25-years ago, Todd and I were quietly preparing for a move to Mexico. We weren’t telling many people, afraid they would talk us out of it. We were young, naïve, and underprepared.
There was a general feeling we were in-over-our-heads, and routinely we were caught off guard by an unexpected setback or blessing. That sense we didn’t know what was coming has persisted now over two-and-a-half decades and developed into a rhythm of utter dependence. We fully acknowledge we need God to sustain the work, we need Him to grow the reach, and we need Him for both daily operations and long-term strategies. He’s set up the whole thing so we couldn’t do it without Him.
This coming year, we will be studying as a community the 61st chapter of Isaiah. It talks about the Lord:
· Anointing us to proclaim good news to the poor
· Being sent to bind up the brokenhearted
· Releasing (prisoners) from darkness
· Comforting all who mourn
· Rebuilding ancient ruins
· Restoring places long devastated
· Renewing cities
· Being called priests of the Lord
· Being clothed in garments of salvation and robes of his righteousness
And that’s not all. He does the work, just asks us to partner with Him in it. It’s never been about our performance or abilities, it’s always been about our willingness to be a vessel for His glory.
Psalm 107:2 says “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…” God is telling a long story in and through the lives of the Back2Back community. We now have children we’ve served who are parents. There are all kinds of ways we measure “success” in the organization, but when we see Hope program graduates caring full-time for their own children, we rejoice the cycle is broken. We love to celebrate at Back2Back, and we cheer:
· Strong Families supported to care for their children.
· Those who have received trauma training and now care for children more compassionately.
· Mission trip guests who have had their perspective shifted or trajectory altered.
· Child Sponsors who connect with individual children, eye witnessing their stories.
· Staff supporters and Care Fund donors who invest and make it possible for us to stay in the fight.
· Local volunteers who are caring for the needs in their own community.
· Staff, caregivers, and interns who have hands-on roles with vulnerable children.
We know there are tens of thousands of stories and we want to hear them all. As we enter into 2022, we’ll ask you to exchange stories with us and within this community.
When God gets us to remember what He’s done already, He knows it fuels the tank for future steps of faith. The statistics coming out of COVID-19 are staggering. A new child orphaned every 12 seconds*. We are not slowing down as an organization, in fact, the momentum of these stories propels us farther and faster towards greater impact. Thank you for staying with us in this fight.
*https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/108199