Alex pelts his little brother with a pebble.
“Stop throwing rocks,” Emily says.
Alex stops in his tracks and bursts into tears. Big crocodile tears stream down his cheeks. Emily pulls him onto her lap and holds him as he gently sobs.
She looks into his eyes and gently asks, “What did you have for breakfast this morning?”
“Nada,” Alex whispers. Nothing. It is almost lunch time.
Emily walks to the kitchen and plops Alex on the counter. As Alex’s shoulders heave and his little voice shakes, he mumbles “si” as Emily offers him a granola bar and water. With snot running from his nose, he asks for “that fruit” Emily had cut up during snack time a few days ago, making the cutting motion with his little hands.
Together, they sit and munch on apples and granola bars and Alex becomes a different kid entirely. No longer the whirlwind hurricane who normally takes down other children in a single bound, but now a curious four year old.
Alex glances around the kitchen, asking how to make the pizzas they had for dinner last week and telling Emily about the one time he cut his finger on a tree.
Alex and his family are a now a part of Back2Back’s Strong Families Program in Cancun through which God has provided the means to fill his belly with food and his mind with knowledge at least four times a week. Alex is hearing about God on a regular basis, walking through the Old Testament with his peers every Saturday and learning worship songs to sing to His Creator. That’s not Back2Back. That is Jesus