wherever you go

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Mexican trip...

Once again I am amazed at the speed of time. How is it possible that something I was looking so forward to is now already in the past? It felt like I was there forever, but now as I sit back at home, it feels like just a moment in time!
Here is the story of my month...

On June 28th I met up with about eleven interns in Monterrey, Mexico. Monterrey is the capital of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and has a population of 4 million people. It is one of the most developed and richest cities in Mexico, but with a great disparity between the wealthy and the impoverished.
Back2Back Ministries has been working in this city for the past 15 years. During that time they have sought out children's homes (casa hogars) in and around Monterrey. They have sought to meet the physical and educational needs of the children living in these homes. In the recent years they have created a child development model to direct their work. This model seeks to meet the physical and educational needs, but also the spiritual, emotional, and social growth of the child. The hope is that these children are equipped and supported to change their family lines. This a HUGE obstacle to surmount and these kids need every bit of help they can receive! The primary purpose of my role at Back2Back this summer was to support the staff living and working there full-time. This ranged from hauling waters and coolers of ice, to preparing meals, to working with kids.
My day would start at 6:30 with a shower and a cup of coffee. The sunrise was beautiful each morning and I used this time to be still and spend some time with Jesus each morning. At 8am we would have a meeting with our staff member of the day and find out what the plan was and receive directions. After that we had some down time until 10am when we would depart the campus with a group of Americans. We would head to either a children's home or to a squatter's village. (Squatter's villages were neighborhoods where residents created homes out of whatever they could find, some were cardboard and paper, others were cinder-blocks- none of these homes had plumbing, air conditioning, but a few were able to get electricity). Depending on the length of Back2Back's relationship with the homes or villages determined the amount of physical labor we completed each day. For places where Back2Back has worked for a while, the physical needs were less and groups focused on spiritual, social, emotional needs of the children through Play with a Purpose. This was a Bible study and activity as well as games designed to promote growth and positive interactions. During our day we would break for lunch with the homes (usually eating some kind of chicken, rice, beans, and tortillas). Once a week the groups were taken out to eat at Pollo Loco (Crazy Chicken). This was a massive meal of chicken, chips, and tortillas and is quite the anticipated event of the week for group members. We arrived back on campus each evening by 6:30pm. For groups who did not go to Pollo Loco they ate some some delicious home-cooked Mexican fare prepared by the wonderful staff member, Vida. Each evening we would gather for a worship service before the groups broke up and talked about their day. On Fridays when groups would leave we would head out for different activities. The first week we hiked up to a waterfall and then ate dinner at a local stand... guess what we had- Chicken, beans, rice, and tortillas! :) It was beautiful. The second week we went on a crazy hike called Matacanes. We got up at 4am and bused up to the top of a mountain where we hiked to a river then repelled, jumped off cliffs, and clambered over rocks for the next 8 hours. For dinner that night we had another round of chicken, beans, rice, and tortillas at a roadside stand. The third week we got a break and went to a very nice movie theater and watched Spiderman (it was in English with Spanish subtitles). The last week we went bowling and then to a Mexican restaurant for some more food... I got a baked potato with lots of cheese and crema.

My favorite part of the trip was connecting with others who are passionate and working in the field of orphan care. It did wonders to fan the flame of love I have for this field and these kids. It reminded me of why I do this. Even though the month wore me out physically, it filled my soul up. It also opened my eyes to how much I enjoy working at Boys and Girls Country. Every ministry has it's weaknesses and it is easy to lose sight of the positives of such a place when you are focused on its failings. I am thankful for that lesson!

What is the point of going to another country and serving for a week or month, if it does not somehow change my life when I return home? So many times I see others return from short-term trips in which they served, only to check it off their list as if it is something we only do for a week or month out of the year. I do not want that to be me. I want my life changed as a result of spending time in Mexico. But what does that look like? What are my goals for the next weeks, months, years?

