extravaGANTZ

PRAYERS FOR THE ARGUELLO'S

2012-01-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Since Rodo and I are leaving really early in the morning of January 30th, for Mazatlan, we are in need of prayer!

Not only for that but also for transition time, saying adios to our Monterrey family, and getting everything ready and packed to go.

Our friends, David and Lonnie, are helping us drive all of our stuff to Mazatlan! Please be praying for our trip and for everything to go smoothly.

Bucket List

2012-01-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

Before leaving Monterrey there was a couple of things I had on my bucket list.

Cathy Huffer makes the BEST home made pretzels I have ever tasted. So, I asked if she would teach me one day step by step on how to make them. We had an afternoon to the two of us and we made 2 batches of pretzels. It was very hands on and I am a visual learner so it was perfect!

Cathy, thank you so much for taking the time to teach me how to be a little more like yourself:) I am excited to take the recipe to Mazatlan and share the pretzels with everyone there!

Being with the teacher was awesome, but next time who knows how they will turn out!

There is a mountain here called El Cerro de la Silla. The significance of the name means “saddleback mountain”

A ton of our staff love to hike, bike, and camp. Well I like to camp, I like to bike, but hiking is just not my thing. The only thing I LOVE about hiking is wherever you are, you get to be in the wilderness of God's Beauty! You always have a goal when you are hiking and once I am there, I LOVE IT. But during the getting there part is super hard for me.

WELL, this last saturday, Rodo and I put on our hiking gear and headed out to climb El Cerro de la Silla! It was probably one of the most challenging hikes I had ever done. But pictures speak for themselves when it comes to the beauty part! We got to the top and there was a lady selling tostadas. I thought that was really funny! So, we bought some tostadas and enjoyed the view that God created, which in that exact moment felt like just for us! We stayed for about 45 minutes just marveling at God's Workmanship! Then we headed back down. The next couple of days I have been a little more sore than usual but it was worth it:)

Countdown and saying goodbye's

2012-01-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

In our last days in Monterrey, we want to be sure to spend time with the people we love before heading out west.

I (Becca) was able to go have a fun breakfast with the 2 girls that have held me accountable for over a year now. Beth and Kelly have invested so much in my walk and in my faith, I can't believe I won't have them right outside my door anymore.

Thank you ladies for all the time, tears, prayers, and laughter that you have brought into my life! In life changing moments you all were there for me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Thank you for believing in Rodo and I as a couple from the very beginning and for walking me through becoming a wife every step of the way. I intend to have skype dates every once in a while: ) I love you girls and are so thankful for the way God has used you in my life!

We are super busy packing up our house, having dinner dates with friends and family, and mentally preparing for us leaving on January 30^th, thats right, this coming monday is our head out date for Mazatlan!

This last sunday we went to have a big family day with Rodolfo's family. We had barbacoa tacos in the morning, then spent the rest of the day in the kitchen making tacos al vapor, pollo achote, and spaghetti but not like we know spaghetti! I LOVE being in the kitchen with rodo's mom and sister. I learn so much from them. I got 3 great/easy recipes for our groups in Mazatlan. I love learning how to cook mexican food!

We left around 10pm and it was a full day. We cherish our days with them. Praise God there were no tears, just laughter, and lots of love! We are hoping some of them will be able to come and visit us sometime in the near future.

A Day of Lasts in Monterrey

2012-01-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

We had a group from Xenos and St. Marks that we had merged together for the week. This day was mine and Rodo's LAST DAY WITH A GROUP IN MONTERREY! It was a monumental day! We went to the Cadereyta squatter village with the group. We had tons of projects going on. I learned how to wheld some copper together for a shower. I was also in charge of breaking a sewage pipe to connect the pipe line from the second floor of the church to the first. That was a stinky job, literally!
Rodo was in charge of building a stool for the preacher, getting everybody suited up for the concrete, by hand job, and overseeing everyone! At the end, we had some time to play with kids and I colored at least a hundred pictures with some of the very sweet children we serve out there!
We then returned to our property where Vita had our last plates of her delicious tostadas and rice pudding. Most people hear the word rice pudding and think it sounds gross if they have never tried it. Then everyone in line takes a bowl and tries it. They come back asking for 3rds because I am telling you, vita's rice pudding is the bomb!
I have been in charge of the vita cooking days since my friend Julie Cooper left. So, it was sad saying goodbye to her!
Then after we ate and everyone was stuffed full of tostadas, we had market for the groups. So, it was my (Becca's) last day on the group, last seeing Vita and her tostadas, and I put on my last market!

It was a big day of lasts in Monterrey for us!

Chrismas 2011

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Like i said in the previous post, I LOVE BEING HOME AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME! I love the lights, being with family, and the reason for the season:)

This Christmas had a lot in store with it:

My best friend Amanda is very pregnant with her 3rd child. The entire time we were in Oklahoma we thought she was going to have him, but she didn't. He is coming any day now though.

Seeing my niece is always a highlight of getting to be with family. I can't believe she is almost 1 year old. She is growing up so fast.
We celebrated our Grandpa's 90th birthday this year. All of my dad's side of the family was in town for the new year! So, we all got together and threw a surprise party for him. in the picture above is my sister, my niece, and my grandpa.

I actually didn't take very many pictures while being home but the ones i did take were all about finley:)
It was her first Christmas and she was all about it. she loved opening up the presents and she loved all of her new toys!
Christmas this year was perfect and reminded me so much of why i love being home:)

saying goodbye to both my grandpa and Finley was super hard. Good thing my mind was all over the place trying to get things together and pack up so we could venture south:)

An Emotional Day

2012-01-10T09:50:00.001-08:00

Going home for Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year! This year it was even more special because we were able to be there for 2 special events!

In October we were in Cincinnati for fundraising and we were able to see some of our best friends, Elizabeth and Cole. They found out they were pregnant right before they flew to Monterrey to be in our Wedding in March. We were able to see them in October and i was so ready for baby Ezme to come while i was there! BUT she didn't so we were super sad! For the holidays they decided to travel to Oklahoma. And so were Rodo and I. We spent so much good quality time with them and we cherished every moment of it. On this particular day we hadn't met Ezme yet but we were so excited!!! We walked in and i immediately started bawling my eyes out. i literally couldn't stop. Ezme was so perfect and tiny. Seeing Elizabeth and Cole as a mom and dad is crazy. They are perfect and i am excited to see them as parents as Ezme grows older! Thanks for all the time you made for us while we were in Oklahoma friends! we love you guys and appreciate your friendship so much!

Another exciting event in the SAME day was one of our other best friends Kenzi Lee Couch was getting engaged. It worked out perfectly because it was the day after rodo and i got into oklahoma so we were able to celebrate with them. Mark Fogleman is her now Fiance and they met while he was working on a mission trip with Campus Crusade here in Monterrey. Kenzi lived here for one year so it was during that time!
Mark was very sneaky and surprised Kenzi a whole bunch on the day he proposed! Then at the end of the night they had a surprise family dinner that rodo and i were invited to and we all celebrated together!
Kenzi was in our wedding as well and it is so fun that now we will be attending HER wedding! We are so excited for the couple and can't wait for them to start their lives as a married couple!

Like i said, it was an emotional day for me:) But, it was an AWESOME day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing all the people we love a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Christmas Date Night

2011-12-21T10:00:00.001-08:00

A surprise date night was in the works for me and I didn't even know! My sweet husband took me to a nice Italian restaurant and then surprised me with tickets to The Nutcracker Ballet! It was FANTASTIC! I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT! Such a great night spent with my hubby:)

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Rodo and I had our sweet friends Michael and Courtney over for dinner and to make gingerbread houses!
On the menu was White Chicken Chili and Coca Light (our version of diet coke)! It was delicious! Then we busted out our gingerbread house making kits and started the process. Michael and Courtney were on a team and Rodo and I were on a team. Trooper wanted in on the fun too! We decided that both of our houses were incredible so neither of us won on the BEST house.
We had a ton of fun with time of fellowship, friendship, and laughter!

Enjoy the pictures:)

ARGUELLO NEWS!

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Back2Back Ministries is currently in Nigeria, India, Cancun, and Monterrey, Mexico. We (Rodo and Becca) have been serving in Monterrey, Mexico for the past 3 years and now with the opening of a new site in MAZATLAN, MEXICO we are headed out west!

FUN FACTS ABOUT MAZATLAN:
Mazatlan is the second largest port on the Pacific coast (After Los Angeles)
* Population is approximately 500,000
* It is a commercial town that has developed into a tourist destination in the last sixty years

OUR GOAL:
Our goal is to be in Mazatlan by February 1, 2012!

THE CALL:
We were able to go on a scout trip to Mazatlan in September for 3 days. We visited 6 orphanages that Back2Back will be partnering with in the city.
One of the homes we visited is for children with special needs. This home has about 30 kids living in it and half of them have special needs. The only boy we were able to connect with there was a boy that was completely blind, almost completely deaf, and paralyzed from the waist down. This home has some severe needs. With resources and group members, Back2Back Ministries will be helping get this home to the potential it has!
Another home we were able to visit is a safe house for teenage girls that have been trafficked or abused. I (Becca) am particularly excited about working with these teenage girls. I am excited to bring Jesus, hope, and love into their lives!
You all have been our support team for either the last 3 1/2 years, last couple years, or the last couple months. We would NOT be able to live out our calling form the Lord if it weren’t for people like you in our lives. We are inviting YOU along for the journey as well. Together, linking arms, we will fight to rescue the orphan children of Mazatlan!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Ending our time here in Monterrey is going to be difficult. We will be leaving our community, the children we have served here for the past year 3 years, and Rodolfo’s family.

*Car situation- The roads, to the orphanges, in Mazatlan are rough. We will be needing a bigger vehicle. If you know of anyone that is selling or giving away vehicles, please contact us.

*People coming alongside us ready and willing to partner with us for the call to Mazatlan. This includes:
-Praying for us specifically and the ministry site of Mazatlan.
-Financial support.We are in need of $10,000 more.

* For God to continue taking care of every detail!

WE WOULD LOVE TO TALK WITH EACH OF YOU ABOUT THIS EXCITING OPPORTUNITY! PLEASE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WANT TO TALK WITH US ABOUT THIS MOVE OR LIFE IN GENERAL EMAIL US AT:
r.arguello12@gmail.com

Ending the Women's Group

2011-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

This was my 4th women's group since being on staff. It is always my favorite week of the entire year! It is also one of the busiest weeks of the year for us women on staff!

This morning my friend Sammy and I drove 6 women to the airport at 4 in the morning! Needless to say at the end of the week i was exhausted! I went home after the airport run and slept until 3:30pm! It was glorious and definitely needed.

These women always bring a worship leader with them! They brought Craig Aven this time. Craig is pretty much staff when he is here! He comes a ton and has a great relationship with us staffers. Every time he is here whether it is for a summer or a week, he is always such a blessing! During the year we don't have a worship leader and it is probably the one thing i miss the most from the states. Good worship services! So, even though the ladies bring him for them, he ends up blessing all of us because he is so talented and knows how to lead some worship!

Hope you have enjoyed reading about the 5 full days of the Women's Group 2011! It was a blast and a blessing to be apart of bringing Christmas to EVERY child we serve here in Monterrey!

Last FULL day of the Women's Group

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

This morning was more relaxed with some breakfast, a teaching time with Beth Guckenberger, a time to buy stuff at our market, and our HOW TO STAY INVOLVED MEETING!

We had a delicious lunch and then headed out for Casa Hogar Del Norte.
At Del Norte we made ornaments with the kids and let them make 2 sugar cookies topping them with icing and sprinkles.
Then we headed out for a fun fieldtrip to a place called KIDZANIA. It is basically a town that we live in shrunk down to kid size. Right when you get in, each child gets a check for a certain amount of money (like monopoly money) and they go to the bank to cash it. After that, they basically can run crazy in a place that you can learn how to make your own hamburger from McDonalds, your own pizza at Dominoes. And you get to work at places like Home Depot, a Veterinarian place with real animals, and Wal-Mart! This place has 2 stories for places to make money and then to spend it. The kids can bottle coke but they have to pay for the coke bottle. They can make a chocolate candy but they have to pay for it with the money they earned! They can become a firefighter, policeman, delivery person, a pilot, and much more.

Everytime we take a childrens home to this place the dreams of who they CAN become are more real to them! It is so fun watching them go from place to place and earn money or be able to spend it!

It was a fun filled day that is for sure!

DAY 4: Women's Group

2011-12-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

This day was packed full!

In the morning we wrapped presents and got them all ready for Casa Hogar Imperio De Amor! There are 65 kids at this childrens home. This is the home that Rodolfo is captain of. So, he is there every week hanging out figuring out projects, building relationships, and wrestling with the older boys of the home:)

After gathering everything for the day, we headed out for Imperio De Amor. When we arrived we all went to the church they have on campus. The women brought a ton of musical instruments and so we decided to break up into teams and have an "AMERICAN IDOL" competition. Each team had 15 minutes to come up with a skit/song. They could grab any of the instruments that they needed. It was such a hoot! I was very impressed with what each group came up with!

Rodo's team won! It will be a picture ingrained in my mind forever watching all the older boys and my husband dancing around and singing!

