Last week, I was talking with my neighbor, Norma, who lives near us in Monterrey, Mexico. She told me of the story of a teenage boy who stopped at her home to ask her where “the Americans” live. Wanting to protect the privacy of the Back2Back American staff living nearby, she continued talking with him,… Read more
Through the role of my wife and I as house parents to teens in Back2Back’s Hope Program, God is teaching us to see through His eyes and to understand how to accept those who are unacceptable to society. He is teaching us that his mercy and love is able to transform. We have experienced God’s… Read more
Recently I received a sweet message from home. My good friend Angel sent me a picture of herself at Casa Hogar Douglas from 1987. When JJ (my husband) and I decided to come on staff with Back2Back in Monterrey as house parents in the Hope Program, we had been friends with Angel & Shawn for… Read more
Living in a foreign country can have its drawbacks. Especially one – the difficulty of crossing the border! This experience is enough to make a grown man beg…. for papers… for entry…. for mercy. Because, at that moment, the border immigration officers have ALL the power. It seems there are rules, but no one really… Read more
This summer, I was often asked by mission trip guests, “What does a typical day look like in a Teen Home of the Hope Program?” Wow, the best answer is actually… “There is no typical day – each one is a new adventure!” As you can imagine, it’s semi-controlled chaos in a teen home on… Read more
Our foster daughters through the Hope Program were not allowed to date during their first year living in our house. Of course, they all quickly agreed to this rule back in August 2008 and then fought for their “right to date” all year long. These beautiful girls, who range in age from thirteen to eighteen,… Read more
I know what people are thinking. Starbucks? What a waste of money. Ok, not everyone. Those who love cold coffee drinks would argue that it’s worth it. The truth is a trip to Starbucks is not something that I make a habit of. An opportunity to connect with one of our Hope Program students, however,… Read more
This week I have been thinking about shelter in unexpected forms. Take one of my boys, Homero, for example. When Homero was twelve years old, he came to live at Manantial de Amor, one of the children’s homes in Monterrey. He had gotten into a lot of trouble at various schools and even with the… Read more
At the beginning of this year I decided that I wanted to take my running to a new level. I’m still what most would call novice, but I decided that I wanted to run some local 10K races, that I wanted to run a half marathon, and that ultimately I wanted to run a full… Read more
We recently took our boys to a nearby lake for some fishing where I happened to capture this photo of Leo. Leo lives with the Cooper Family in the James House as a part of The Hope Program. Just like my boys he is getting ready to graduate from Secundaria (middle school) and will start… Read more