MEXIC08-TUESDAY!

WOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Today was another GREAT DAY! The team did SOOOOOOOOO well again today despite another HOT HOT DAY!

We started off on campus working for about 2-3 hours. Most teams that come to Back 2 Back spend one day helping out with the campus expansion. B2B has been building homes as part of their Hope program. Once children hit 15 or the 9th grade they are done with the public school system as well as the ability to live in a casa hogar. So the Hope program consists of these 6 homes (2 unfinished) that house 7-8 former residents of the casa hogars, through funding that comes into B2B, is able to send these students to high school and college while providing housing and food here on campus with a host family (like the Cooper's) who love and encourage and teach and pray and do everything possible not only to care for these kids but to show them Jesus and help them take steps. The program is seeing HUGE success as the first couple students are preparing to graduate college and enter the work force.

Here's a little perspective, only about 5% of the Mexican population is college educated. So that means two things 1) these students will have a GREAT opportunity to escape the cycle and provide for themselves and a future family and 2) the Hope program will be graduating 40-50 college educated students in the next few years who more than likely are following Jesus that will enter all fields of the workforce and will be influencing culture, government, politics, business, education and every other field they are entering! That is PRETTY AMAZING!

Ok, so that's the back story to what we were doing today! We were helping work on the last 2 homes. We had a team doing ThermoTek on the roof again, a team doing painting on the inside of one of the houses, a team painting outside, a team sorting and preparing backpacks for a back to school donation day in the Cadereyta on Thursday, a team digging a trench for some irrigation work, and teams building shelving and cleaning windows in the new Medical Facility on campus. The dream of that Facility is to have a place where the 400+ children in the casa hogars would have an opportunity for wellness check ups and all the normal shots and immunizations that we're used to here in the states! The team went crazy fast and got a TON done in the short time we had to work. The reason time was short was because the kids from Manantial De Amor were coming over for a pool party and a cookout!

The girls had the first turn in the pool while the boys started off playing soccer, games and legos! After that the girls hopped out and were playing games and spending some great time together while the boys hopped in the pool and had a great time! After that it was time for a cookout Mexican style consisting of cheeseburgers which include a slice of ham and guacamole! We had a great time!

Tonight then was the traditional B2B staff versus groups basketball game! And WE WON! Something tells me it may have helped having DC on our team....

We had a great evening at worship and team debrief and now the team is hanging out playing cards, laughing and having fun together! Know that you are all loved!

-Johnny