Prior to American Idol, we had the women pre make "SNOWBALLS" out of socks filled with flour. So, we had the winners of American Idol get to peg Rodolfo first with the snowballs. Since the older boys won they were SO excited about that! The second place winners were able to keep their musical instruments. And 3rd place team got candy!

After American Idol, we went into the kitchen area and ate lunch with the children. We baked 115 potatoes and had all the toppings. We also asked Vita (our mexican cook) to make 400 tamales and her incredible salsa. It was AWESOME!

Once our bellies were full of yummy food, we had the kids open up all of their presents! They were all so excited to see their names on an individual gift. Sometimes, groups come and give gifts as a group. So individual presents are a BIG deal!

Our morning at IDA was very successful and entertaining!

We departed from IDA and went to one of our Squatter villages we call "Rio 3". We had a little church service with the community and then we had families line up for a photo shoot! We brought fancy clothes from our donation room, 5 digital cameras, and 3 awesome photo printers. This was probably the biggest Christmas gift the women could have given out because those families that live there have probably never had a picture of themselves let alone a picture of their entire family!

Then to end our day the Ladies took all of the group and all of our staff women to a nice italian restaurant here in the city. It is the equivalent to a Bravo's or a Macaroni Grill. It was such a treat for us. It made us feel so special that these ladies thought of us staff women even though they were already thinking of the 500 orphans we serve here in Monterrey! We felt very blessed so THANK YOU WOMEN FOR THAT YUMMY DINNER!

Day 3: Women's Group

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

This Day was one of my favorites days!

In the morning we had Santas Workshop! We wrapped Christmas presents for Casa Hogar Bethesda and we had a group that worked as santa's elves. While the kids were off at school we took homemade chicken noodle soup, their presents, and left pillows with their names monogrammed on their beds. We left their presents under their tree in the living room.
We had another group of women that went back to Casa hogar douglas. We had arranged for there to be a photo of each child with a prayer request on the back. So, the women did a prayer walk and specifically prayed for every child living at Casa Hogar Douglas!

Then we ate a yummy lunch and waited for the kids from Casa Hogar Bethany and Casa Hogar ERJ come meet us at the property. Once they were here we gave each kid their presents and a sack lunch. They ate their lunch, opened presents, and then we headed off to the movie theater.

We went to see the Muppets Movie. We got 150 people popcorn, candy, and a drink! It was such a fun time. Honestly the movie was a HUGE treat to most of the kids because there were a lot of new kids in both of those Childrens homes. A lot of the kids were saying that it was their very first movie in a movie theatre! Which blew all of our minds.

Then the most exciting part....

We put 50 pesos ($5) in an envelope for EVERY kid and they were able to walk around the 2nd nicest mall in Monterrey for 45 minutes and spend their 50 pesos with whatever they wanted. YES there was a starbucks in the mall and most of the kids went there.
Then our meeting point was at the MASSIVE Christmas Tree in the middle of the mall. They have a special event every 3 hours for it to snow at the big tree. I think they use soap. i am not 100% sure though. Anyway, we had set it up for them to do the big snow to end our time with ERJ and Bethany. It was PERFECT! They had their Christmas music going and we were all dancing and singing in the snow!

One of my favorite memories of the whole week is watching those sweet faces looking at the snow coming down!

p.s. no i do not have a baby, i am just holding one in all of those pictures :)

Day 2: Women's Group

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

I don't have many pictures from this day. But it was an eventful day no doubt!

Starting at 10:00 am, pretty much every day, We had what we call Santa's workshop! We split the women's group up into different teams to accomplish many tasks. The teams were either wrapping Christmas gifts for that specific childrens home we were going out with for the day, baking sugar cookies, building a picnic table, preparing lunch, preparing dinner, or going into our school here on campus, Sierra Madre Christian Academy, and helping decorate ornaments for their Christmas Tree!

Meanwhile, we have Christmas music blaring to really get us in the Christmas Spirit.

We ate our lunch and then headed out to a mountain so we could hike with Casa Hogar Manantial de Amor. The mountain is called Chimpinque! It has such a beautiful outlook over the city.
Well, during santas workshop we had some people making painter's palette's. So, each women was paired up with one or two kids from the childrens home. They had to find different things that were on their painter palette. After they found everything they all met at one specific tree. While they were out finding the stuff on their palette's, some of the staff put ALL of their presents under the tree:)
So when they all hiked up to the top of the mountain their presents were under a big forest tree! They loved it.
After opening presents the kids from Manantial had a time of testimonies and it was very powerful.

Then we headed home and had a lasagna dinner with all the teen girls that live on our property! We made 9 lasagnas, had 75 rolls, and yummy salad for everyone. The teen girls had also prepared a little something. They wanted to do a prayer time over the women. It was a very spiritual fed evening that was ended with a SUPER fun game called PIT. if you do not have it, i would plan on purchasing the card game for the holidays with family!

Christmas at CHD

2011-12-13T12:04:00.000-08:00

This years women's group arrived here on Monday November 28th and we headed off to Casa Hogar Douglas. Before we were able to go, we did a quick wrapping presents for 75 kids and 10 care takers. We had an incredible pizza dinner (which is very rare for this childrens home), we made sugar cookies, topping them with icing and sprinkles, we handed out presents to every child and care taker, then we headed up to the chapel for some worship and fun.

Each dorm had prepared a dance, memory verse, or a skit for the womens group. I was very impressed with their dancing. One group did a dance to a song called "soy una princesa" which translates to "I am a princess".
i have heard this song many times before and i actually have it on my ipod. But, there is something about orphan girls dancing around in princess dresses singing I am a princess. The song continues to talk about how God specifically calls them His princess. And how He has great plans for their lives! i was tearing up just listening to them sing and dance to this song. They had HUGE smiles and were having a BLAST!

We ended our time with caroling and a candle light service. We sang in English and they sang in Spanish "Silent Night" and "Oh Holy Night". Honestly it was pretty magical watching all these beautiful little faces in the candle light! They loved the fact that they all got individual candles. We were a little nervous at first but it ended up to be an incredible Christmas with Casa Hogar Douglas!

A Nature walk with CHD

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Every time we have a group here for the week we take them on a fieldtrip with a childrens home.
2 weeks ago i went on a fieldtrip with Casa Hogar Douglas to a local park we have here called "Estanzuela". Just the beauty of everything is incredible and puts me in my place with God. I am reminded that i am a small speck on the board and that as long as i allow God to control me and deal with me then He will continue turning me into HIS Beauty!

The mountains that surround us are beyond gorgeous and are a reminder everyday HOW BIG OUR GOD IS! I pray almost everyday that God would never let me get tired of looking at these mountains!

A DAY OF FIRSTS!!!!

2011-12-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

This day was full of fun firsts for me!

1.) I was with Apex church at ERJ and we were digging a trench from an electrical post to a chicken coop! And they were no where close together :) 120 foot trench!

2.) I MILKED A COW FOR THE FIRST TIME! Never realizing how hard it actually is! I also only mastered it with my right hand.

3.) I felt a baby sheep inside its mama. The baby was kicking like crazy and i had never felt that on a sheep before!

4.) I LEARNED HOW TO WELD! A man by the name of Tim came down last year and taught our staff how to weld. But, i wasn't able to attend any of the trainings. So, out at ERJ, in preparation for a roof, I was taught by some of my fellow staff members. It was really fun to learn how to do that! Also, i got to wear some really cool stuff. hahha

I loved this day because it was full of things i had never done! Now, i am ready for my application for American Chopper. If they need an extra welder:)

Fundraising in Oklahoma

2011-10-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

HEY EVERYONE! COME OUT THIS THURSDAY NIGHT TO COME ALONG SIDE RODOLFO AND I IN THE MINISTRY WE ARE DOING! BRING FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND ANYONE ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF TO HELP SUPPORT THE ORPHAN CHILDREN THROUGHOUT MEXICO! THERE WILL BE SOME SHOPPING DONE FROM A REAL MEXICAN MARKET AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT RODO AND BECCA DO IN MONTERREY!
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Fall is here

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

A week a ago today was the first day of Fall!

Even though here in Mexico we are in the 90's, we still love celebrating fall.

I always get really excited to see pumpkins and fun things to celebrate holidays.

I made some yummy gluten free brownies that are in molds of leaves and pumpkins. So, with our center pieces of pumpkins, the molds, and the baked brownies, i needed to take a picture.

This post is to just say HAPPY FALL Everyone!

Enjoy football season, leaves falling, warm cider, and all the fun starbucks fall flavors!

TAMALES

2011-09-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

Our niece enjoying some fresh tamales!

Mis Maestras (My Teachers)

Rodo's family was able to come over and spend the day with us this past sunday. The last time we were all together i told them i have always wanted to know how to make tamales. For some reason, i think, if i start to cook mexican i will feel more mexican : )

They remembered that i wanted to learn so they brought everything over to teach me how to make them. We made bean tamales and Deshebrada ( a cut of meat here) tamales. THEY WERE SERIOUSLY SO GOOD! I have also been wanting to learn how to make deshebrada. so i was able to learn 2 things in one day! I am so pumped! we went step by step and i wrote everything out. it is funny i was looking at all the notes i took and the recipe is in spanglish. Hopefully i will remember everything!

This day was so fun. I love spending time with my in-laws!

WELCOME TO THE MARKET!

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I am officially in charge of our market here on the Back2Back campus. We used to take groups downtown and give them a certain amount of time to shop and stuff. I remember doing that when i came here as a group member. But around 5 years ago we decided to go a different route, having our guests safety being number one.

So now, i go out and do all the shopping, haggling, and bring the mexican market to our teams here on campus. I love finding good deals. So, this job is perfect for me. So, this year i am still in charge of food for our American teams that come but now i am also in charge of the Market.

Hopefully one day you all will be able to come shopping and check it out!

El Grito

2011-09-27T07:19:00.001-07:00

It is that time of year again:

El Grito:

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day with Casa Hogar Douglas.

A priest, Miguel Hidalgo, rang a bell at midnight to call people to fight on behalf of Mexico. Starting with just farmers who were willing to fight. And that is how the battle for Mexico began. This Battle lasted for 10 years.

Rodo was the lucky man who was able to do el grito (the yell for Mexico) this year. VIVA MEXICO!!!

Trooper also got dressed up for the occasion! We had games for the kids. People were dressed up in authentic Mexican dressings, and the best part was the food. We had corn with mayonnaise, chile, cheese. We also enjoyed a roasted pig. Everyone had so much fun with the games and music.

SEBAS!!!!!

2011-09-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Birthdays here are always a good time! This year Sebas decided he wanted to go bowling and out for tacos. So, we all went bowling and ate tacos way too late in the night. hahah. Bowling, for me, always sounds like so much fun and then i actually start bowling and i realize i am not as good as i think i am. But the experience with friends is the best part!

Sebas is one of our friends from a long time ago. I remember when Rodo, Kenzi, and I drove him all the way from El Limon (the casa hogar that is 6 hours away) to come be apart of our hope program. I remember when he started chef school. He is a bright young man who will succeed if he continues to put his mind in the right place. Our neighbors for the year, THE WHITED FAMILY, formed a special bond with Sebas and asked him to become a part of their family. They instantly bonded and it was so fun to watch them interact with sebas. So, Sebas moved out of one of our hope program houses (but was still a part of it) and moved in with the Whited's. This year for Sebas has been a good one. He has graduated from Chef School and is now working at a local sushi restaurant while the Whiteds are in the states. Their whole family (including Sebas) are in for a new journey. They are all going to serve at Casa Hogar El Limon as a family to help out with the 42 kids that live there. There was only 4 different worker for 42 children and David and Stacy (parents) felt the call to move their family there. Check out their story click here, Whiteds World. They are passionate people with passionate hearts for the orphan child. Sebas was just the beginning step! Now, he is a part of a family and watching the way they love on each other is unreal.
Hope you had a great birthday this year Sebas. We love you!

Trooper Arguello

2011-09-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

A sweet new addition to the Arguello family!

Meet Trooper! He was born on June 1, 2011 and was adopted by Rodolfo and Rebecca Arguello on July 10, 2011.

He was so little and cute we couldn't help but grab him. We fell in love with him instantly. Rodo named him and has been teaching him so many tricks.

Trooper loves to go on walks, play fetch, and sleep. He can sit, high five, and lay down. He knows spanish and english. Trooper has all of his shots now and is ready to go meet his cousins Oliver and Sampson. Oliver is my sisters dog and Sampson is my parents dog. We are hoping to travel with him around Christmas time!

Michaelyn Paige

2011-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Michaelyn Paige happens to be my 2nd cousin! God worked together in HUGE ways to get her here in Monterrey for 2 months.

Over this past new years, i was able to be at home and see my dad's entire extended family. We always have a blast when we are together. One of the highlights is seeing my cousin Michaelyn. We always hang out till really late at night playing games, rockin out to guitar hero, eating tons of sausage balls, and drinking WAY too much Dr. Pepper. She asked me if she would be able to visit Rodolfo and I for the summer. I was very interested because she is my favorite cousin, i just wasn't sure how it was going to work because for one we were going to be newlyweds and for another reason, summer is crazy for us staff here.

