Giving This Christmas Season!!!!!!!!!!

As Christmas is around the corner, lots of presents are being bought and thought of. During this Christmas season if you are still looking for a present for a family member or for your entire family , and are looking for another way to give... I ask that you PRAYERFULLY consider giving towards my staff account at Back2Back. To be honest with all of you, i am still $5,000 short. I know that God is faithful, and in the big scheme of things $5,000 is nothing compared to what i have to raise to be here for a year.

Those of you that know me personally, or that only know me through someone, or those of you that have just found my blog randomly and have been on this journey with me, you all know my heart. You know that my passion is children. You Know that God has called me here to take action in the lives of orphan children. You know that God has me here for a reason. I pray you would know that through your donations you are indirectly serving the orphan child. By your donation i am able to be here, loving on children that have no one. Loving on the child that is broken. Loving on the child that just got dropped off, at the orphanage, by a mom or a dad. I AM HERE ONLY BECAUSE OF THE SUPPORT FROM YOU ALL.

I just want to say THANK YOU to all my supporters right now. Those that pray for me, give monetary donations, and those that are excited about what God is doing in and through me here in Monterrey, Mexico. I seriously wouldn't be able to be here if it wasn't for you all.

If you feel led to give towards my staff account this Christmas season: all financial support can be made payable to:

BACK2BACK ministries
P.O. Box 70
Mason, Oh 45040

Please note that your donation is TAX DEDUCTABLE!!!!!!!

If you put a note inside saying that the donation is for Becca Gantz's support account, they say that is better than putting my name in the memo.

Thank you all so much for reading my blog, keeping up with my life in Mexico, and for loving me through it all. I couldn't ask for better prayer partners and supporters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I pray your Christmas is a time of joy, peace, and lots of love!

Enjoying Christmas!!!!

i just wanted to upload some fun pictures. We just had our annual women's retreat. God continues to make Himself known and His Spirit more alive every year. My favorite part of this trip is that these women prepare months in advance for this one week. This week is so special in so many ways.

Reason number 1.... I get to help ask the children what they want for Christmas! you should see their little faces when i ask them. they light up and say "we get to choose what we want." I find great joy in getting cute little answers from them.

Reason number 2.... we send the women the Christmas lists and they delegate who is buying what for each individual child. There are so many presents the day they come it is like Santa's Workshop. Wrapping, writing names on each gift, baking cookies, preparing for the day, and sometimes even doing a work project.

Reason number 3..... Delivering the presents..... the kids are so excited and LOVE seeing what they asked for right in front of them. We continue to tell them the real reason for the Season and why these women do this! The kids grateful hearts, beautiful smiles, and the glow from happiness is all over their faces.

Reason number 4... THE FELLOWSHIP... i absolutely feel filled up and encouraged by each of these women. Getting to know each other throughout the entire day. Then coming home for some warm coffee, some worship, and a wonderful time of debriefing.

Reason number 5... The fun field trips.... This year we took Casa Hogar Del Norte to a place called Kidzania. it is like a big town shrunk down to kid size. SO FUN. also, we did a candy cane outreach with the girls from Casa Hogar Manantial De Amor. we hung candy canes on the neighbors gates and attached was the legend of a candy cane. We did a candle lit caroling walk to Casa Hogar Douglas. Sang Christmas carols outside for them. they sang to us too. it was so honkin cute!

Reason number 6... DECORATING ALL THE CHRISTMAS TREES... we deliver a Christmas tree to each home and the women bring all stuff to decorate. lights, flowers, tinsel, stars, and lots of things to make ornaments with the children.

can you tell i really enjoy this week. I could go on all night long with the list of things i love about this week. But unfortunately that is it for now. i hope you get a feel for the love i have for each of these women and each of these kids. What a sweet time to celebrate our KING being born on such a wonderful day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY AND FRIENDS

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

JUST WANTED TO SAY HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS! today i am thinking about YOU ALL who have given so much to me and how THANKFUL i am for YOU. My supporters, My family, and all my friends who have stuck by my side through all seasons of my life. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND AM SO THANKFUL FOR YOU! going to Imperio de Amor today to work and they made a little video for all of you! be sure to watch it!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I KNOW I KNOW!!!!!!!

