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