Well, after our wedding and reception in Oklahoma i asked around to see if anyone was still in need of a nanny for the summer. That way Michaelyn would be able to stay here on campus with all the other interns and nannies and still be able to be here for the summer! Well, Juan and Rosa Porto were still in need. So, i called Mikie (Michaelyn) and told her the position was hers if she wanted it. The VERY NEXT DAY she got her plane ticket and was set to be here for 2 whole months! I WAS SO EXCITED. she is the first in my family to really know what i do here!

Seeing her relate to everyone here on campus was so much for me to watch. God did a great work in her heart and in her life while she was here! After her first week here she had felt the Lord in real ways that she wasn't used to. She met with my dear co-worker and friend Angela twice a week because she was so enthralled by the Lord and wanted to know more. By week 3, she was dedicated to the Lord and changed her life to look more like His. And, at the end of the summer, she was baptized! All the pictures above were from her baptism party! I just cried the entire time. Being able to see her inside and out was something i had never seen before. I was so proud of her and the way she embraced everyone and everything that was new and different than what she was used to.

Leading a new life she has decided to pick up from her home in Austin, Texas and moved to Dayton, Ohio. She is now living with a family (wife and son in last picture) that is helping her get involved with a great church and good community. She is currently there and loving every moment of it. I have talked to her a couple times and she is just waiting on the Lord for a perfect job opportunity and everything will be put in place.

Michaelyn,

I am so proud of the woman you have become! Moving to places you don't know anyone or anything is a hard step of faith, but you did it. It might have been the bungee jumping that allowed you to take that one big leap of faith. hahah. I love you so much and it was so fun having you in my home for 2 months. You are such a blessing to my life and i am excited for what the future holds for you! God Bless you cousin and for all your hard work you did this summer here for the Porto's. Come visit me again soon please. Rodo wants to kick your booty in cards again! LOVE YOU!

Brandy and Cassie

2011-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Meet my friends Brandy and Cassie!

Every summer we have a discipleship program here between our summer interns and our staff. This summer I had the pleasure of meeting weekly with Brandy and Cassie. Most staff were paired up with a girl or boy only for one month. I was able to meet with these girls for the whole summer. We met weekly to work through some tough situations and to closen our relationships with the Lord. Being away for a summer can be tough, I remember that from being here for 5 summers in a row. So, I was able to understand what living with 12 other girls felt like, what it was like to miss your family or friends, and how to pray for glory strength to finish strong! One of the girls was a nanny as well so we had some fun sharing different stories about that.

I was very blessed to meet with each of these girls. Blessed to call them friends and I am already missing talking and hanging out with them!

Babies, Babies, and More Babies!!!!!

2011-09-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Lots of babies this time of year! Before summer we had a baby shower for the 5 babies That were due in August and September. My friend Jessica and I decided to make some onesies for all of them! Now all these sweet babies but 1 are here and hopefully enjoying some onesies!

I can't believe 5 babies in one month! I am in heaven holding all the little ones. And, don't worry, it will be A LONG time until Rodo and I are drinking the same water as everyone else on staff here :)

DANCE CAMP!!!!

2011-09-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

WEEK 8 OF SUMMER!!!!!!!!

This week was probably one of my favorite weeks while being on staff! 3 dance teachers from Ohio decided to hold a dance camp for our staff kids and the girls at Casa Hogar Douglas. In order for this dance camp to happen, they held one in Ohio first! Raised the money, Choreographed dances for every age, had dance clothes donated, had tutu's and bags made for every participant, and got decorations to make the atmosphere more fun. They worked their booties off to make this week PERFECT, and it was.

Every morning we went over to CHD a little bit early to set up and review what the day would look like. The theme for their camp was Princess of God. Every morning They started with worship songs, a theme for each day revolving around being a Princess of God, have story time where the girls were able to help out, and then off to class. The girls were split up by age. Each class had around 8 girls in it. Each class learned a routine and then came together to learn a routine with everybody. All songs were worship songs and were beautiful.

Each morning the classes were from 9-11 a.m. Then, after the camp each day we had fun activities planned. Throughout this week we took all the girls on a fieldtrip to a place near by called Kidzania. It is basically a town shrunk down to kid size. They can work and they get paid. They can spend their money to get something. They can work at Dominos pizza and McDonalds and eat the hamburger or pizza that they have made. It is really a neat place. They also had a spa day, pollo loco, and a swim party!

At the end of the week we were able to put on a recital for our entire campus at Back2Back. All the groups from week 8 and all the staff were invited. They made signs and were a great crowd. It was incredible! The girls did all of their dances for them and told them the different themes throughout the week that they had learned. After the recital, we invited the parents to come and eat some cake and celebrate all the success from the week.

This week, for me, was a perfect way to end the summer. Finishing off strong and with a big passion of mine. This week for the girls was even better. They didn't want it to ever stop! These girls were blessed in a huge way by 3 dance teachers who had a passion to bring love, Jesus, and dance to orphan and staff children! Thank you ladies for your heart and your service here!

Paloma's 15th Birthday

2011-09-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Paloma is from Casa Hogar Manantial de Amor (The Spring of Love). I have a special bond with the girls that live there. I sometimes take them different place or go hang out with them and we have so much fun. Paloma LOVES to dance. For her Quincenera she asked me to choreograph a dance for her and 2 friends. I was SO SAD in knowing that i had NO time whatsoever because we had 5 groups here that week and the week to follow! It was in the heat of summer. I seriously felt aweful. But when i told her i couldn't she was totally wonderful about it. She told me as long as i was there, she didn't care. Well, to my surprise, her and her friends choreographed their own dance and performed it the day of her Quincenera. These Quinceneras are a BIG deal for the Mexican Culture. It is the moment the young girl becomes a woman. Makes a promise to God to stay pure and it is basically like a wedding ceremony but her groom is the Lord. They have Padrinos ( people who are important to her) for the pillow she kneels on, her ring ( promise/purity ring) , a watch ( a time for every season), and people who help pay for the event to happen. She kindly asked me to be the Madrina of her ring. I was so blessed that she could have picked anyone, but she chose me.

It was a beautiful ceremony that started 2 hours after it was supposed to. ( no worries that is normal here in Mexico :) We had a group here who helped out with set up and tear down. And we all salsa danced the rest of day away!

Kenzi Lee Couch

2011-09-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Kenzi is one of my best friends! My first year here in Monterrey, she took a year off of college to come and serve the orphan child and to be with her parents. Her parents were house parents for 5 years here in Monterrey.

Kenzi was a bridesmaid in our wedding! I cherish her friendship so much! She came this summer to visit for 2 weeks. It is always so much fun having someone here that knows you inside and out. That knows your hometown and where you don't have to start from the beginning. I always LOVE my time with Kenzi. When we are in the states you can usually find us at Sonic about 3 times a day, having a dance party, or watching really cool dances on youtube! We are constantly laughing when we are around each other. Kenzi brings laughter to any situation. That is what i love about her.

God has her on a new journey! She just picked up from Oklahoma and moved to Kentucky. She has a special someone up there! She found some great Christian roomates. I am super excited for her and her new journey. Praying that God has her in a place of peace during all the moving and transition. It is sad for me to think that every time I will be in Oklahoma, she won't be there :(

I love you Kenzi and am praying the best for your future!

Etiquette Class

2011-09-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

David and Stacy Whited got together with House Parents, Darren and Hannah, and decided that our teens needed some correct guidance on how to behave when out at a nice restaurant! Realizing that they are teens and are at the age of dating, they decided to throw a nice dinner at the Whited's house. Rodo and I, Hope and Cheque, Hannah and Darren, and the Whited's were the servers for the evening.

In preparation for this specific night, they brought two of our teen homes together and watched a video on Etiquette while eating. David and Stacy not only talked to them about how to be polite while you are eating but also how to hold a conversation with your date, what fork to eat from, where the spoon goes, and how to place your utensils when finished with your meal. So, they learned everything before hand and then they were able to put everything they had learned into practice.

We rented table cloths, plates, glasses, and correct silverware for the occasion. We made the Whited's house look like a fine dining restaurant and paired each boy with a girl. They had to walk them in, tell us how many were in their party, and we sat them at their table. We served salad, grilled chicken, potatoes, a dinner roll, and variety of cokes. In the meantime, all the servers learned stuff as well. We learned you take plates from the left and put down in front of them on the right. ( i hope i remembered that correctly :)

At the end of night we served a dessert flan and gave them the bill. We wanted to show them what a meal like that would have cost for 2 people at a nice restaurant and they couldn't believe it. I think it put a lot of things in perspective for them. They normally get dinner just handed to them from their childrens home or their house parents. So, it showed them that if you want to impress a lady, you don't take her to a taco stand, but give her a chance to look pretty and for the boy to wear something besides soccer shorts, and to have a good conversation you might need to pay a little more than 20 pesos ( $2).

In the end, they had a great time, we had so much fun helping serve them and listen to the conversations flooding through that house! It was a great time of learning for all of us. It also reminded me of when i was going to prom in high school my mom had to sit me down and show me how to use a fork the correct way and to NOT EAT SO FAST! hahah oh the memories!!!!!!!

Before summer Project

2011-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Rodo, Courtney and I set off one day to work on a project for ERJ ( El Retiro Juvenile). The project was for a church in the states that financially supports ERJ. They were preparing for a VBS project for their kids back in Indiana. We went and asked each child from ERJ their name, age, grade in school, and what they wanted to be when they grow up. We recorded it for this specific church and sent it to them so their VBS kids would see and learn about other cultures and the children in those cultures. Rodo sat in with the boys and translated for them and I sat in with the girls to translate. Courtney was our videographer for the day!

It was a wonderful day spending time with each one of them. Listening to their stories about what is going to happen when they get older and what they want to study. As we went through each child i just remember praying for them! Praying that God would make those kids dreams come true! That the children of ERJ would never lose hope or sight of what they want in life. To know and believe that they can achieve their dreams. Whether it was to be a doctor, social worker, fireman, policeman, nurse, psychologist, or a care taker! Having hope and dreams of being a wife or a husband with little ones running around.

I feel like a lot of children in orphanages can lose sight of that. They feel like they have no purpose and that no one loves them. And that is why BACK2BACK is here!!!! To remind them of every accomplishment that they have had and to further their education with success. Praise God we are here and are able to speak truth into these little ones and to see some dreams being met.

This day reminded me that I am constantly in battle for these children that we serve. I need to be consistently praying God's promises over them:

Gods promises to the Orphan child:

He promises to-

vindicate them,
rescue them,
deliver them,
not leave them,
come to them,
hear them,
lift them up,
be their Father,
make them a home,
lead them out,
not to forget them,
extend mercy towards them,
execute true justice,
provide them with food and clothing,
be their helper,
maintain their cause,
and incline His ear!

Saying Goodbyes are Hard!

2011-09-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

As all of you know i am obsessed with meeting famous people. Well, on a little trip to the airport to drop off our friend Jessica, we saw a mob of people waiting outside a terminal. They all had guitars and posters with them. So, i obviously recognized that someone famous was about to come through those doors. And at that moment, they did. IT WAS FIREHOUSE!

Okay confession, i had NO idea who they were but later found out that they were on tour with Poison here in Monterrey! I did recognize the name Poison so we were good! So, i had to get a picture with one of the guys. He was glad i was speaking English to him! And thats all for my claim to fame!

As i said previously, we were at the airport dropping off our friend Jessica! This summer i have had to say goodbye to 2 of my dearest friends here in Monterrey! Jessica Biondo (far right in picture above) and Ruby Moyer(far left in picture above). Jessica had been my roomate for 2 years before i got married! She was the SMCA teacher here for grades 3-6. Living with her was SO MUCH FUN. I had known her before she moved here because we nannied my last summer together. We had gotten close then, but since we had lived together for 2 years we got even closer. Jessica's heart here was to serve and do ANYTHING for her fellow staff members and families. There is so much JOY exploding through this girl it can't help but rub off on you! She felt the Lord calling her to North Carolina for a teaching position. God opened all the doors for her and it was evident that He wanted her there! Seeing the Lord unfold the next chapter of her life was incredible. It is amazing watching the Lord do His wonderful work!

Ruby had lived here the entire 3 years i have been here in Monterrey! Over the last 3 years we have gotten closer and i have learned and gained so much wisdom from Ruby! She was also a SMCA teacher but for grades k-3. She is a passionate person about what she does. She has a heart for missionary kids and for our ministry here. She was apart of it all. When someone is a part of it all and God calls them somewhere else, there is a gap to fill. Ruby had lived here for 4 full years and served wherever needed. She LOVES getting volleyball games together and so i am a little nervous who will start games now.

These girls have brought so much to my life in the past 3 years of working alongside me. I am thankful for their friendships and they will be forever cherished! I love you girls! Praying for God to continue showing off for your lives like He has done so evidently here!

Biggest Day Of Summer!

2011-06-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday ( June 19) we had our biggest day of summer! We fed over 400 people a steak dinner. We grilled over 180 lbs of meat, cooked over 1200 tortillas, cut over 200 avacados and tomatoes, and served over 25 bags of cheetos. (please note that Averee has a cheeto hand that matches the color of her shirt).

On this day we brought all the childrens homes here to the Back2Back property for an incredible dinner! We also invited any friends from the community that we know to come and join in and to see what Back2Back is all about! We always have a HUGE tent to fit everyone under. This year we had a time of worship, we ate, we heard some testimonies from some of our teens here on campus, and we were able to sit back and enjoy a little show all together! It is always such a crazy time but definitely worth all the craziness. The kids loved it and we loved serving them. Such a fun time.