1. I often complained that we were not doing enough to meet the spiritual growth of our kids. In all honesty, that is where transformation is going to come from, GOD has the power to transform lives... it's his business- yet it is often overlooked in this field. I want to really develop that in my life and in the lives of the children I work with. I want to bring them to the foot of the cross, over and over again! That is my biggest goal of the next months.
2. I want to develop deeper relationships with those serving in Mexico. I want to explore the possibility of serving there sometime in the future.
3. When I was in college I dreamed of opening a children's home. Over the past four years that has dimmed considerably in the face of daily trials of working in care. While I was in Mexico and meeting individuals who opened children's homes that dream grew a little brighter. One day I want to be used by God to open a children's home. I don't know where, I don't know when, but someday! The next step towards that is getting my master's and that process starts in less than 20 days when I start school at Liberty online for my Master's in Human Services. I am nervous and excited about that phase of life, but God is good and faithful to those he has called.

well... that is it for now. Thanks for reading... it was quite a long post this time. Please hold me accountable to these goals, ask me about them, and pray over them and me.
much love,
me

Sunday, May 6, 2012

my lover

It has been too long since I've been on here! So here's a recap of the last couple months.

God is in the business of redemption.

And He is redeeming things in my life! It is a beautiful thing to see and even more amazing to experience!

This past week I was able to attend a conference in Los Angeles. Summit of the Orphan . It was a great trip overall. I was able to stay at a dear friend's house and be poured into by her and her roommates on top of spending two days with people who are also called to care for the orphan child. It was fantastic to soak up conversation and encouragement from them.

But that is another story for another day. I want to share the story of my last evening there.

Usually when you think of California you think of sunshine and clear blue skies. Which was true of San Francisco when I flew there, but when I landed in LA... it was cloudy and cold! And was like that for the next two days. So when the last day rolled around, I drove to the conference praying for a clear afternoon so I could go see the sunset over the Pacific. About lunch time the sun came out and it quickly warmed up to a beautiful 70 something degree afternoon. So I ducked out of the conference early to find a beach.

God is intimately aware of me. And loves me so much.

And I really think that He gives me beautiful sunsets because He knows how much I enjoy them.

God is the lover of my soul.

I cannot begin to tell you how much that meant to me. And describe the flood of love into my heart. I felt like singing to the world of His love! What an amazing God we serve!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Dear Friends,

I pray this letter finds you well! It is hard to believe another year has passed and it is now 2012. I used to laugh when my dad told me that the years speed up as you age, but now I completely believe it. On the 7^th of January I will celebrate my fourth year as a Teaching Parent at Boys and Girls Country. Somehow God has brought me through some tough times as I learn and grow in the understanding of His call to love on orphans. He promises throughout the Bible to love, help, protect, and provide for the orphan child and He fulfills this promise through the body of believers. Do you know that there are 148 million orphans worldwide? While that number is overwhelming, we serve a Mighty and Powerful God who holds the world in His hands.

Last July I was able to serve with a ministry in Mexico, Back2Back Ministries (www.back2backministries.org). This group works with local orphanages to meet the physical, emotional, spiritual, and monetary needs of over 400 children. They also partner with local pastors in 3 squatters’ villages around Monterrey, Mexico to support their ministry to over 1000 families facing poverty. Additionally they provide opportunities to those orphans to live with them and attend high school and college. It is the chance to change their family line! It is my hope and plan to return to Mexico with Back2 Back to serve for a month this summer. While there I will help organize missions’ teams and lead projects in the orphanages. I will serve alongside the full-time missionaries to be God’s hands and feet in the lives of the orphans. While I am excited about this opportunity I am also slightly overwhelmed at the task. My commitment to Back2Back cannot be done alone. As I continue to rely on God for His plan, vision, and provision for this ministry and my involvement I am asking you to join alongside me. The trip costs approximately $1200. This includes the flight to Monterrey, Mexico and the cost of room and board. The due date for this amount is March 5^th. I know that God will provide. I have seen it over and over again in my life and in the lives of the kids I work with; however, my heart still beats a little faster at this new opportunity.

Please lift me up in prayer. Pray that God would provide yet again for this trip. Pray that he would continue to pour out his love and provision on the lives of these orphans. Pray about a partnership with me. Checks can be mailed to me and I will forward them on to Back2Back.

Heidi Coberly

18806 Roberts Road

Hockley, TX 77447

All donations should be made out to Back2Back Ministries and are tax-deductible. Contributions are solicited with the understanding that Back2Back Ministries has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

I saw a train today.
The first since David's death last week.
It hit me deeper than I thought it would.
I couldn't help but picture him laying there.
It broke my heart again.

