Living the Life

I am living the life. 

Some of the staff and interns at San Jose last Wednesday.
We hosted a Mini Olympics for all the girls at Casa Hogar, a
Catholic children's home. It was a blast!

I'm currently in Cancun, Mexico-one of the most beautiful vacations spots in the world. 

I work with and learn from an amazing staff who love what the do and who they serve. 

My fellow interns are quickly becoming some of my best friends. 

Every day, I see God in the work we do and the children we serve. 

Every day, I get to play with and serve children.

Last week I was able to see a young girl Vanessa open up and blossom. The first time I met her, she would barely talk to me. But, our second time together, after bonding over jump roping and drawing, we became the best of friends. She has a heart for art and a sweet personality and I have the opportunity to get to know her more and encourage these passions and talents. 

I get to see the ocean often and eat Mexican food almost every day.   

Despite all these things, today...I was spent. 

I woke up feeling homesick and exhausted. 

In fact a text to my boyfriend Don contained these exact words:

"I'm homesick. I mostly miss you. And my friends and family. And American food. And the freedom of running my own life." 

Despite all the beauty and love and laughter that I've found in Mexico, today, I was simply done. I didn't want to spend long hours in the sun. I didn't want to run back and forth doing intern things. I was sick of sweating, sick of my brain hurting from translating and speaking Spanish and honestly, I was sick of pouring into others. Yes, you can call me a bad Christian. But after 3 weeks of serving God and serving others, I wanted to crawl back into my bed and stay there all day-forget everyone else. 

Our site director, Erick had it right when he quoted a minster friend: 

"Everyone jumps at the chance to serve. But most are not ready to be a servant"

Today. I did not want to be a servant. 

But then, 
we arrived at Rosie's. 

Rosie is an amazing woman living and working in a neighborhood in Cancun called Bonfil. For 20 years, Rosie has served those in her neighborhood though a mission called Mision Educ-arte. There is a high percentage of single moms and tons of children in Bonfil. And all of them are poor, very poor. 20 years ago, in her backyard, Rosie began offering bible studies, English classes and meals to the children and mothers in her neighborhood every Saturday and Wednesday. Rosie was once like many of the single mothers in her neighborhood but her life was radically changed when she found the Lord and today her joyful spirit spills into the lives of anyone and everyone who meets her. Back2Back partners with Rosie to provide holistic care to those children in her neighborhood. 

We were at Rosie's to build 2 picnic tables and some chairs for a cuartaria (basically an apartment building with a common courtyard) where many of the kids who attend Rosie's program live. We also had a cookout for the entire neighborhood after our very long work day. Before we began, however, we had "Coffee with Jesus," a devotion led by Rosie. 

It was here that I remembered why I'm here and who I serve. 

In light of all my discouraged feelings, Rosie reminded me of who it is I serve, who we serve. 

She reminded me that we serve a 

Wonderful
Beautiful 
Glorious 
Matchless in every way 
God. 

A God who gave his very life so that I might have mine. A God who is altogether lovely, altogether worthy and altogether wonderful to me. A God who does not merely ask me to constantly pour out to others but invites, and often times begs, for me to come and rest in His presence. To delight in Him. 

A God to whom I can say "I AM YOURS!" 

For the past 2 days, I had been "me" focused. I thought about what I liked and didn't. Who I wanted to be around and didn't. How exhausted I was. All the work I had to do this week...me.me.me. 

My thoughts were so focused on myself that I was completely disregarding the amazing God I serve. And more than that, I was forgetting the opportunity that I have, everyday to come to Him and be refreshed and renewed. 

John 10:10 reads:

"The thief comes only to kill and destroy. I came that they have new life and may have it abundantly."

Everyday, my God offers me new life. An abundant life filled with joy and peace. He doesn't ask that I do anything to receive it. I must merely come and rest in Him, in His glorious presence. 

So with that, tonight I go to bed with a peaceful heart. Rosie's devotion inspired me and rejuvenated me to take on the day. I felt the Spirit giving me the energy I knew I did not personally have. 

Yes, I'm still tired. Yes, the Cancun sun is still ridiculously hot. And yes, I still miss home. 

But despite all that, I rest in the presence of an almighty God who loves and refreshes me. 

And for THIS reason, I am living the life. 