It is always so fun to see all of our homes under one roof together. Seeing all the many faces we love on each day and bringing them together to let them know they are not alone in this world, is a highlight of mine each year. I just walked around with a huge smile on my face yesterday because watching them brings so much joy to my heart!

Introducing Casa Hogar Bethany!

2011-05-13T15:02:00.001-07:00

Last wednesday we took our first group to a new casa hogar. Casa Hogar Bethany. It is about 45 minutes away from our property.

That morning was very emotional for me because i woke up having a message on facebook saying that my dad had a heart attack the night before. Talk about the most shock i could be in. I called my sister and she assured me that he was going to be fine. His Main Artery was 99% blocked. They had a stent put in! I was looking up plane tickets for the first flight home, BUT then i talked to him and he was making jokes and looked alright. I was assured it wasn't anything i should rush home for.

As you could imagine, i was super emotional this morning. But i was given the option of going out with the group or staying behind. I prayed about it and i really wanted to go to Bethany for the first time. And, if i would have stayed back all i would have been doing is worrying. So, i decided to go.

It ended up being a great day! We got a tour of the home. It was so fun to see all the new faces running around! I was in charge of the cleaning bathrooms crew. They did an incredible job. The bathrooms weren't in the best shape, but once they were finished with them, THEY LOOKED AWESOME!

I was able to talk with some of the older kids that lived there. It was a blast getting to know them. There are 20 kids in this home. The youngest boy is 4. And it is a pretty good mix of younger kids to older kids.

This day BACK2BACK WAS MAKING HISTORY! It was a great day to be apart of and it got my mind off worrying and thinking about home. That night we ate some Vita and then i was able to skype with my dad! Once again, PRAISE GOD FOR TECHNOLOGY!

Trusting God in Everything!

Now my dad is back at home resting. AND we are looking forward to taking more groups to CASA HOGAR Bethany!

My friend Elizabeth

2011-05-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

After not seeing one of my friends, Elizabeth, for over a year, i was so excited to see her 2 different times within one month. Her and her husband Cole were in our wedding. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding as well. What an honor it was to have them by our sides on one of the most important days of our lives. The four of us have always had a blast together. Their friendships are those friendships that you cherish.

I was also able to see Elizabeth when she came down here on a group for a whole week. It was awesome knowing that i would be able to see her every day for one week.

Sometimes friendships are the one thing i miss being down here. People that just know you instead of having to start all over. So, when those people come to visit you treasure those moments because it is your little piece from home. Elizabeth and i have known each other since the summer of 2004, the first summer i came to be a nanny for the Cooper Family. We instantly bonded and became best friends. She was also moving to Oklahoma at the time to be closer to her boyfriend, now husband. So, it was perfect. God was preparing a friendship before we even knew it. We have spent 3 summers as nannies and interns together down here in Mexico. I remember late night swims with her, running from tarantulas with her, and learning about the journey that God had for us both. I remember our first real conversation being one of The Holy Spirit. We were sharing our past, present, and future with each other. She always thought Rodo would be in my future and she was correct : ) We have had more meaningful conversations than I could count.

Elizabeth is the type of friend everyone wants. She is sweet, funny, and the worlds best encourager. She is there for you when you need to cry, laugh, vent, or just to be there. She is awesome.

We recently found out that she is pregnant. Her and Cole are expecting their first child! I was floored when they told us. We are so excited for them and the new journey they are on. That is right, Elizabeth was here on a group when she was pregnant! She did such a great job of encouraging people, helping get water for everyone, painting outside (so she couldn't smell the fumes), and being careful, but not being helpless. I feel like some people would have taken that excuse to just be an observer for the week. But not Elizabeth. The saddest thing for her was that she wasn't able to do a Concrete pour. hehe. seriously.

I remember talking and dreaming with Elizabeth about being here with B2B one day! Seeing her here was just a reminder of how much she belongs in this line of work. I pray one day God will bring us in the same place to serve alongside each other and further the Kingdom! I love you Elizabeth!

HONEYMOON!!

2011-04-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

WE HAD SUCH A RELAXING HONEYMOON! we had our first flight together! we rented a jeep to see ALL of Cozumel. We ate at alot of fun, romantic places! We hung out on the beach of our hotel. We Snorkeled. We went on an adventure called XPLORE that had 14 different zip lines, rafting through caves, driving 4 wheelers through caves, all you can eat and drink smoothie/cookie bar, swimming through caves, and an incredible buffet. it was one of our favorite days! We were having so much fun on our honeymoon we didn't want to get back to reality... shhh don't tell :)

i have so many picture from then so i just picked a few. hope you enjoy looking at them!

WEDDING POST!!!!!!

2011-03-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe i am writing on my blog as a married WOMAN!!!!! our wedding was perfect in every way. We were so thankful to have friends and family help put everything together. It was a fairytale wedding for the both of us and we felt super blessed.

instead of posting a bunch of pictures and going through the whole night. My friend Jessica posted all of the events on her blog. So my wedding post is really going to be a post from her. Enjoy reading and looking at our pictures from the best day of our lives!

to read her blog click here

7 days and counting....

2011-02-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that in one week from right now, i will be a MARRIED woman! I am so excited for what is to come.

Rodolfo and I are renting a place near by the property of Back2Back. We figured that living in a community of 100 plus people wasn't real life. So, for the first year, we have committed to live off campus. It has been so fun getting our place ready and moving things over there, getting it all set up. We had a huge painting party last weekend. It was so fun having friends helping us. We felt super blessed!

So many people have been writing me and asking what they can be praying for.. So, i decided to do a blog and let LOTS of people know how they could be praying for us through this time of transition.

First off, this season of being engaged hasn't been the most stress free time for me. I praise God that He brought Rodo into my life because he is the most patient man i have EVER met. He has been so patient with me throughout this time. So, with that being said, i need lots of prayer for this upcoming week.

Ways you could be praying for us:

* Stress level this next week (mainly for me), we have 2 HUGE groups here and it will be VERY busy!

* For ALL the details that go into putting a wedding together to get done.

*That I would not forget anything major that needs to be done, and if i do forget something that i wouldn't stress out.

*For Rodo and I, that we would FULLY enjoy this last week of singleness and that there would be nothing but joy (from our hearts of course) springing from our actions and words

*My parents and sister are coming to Mexico for the FIRST TIME. I am super excited to show them around my life here. I hope they love it so much they will come back soon. Please Please be praying for their time here.

*Having so many people here for the wedding, I hope we get some quality time with everyone that joins us for our big day!

*And last but not least, To continue bringing Praise to God for the things that He has done for us in the past 7 months and the things that He is going to do for us and our marriage! We are your hands and feet Lord. May Rodo and I honor you with Praise!!

Thank you for loving us the way you do. We are SO PUMPED for this next week. We appreciate the extra prayers.

I AM GETTING MARRIED IN 7 DAYS!!!!!!!

Valentines DAY!!!!!

2011-02-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

I woke up to these beautiful roses!!!!!! Purple roses are my FAVORITE!!!!!

Rodo and i have been on a strict diet, for the wedding, since January 2nd. It has been super challenging especially when You wanna get your loved one some sweets for valentines day. Well i went grocery shopping and was determined to find something that was on our diet. I found Gluten free/Wheat free pancake mix! I also found some sugar free syrup. I called rodo over at around 8:00 am and we had a fun little Valentines day breakfast together. We put blueberries on top of the pancakes which made them taste even better :)

While i was searching for something at the store, i also found Gluten free/Wheat free sugar cookie mix. Because of this diet i haven't baked something in a really long time. i have missed it so much. So, i bought the cookie mix and a heart cookie cutter and got to baking the night before valentines day. The best part was, Rodo and I could eat what I baked. It was glorious and boy were those cookies so good.

Then that night, we didn't have anything set in stone. I was getting super tired and both of my roommates were gone for the night, so Rodo and I decided to throw together some chicken fajitas (without the tortilla of course) and a green bean recipe from my sister that is INCREDIBLE! I lit some candles and we cooked together for the first time. . Normally i just cook for him or he cooks for me. But this night, we made our dinner together. It was a Blast!!!!!! I love him and can't wait to marry him so stinkin soon!

These were some valentines on the walls of the English class in EL LIMON. i thought it would make for a great picture post on this valentines day blog! The kids wrote who they love on a cut out heart. So cute!

I hope you all had a wonderful day of LOVE!

EL LIMON

2011-02-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

I have written about Casa Hogar el limon about a million times. Every time i go there, time stands still. I don't worry about anything but loving on kids and working to improve their home.

This trip, however, was very different from most trips. Normally i go with lots of either high school age kids or older adults. But this time was with a group of 17 men that was a construction crew! I thought to myself, how in the world is this week going to be? Well, once again my time their was AMAZING!!!!!

The first couple days consisted of me and my roommate, Hope, going through donations and sorting them out. Also, taking pictures for our Sponsership program B2B has called SHELTER. Those couple of days just so happened to be the same days that the kids did not have school. So Hope and I were able to hang out with them ALOT and get to know them even better. We played tons of games with them. We played Sorry, uno, and a new game they taught us called TEN or Diez in Spanish. Then days after that consisted of us cutting rebar and putting it together for the footers of the bleachers we are building for their sport court.

The group of men that were with were INCREDIBLE! They are from a church called Riverview and I had met some of them before. They were such a talented group. They had construction workers, plumbers, photographers, videographers, a computer tech, and a mechanic with them. Every day i was learning just how talented these men were. It was a blessing being able to serve with them there in El Limon.

We made breakfast one morning for the guys and the directors of the home. we made eggs with bacon, salsa, and sausage. We also had an arrachera cookout for all of the home and us. It was incredible food with a great time with kids. After the cookout there was a big bonfire with the kids. We gave them each sticks and marshmallows. The kids were loving it. Hope and I were around the fire with some of the older girls just singing songs and praising the Lord. it was such a sweet time.

Our last night there consisted of a beautiful time of worship with the children. I am always amazed at how God is moving in that place, among the children. They also put on a little skit for us that was very moving and powerful. Everyone was crying their eyes out it was so good. The healing that has taken place in that home is unbelievable. The way that God has brought them from abuse and neglect to preaching about who Christ is and that He is the only way, just shows comes to show you that healing is there. all of the kids and directors gathered the whole group up and circled around us and started praying for all of us. Then it was time to say goodnight and goodbye. It is always a sad time for me to leave there. It is my favorite place to go and i always hate saying goodbye. God speaks so clearly through each and every person there.

I hope if you have never been on a trip there, you will one day be able to experience it. I am very fortunate to be able to go their at least 2 times a year. THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!

Introducing Finley Mae Cromwell

2011-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

This is an hour before my niece was born!!
Seconds after her birth, such a sweet moment!
6 pounds, 15 ounces born at 9:30pm Sunday January 30, 2011
After giving birth, she looks amazing!

Todd swaddling for the first time
Todd's niece holding Finley for the first time

Back in December when i was home for a week, i helped my sister, Sarah, get the nursery ready. We went through a bunch of clothes, hung them up in her closet. We seperated a ton of stuff and started the process of organizing everything from her baby showers. We knew Finley was going to be born sometime in the next month. (Pictures of her Nursery above)

I had bought a plane ticket for the day of Sarah's due date which was January 29, 2011. I knew i didn't have too much time to be in Oklahoma but Sarah swore she would have her earlier than that. So, i arrived on the 29th. And NO BABY!!!! Because my sister was 40 weeks pregnant, i stayed with her and Todd to help out a bit while i was there. But really we just did last minute wedding details. So in reality they helped me out a lot. Sarah took me all over Oklahoma City. The personal shower, my best friends threw me, was going to be on Sunday, January 30th. We went shopping so her and my mom could get me some dresses for the honeymoon! We seriously went ALL over the mall and all over the City. We were so tired by the end of the day. But, there was LOTS of walking that day. I thought for sure Finley was going to be born. But she wasn't.

So the next day, we run a couple of errands and just hung out. We went on a 45 minute walk and still NO BABY!!!! at this point i only had 1 more full day left. I was getting super sad in thinking that she wasn't going to be born.

Next day (Sunday), the day of my personal shower. At 12:30 or so, Sarah and Todd went to the hospital because Sarah was contracting pretty bad. they checked into the hospital and she was dialated at a 6. i thought for sure the 2 hours i was going to be at my shower, was going to be when Finley was born. My mom was with me as well, and we were just waiting for the phone call saying she was born.

Well, the good news was that she wasn't born during the shower. So my mom and i rushed over to change and then go to the hospital.

And within a couple hours, at 9:30 pm, sweet little Finley Mae was born. I had the privilege of being in the room when she was born and that was such a sweet moment for me. I AM OFFICIALLY AN AUNT! As you can tell from the sweet pictures, she kind of looks like an angel. She is perfect. Seriously, she is beautiful. I was SO PROUD of my sister. She was a rockstar. She made it look so easy to have a baby. And Todd was just staring at Finley, it was a very sweet moment seeing them looking at her for the first time. Todd just stared at her forever! So, i was able to actually be there for the moment my niece was born. Not only there, but in the room. I stayed at the hospital as long as i could holding her. Then, i went back to their house, packed all my things, and picked up around the house. Oliver (their dog) knew something was up. He was a cuddle bug that night and normally he is not. I didn't go to bed until around 2 in the morning. Then at 6:30, woke up to get things done so i could go to the hospital until the last second before getting on a plane.

