Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Story from Mexico!

I just received a newsletter from Tim and Kathy Couch who are currently serving God in Mexico. Many of you have heard me speak about Mexico and the Passion I have for those kids. This is a couple who are LIVING my dream.
I pray you will read the below story of the ministry in Cancun!
Pray as to how you can help support them through time, talents, or tithe.
www.back2backministries.org



Back 2 Back Cancun is up and running! A women’s group scheduled a trip the first week of December and 7 of us Monterrey staff met them there. It was a surreal experience because we had talked about Cancun for so long and now it was a reality. I saw some of the worst poverty in Cancun that I have ever seen. Sometimes
I feel immune to it, but seeing a widow and her 8 kids ranging in age from 6 months to 14 years old just about broke my heart. The only one that had ever been in school was the oldest and he only went to kindergarten and 1st grade. The kids spend their days begging on the streets. We were able to give them gifts and once
we saw what dire conditions they were in, we returned the next day to give them food. The mom, Oti, told us that she had never been able to give her kids presents and she herself had never received a gift. She was completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love she felt.
The staff in Cancun has been able to connect to Cancun’s department of human services. The DIF there has a program for young mothers to teach them how to care for their babies. A girl can register if she is between the ages of 12-17 1/2. They currently have 200 young women registered. It was indescribable to see a
12 year old girl, about ready to deliver her baby, standing eye to eye with one of our staff women’s 13 year old.
What a great service the DIF is doing to train these young girls to care for their babies. Our staff goes and helps baby sit while the mothers attend classes. We took plastic boxes filled with baby items and miraculously had enough.
Now for the saddest yet happiest story of all. When we were touring the DIF facilities, we walked by the boy’s dorm. The lady leading us on the tour stopped by the door and said that there were 4 young men in this dorm. There was one young man standing in the room. When the ladies walked off, Mau, a staff member in Cancun stepped in the room to talk to the young man. It was obvious that he was blind and the story he told took Mau’s breath away. He is 17. His mother did not want to deal with him anymore so she took him to a bus station in Vera Cruz ( which is several hours south of Cancun) told him to get on the bus, gave him a one way ticket and told him never to return He got off the bus in downtown Cancun and had no idea where he was. A police officer found him and took him to the DIF. He had been repeatedly abused and beaten. Much of his body was black and blue. Before Mau left he hugged him. The young man told Mau that he had never been hugged before. Mau asked him if there was something we could do for him and he asked for music. He said that it helped him relax. We were all taken back by such a sad story. We went back to that home a few days later for a Christmas party. One woman sat down by this boy and started encouraging him. I watched him as he cringed with every word she said. He had never heard positive things and it was really hard for him to process. He finally put his hand on his heart and said ‘my heart hurts.” So right there in this government run home these precious women prayed for this young man. Mau, later that morning sat with him to eat pizza and he asked him about his heart. Mau went on the explain the salvation message to him, and this young man, who had been sent away, all alone, unwanted, and blind, to an unknown destination, accepted Christ that day. In a government run home, no less! His face completely changed. He started saying, “ I am so happy, I feel so happy, I have never been this happy.” Later we gave the kids presents and one of our staff gave him a IPOD with Spanish Christian music on it. I wish I could wrap up this moment and his face so I could truly share the emotion of the moment. It was probably one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received. Seeing his glowing face, you had to believe in divine timing. He arrived just days before we came just so God could introduce Himself.
When the lady was complementing this young man I was watching his face and I started weeping because when Daniel came to our house he would react the same way. We would say positive things to him and he would cringe like he had been hit. I look at him now and he has a confidence he would have never had. He believes in himself and has courage that he never had before. It shows the power of love and acceptance. God can truly take a broken, empty vessel and make it a beautiful piece of art. Pray
for Jorge at the DIF. Pray that God will continue to show him he is a beautiful creation of God and pray that God will protect him. Lift up this new branch of Back 2 Back. In an area known for vacation and fun there is a lot of hurting people. - Kathy


Donations are gladly accepted through
Back 2 Back Ministries P.O. Box 70, Mason, OH 45040.
Please put Tim and Kathy Couch on a note and attach it to your check.
“Contributions are solicited with the understanding that Back2Back Ministries
has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds.”

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