A Thanksgiving Feast!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...