December seventh of this year my stepbrother decided that life was too much to bear. He said his goodbyes and laid across the railroad tracks near his apartment. Shortly after a train came and David's life was over.

When my sister called I did not believe her.
Part of me still believes that he is just off doing something else and I'll see him the next time I go home.
Denial is such a comfortable place to be.
And it is easy when you are a thousand miles away from home.
But realization slowly hits. And with it comes the grief for a life lost.

Cardinals are rare in Texas. They are beautiful and I love spying their bright red in the trees.
Yesterday I saw one laying on the road.
It had been hit by a car and died.
And I immediately thought of David.

One of the kids I know on Facebook posted about running in front of a moving train.
And I thought of David in front of the train.

I am glad that God understands the pain of my heart. He knows the groans that words cannot express. He knows the pain and feels it. And he turns those groans and that pain into something beautiful. I am clinging to that.

David Fraccalvieri

Friday, December 9, 2011

A belated Thanksgiving Day list...

What am I thankful for?

Grace

Sunsets and Sunrises (and kids that make me get up before the sunrise so I can see it!)

My family ( that seems so generic so let me elaborate)

my sister who is my best friend and an amazing woman!

my dad who raised me to be the person I am.

my nana who became my mom in the past several years

my grandparents who lived such a legacy

my mom who laid a great foundation.

Coffee!

Friends who encourage, love, challenge, and strengthen me. and who love in spite of myself some days

Journals with empty pages that tell me to keep talking.

A God who pursues me, provides more than I could need or want, protects me from Satan... and sometimes from myself, who loves deeply, unconditionally, unreasonably, entirely, and completely and who knows just how to speak into my heart and woe me over and over, and who NEVER gives up!

A job I love with kids I enjoy

A coffeeshop chair in which I am sitting currently

and a door from my room that opens to a wide open field and some beautiful trees

A car that runs

Pandora that plays just what I wanted to hear!

Physical health!

My list could go on for pages and pages, but those were my thoughts this year.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I have never been one to make New Year's Resolutions. One year I tried, but was disappointed when I dropped the ball around March... That was the end of resolutions for me. Now, I pick a word that I want to focus on. A word that comes up throughout the year as I grow in that area. It started about four years ago when I moved to Texas. Fresh out of college and the world awaited me. Back when I had all the answers and knew how I was going to save the world. Back when I thought I knew.

2008- It was this year that I realized that I was not the end-all, be-all. This year I cried a LOT. I realized that I wasn't the solution to the hurt and pain my kids faced. In fact, I couldn't do much of anything except love on them and point them to Jesus. This year was a difficult year for me. One that was all about SURVIVAL. That was my word for the year. I could not do much other than figure out how to put my feet on the ground in the morning and withstand the onslaught of Satan's attacks.

2009- This year I began to grow in the work. I figured out how to make the schedule work, to get as much done in as little time as possible. I began to GROW as a Teaching Parent, GROW in my relationships with my kids, and GROW in life in general. This was not easy, but each step was worth it.

2010- I realized that the little things were slipping away. It was easy to focus on getting my checklist done instead of building relationships with my kids. This year was about learning to be INTENTIONAL. This is also a focus that needs to be every year. I struggled a lot at this throughout the year and it will eventually make it back onto my list of focus areas. But I strove to make the most of those little moments with my kids. I planned for activities to teach them more. Planned occasions to show them how special they were. This is the year I really began to teach them to cook and made them learn it. I also took them to coffee in the mornings and wrote notes to them.

2011- This year has been really difficult for me. The end of last year, one of my very close friends moved back to Mexico, then I had a falling out with a good friend on campus, and to top it off there was several staff changes in both my houses. It rocked my world. And I've struggled all year to gain PERSPECTIVE. It has been an ongoing battle to realize that this little world that I am in right now is not the end all. That this part of my journey is just difficult, but will not last forever. It has been a struggle to step outside of the daily battle and see the big picture.

2012- This is the time of year now that I begin thinking and praying about next year. What word will describe it? What area do I want to grow the most in? Contentment? Endurance? Perseverance?

Lord, I give this next year to you. Change me. Transform me. Make me less and you more! Guide my feet. Prepare my steps. Show me your plan. Lead me where you want me to be.