Future Glory

Ricardo Adrian, age 8

Fernando, age 7

Christian, age 2

The siblings in the above photos are 3 children who if i could and was given the chance, I'd adopt in a heartbeat.  They live at one of my favorite homes that Back2Back serves and were on our property for dinner last night.  

Baby Christian almost never smiles until I throw him in the air and catch him.  Fernando loves to jump on the trampoline.  And Ricardo, who is just 8 years old, almost always acts as the father to his little brother Christian.  I often find him feeding his little brother or playing with him or carrying him to wherever he needs to go.  When I was 8, my little brother was almost 2 and I couldn't stand him - all my friends wanted to play with my little brother when they were supposed to be over at my house to play with me.  Looking back, I feel pretty selfish - but is an 8 year old supposed to want to take care of their baby brother?  Last night, right before this children's home left our property, I saw Ricardo - who in my mind is a little kid himself - hug baby Christian and pick him up and make sure his shoes were on and that he got on the bus with everyone else.  I see him do this every time I'm at this home and my heart just melts and I often have to walk away to hide my tears.  Why is an 8 year old boy a caregiver?  

There are 148 million orphans worldwide today and only 8 million of them live in institutions like the orphanages we serve here in Monterrey.  That leaves another 140 million out on the streets or the head of the household in some shack somewhere to fend for their younger siblings.   I can picture millions of 7 and 8 year olds acting as a father to their baby brothers just like Ricardo does everyday with no choice in the matter.  

I absolutely love these 3 little boys and when I hold baby Christian or feed him lunch myself so that Ricardo doesn't have to, I wonder what could the future hold for them?  And I'm comforted by Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the GLORY that is to be revealed to us." -- When Christ comes back and like in Revelation 21:4 says Christ "will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the order of things has passed away."  Then God says, "I am making everything new!" 

There will be a day with no more suffering, no more pain, no more orphans.  This world is not our home.  God is preparing something far better for us and for these sweet little boys.

Rio III

Below are photos from one of my favorite outreach locations - we call it Rio III because it's the third impoverished community Back2Back serves here in Monterrey.  I love going to this place mostly because I admire the woman we stand back to back with out there - named Olga.  She's awesome!  I've blogged about her before.  She is a perfect example of someone with no wealth to speak of herself but with a wealth of faith and vision to provide for a people that everyone else would have soon forgotten.  And through her, God is doing mighty things to revolutionize this community full of prostitutes, drug dealers, and shady people.  Children are being fed and taught about a God who loves them.  And later, their mothers come in to see what's going on inside the church and eventually come to faith in Christ themselves.  That's hope!  

These people don't have running water.  The water they do get, isn't safe to drink.  This past week, we brought some American teams who were able to finish working on a water purification project that will hopefully provide water for the entire community (photo below).

Many of these kids go without food or clothes or shoes.  Yesterday we were able to give away 200 pairs of shoes and 200 new back packs with school supplies.  My entire life, i've never been without drinking water or food or a shirt or a pair of shoes.  But millions in our world today go without everyday.  What an extreme joy it is to be part of what God is doing in the lives of the people out at Rio III  -- Only God can mend the broken heart, cause the blind to see, erase complete the sinners past, set the captives free, be a father to the fatherless.... He alone is the solution.

Jesus once stood up in a synagogue and said following:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Jesus has some good news for us - seriously.  No matter what you think might be causing God to turn away from you or to judge you or condemn you to hell for can be erased through Christ's shed blood on the cross.  The good news is - Christ rose from the dead.  He won.  He's still winning.  And he can win for you - he can set you free.  You can't out-sin his grace.

pretty sure this is a little girl

locals traveling from place to place - live stalk is everywhere

these tires are the pathway/bridge across the river on the way to school

a rare photo of yours truly... ME

2 beautiful children in front of the river

Olga (bottom left) in front of the church and outreach center

on a prayer walk through the community

Jim (B2B staff) and the new water tanks with purification system

The Best I have to Offer

When I was younger, my highly educated mother (in photo above on her trip to Monterrey 2 weeks ago) tried everything possible to encourage me to read.  The last thing I wanted to do was stay inside and I hated reading.  I was always outside playing a sport of some kind.  My mom even went so far as to pay me $20 cash per book that I'd read.  (but see mom, i turned out okay right?  I graduated from college!)

Today though, I love to read.  When I gave my life to the Lord, I think God gave me a passion for his Word (the Bible) and for theology in general.  At times,  I think I read too much.  My mom now borrows my books! I think that a life spent walking with God is far better than the alternative and so naturally, I want others to know this life as well.  For the longest time, I've thought that in order to help others come to a relationship with God in their own time that I should read up on everything I can get my hands on because it might come in handy one day in a critical conversation (this could be partially true).   I've thought that my pursuit of knowledge may further my own relationship with God and that this knowledge will be perhaps just what others might need to know in order to decide that God isn't a joke.  But my thoughts are changing these days....

In the past year for example, I'm convinced that the most impacting and meaningful conversations I've had regarding the things of God have been times when all I did was share who God is to me and what he's done in my own life.  

You don't need a seminary degree or a theological personal library to lead someone to a deeper walk.  The best thing I could ever tell someone is what God has done and is continuing to do in my own life.  So whoever you are, whatever your profession is, whoever you are trying to encourage to explore the things of God or to take that next step  -- the best thing you could offer is your testimony (not your personal history - that's your past) -- who God is to you personally.  

Who is God to you?