I only had a couple hours with Finley, Sarah, and Todd that day. Because Finley was born, it was REALLY hard to leave. I mean I LOVE NEWBORNS, but this was my NIECE! i am finally an Aunt. I don't cry very often when i leave Oklahoma, but this was one time that was VERY HARD to leave!

Sarah,

I am so proud of you and the way you are transitioning into the journey of motherhood. Thank you for everything you did for me while i was home and all the stores you took me too. I really appreciate you and all you do for me when i am in town and when i am not. I love facetiming with you guys and Finley. I praise God for technology because i actually am able to see Finley. It is hard to be away in big moments like this that go on in your life. But i am thankful for being able to be there for the birth. It was a very cool moment for me. Thank you for allowing me to be there right alongside you all. I miss being there so much with you all. I can't wait to be there in April and get to hold her again. I love you guys. You are above and beyond as a sister. i love you!

Give Finley kisses from TIA BECCA

Showers, Showers, Showers

2011-02-15T09:04:00.000-08:00

Biggest Surprise: Julie Cooper coming to my Personal Shower thrown by B2B ladies!!!!!!

Days before, I was riding in the car with Kathy and Stacy and said these exact words... " The only way that my shower on friday could be any better is if Julie Cooper could be here." No lie! And who walks in my door friday morning???? none other than Julie Cooper. It was such a fun surprise. i LOVE that she was able to be here for my shower!
Roomies for Life !!

Ruby gets the creative award for the evening. She made the cookies that had the initial A on them. And for our new house she made us that Cute Happily ever after sign. I LOVE it! Can't wait to put it up somewhere!

The B2B ladies are the ones that have been here and know Rodo and I personally from the beginning! It was so fun to share a night of laughs, fun food, games, and prayer with them. They also let me open a wedding present early because they wanted to watch me open it. So of course i said i would. hehe. Some of the ladies went in together and got me something I have ALWAYS wanted. A RED KITCHEN AID MIXER! I am so excited to bake yummy treats with it. I started freaking out when i realized what it was and then i didn't set it down off my lap for a really long time. i couldn't believe it. I felt so blessed and loved by this night and by each and every one of you ladies. Thank you for the ways you pour into mine and Rodolfo's life each day!

OKLAHOMA SHOWER

I LOVED THIS SIGN - Thanks MOH
Beautiful snacks and refreshments with our engagement pictures framed all around!

GiGi's Cupcakes, probably my new favorite thing!
THE HOSTESSES WITH THE BRIDE-TO-BE

Mother of the Bride - And no, we did not plan on matching.. heheh

My Best friends in Oklahoma threw me a personal shower! I have been to a million personal showers and I can say, when it is your turn to be the spotlight, it is very weird. but great all at the same time :) Just some of my close friends were there which made it such a sweet intimate time. I felt so honored by all of my friends that they would even want to throw me a shower.

This wedding planning time has actually been VERY stressful for me. On top of planning a wedding in a different country, Rodo and I are having to support raise as well. And with all that going on we are still having to work full hours. I don't want to sound like I am complaining, I just want you all to know where I am coming from. So, when the girls decided to throw me a shower, I couldn't wait because I was VERY ready for some fun to come out of this whole time. So, I seriously felt so blessed by all of my friends. Some people that live out of town were not able to make it to the shower but still sent presents and helped host it. I was amazed at how thoughtful my friends have been throughout this whole time. I loved every part of being there with them. Thank you ladies for a wonderful afternoon of games, yummy treats, and fellowship. I love you all so much.

No place like home for the Holidays!!

2011-02-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I was able to go home for Christmas to visit my family for a week! I don't know what it is, but I LOVE being in Oklahoma for Christmas time. It was a wonderful time of rest and seeing family. I also spent my time in Oklahoma doing some wedding stuff.
My sister and sister-in-law are both pregnant with the same due date! weird i know!!!!
All of my cousins and their families came in too. They stayed at my parents house. I saw all my uncles, aunts, and cousins that i haven't seen in 3 years. They get together every year on the 4th of July and since that is the busiest time for me, i can't be there with them. So, i was thrilled when i heard that they were all coming in for the new year!!!!!!
My papa and me

sweet cousins that i love!

New years night, we bought a wii game called, just dance. It was AWESOME!!!! since i used to dance i was in love with it. But when my aunts and uncles started dancing, it was the funniest thing i had ever seen! Seriously, if you have a wii, you need this game. Very fun!

I hope everyone's holidays were wonderful. Bringing in the New Year was so sweet for me, this year, because i was with so many of my family.

Happy 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Holy Night!!!!

2010-12-20T13:17:00.001-08:00

The Womens Group normally comes to Monterrey in the beginning of December. They bring presents for every child, serve them wholeheartedly, and give lots of love. This year they decided to go to Cancun instead of coming to Monterrey! We had the privilege of trying to be them. haha we actually realized how much we appreciate all they do when they come down. So here is an overview of all the Christmas parties i have taken part of since i have been back from Cancun!

ERJ Christmas Party- Pollo Loco, pop, Decorating trees, Decorating cookies, Opening presents, and lots of laughter! Manantial De Amor (MDA) Christmas Party- Pizza, pop, presents, and pinata! (yes i am wearing santa earrings)
Annual Ornament Exchange- Staff women with lots of yummy food and a fire.

Spa night with the Joven Girls- We had snacks, pop, make-up, hair, manicure station, pedicure station, a fire going, and lots of fun. My favorite quote of the night was from Jazmin. After having her make-up and nails done, she was sitting in a chair getting a pedicure and said "i feel like a queen"! To me, that is the exact reason we wanted to do this for them. We wanted them to know that they are beautiful and they are Queens. It was a success!Single Ladies Christmas Party- This one was a little bittersweet for me. Every year we draw names and celebrate a single ladies Christmas. It was bittersweet for me because it is my last single ladies Christmas celebration. Next year i will be a married woman! We went to dinner, came home, made hot chocolate, opened presents, ate a pumpkin roll, and watched a Christmas movie! i love you girls!

And to finish all the parties, Jessica and I took the MDA girls out for a night of ice skating and dinner! It was so fun watching them try to skate. They don't do it very often so i am not sure how they know how to skate, but they had fun. The 2 little girls didn't know how to skate so Jess and i were with them the majority of the time. IT was very fun trying to teach them how to skate. Lots of memories in these 5 hours we were with these girls! Everyone was jealous of Jessica's sweet moves on the ice! Here is to wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas filled with love, peace, and hope! May you enjoy time with friends and family this holiday season. And most importantly, remember the Reason for the Season!
I am flying home tomorrow for a couple days to be with my family on Christmas day. I will update my blog once i return! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

San Jose and Quiet time on the Beach!

2010-12-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yes i live a life as a missionary and every day is like a mission trip! But, i haven't been to a new place on a mission trip in a long time. Even though i am staff for Back2Back and went to Cancun as Staff, it was still so new to me! It was something that was definitely needed. Every child i came in contact with, i couldn't help but fall in love! it reminded me of my first time here to Monterrey!
San Jose is a Catholic Casa Hogar Back2Back is partnering with. There are 12 children that live there and only 1 boy! It was a sibling set so they didn't want to separate them from each other. We were there to decorate trees with them, feed them a pancake breakfast, put on a skit, make cookies, and redecorate their rooms without them knowing. When i was helping with decorating their Christmas tree i notices these VERY SWEET TWINS. Their names are Isabella and Sofia. I seriously fell in love with them. I have been praying for them since i got back. Their faces are just too precious. They were well behaved and very fun and the best part, there was 2 of them!!!! While we were busy putting the tree decorations on and making the kids be outside so the women could re-decorate their rooms, the children could suspect something was going on. So finally we were ready to show them. We had them stand outside of their room with the door closed to make it more intense. We walked them in with their eyes closed. We counted to 3 and said OPEN YOUR EYES!!! The excitement that filled that room, from 11 little girls, could have been compared to a million people cheering on their favorite football team. They were jumping up and down screaming and so excited. Each new bed had new sheets, new polka-dot blanket, and a pillow with their names embroidered on them. They were hugging their pillows and laying in their beds. It was a sweet picture of them being thankful. They were so excited when other kids got home from school. They would tell them outside to close their eyes and they walked them into the new room. Just like we did for them. They were all thrilled and happy for the new room make-over we did for them. I will never forget this day!
One morning we had to leave so early we weren't able to do our quiet times. So, we thought it would be a fun surprise to take the women to the beach to do a quiet time and our small groups. This beach is absolutely one of the prettiest beaches in the world. When i was with the Cooper's babysitting them for 2 weeks, this is the beach we went to.
Anyway, Matt did a little devotion time with us before our quiet times. He had us take our shoes off and put our feet in the sand. Then he told us to look out into the ocean. That it was a representative of God's love for us. You can never see the end of it. His love for us goes too deep and too wide. We can't comprehend His love for us. Then he told us to dig our feet in the sand. That every grain of sand that we could feel, on and under our feet, was the lives we were going to touch.
Then we broke off for 30 minutes by ourselves and with God. Talk about one of the most peaceful quiet times i have ever had in my entire life. Just sitting there praying and confessing before the Lord. It reminded me of how small i am and how BIG our God is! Then we broke out into small groups. Since us staff women were not in small groups, we decided to have our own little small group! The picture above is our group of woman praying for one another. This was a big highlight of mine from the Cancun trip because it was something i had never done before. And God showed me a lot in my 30 minutes alone with Him on the beach that day!
I think i want to have my quiet times on the beach every day! haha

Highlights of Womens Christmas Group in Cancun Pt. 1

2010-12-20T10:53:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite moments on the entire trip to Cancun. My roommate Hope has put into words exactly like i would. So i am going to let her tell you our encounter with him.

"This is the story of a blind boy I met in Cancun. For his protection he will be referred to as Jamie in this entry.

Jamie is 17 and has been blind since the day he was born. He is tall with a chubby face and black curly hair. I ran into Jaime on a tour of the orphanage during my first day in Cancun. He was alone in his dorm room talking with Mau a fellow B2B staff member when I first laid eyes on him. The compassion that gripped my heart when I first saw him is hard to describe. All I know is that with one glimpse I felt like I saw into the depths of his pain and sorrow and knew that he was so hurt. I left the dorm room without saying a word to Jamie and began another conversation with two teenage girls right outside the door.

Mau left Jaime’s dorm room just as I was finishing my conversation with Virginia and began to fill me in on the details of Jamie’s life. Jamie had arrived at the home about a week earlier. He had been battered and bruised by his father. His story revealed that he had grown up familiar with such abuse from his dad. His real mom died when he was little and his step mother stepped into the picture. About a week earlier Jamie’s stepmother had too much of him and his needs. She loaded blind Jamie up on a bus, paid a ticket to who knows where, and said she never wanted to see him again. Jamie arrived in the middle of Cancun, hours from his home, knowing no one, and seeing nothing. Government officials picked him up and took him to the children’s home where we met him a few days later.

My heart broke as Mau told me Jamie’s story. Jamie said that he had heard about Mau from the other boys at the home and wondered if Mau would take him out to talk and hang out as he had with the others. He also asked Mau if he would find him some music. “I’m bored,” Jamie commented, “music makes me relax.”

At the end of the conversation Mau felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to give Jamie a hug. As he pulled away Jamie calmly told Mau that that was the first hug he can ever remember receiving. … As Mau told me this story, I cried.

Both Mau and I wept in the courtyard of the children’s home, as God let us feel the pain and hurt in these lives. God began speaking to me that while I cover up my heart and numb it from the pain in this world and the pain that I see in the Rio every week, His heart is never numb. His heart feels every hurt. His heart cries with every child. He feels every pain and it hurts his heart to the core. The compassion of the Lord is amazing. I went to bed that night with these things still on my heart and mind.

Two days later our team of ladies returned to this same children’s home to throw a Christmas party. Part of the festivities included a skit put on by our team. At this particular children’s home we are not able to openly share the gospel, so in a metaphorical way we portrayed Christ conquering evil in the world. At one point in the skit “the evil” was whispering lies in the ear of a child. Things like, “no one loves you,” “you are stupid,” “they are laughing at you.” During this part of the skit Jamie leaned over to a fellow staff member and said, “I’ve heard those things before. I hear those lies every day.” When I heard this I knew that I wanted to pray for Jamie.

After the skit, I sat down next to Jamie with some other ladies from our team and began to talk with him. Another lady also felt the urge to pray so we asked Jamie if we could. He readily agreed. About halfway through our prayer Jamie started grabbing at his chest. “My heart hurts. My heart hurts,” he repeated. We clarified that it was a spiritual pain that he was feeling. We finished praying and I went to find Mau. I knew in my spirit that today was the day of salvation for Jamie. I have never been so sure of something in my life! I found Mau and told him that he needed to explain the gospel to Jamie. Jamie was so ready, but my Spanish couldn’t do it justice and Mau is the one who is going to be there long term with Jamie. After the activities of the Christmas party calmed down a bit, Mau went over and sat next to Jamie. I knew that he was sharing the gospel with Jamie, so I began to pray. The next thing I know Jamie is crying and hugging Mau. He prayed that day and met Jesus as his Savior and the Healer of his heart!

