Basketballs bounce off the concrete into small hands. A small soccer game has started on the field next to it – children chasing after the soccer ball with enthusiasm and vigor. Two small girls swing high, their laughter higher, as butterflies erupt in their bellies when they reach their toes to the sky.
As mothers gather in the kitchen, Emily Riggs, Back2Back Cancun staff, looks out the window and sees children playing on the soccer field, including siblings Jamie and Mellany. Emily smiles to herself as she sees Jamie, playing and laughing, participating like a child.
Jamie is an eight-year-old boy who hasn’t had the luxury of playing like a child. Jamie and his sister, Mellany, come from a difficult story. Due to past trauma he has experienced in his young life, Jamie has not been able to live the life of a little boy.
“When Jamie first started attending programming at the Community Center in Tres Reyes, he struggled to make friends and worried about his family a lot,” explained Emily.
But after some time, staff and family could see how beneficial the programming and tutoring was for Jamie’s story.
“He’s learning how to play,” said Emily. “He’s learning how to be a kid, how to make friends, how to trust his family; he’s coming to a place where he doesn’t feel he has to worry about things.”
With the holistic care of each child at Tres Reyes in mind, the staff team is consistently working towards make the community center a safe, fun place where children like Jamie are safe and welcome.
In addition to providing space for children to flourish, the Community Center in Tres Reyes is also providing hope for the families of the children.
“Around the same time Jamie began to let his guard down, his mom, Maria, began participating in classes at the community center,” said Emily.
While Maria’s children are receiving tutoring, she sits in on the sessions – participating in the lessons as best she can. As a result, she’s begun to read and write, a skill she lacked before.
As she’s growing more confident in her reading and writing skills, she is independently studying God’s word, intentionally spending time with Him, and now leads her family well.
By investing in Back2Back Ministries through child sponsorship, you are faithfully making deposits into the lives of, not only the children served, but the families who are raising them.