Mark and Kenzi Fogleman

On August 4th, our two friends, Mark and Kenzi ,

said I DO! We had the privilege of being able to be there for their big day! We have been friends with Kenzi for a very long time and I had the honor of standing next to her during the biggest moment of her life. So glad we were able to make it and be around some great friends that we know and love for a week! 

Congrats Mark and Kenzi Fogleman! We pray blessings over  your new life together! 

Our Summer

I can't believe Mazatlan had our very 1st summer! 

3 groups, cement work, games with kids, Worship, 4th of July Cookout, finished the play set area at Salvation Army, Continued on the wall out at Rancho, debriefing, growing in Community, had an incredible night of Extended Worship, shopping, Beach Field trips with kids, Water Park field trips with kids, Yummy Dinners, Taco Bar, Quiet times, small groups, digging trenches, digging holes, welding, staff, summer staff, interns... 

Those are the things i think of when thinking of a Back2Back summer:) Mazatlan groups did all of things above for the 3 weeks that we had groups. Adam Gellenbeck (running the cement mixer in picture above) was our summer staffer for 2 weeks. We also were privileged to have an intern Jozilyn with us for the month of July. Our Friend Jerrod, even stayed with us an extra week to help finish up some of the welding projects. Even after the groups left, we continued working on the projects out at the homes to try and complete them! 

It was a fun filled summer that God continued showing off for us:) 

My favorite moment of all the weeks was extended worship. Now, so far our groups have not had worship unless someone in their group can play or sing. Rodo and I are not gifted in either of those areas:( So, with one of the weeks they brought our friend Jason. He led worship every night and was perfect with letting the Spirit lead. 

Because we had such a gifted worship leader for the week, we asked if he would be interested in helping us with extended worship... 

(Back 2 summers ago, Our campus in Monterrey had a lot of Healing going on. So, we offered up the freedom for anyone to come and ask for prayer that wanted or needed it. Our worship leader would rely on the Jesus to lead the night. We also would have communion set up for whoever wanted to partake in it. Nobody pressured, everyone free to do as they please)

So, Jason led us in Worship for the evening and Todd Guckenberger (who was here helping us with one of our bigger weeks) and I stood in the back and prayed over people the entire night. We had communion going on, worship, and prayer. 

That night made me really miss living in a community. Rodolfo and i have been on our own now for six months and in that moment of extended worship I was renewed and encouraged by praying for other people. Energized to a new level! 

Thank you Jesus for Your restoration and faithfulness. You know what we need, when we need it. 

Thank you groups for all the hard work, time, and energy you spent here in Mazatlan.

LELA Donation

Results from a fun date night turned into L.E.L.A. (which stands for Lead. Encourage. Live. 
Act.) donating towards Back2Back Mazatlan in the month of June. 


Rodolfo and I met up with the dancing chefs from Salsa and Salsa Mazatlan last week.  And they presented us with a check from L.E.L.A.  The money that L.E.L.A. raised is being used towards the wall that we are building out at Rancho de Los Ninos, for the kids protection and security! 


From Mazatlan, Cabo, and Cozumel, L.E.L.A. collected $905 Dollars in the month of june for the wall:) 


We were thrilled that they chose us, as a cause, to donate towards. And we like to consider the dancing chefs friends now:)  We sat and talked for a good couple of hours. Gave them a Back2Back Magazine and thanked them for their contribution! 


Thanks again Salsa and Salsa. 

Home Sweet Home

It dawned on me that we haven't put up a post of where we are living. So, here you go. An official Tour....

 Apartment numero uno

 Our kitchen

 Living Room and Dining Room

 View of our living room

 Our Bathroom

 Our Bedroom!

 Guest Bedroom that is currently serving the purpose of the Metzger's suitcases until they get here and find a place:)

 Guest Bathroom..

 Rodo's desk in the office

   My desk in the office

 THE VIEW OUTSIDE FROM INSIDE OUR HOUSE! BEAUTIFUL! so far we have not gotten sick of it and i don't think we will either.

 This is the back of our house. It is a duplex and we live on the bottom part. A nice older married couple lives upstairs.

 These 3 HUGE iguanas were just taking a chill pill on the golf course:)

It is amazing to think we got everything here from Monterrey! Thanks for tuning in to MAZATLAN CRIBS:) 

Men In Balance

 Instead of Pollo Loco (the crazy chicken)  like in Monterrey, we have Pollo Feliz (The Happy Chicken) here in MAZ so we provide our groups with one meal from the happy chicken:) and we   haven't had any complaints yet.

With our first group of the summer, we put a lot of work time into our schedule. We worked out at rancho with cement, Bought a trailer for our cement mixer, had numerous runs to home depot, finished a lot of the work on the play set at salvation army, and loved on some stinkin cute kids. 


This group was small but boy they were hard workers. All the way up to the time they left, they were eager to do the Lord's work. It was such a blessing hearing their stories and how they found out about Back2Back. There was one family here and if i had to pick pictures for the week it was watching the father with his sons. He was teaching them the knowledge he had about tools. It was great how fast they picked up. But, i guess that results in a great teacher huh? 


Also, the leader Vic, was being helped by one of the boys from Salvation Army. The boy was eager to help and since we don't allow them to have power tools, Vic had him measuring out the boards for him. This gave the child a confidence and feeling like he has a purpose. Probably not many men have come beside this kid to help him accomplish anything or maybe even teach him anything positive. God had a purpose for each of our group members for the week they were here, and it was a blessing being able to see each one of those purposes reveal themselves. 


We ended our week with going to a water park called,  MAZAGUA. We ended up inviting 11 girls from Floreser who had never been there and then 8 kids from Salvation Army. A very special day was spent by investing and following all the kids around. Buying them snacks and loving on them. Making them feel special. 
I gave the girls from Floreser a ride home and they could not stop talking about their day. I asked them if they would ever want to go back and they started screaming ... "YES"! Sweet filled memories of this day for all of us involved. I am sure there was nothing but smiles as those sweet children put their heads on their pillows this evening. 


THANK YOU JESUS! 




I promise to get pics of the water park next time we go. It was awesome:) 

Summer 2012

Summer 2012 has already started in Monterrey. It is weird not being there for the big rush. BUT, Mazatlan Summer is about to kick off on Saturday, June 9th. A group called Men In Balance are coming from Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a small group but small groups are always so much fun. 


Every year we have a new theme that our Bible Study,for group members, and our debriefings are geared towards. Our new theme for this year is from Colossians 1:17. " He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." This year is marking 15 years for Back2Back Ministries. And going back to see all the times  God provided and how He holds things together has been a blessing. 


Please be Praying for us as we are about to start our summer. It is getting really hot here so pray for strength, endurance, and for God to continue showing off for each group member! 


We feel so blessed to be where we are! Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to be your hands and feet here in Mazatlan, Mexico. 

Today's Email

look what came in my inbox today:

"LELA the Donating Pig (www.salsalela.com) has been a busy little pig this month, collecting $653USD for Working Wardrobes. We're excited to tell you that June's cause has been suggested by a Salsa and Salsa guest. LELA keeps touching people's hearts in unexpected ways!  Back2Back (www.back2backministries.com) is an international non-profit organization that is dedicated to being a voice for orphans.  Their main goal is to care for orphans and impoverished children, so they can overcome their life circumstances and break free from the cycle of generational poverty. Back2Back is active in Mexico, Nigeria and India." 

so excited beyond words that the date night Rodolfo and I had with Salsa and Salsa turned out to be a great ministry opportunity!