Later, I gave Jamie a hug to welcome him into the family. He told me that when we had prayed earlier he had felt so much peace, but that now he felt so happy. “This is the best day of my life!” said an excited Jamie, “I will never forget this day as long as I live.” I know that I too will never forget this day. Praise Jesus who is able to heal the most hurt of hearts. Nothing is impossible for God! Please continue to keep Jamie in your prayers. Pray for this growth in Christ and for his physical sight to be restored! Amen!" - Hope Maglich

Another great moment....

One morning we prepared gift boxes for the pregnancy center for the DIF. They work with girls between 12-17 years of age. They bring their brand new, days old babies and some workers watch them while the girls either talk with a psychologist or learn a practical new job such as nails or hair.
We brought all these boxes filled with goodies for mommies and babies. We packed a lunch for everyone, practiced skits, and set off for a great day! I had no idea what to expect. But i knew there was going to be some new babies there so i was ready to hold them.
As the mothers started flooding in with their babies, and some with more than one, my eyes were filling up with tears. These girls were so young! 12 years old, 13 years old, 16 years old. They were beautiful, young, and were in such bad situations. My heart continued to break for them. Most of them i am sure had no choice but to get pregnant. As we started asking more questions and i was translating for some of the American Women, i almost couldn't even ask some of the questions. One of the Americans had asked one of the girls if there was a father, her face went to complete shame. In those instances that is when you know these girls need Jesus and they need to know that He loves them and promises to provide for them.
Hope and Priscilla put together a skit about a princess and her King. So before we got started we were taking the babies so the young moms could have some time to concentrate for once. In a little room we had 30 BABIES. i was in heaven. So, of course i stayed in the room with all the babies. I loved holding these precious little ones and praying for them. There is no sweeter moments than those, i think.
Meanwhile, the event starts off with the skit. Apparently, the mothers were all listening and super interested. They loved it. I heard someone say from our American group, that they thought it could have been the first time these young girls were ever told they were a princess and the daughter of a King!
Then they started handing off the boxes to the mothers. each box either had a pink or blue lid. And these American women prepare MONTHS in advance before coming with their gifts and each were assigned to get a pink or blue lid. Some women were beside themselves because they could not find the pink or blue lids that they were assigned. So, they ended up getting the other color. Well, they start handing the boxes out. If the young mom had a daughter they would receive a pink box, and for a boy, they would receive a blue. ( I BET YOU ALL ALREADY FIGURED THAT OUT)!!!! It was getting down to the last moms and wouldn't you know that God completely knew Every boy box and every girl box needed because it was totally like the fishes and loaves miracle!!!! There was the exact amount needed for boys and for girls. The moms got what they needed and were so thrilled. They were able to decorate their boxes really cool with stickers, pens, and fun girly things. While they were decorating we were all praising God and thanking Him for the joy that He created with all those boxes.

Highlights of Womens Christmas Group in Cancun Pt. 2

2010-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

Back2Back Cancun is in the process of making offices for the pregnant teens that come weekly. They were starting to realize that the girls that have been abused, abandoned, or even raped were wanting to talk with a psychologist, didn't have any privacy. The offices were so close together that you would be sitting side by side to another girl sharing what had happened to her. Enabling you to hear everything of the other person. There was shame, guilt, and no privacy! Realizing there was a problem, Back2Back has come alongside the DIF and are in the process of preparing 4 new offices for the girls. This way there will be privacy, security, and confidentiality.
Matt told us about a men's group that had been down right before the women's group. They were at the new offices and joking around about all the things you would find in between the structure of the walls if you were to tear them down. Things like coke bottles, cigarettes, and lots of trash. So, Matt and Mau had a great idea. The women were going to "dedicate" this building to the Lord. Instead of finding trash in between the drywall, if you knocked it down, you were to find scripture and prayers! So that is exactly what we did, we dedicated the building/offices to the Lord. We wrote scriptures and prayers all over the drywall. Bringing a sense of peace instead of shame, love instead of hate, and Beauty instead of ashes!
Oti's house! Meet Oti, she is a widow of about a month. She has 8 children. The oldest being about 14 and the youngest 6 months.
After dedicating the DIF offices, we drove to Oti's house. We had heard that her children had never been in school. Except for the oldest boy, but only up to an education of 1st grader. And we had also heard that she wasn't able to (pretty much ever) give them Christmas presents. So, our women's group took this as an opportunity to serve Oti and her 8 children.
When we arrived, the kids were all around us, pretty much in their underwear and the oldest boy was very embarrassed that all of these women are coming into his house/life and looking around. He kept hiding and going into the back room. But we gathered all the women together and Oti shared about her life. After sharing, we gathered their family together and put our hands on them and prayed for them. We prayed for healing in Oti's body. She has a hernia that is Huge, but she has no money to get it fixed and also, no one to take care of her children while she would be in recovery. We prayed for many things for this family and God was in control during that sweet prayer time.
Then it was time for the kids to open presents. The oldest boy finally came out of the back room. Still looking disappointed. We started with the youngest and gave out the presents. We watched her start opening and then let her start playing with her new toys. We were taking so long, the 4th youngest girl thought she wasn't going to get a present so she started crying. So we quickly started passing out all the presents so all of them would know they each had a present. The 14 year old boy was passed his present and words can not describe the way his face lit up. He said that normally things are for the youngest baby or for the girls, and he often gets left out. NOT THIS TIME! His face lit up as he started opening his gift. First a t-shirt from old navy, then a super cool watch... it just kept going and going! His whole attitude changed right there in that moment. It was very cool to watch how something so little, could make a 14 year old boys Christmas. And, knowing that God has not forgotten him and his situation. That is what I hope he received from that moment! God is in pursuit of him!!!!

Craft time at the DIF-

This is where i had spent most of my time the weeks i was with the Cooper's. It was so fun seeing some of the same faces only weeks later. And that they remembered me! This is the temporary DIF. basically these kids have been taken away from their family situation instead of their parents bringing them to a childrens home. We brought them a tree, we decorated cookies, put Christmas tattoos on them, we played games, we put on a skit (that they loved), we decorated their tree, we made crafts and ornaments with each kids face on one, and we loved on them with the love of the Lord.

Yessica's Wedding!!!!

2010-12-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Yessica Sanchez from the hope program got married November 26, 2011. It was a very small intimate wedding. I remember when Yessica decided to leave the hope program. i was super sad. But she finished her schooling and got engaged.
Girls that we work with normally crave love from any person they can. But Yessica was grounded in the Lord. So i knew, and was hoping, that this case was different. As i was sitting in the pew watching the ceremony, i couldn't take my eyes off of Julio, the groom! I could tell that he genuinely loves her. It made my heart very happy to witness this. When they read their vows to each other, Julio couldn't stop crying. But Yessica couldn't either. So as he is saying his vows to her, he was wiping her tears also. Then she read her vows to him. Her vows were based on Biblical truth. It made me realize that this case is different. Yessica didn't fall away from who she was or what her foundation was, she was just growing up! Somebody who loves her and cares for her, found her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. It was a really sweet ceremony! I am really happy for Yessica and Julio. I wish them a lifetime of happiness together. My prayer is that the decisions they make in their life would reflect the plans that God has for them! Felicidades Yessica y Julio!!!!!

A Thanksgiving Feast!!!!

2010-12-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

Kenzi was here and it made me really happy to have one of my best friends here!
I am pretty sure you are only supposed to have a fist size of food on your plate????? hahha
We had 150 people here for Thanksgiving Dinner. 8 Turkeys in All!!!!!
Me and my handsome man!!!!!

I was overwhelmed this Thanksgiving Season with so many things to be thankful for. So instead of spelling each one of them out to you i will just tell you in a top 10 list of things i am thankful for in this season of my life.

1.) First, i am so THANKFUL for my Lord, Jesus Christ who died for my sins because He loves me! He is constantly showing off for me and He continues to Amaze me!

2.) I am SUPER THANKFUL for my handsome fiance. The way he shows me God's love, patience, and pursuit everyday. I can't WAIT to spend the rest of my life with Rodolfo!!

3.) I am THANKFUL for my incredible Supporters. It is so evident that God has put all of you in my life long ago so you could come along this journey with me! Being a missionary in Mexico makes it worth it when i know there are people like you all behind me 100% and praying for me! Thank you all for everything.

4.) I am THANKFUL for my family. My sister is about to have her first baby and i can't wait to meet my niece. My parents will be coming to Mexico for the first time for my wedding and i can't even begin to explain how excited i am that they will finally see my life here!

5.) I am THANKFUL for all of my friends! The people that really know me and can tell me anything and will listen to anything from me. I am so thankful for each and every one of you girls.

6.) I am THANKFUL for Back2Back Ministries. God brought this ministry into my life 11 years ago. Little did i know i would be here serving for my 3rd year. I love how God is a story weaver and that my story is not over yet with this ministry!

7.) I am THANKFUL for New Staff. For those of you that know me, i am not a big fan of change. So when i heard new staff couples were coming i got a little bit anxious. But, God has already used them in my life so much. They are definitely supposed to be here in this Season!

8.) I am THANKFUL for my Room mates (yes Ruby, this includes you)! As the countdown gets closer and closer when my time of living with them is done, i am saddened. But, i could not have asked for better room mates. They have always been there for me when i needed someone. Their hearts are full of joy and i feel like i learn so much from them everyday! I love you girls.

9.) I am THANKFUL for skype/ technology! Without this, i wouldn't be able to keep in touch with my friends and family. it has saved me in times of needing to know things from back home and it has helped me in times of not feeling homesick. Thank you Lord, for technology.

10.) Last but not least, I am THANKFUL for the sweet little faces i get to see every day! No matter what Childrens Home I am at, i get to see sweet smiles, hear sweet laughs, and hug on some cute kids.

My list could go on and on. My heart is overflowing with Thanksgiving! Thank you Lord, for the ways you are moving in my life!

Time well spent in Cancun

2010-11-16T09:04:00.001-08:00

Favorite moments of Cancun-

I was able to visit the DIF (Government Orphanage) 2 times. We played games, Told them stories, passed out candy, and did crafts!
I got to see what being a soccer mom was all about- GO CHLOE!
Go Corinna!!!
I got to experience the beautiful beaches of Cancun.
SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
Thought of Rodo the entire time!
Got to build relationships with the kids at the DIF.
I got to visit the 2 children's homes that B2B is partnering with.
And most of all, i got lots of time with cooper kids. I have missed this family so much. It felt so normal to be driving around Cancun. i think it was because i feel so comfortable with this family. They are a HUGE part of my life. Chloe and Corinna tried on their Jr. Bridesmaid dresses for me and they looked BEAUTIFUL. They have all grown so much. We had so much fun together for the past 2 weeks. lots of dropping off/ picking up from school, doing homework, and exploring beaches together. I had a great time with them. It made me miss seeing them everyday!

it is good to be back in Monterrey for a little bit. I am going back to Cancun for our annual Christmas Women's Group. We leave the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am excited to see more of the ministry aspect of Cancun when i go back.

Hope all of you supporters/ readers are doing great. Weather here in Monterrey is getting brisk. Makes me missing the hot Cancun weather!!

Cancun

2010-10-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

Just thought i would let all of my supporters/followers know, that in a couple of hours i will be headed to Cancun, Mexico.
My work will look a little different for the next 2 weeks. I am going to be nannying for the Coopers while Matt and Julie are flying back to the states for the Annual Back2Back banquet. I will be in Cancun for 2 weeks.
I will be getting the kids ready for school, packing lunches, picking and dropping them off at school, getting them to all their extra activities, and basically playing the role of a single mom. I will still be working on FOOD PRINCESS stuff while i am there. Praise God for internet and communication through internet.
i could not be more thrilled because i haven't seen the Coopers since August. For those of you that do not know, i was a nanny for the cooper family for 5 summers in a row. They are a HUGE part of my life. the fact that i get to call my watching the kids work, is AWESOME! i am super excited to see them!

Although that is 2 weeks away from my fiance. And i am kind of nervous/sad about that.

I will hopefully be updating my blog from there. I am wanting to check out the new ministry sites while the kids are at school. So, please be praying for my trip. I am super excited!

Hope you all are doing great!

The Hope Program

2010-10-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is the Fall 2010-Summer 2011 Hope Program Students living here on campus. Currently we have around 36 students with us. We are very excited about what each of these students has to offer. We are excited to watch them grow into young men and women for the Lord. We are excited to see them use the gifts and talents the Lord has given them. We are always praying Colossians 1 over them:

"We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us"

As this group of young men and women are here, i invite you to pray alongside us for them. They are in a hard age but we are praying for them to stick it out over the long haul. because in the end, it is all worth it.

Anytime i refer to Jovens or Jovenes in one of my blogs, i am referring to these 36 teens. i am hoping you can put faces with names that i have mentioned in the past. One of them i am very fond of, her name is Katya. She has been such a blessing to me and God has continued to tell me to pursue her the way He wants to pursue her. We are starting a mentorship program with staff and jovens and i am paired up with her. Please pray for my spanish to get even better so we can fully communicate. Some of my most favorite memories of being here in Mexico have been with Katya. God has incredible plans for her life and i am praying for Her to allow God and His plans to reign in her life.

