by Sammy Mathews, Back2Back Field Staff The first time I heard about a simulation training called Life in Limbo, I’ll admit I wondered why our staff team was spending two hours out of a day on “experiential role play.” The goal was to help us experience what it’s like to be a child separated from… Read more
Field Story by Aaron Meeks, Back2Back Staff in Haiti I was at Rescue of God Children’s Home when we first met. He shied away from the group of children, falling to the back, so I went to him. I knelt down, extended my hand, and looked in his big, brown eyes. “What is your name?”… Read more
1 I am going to say “Yes” to people. In the end of Jesus’ ministry, we know more about the people He interacted with than the tasks He accomplished. 2 I am going to say “Sorry” more often. With each year I am painfully more aware feeling right leaves me feeling empty. Feeling compassionate and contrite… Read more
The four young men sat at the head table and looked out at the faces smiling back. Michael* tugged at his tie, unaccustomed to wearing one. Edgar’s* broad grin transformed his face, there was no mistaking his enthusiasm. Titus* took everything in – from the people who came, to the food being eaten, and relished… Read more
“If my story hadn’t taken me into a children’s home, and then the Hope Program, I wouldn’t be where I am today. At best, I would have graduated from junior high, lived with my aunt, and became a mother figure to my younger siblings,” Sofia* responded matter-of-factly. Thirteen years ago, at age 14, she moved… Read more
“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Proverbs 1:5 Field story by Hope Garcia, Back2Back Staff in the Dominican Republic. “I want you to meet someone very important,” Megan, our guide for the day, said. As a missionary with seven years’ experience, we were visiting her with the… Read more
The mall doesn’t open for another hour, but there are 20 teenage boys and a few adults gathering near a shoe store. Inside, a few employees prepare for what’s to come. Chris Cox, Back2Back Cincinnati Site Director, finds his way through the crowd, checking in on each young man to make sure they don’t have… Read more
A Nigerian son, reading to his grandmother the Christmas story in English, having been taught to read in the village education center. A Nigerian girl who this year will study high school and dream of a future as a nurse. An Indian boy, who now sleeps through the night, feeling safe at the ministry campus. … Read more
“Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.” Jeremiah 49:11 Field Story by Shannon Pannell What may have been a statistic before you arrived this week, I hope by now have faces and names. Their eyes may connect with yours, and even if you don’t have words,… Read more
Victor held one corner of the mattress underneath his arm, and Chuy balanced the other end on his lap, as his caregiver glided his wheelchair across the pristine floor. Both teens grinned as they hauled the mattress into the new bedroom. After months of watching construction workers and architects develop and build brand new homes,… Read more