NOW, i know what everyone is probably thinking... IT IS WAY TOO EARLY TO PUT YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE AND DECORATIONS UP BECCA.... well i hear you. BUT we all go home for Christmas break so we made a decision to put it up early and enjoy it to the fullest. This night was so much fun. My room mates, Jessica and Hope, and I went out to eat. Then we went through all our decorations from last year to see what we have and what we need. then we went off to buy some fun ornaments and a star. After that we came back to decorate the tree. We had Christmas music going as we put the tree up. Hope made apple crisp and it was so yummy. Then Ruby and Caroline came over for some apple cider and we all watched a movie. it was so much fun. A night of fellowship, friendship, and fun. i love the girls i live with and everyday it is a blessing to know exactly where i am and who surrounds me! Praise God for such solid girls that are daily pouring into me.
i love you girls so much! Thanks for adding so much to my life!

CHRISTMAS IS NEAR!!!!!!

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GREAT CHRISTMAS CARDS TO SEND OUT THIS YEAR? Back2Back has made Christmas cards with pictures of children in all areas we serve. AFRICA, INDIA, AND MEXICO.
Click on the image to make it larger and learn how to order yours now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, if you and your family are looking at great ways to give this year, check out www.back2back.org and look at the new Back2Back Christmas Catalog. There are TONS of needs here in Mexico, Nigeria, and India. You would be blessing the orphan child on Christmas Day. It is a neat and unique way to give this year!!!!!

HANNAH ELIZABETH VELASCO!!!

I have no idea what happened to some of these photos when i put them on here. haha anyway. Gabo and Kelly Velasco just had their first child. they were waiting to find out if it was a girl or a boy. Everyone had their own opinions and i KNEW it was a girl. no body believed me though. Well on November 2, 2009 they brought a beautiful little girl into this world. that is right. A GIRL!!!! her name is HANNAH ELIZABETH VELASCO and she is precious in every way. they are in the transition of having their first child and parenting 5 teenage girls in their house as well.
i had the pleasure of watching these 5 teenage girls while kelly and gabo were in the hospital and then for a week after they returned home. Let's just say i have a new respect for the house parents here on our campus. so many sneaky teenagers. haha. it was definitely hard for me to not be fun becca the whole time. i had to help them follow the rules and nanny becca came out. haha which means it was not very pretty all the time but at the end you still love them to pieces and they (hopefully) love you in return. It was fun though learning a little more about what a house parent does all the time. it was nothing like i ever thought. and i live here with them but once i was in their shoes alot of things made more sense. My respect for them grew and my love for the Esther house girls grew even more. I just love their girls and i am pretty excited to hold a brand new baby all the time. i had a super sweet moment with one of the girls just being able to speak truth to her in a moment of sadness and you know what... God gave the words for me to say in spanish to her and it was a wonderful moment for me. I LOVED being there, able to help her when all she wanted was someone to listen to and cry to. God is so good at placing people in your life when you need it the most. I praise God for bringing these girls into my life and for the love i have for each one of them.
Please pray for Kelly and Gabo as they are transitioning into parenthood and for the girls also.

FALL FESTIVAL

the annual FALL FESTIVAL was this past friday. it was so fun. it is held for our SMCA kids here and STAFF. last year the girls and i were the ninja turtles and this year we decided to be CONDIMENTS!!!!!!Ruby is ridiculously talented and made all the labels. it was a really fun idea. AND i personally crocheted Jessica's pickle had, so that was an adventure in itself. It was a great night. we had lots of yummy food, games, and fun. I LOVE OUR STAFF!!!!!!!

A NIGHT OF TALENT!!!!

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

God is on the MOVE!

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

El Grito!!!!!!

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


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

IT IS RAINY SEASON!!!!!

I have been reading a little quote book from Beth Moore out of Believing God each day and came across this quote:

" I (God) will give you rain at the right time and the land will yeild its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit."

Right now in Mexico it is rainy season. Seeing this quote made me realize that God is providing every drop of rain we get here. Not only to farmers and fields, but to the children in each casa hogar we serve. Wells are being filled!!!!! Especially ours here on the campus of Back2Back, helping us better serve our American groups that come to serve here alongside us. The wells currently getting filled up by this rain are the same wells that are supposed to last an entire year. At each Childrens home, we have around 40-68 children. With all of them showering, brushing their teeth, going to the bathroom, and cooking food for all of them, you can imagine how much water is used on a daily basis. We have around 100 people living on the back2back campus and when groups come it is more. Most of the time, when summer rolls around there is barely enough water in the wells. But God always provides and is always faithful. Sweet children run out of water......our God supplies the perfect amount needed. So the more that i see the rain come down the more i continue to thank God in this season right now. It has been rather a dry rainy season here. If you would come alongside me in prayer for each childrens home to get the EXACT amount needed i know our God will provide. After all, it is a promise to the orphan child from our heavenly father.

wishing i had rain boots,
Becca Gantz