Please be praying for our teens on campus!!!!!!!

Supporting Sebastian

2010-10-21T12:47:00.001-07:00

Our friend Sebastian

Sebastian is one of the teens in the Hope Program. He is from Casa Hogar El limon. i remember the day he moved here on campus. Rodo and i were driving him from El limon (6 hours away) all the way to Monterrey. He wasn't so sure of what he wanted to do. He just knew he wanted to do something he loved and that he wanted to continue an education.
As he continued to pray about what he was going to do, he discovered a love for cooking. So he was set on going to school to become a chef. He is in his 2nd year.
His school put on an exhibit for some friends and family. Each participant/student was paired up into teams and they had to represent a different state in Mexico. They each got 4 VIP passes. So, Sebastian gave them to Me, Rodo, Hope, and Cheque. So of course we all went.
When we walked in, it was like nothing i have ever seen before. There were different costumes/ traditional dressings of each state. Different tents were set up and each team had made a famous dish from the State they were representing. The food was Delicious!!!!! i loved everything i tried Except there was a bowl of cabrito (little goat) and they put it in a tortilla with cactus on it.. i took one bite and couldn't take another. Another interesting, fun food, was sope con Champolines which is a type of fried bread with lettuce, tomato, and Grasshoppers!!!! there is a picture above of hope and i trying them. I actually ate the whole thing. it wasn't that bad. i am pretty sure i used to have them all the time when i was a kid. Eating them when i was outside. my mom sure wasn't cooking them though.
Overall, the day was great. Sebastian felt supported by us and he got to be a part of something that was all about him and his talents.
We were super impressed with all the food. It was like a free buffet. We were all stuffed by the time we walked out!

Food Princess at work

2010-10-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

The Calvary group is here right now! They are from Cincinnati, Ohio mostly. They always come and bring extra money so they can pass out extra things to all the kids and Rio areas. We are trying to promote a healthier snack for children than candy, so, i went on a hunt for 500 packages for some kind of treat with Vitamin C in it. The only think i could find was fruit roll ups. haha i was laughing at myself because it is not that much healthier than candy but it was all we could find here.
This group also wanted to bless our Rio communities so they provided despensas ( Staples for Kitchen) for 150 families in both Rio 3 and Cadereyta. So i offered to go to the store and buy all of the things needed for it. We bought 300 bags of beans, 300 bottles of oil, 150 bags of rice, and well over 1,000 eggs. It provides 1 bag of beans, 1 bottle of oil, 1 bag of rice, and 6 eggs per family. This was my first time to purchase so many things. We have a new STINTer here and she offered to tag along with me for the day and it was an adventure.
We went to a local butcher shop and purchased 55 kilos (121 lbs) of meat for our big Tent festival tonight. We are bringing 3 childrens homes that we work with here, plus our group, and everyone on campus. We are going to eat arrachera tacos and worship our Incredible Savior together.
So we loaded all of those things into our carts.. by the way it took about 5 carts filled from the top to the bottom. We got so many strange looks that day. We got a workout not only from pushing the carts, but from laughing so much.
The pictures above show you how many things we bought.

Just thought you would like to see what i have been up to for the past couple weeks.

I am really enjoying being Food Princess. It is a little harder than i thought it would be, but it is still challenging. i am not a detail oriented person, But this new role is making me be. Which is good because i am also planning a wedding. That takes more detail than anything. haha

EL GRITO/ El Bicenternario/200 yr Independence

2010-09-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

On September 16, 2010 was Mexico's 200th year of independence. We normally celebrate at Douglas and then go downtown for the actual Grito (yelling) part. But this year we decided to bring the Grito to the Jovens (teens) on our property.
We had 2 groups here. They all brought their green, red, and white to wear, which was great. It was a great day making flags and painting them on our faces. We went over to Casa Hogar Douglas and ate a YUMMY buffet dinner. Then we all headed back to our property for a night of fun.
We had virgin Pina coladas whipped up for everyone, we streamed the Mexico City celebration on 3 different televisions in our palapa (hut), But the best part was... THE FIREWORKS. that is right. We bought fireworks and i don't mean little sparklers i mean FIREWORKS. It was awesome.

I captured the Grito at CHD led by one of our jovens, LEO, on video. If you would like to watch it you can by clicking here...

Engagement Party

2010-08-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

My best friend Amanda Taylor threw Rodo and I a Surprise Engagement Party! Rodo and i had gone to the lake to visit with my parents for a few days prior. Then on that day we drove in i was so ready to hold colton, amanda's new baby. I had no make up on and rodo and i were very tired. We got to Amanda's house and i basically grabbed Colton right away. Amanda had told me that she was meeting with a bride for her wedding planning business, Embellished Weddings. So i was just going to wait for her at her house. She had been texting me all day. i thought it was because she was so excited to see me, but it really was because she had a house full of people waiting for us. When we arrived at her house people started flooding from her back hallway. It was a wonderful surprise. Amanda had a cake made that was a hot air balloon. it was precious. Lots of people that we love were there with cards, bride magazines, and big smiles. Amanda, thank you for throwing us an engagement party. You are kind of ridiculous because you just had a baby and you threw all that together. I love you so much. it means the world to me that you are so excited for mine and Rodo's future together. Thank you for all the time and work you put into that to make us feel special and loved. I loved the cake, the magazines, and the crazy fun necklace! It was such a fun surprise! I LOVE YOU GIRL!

Fundraiser 2010

2010-08-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

My Fundraiser was on August 19, 2010. It hit me that only 3 of my supporters had actually been to Monterrey and really KNOW what it is that i do here. So, i decided to take a video camera around for the month of June. With the help of one of our interns, Adam, i was able to make a video of my life here in Mexico. All the areas of my life and ministry here were covered. It was a dessert fundraiser. Some of my friends made some yummy desserts and it was our snack while we were all watching the video. I got up and spoke a little bit about how my life is going to be different these next couple years from my past couple years. i have a NEW ROLE here at Back2Back. My main job here is FOOD QUEEN. Basically i break down how many guests we will have and how we are going to feed them. i break it down literally to every slice of bread, every piece of cheese, every piece of turkey, every bag of chips, drinks, cookouts, pollo loco runs, and help vita (our cook) figure out how many people she needs to feed. There is so much more detail than that but i figured i wouldn't bore you with details. I had been praying for God to give me something, job related, that i could call my own. And He did! i am very excited about this new role because it is different. i won't be going out with groups every day. i will be sometimes just not all the time. i will still be debriefing because i love that. I will also continue to invest in the lives of the teens that are here. And i will be the head person for the new STINTers. God has big things in store for this year. i am excited to see how everything unfolds. on top of all of that, i am getting married. So learning out how to balance work, teens, relationship, prep for wedding stuff, and the actual marriage is going to take time. I am just praying that God gives me good balance. Please join me in prayer for this upcoming year and my ministry here with Back2Back.

If you wish to see the video i can mail it to you. email me your address at pomchick003@aol.com. i left a copy in Oklahoma so people can pass it around. But after you watch it i might ask for you to send it to someone else, if you wouldn't mind.

If you wish to support me monthly or through a one time gift, please make checks payable to Back2Back Ministries and we ask that you DO NOT put my name in the memo but for proper deposit to write on a separate sheet of paper BECCA GANTZ so they know what account the money goes to. Also note that there is a automatic withdraw for those that would want to or are willing to donate monthly. And ALL monetary donations are TAX DEDUCTABLE!!!!!

To All my supporters that were able to make it to the fundraiser (and those that weren't), Thank you so much for your continued love and support. I would not be able to do what i do without people like you in my life. I am praying for God to bless you in mighty ways this year. THANK YOU!!!!!

BIG ANNOUCNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay i know it has been a month now but i have reason. i went back to Oklahoma to do some fundraising and it was right before i left that it happened. While i am in Oklahoma nothing but fundraising gets done. And now, i have time to sit down and tell you all about my life and my future.

here we go....

March 2001- Rodo and Becca Meet.
Summer 2004- Becca is in Mexico all summer and gets to know Rodo better
Summer 2005- Friendship is growing and Rodo asks Becca out for the first time. Becca says No. Not because she didn't like him but because she didn't know what her life was going to look like in the future so why go on a date just to date?
Summer 2006- Friendship continues to grow and they become REALLY GOOD FRIENDS!
Summer 2007- Enjoying the Friendship
October 2007- Jim and Betty get married. Rodo and Becca salsa dance the night away. Becca crazily puts her number in Rodo's phone.
A week later- Rodo calls Becca in Oklahoma for the first time.
Spring Break 2008- Rodo tells Becca his intentions with talking to her and pursing her on the phone.
Summer 2008- Rodo and Becca go on 7 dates before making it official.
July 30, 2008- Becca's 23rd Birthday and the day Rodo OFFICIALLY asks Becca to be his girlfriend. (one of the best days ever in Becca's books)
January 2, 2009- Rodo and Becca say "I love you" for the first time!
August 2009- Rodo goes home with Becca for the first time. Meets all of her friends and family.

So there is the story of Becca and Rodolfo until 2010. And now, the proposal story!!!!!

July 28th we set off on a surprise trip for "my birthday" and our 2 year! we get to the bus station here in Monterrey and my roomate, Hope, with her boyfriend, Cheque, were there for a surprise. So the 4 of us set off on an adventure. We went to a place called Queretaro. It is 9 hours from Monterrey. Inside of Queretaro was another town called Tequisquiapan. In that city they have a hot air balloon service. So July 30, 2010 just rodo and i got up and met in the lobby at 6:00 AM. Just me and him went up in the hot air balloon. it was SO ROMANTIC. little did i know what was coming next. When we landed, rodo put my camera on Video and asked the captain of our hot air balloon to video. i still had no idea what was going on. Then Rodo starts saying very sweet things about me and our relationship and he pulls out a ring and gets on his knee. I THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE. HAHA but as it came to reality i quickly said yes. SO I AM OFFICIALLY ENGAGED as of July 30,2010 at 7:45 AM.
We are so excited to see how God is going to use us together as a couple. We have been eager to get some things planned already. Our Wedding Date is March 5, 2011. Just Family is coming. But then we are going to do a HUGE reception in Oklahoma towards the end of March and everyone and anyone is invited to that. We have 6 months to prepare things for the rest of our lives. We know that the wedding is one day out of the rest of our lives. So we are more eager to plan things for our future than the wedding right now.
We ask for your prayers as we are in a new season. We ask for your prayers for our future together and for our family.

All of you need to start practicing my new last name. My name will be Rebecca Lynn Arguello. the g is silent and the ll sounds like a Y. Go ahead try and say it. haha

If you would like to see the video from the Hot Air Balloon click here!!!!

If you would like to see the proposal video click here!!!!!

Enjoy!!! This was the most wonderful day of my life. (so far) i am sure the wedding day will outweigh that haha. My fiance is the most kind, gentle, tender hearted person i know. i am so in love with him and excited that he chose ME! if you don't know him, i hope you will get to one day. Thank you for all of those that are excited for us and are praying for us.

Intern day out

2010-07-03T10:35:00.001-07:00

Grutas de Garcia-
Every friday when groups leave we have a chance to hang out and get to know our interns more. Each staff couple has one friday of the summer to take interns out on the town. Last friday was the single staffs turn. We decided to get subway, eat it on the bus on our way to Grutas de Garcia. As you can tell from the pictures it means the caves. we had a 45 minute tour throughout the cave and it was a blast. the interns loved it.
Then we came home and ate dinner. Decided we were ready to get our groove on with some salsa music so cheque, rodo, hope, and i helped teach how to salsa dance. We danced the night away. Then around 11:00 we started a movie in the big palapa which was super fun also.
We wouldn't be able to do anything in the summer if it weren't for our interns. we are so grateful they decide to take time out of their schedules to come help serve alongside us. We are so appreciative of them.

WEEK 2 OF SUMMER

2010-06-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sorting through all the donations McCollum's group brought.

Famous McCollum soccer camp shirts

Serving dinner

It was one of my best friends, Kenzi Couch's, birthday this day also. I love you Kenzi. Happy 22nd!

So this week has been one of the busiest weeks of summer. Steve McCollum was here with his group of 55 people. We had another group from Christ Church at Mason, and another from Horizon Church.
Every year McCollum brings down a bunch of people and does his annual cookout with all of our guests and ALL THE KIDS WE SERVE... well almost all the kids we serve.
Last Monday we served over 500 plates, we grilled 96 kilos of meat, made 1430 tortillas, chopped 238 avacado and tomatos, chopped 20 onions, 8 ciliantro, 238 limes, 96 jalapenos, and we had 48 bags of chips. it was a busy afternoon getting all of the food prepared. we had staff, group members, and some of our teens helping out.
We had a time of games and worship with 20 centavos which the kids LOVED, me too. We did an open mic night with anyone that wanted to share something, and we also had a couple people tell their testimonies. there were lots of tears coming to my eyes while listening to one of our jovens telling his story of accepting Christ. i am so proud of the impact Tonio is having on the other teens here on campus. God has completely captured Tonio's heart in this past year.

While out with groups, i have leveled two playgrounds, and done cement 2 days in a row. i am obsessed with running the trompo (cement mixer). it has been a full full week and God has shown up in BIG ways. all of our groups leave in the morning.
Then it is time for a staff meeting, it is my turn to take all the interns out, rest tomorrow night, then do it all over again next week starting Saturday. Please be praying for strength throughout my summer. i am only going to last if i am filled up by the Lord. Pray for intimate times with Him.

