The once dimly lit, run down community center had been transformed with several coats of paint and a clean-up crew. The team of 10, plus Back2Back D.R. staff, stood back and looked around the center they’d spent the last week in, and smiled.

The D.R. site recently hosted its very first mission team from Northern Ohio! A small team traveled together, most of them experiencing Back2Back and the D.R. for the very first time. The team was taken to the community center that had been “donated” to Back2Back programming last year by the community, and the building was in need of repairs and a freshening up. Together, the team repainted the entire inside of the center and worked through the list of repairs needed.

“It was amazing how much brighter and fresher everything looked after the painting was done,” shared Hope Garcia, Back2Back D.R. Co-Director. “We invited the president of the community to visit, and his jaw dropped when he walked in. He immediately left, got snacks and drinks, and brought them back to thank the team for blessing the community in the ways they did.”

In addition to updating the center, the team led a circus themed Vacation Bible School for the children. Every morning, the children arrived, participating in worship, skits, crafts, and games as they learned about the Gospel. The team also held an event for the moms of the community.

“Ultimately, our goal is to launch a Strong Families program in the D.R., so we can invest in the children and their families,” explained Hope. “Holding an event for the moms is just one step in that direction.”

All the community women were invited to the center, and 10 moms showed up for an afternoon designed just for them. There was a discussion time about connection with their children, why it makes a difference, and then were given practical advice on how to connect better with their children, their spouses, and the Lord. Following the discussion, each woman was asked to write down one way she could connect with their children that week. Staff were encouraged by the answers shared, and then they led the women in a beading project to end the afternoon.

“It went so well, and we are now planning for one of these afternoons every month to better connect with the moms and learn their stories,” shared Hope.

Their last days serving were spent in prayer over the community center; staff set up various prayer stations, and team members were asked to pray over the children who learn within the building, the families who raise them, for the community, and for the staff serving there full-time.

“It was a powerful time,” shared Hope. “Our staff team felt an actual lightening over the community – there was less darkness and heaviness.”

Please join Back2Back in prayer of the ongoing growth of the community center, and for the children who are learning within the walls of the center – that they would come to know Jesus, their own worth, and that cycles can be broken, in His name.