New Country. New Blog. New Life.

Hi! Welcome to my blog!

For those of you who know me, I promise not to waste your time writing out superficial information about myself that you probably already know. And plus, I never like those "talk about yourself" times anyways. Too much to say and too little time! (And then you end up standing up in front of an entire class saying things like, "In my free time, I like to paint my nails." Wait..maybe that's just me)...anyways, you get the point. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy my posts.

For those of you who don't me, thanks for visiting! I'm glad you're here and I hope that by reading my blogs now and in the future (if I keep this thing going that is. :p). You'll get to know me a little better; my dreams, my passions and what it is that inspires me to strive for a life that goes beyond simply existing.

That's actually one of the reasons I started this blog. I desire to live a life that goes beyond existing. This blog will serve as a way for me to record and reflect on that desire. 

Last spring break, me and a group of students from Taylor University traveled down to Cancun, Mexico for a Spring Break mission trip. It was the trip of a lifetime. We saw God move in huge ways and were broken for the orphans of Mexico. It was on that trip that I came to the realization that I was putting my life in a box. I'm a planner. (more on that to come later, then my blog's title will make more sense too!) I like to plan everything and I had a pretty good (but also mediocre) plan for my life. In Cancun, God reminded me of just how great and powerful He is, and that if I would shift from my plans to His plans, I would encounter a life far better than I could ever imagined. God followed through with that promise (as He always does!) and our journey has brought me to where I am today, back in Mexico!

I'm currently serving as an intern with Back2Back Ministries (the same ministry my TU team served with). Back2Back has many sites throughout Mexico and the rest of the world. They exist to serve the orphans of the world. Currently, there are 163,000,000 orphans in the world. Back2Back works to bring them out of poverty and into the truth of God's plan for their lives.

Maddie, Lindsey, Korrin, Me, Justin, Caleb
Our first day at the Group House playing ice breakers. With this one,
we were arranging ourselves by height, with no eyes! Nothing like bopping each
other on the head and running into each other to get to know someone! 

This July, me and 4 other interns (Lindsey, Korrin, Caleb, Justin. And, Maddie the nanny!) are down here to support the staff and help lead teams that come down to serve. I've been here for one week and it as been amazing. God has been at work among the interns. We haven't been here very long yet already feel like family! Every night we take an intern walk. The conversations, jokes and laughter that comes from them is awesome. I love these people!

Serving the children of Cancun is such a huge privilege. When most people think of Cancun, they think of hotels, resorts and beaches. Flashy, expensive and touristy are all words that come to mind. And while all those words are accurate, what many don't know (and neither did I till Back2Back!) is that Cancun is also a very young (only 40 years old) and poor city. The Mexican government created Cancun specifically for tourism. Before the hotels and shopping centers sprung up, it was jungles and beaches. In fact, last night on our intern outing, Jimmy, one of the national Back2Back staff members, pointed out the 1 hotel that existed in Cancun when his parents arrived 33 years ago. Now, the Hotel Zone exists as a 27 mile strip of roughly 100 hotels! Crazy! Once the city developed, many Mexican people flooded Cancun to look for work. However, once they arrived, many did not have the necessary specific or English skills to get jobs. As a result, shanty towns developed around the edges of Cancun and a cycle of generational poverty ensued. The children we serve are products of this generational poverty and the many consequences of it. Throughout my posts, you'll see some of what they face and how we are working to help them. We strive to provide holistic care that'll enable them to not only climb out of the pit of poverty but also to become thriving children of God that are able to live the incredible lives He intends for them. We hope to see these children achieve far more than financial stability but to realize their true potential and achieve their dreams. This summer Back2Back's theme is "RE" It's inspired by 

Revelations 21:5

"He who was sitting on the throne said, "I am making all things new!"

Me & Jessica at Rosie's. 
Rosie is an amazing women of God who
operates a community center out of her home in her
neighborhood, Bonfil. On Sunday, I was able to teach an English
lesson to the kids there, what an experience!

While Satan may have intended for condemnation and separation for these children, God intends for redemption and reconciliation. As Back2Back's founder, Beth Guckenberger says:

"He is bringing them back to where it all started."

He has incredible plans for these children. I am excited and feel so blessed that He has chosen to use us, to use Back2Back, to use me, to bring His promise of new life to His children.