Saying Goodbyes

2010-05-31T13:28:00.000-07:00

Dulce and Katya after a cake fight!!!!!!

Edgar, Connie, and Dulce

Me and Dulce

Yessica and I

You know something doesn't feel completely right when your stomach hurts and your heart aches. I am always really sad to see people, that i have known for a long time, leave. And the funny thing is, that if the person leaving is still in a Childrens home, shouldn't i want them to leave and be with their families? my answer is YES, But it is still hard. While i know it is time for some of them to leave i also know that God has brought them in my life for specific reasons and for certain seasons. Each child that we serve has something different to offer. It excites me to be able to build into the children we serve. Those of you that know me, relationships are my thing. I love relationships. i love investing into the teenage girls here on our campus, i love hanging out with the children we serve. It excites me to get to know them.
But on the flip side, it is really hard for me to say goodbye... I have had to say goodbye to Yessica who lived in Esperanza house here on our property. She has taught me so much about life. She is super passionate about everything. And the joy that she has is straight from the Lord. God has good things in store for her life. But it was really hard to say goodbye to her. Her presence here on this campus was always a positive one and I can tell she is not here.

I also had to say goodbye to Dulce or ABBY from Manantial De Amor. She was having a birthday party and invited me to come along. it was such a fun time in knowing that i had specific time to say goodbye. sometime we don't even get the chance to say goodbye and those are the hardest. But God allowed me to spend all day with her at the girls home. I got to celebrate her birthday with her and the rest of her house. And i even got to pray with her before i left. She is a special one. she is so beautiful and eager to seek God. She is independent and can speak for herself. The confidence she has for a 15 year old girl who has grown up in a Casa Hogar, is unbelievable.
It has been a pleasure to serve both of these girls. they are both dear to my heart. I have and will not give up praying for them. Even though i could possibly never see them again which is incredibly hard for me. But it is okay because i believe God has given something special to both of these girls. I know they both experienced God in both of their circumstances. And with that, we have to trust that they experienced enough of HIM to get them through any situation that comes their way. that they will fight the good fight and take a stand against this cold world. Although it is hard to say goodbye i know good things are coming for them. PRAISE YOU FATHER FOR RESTORING THESE GIRLS LIVES WITH THEIR FAMILIES.

SPA NIGHT

2010-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

PEDICURES!!!!!!!!

MANICURES!!!!

all of the girls posing for a picture with their new fun things!!!!!

Back2Back got a huge donation from a friend of my roomate, Jessica. One weekend we had gone to Texas and opened up all the boxes that were shipped for this specific donation. Inside these HUGE boxes were tons of body wash, face wash, toothbrushes, floss, deodorant, lotion, and lots and lots of make up.
Receiving donations is a HUGE blessing. We would normally divide up everything and deliver it to the teen homes here on our property. But Jessica and I had a better plan. We decided to host a spa night at our house. We divided up all the donations and put them in gift bags for each joven girl on campus. We had 11 gift bags FULL of things they will use and LOVE. Each Bag consisted of things in the first picture above.
So, we invited the girls over. We ate chocolate, did pedicures (which Jessica was in charge of), manicures (which i was in charge of), watched a chick flick, and at the end did facials. It was such a fun and relaxing way to use these specific donations. The girls felt blessed and their toes and hands felt better than ever. it was such a wonderful time of fellowship with the girls. Getting them out of their homes, making them feel special and loved, and being able to bless them with essentials. It was a wonderful night.

Casa Hogar Del Norte LIBRARY!!!!!!

2010-04-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

After almost a year of starting the library foundation at Casa Hogar Del Norte, We finally finished up things this past week. This past Saturday on April 17th we had the Library Dedication.
The weeks leading up to it was great because we didn't have a lot of groups here so a ton of staff were able to come together to help Gabo get things ready for the big dedication. The very first picture with all the couples was Friday night (the day before) we had worked pretty much a 12 day shift or more. Finishing painting last minute things, scrubbed the floor on our hands and knees with paint scrapers and a rag, putting the tv and computer up, finishing staining the librarians desk, putting the desks and the dividers together, cleaning up after ourselves every 10 minutes, putting books in the shelves, hanging lights, and putting last minute touches on everything to make it look the way it did.
When you put so much work into something you are super excited to show people the creation from nothing to finish. the dedication was just for that and to dedicate it to the Lord as well as thank people who had put so much money and service into making it beautiful. I love a good work day with just staff. It reminds me of how much i love working with the people i live with. what a blessing it is to be here in the midst of what the Lord is doing. Providing a fun place for the kids to learn more and to be excited about it is one more blessing for them.
The dedication went great. We ate, the children sang some songs they had been learning, we prayed over the building, Martha spoke, and we got to look around and see the kids smiling faces as they saw their new library full of books, movies, and learning games. What a blessing to this specific children's home!

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS OH MY!!!!!

2010-04-19T12:11:00.001-07:00

not much for this blog! SMCA (our staff kid school on property) had a field trip to the zoo. I was able to tag along because one of the teachers wasn't able to make it that day. We were pretty much the only people in the zoo and the animals were very interactive. we saw tigers, elephants, lots of parrots, ostriches, bears, alligators, and lots of other animals. it was a great day with those little monkeys, and YES i mean the SMCA kids.

BODA DE MARU Y EMMANUEL

2010-04-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Maru looking so happy on her wedding day!!!!
Riding in on her carriage just like a princess.
Padrinos: Hope and Cheque giving them their Bible
Padrinos: Antonio and Priscilla putting the lasso on them.
Mariachi Band. So fun
Emmanuel singing to his bride.
Rodo and i showing off our fun little gifts from the band at the wedding.
Friends at the Rodeo.

Last weekend me and some of our staff took a little trip to San Luis Potosi. This wedding was 8 hours away and we all packed out our suburbans and vans and caravaned to this little town. The wedding was like nothing i have ever seen before. The Bride was led in by carriage that her father was leading. then her bridesmaids were all on horses riding in. Emmanuel was leading all the men on horses as well. They call this a CHARRO wedding. Big Dresses and traditional dressing for the men. SO FUN and different.
The ceremony was beautiful. In Mexican weddings they have Padrinos. Basically the bride and groom ask people who are important to them to be padrinos in the wedding. The padrinos give either a Bible, a lasso (which represents binding the 2 together), coins, or the wedding rings. They go up to the front and present the item to the couple and do a blessing on the bride and groom. My roomate, Hope, was a padrino for the Bible. (Picture above)
The reception was AWESOME. well the wedding started at 1:00pm and we left around 12:30a.m. and the reception was still going strong. There was a really fun band that kept passing all these little things out with every song. Rodo and i had a great time salsa dancing all night. oh how i love the Mexican culture.
On the way home we stopped and got some ice cream with exotic fruits. It was so YUMMY!!!
it was really a fun experience being with people from Back2Back but being out of Monterrey. Lots of bonding with eachother, eating very different food, and supporting our good friend Maru in her marriage. The rodeo the next day was incredible. Got to break in my cowboy boots and watch some really cool tricks with horses and cows. We had to leave early though to get home in time for monday morning work. Overall, the weekend was great and Maru got to have the wedding of her dreams. She was beaming with joy and love on her special day. or should i say her special weekend.

God's Creation

2010-04-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend i had the chance to experience God in a new way and a new place. 4 of us drove a little ways outside of Monterrey. We wanted a cool place to go hiking so we found this BEAUTIFUL place. Around this whole park, on a mountain, were streams and natural waterfalls. i could have stayed there and listened to the water forever. It was beautiful. i couldn't stop enjoying it. When God reveals Himself to me more through Creation i am always amazed at the beauty that He displays... And He chose us 4 to enjoy it in that moment. The times i am able to explore in His Greatness is always a good time. It could bring me to tears just knowing that i am surrounded by these beautiful mountains here in Monterrey and that Our Maker put them right before me to enjoy. So that is exactly what i intend to do. It made me want to explore even more of Mexico while i am here. Because i don't know when God will call me somewhere else. I want to take part in the Beauty He has surrounded me with in this present moment. It was a great time of fellowship and experiencing God in a real way. I hope to go back again one day!!!!

Quincenera

2010-04-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Yaqueline turned 15 and it was time to celebrate with her quincenera.
She has one sister in the Hope Program here and she is probably going to be here within a couple years. She is so beautiful and bright. I know she has a HUGE future in front of her. i asked her if she felt like a princess and she replied yes. How great it is for these girls to be dolled up and know that they are special on their 15th birthdays. because of help and donations to get everything she wanted is all because of people like you who are reading this blog entry. My good friend Quin and her family came down for the weekend of her quincenera. They have a sweet relationship with her and i know it was incredible for her to see them come all the way from the states to be here for her big day.
We ate, we danced, and we played games till we couldn't play any more. it was a great night. Feliz Cumpleanos Yaqueline.

PureNRG Otra Vez

2010-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

We somehow managed to blindfold all the kids at Imperio De Amor for a fun surprise!!!!!
well some of them at least....

THE SURPRISE: A NEW BUS FOR THE HOME!!!!!!!!!!
me and the girls
Caroline holding a sweet new baby at Imperio.
Putting PureNRG bumper stickers on the bus.
Caroline, Carolyne, and Jordan = PureNRG
doing a little dancing for the kids!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carolyne with Alex at Casa Hogar Douglas
Handing out PureNRG t-shirts and signing them!!!!!
Well, last time PureNRG was here they had an action goal to raise money for a new bus. They were specifically raising money for Imperio De Amor because they knew their bus was not functioning and all 60 kids were going to school in a 15 passanger van.
I don't know if any of us expected it to be so fast. The last time they were here was in October when they put on a concert for all the children's homes. So from October to March they were raising money to buy the BUS. that is right, they did it and were able to come and deliver it personally. They were here for 2 days. But it felt like they had been here for a full week because we crammed a lot of things in their schedules. Rodolfo and i had the privilege of being with them the entire time. Monterrey was blessed by their singing and dancing at 2 childrens homes, PureNRG t-shirts, A BUS, changing sheets on the boys dorms at douglas, and having so much fun with them.

my favorite memory was when they were at Douglas singing and dancing. I looked over at one of the kids and she was singing EVERY single word to every song they sang. it took me by total surprise. She does not know ANY english but here she was singing every single word to all their songs. it was such a sweet moment. And they also taught her some of their dance moves. I had to translate so of course i learned them too....

i know the kids from Imperio were super blessed by this HUGE present. They also have a way of blessing me so much when they are here also. I felt super encouraged by their team. Caroline's mom was able to come, Caroline, Carolyne, Jordan, Krystal (from their label), and Kevin (from James Fund). If we weren't serving the kids we were playing games till wee hours in the night.
I could not thank them enough for their love and support for this ministry. And the fact that they make goals and fulfill them. That speaks volumes for people their age. Once again, i was super blown away by who they are as individual people. The more i get to know each of them, the more i see Jesus Christ in them. It is always such a fun time with them. i hope they come back soon.

Thank you PureNRG for your sacrifices you make daily to be who you are. Thank you for the blessing you bring to Monterrey and to me personally. I am blessed to know you and call you friends.

El Limon Video!!

2010-03-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

El Limon is the childrens home that we work with outside of Monterrey. It's about a 6 hour drive from our property. Typically we take a few groups there each year. They spend the week at El Limon living with the kids while they work on projects & love on kids. We currently have several students in our Hope Program who are from El Limon. On my last trip there, the group from Family Christian Stores/The James Fund (one of our treasured ministry partners) put together this video of their time there. I thought you might enjoy it!

Click here if you would like to check it out. i am in it but def. don't look my best. hahah the song that we are singing is a song that i am really into right now. it is beautiful.

Worship night at Cadereyta

2010-02-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

Cadereyta is one of our impoverished areas that we serve alongside. Most of the people that are there have been moved and placed by the government to live there.
February 21st was not only Julie Cooper's birthday but it was also a concert night for Cadereyta. This fall at a youth retreat some Back2Back members started a band with some other friends of theirs. Their name you ask me... 20 CENTAVOS! it is worship music but they can TOTALLY rock out.
Last night i was really debating on going or not. But then came to the conclusion that i would go because i wanted to spend some time with my friend Julie (it was her birthday) and i had not been to Cadereyta in a while so i thought, why not?
i went and it ended up being a great night. Worshiping and Experiencing God with the people from the Cadereyta was awesome. The Lord's presence was there and some really cute kids were on their faces crying out to their God. I had the privlage of praying with some of them. Praying hope and a bright future in the midst of where they live. And for them to be a light where the darkness is. Praying over Pastor Jose Angel and his wife was a great moment. We also had a group with us and seeing them engage was really cool.
God has big things in store for those people. He is already moving in them. A while back a men's group was here and they took some men of the Cadereyta fishing. During the ministry time there, if i remember correctly, around 10 men came to know Christ that night. I am certain they were the same men that were jumping up praising God last night.
Please continue to pray for the Cadereyta. A time to Celebrate is now! and that is EXACTLY what we did last night.

i am kind of obsessed with taking videos now to help you all feel like you really know what i am talking about. So if you would like to see a glimpse of 20 CENTAVOS and the worship night, click here! ENJOY