish so they could help john when he was walking around. They were so patient with him. I couldn't help but see Christ in each of them. 
At one point in the aquarium, we stumbled upon a place where you can pay to go snorkeling. It has an open top and you can touch the water. Inside were sting rays and lots of fish. Well, John couldn't see the fish or anything but the second he put his hand in the water he was filled with joy and laughter. up until this moment (since living here) i have never seen john smile. My eyes were filled with tears as i just kept staring at the beautiful moment God had put in front of me. While other kids were content with all the things to see, John was content with the water he could feel on his hands. He kept splashing the water all over and would let out a big laugh. Such a sweet moment in my life since living and serving here in Mazatlan. 

Rodo's Mother

My mother-in-law came to visit us! Rodo informed me that his mom is a worrier. So, to ease her mind about her baby boy living so far from Monterrey, Rodo, his brothers, and sisters pitched in money for Esperanzas (Rodo's Mom) birthday and Mother's day to get here a plane ticket to Mazatlan. Originally she was only coming for 2 weeks. But, in knowing that we were going to Cancun at the end of April, we asked her to stay for a whole month. She was SO excited to stay! 
I know most people are thinking... "you had your mother-in-law stay with you for a whole month???"... but hear me out..
she is way more of a blessing than interference. She literally deep cleaned our house every day, helped cook food for one of our groups, made homemade salsa every other day, helped out with our dogs while we were on groups and while we were in Cancun. There is no way we could repay her for all of her help this past month. And now that i am looking at our house i am desperate to have her back:) 
She LOVES the beach so we were able to go with her a couple times. She even got to ride over to deer island with us one day! So fun. 
Esperanza is the kind of person you just want to be around. She is humble, so sweet, and so generous. She has a peace about her that most people don't have. No matter what situation. She is wise, a hard worker, and LOVES THE LORD. Any time she is not working or sleeping at night she is always reading her Bible. 


Thank you Suegra for coming and blessing our socks off. We miss you already and so does Trooper and Amigo! 

East Side/ West Side

Meet Matt and Dana Metzger.... 


They are joining Mazatlan Staff as soon as the rest of their support comes in. 
We were both fortunate to be able to attend the DISC training in Cancun. We met on the East Side. It was the first time we had met in person. So fun meeting people who are so passionate about the orphan child and excited to come on staff with us. 
Because they were already in Mexico, they flew back to Mazatlan with us from Cancun to see the city they are moving to. Rodo and I took them to visit 4 different school for their children, 4 of the orphanages we are working with, took them to our favorite food places, the market, and stayed up talking and playing cards. Needless to say we were so excited to have people here that are officially going to move here. AND SOON TOO! we are praying for them to land the end of May, before our summer hits. But God is in control and we trust His plan above our own. 
Please pray for the Metzger family as they are even more eager to get here now because they have seen it first hand. We are excited to get this family to the WEST SIDE as fast as possible. Excited for what God has planned for the 4 of us:) 

DISC Assessment Training

Our friend Paul Carpenter was flown down to Cancun and Monterrey to help our Back2Back staff better understand the people we are working with and how to deal with different personalities. We want to further the Kingdom in all we do. If we treat our community with respect instead of disrespect, love instead of hate, and meet everyone where they are at.. we figure it will be a better place. And, if we are all on the same page about how to respond to one another in love, it helps situations out on its own. 


If you don't know what the DISC test is, here is a little bit of information: 

The assessments classify four aspects of behavior by testing a person's preferences in word associations (compare with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). DISC is an acronym for:

Dominance – relating to control, power and assertiveness

Influence – relating to social situations and communication

Steadiness (submission in Marston's time) – relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness

Caution (compliance in Marston's time) – relating to structure and organization

Dominance: People who score high in the intensity of the "D" styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low "D" scores are people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High "D" people are described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious, aggressive, and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed, cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest and peaceful.

Influence: People with high "I" scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. Those with low "I" scores influence more by data and facts, and not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical, logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic, and critical.

Steadiness: People with high "S" styles scores want a steady pace, security, and do not like sudden change. High "S" individuals are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Low "S" intensity scores are those who like change and variety. People with low "S" scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient, eager, or even impulsive.

Compliance:[3] People with high "C" styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High "C" people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, and tactful. Those with low "C" scores challenge the rules and want independence and are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and unconcerned with details.

I came out to be a high "I" which is the color Yellow and a high "S" which is the color green! 

Rodolfo was a high C,D, and S. his "I" was very low. 

Funny how we even each other out. It was fun looking at everyone's results. It truly shows how different people are. 

We were so blessed to have been able to attend the Cancun session. 

Another Trip View

My friend,  Chelsie, from the home office of Back2Back describes her trip here in Mazatlan on her blog. Would love for you all to check it out and get a good sense of what it is all about :) 


if you would like to read her blog click here