Starting this month, we will be featuring interviews with various Back2Back staff members, highlighting one to two individuals on the field each month.
How do you serve with Back2Back?
Christy: I am on staff in Monterrey, Mexico. I am the captain of the Casa Hogar Birthday Program here in Monterrey. I am in charge of planning birthday parties every few months at six of the children’s homes that we work with and making sure each child is given a birthday gift. I spend time organizing gifts, buying gifts, picking out a specific gift for each child, ordering/picking up cakes at the local grocery store, coordinating days with the captain to have a party at each home while a group is here, and, if I am able, I go to oversee the birthday party.
I also spend my time by building relationships with the older girls at Casa Hogar Douglas. I visit them at the home to help with English homework, I talk with them, play games and do crafts together, and occasionally bring them over to the Back2Back campus to do something fun and different.
I am also available to help with other miscellaneous projects. I am a mentor for one of the high school girls in the Hope Program and I work with groups occasionally.
Why did you decide to begin serving with Back2Back?
Christy: I have been involved with Back2Back for many years. My first mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico with Back2Back was in 1999. After that first trip, I felt like I left a piece of my heart there and felt God calling me back each year. My relationships with kids grew each time and I continued to see so much need. I knew I wanted to be involved in a bigger way someday. My husband and I both have a heart to work with kids and we strongly believe that God calls each of us to minister to orphans and widows and to be His hand and feet to others. Through our dating period, we prayed a lot about our future and how God would lead us. We were married in August 2005 and a year later a position opened up in Monterrey and we knew that God was calling us there. We moved to Mexico in January 2007 and are thankful to be serving the Lord here by ministering to the abandoned and neglected children in Monterrey. We are also blessed to be working with Back2Back alongside such a great team.
What part of your job are you most passionate about? Why?
Christy: I am most passionate about loving and caring for the children that Back2Back ministers to. I love to see how God uses everyone in different ways by the talents and abilities that He gives us. I love seeing felt needs of people being taken care of.
One part of my role that I enjoy most is being at the birthday parties for the kids and getting to see their excitement as they receive a gift that was picked out specifically for them. Kids living in children’s homes share everything and rarely have people to celebrate their birthday with them and that is why we have groups participate in this, by playing with the child and their new toys and giving them special attention.
What is something that God has shown you or taught you over the past year through your experiences with Back2Back?
Christy: Through the past year, God has been teaching me to really trust Him and know that He is in control. No matter what the situation is, I know that I need to remember that He cares about the details of our lives and is in control.