The real deal

I've finally finished my support letter, and they should be hitting your mail boxes in the next week or two. If you don't get an actual letter or want to be extra sure that you get one, please email me your address or find me if you live local (postage is expensive!) and I'll give you one. This is a scary but fun step, it's becoming very real now that I'm doing actual, concrete things and not just talking about it. Below is the text of the letter in case you're too anxious to wait for your mail.

This September, I’ll be moving to Monterrey, Mexico, to join Back2Back Ministries as part of their Short Term International Team (STINT). I feel so blessed to have this incredible opportunity! I’ve been involved with Back2Back Ministries for the past 10 years, and have been on numerous trips to Monterrey with my high school, church, and family. I’ve seen the ministry blossom over the past decade as people are introduced to Jesus and the amazing grace and perfect love that He offers. I’ve been able to see first hand how God loves and provides for the orphan child, and how God uses mission trips to dramatically change the lives of the Americans who participate in them, myself included.

For me, this one year STINT will be a continuation of a path I’ve been on for many years. My Dad likes to say, “past behavior predicts future performance.” If you know my Dad, you’re probably familiar with his funny sayings, but I can see that this calling to commit one year of my life to serving the orphans and the poor is just a continuation of my path. God has given me a compassionate heart and a love for working with children and for serving others. I’ve had the chance to work as a crisis counselor, be an orientation coordinator for incoming freshman at Purdue University, serve Clear River Church as a kids teacher and childcare coordinator, and work for several years as a full time social worker with high risk foster children in Indiana. God consistently breaks my heart for the needy, and while it’s often challenging, I’m committed to continuing on the path that He’s called me to.

During my one-year STINT in Mexico, I will work in two general areas: 1) I’ll help the 30+ Back2Back staffers provide “care for today and hope for tomorrow” for 8-10 children’s homes and impoverished communities, and 2) I’ll help guide mission groups from the States who leave their comfort zones and come to Monterrey to serve and often have life-changing experiences. I’ll also be able to use my education and experience in social work to help the ministry look at ways to more effectively serve the children and families in Monterrey.

As I prepare to leave, my biggest need is people to commit to regularly pray for me and for Back2Back Ministries. Moving to a new country where I don’t really speak the language and committing to serve orphans and the destitute is no small undertaking. While I’m incredibly excited, I also feel a little overwhelmed by the task at hand and the calling God has placed on my heart. As with most missionaries, there’s also a financial component. I need to raise $24,660 through one-time gifts and monthly supporters for my year in Mexico. This money covers my living expenses, travel documents, necessary insurance, and moving expenses. If you are able to commit to supporting me through prayer or financially, please complete the enclosed card and place it in the pre-addressed envelope which will go directly to Back2Back Ministries. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

For more information on Back2Back Ministries, visit www.back2backministries.org

To follow me on my journey, visit http://mexicomindy.blogspot.com

Sincerely,
Mindy Webster

webster.mindy@gmail.com

Come As You Are

Tony preached a challenging sermon yesterday on John 1:35-51. He talked about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, particularly that disciples of Jesus call others to come and follow Jesus as well. If you're looking for some pretty awesome teaching, visit Clear River Church and podcasts are at the bottom. I highly recommend.

One of the points in the sermon was that we want people to come as they are. Broken, confused, addicted, lost, angry, etc. His phrase was "come as you are, but don't stay there for long." We want people to ask the hard questions, get connected in lifegroups, receive prayer, be honest about their lives, etc. and find out who Jesus is and what He means to them. I instantly thought of the Hope Program that Back2Back runs in Mexico. Knowing many of the house parents for these teens, I know they want the kids to "come as they are". They long for honesty about where the kids are in life and where they stand with God. I also know how deeply these house parents want their children to experience the living God. How their hearts break when the teens turn their backs on God, and how they rejoice when a teen experiences who God really is and commits to following Him. In recent months, many of the teens have committed to being disciples of Jesus and have been discipling other teens in the program. They came to the Hope Program broken and confused, but sure didn't stay there for too long!

Faith

When I need to talk to God about something, or feel like God's trying to tell me something, I run. A nice long run, preferably on a trail, with some worship music playing in my iPod. There's something about running that strips away all of me, and leaves me open to God. This Sunday, I went for a long, muddy run and talked to God about support raising and the many mixed emotions I'm having about it. As I began to let my mind wander to what would happen if I didn't raise enough support, I heard clear as day. "Oh you of little faith!" It literally stopped me in my tracks in the middle of the trail. I spent the rest of my run trying to stay focused on examples of God's provision in seemingly impossible circumstances. Today, I got an email from someone who works with me at the YMCA who's interested in supporting me. I have never had a conversation with him about what I'm doing, he just came across my blog and wanted to know how he could help. Oh me of little faith.

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" Luke 12:27-28

Investments

This past week I've been teaching some awesome ladies that I work with at the YMCA how to swim. I got to talking with one of them about how I started swimming competitively at a really young age, and the crazy things my family did that revolved around me and Clayton's swimming. I let my mind drift back to those swimming days and thought about the investments that my swimming coaches made in my life.

I remember with vivid detail my coaches from when I was 5 to about 8. Coaches Aubrey, Dale, and Justin. They taught me to love swimming, work hard, and to be a part of a team. Some of the best memories of my life revolve around them and Texas Aquatics or the Aquadillos. I can talk for hours about them. I can remember specific races we traveled to, pools we swam at, cheers we did before races, and that Coach Dale got perms. They also took the time to teach me precise stroke technique, of which I am still very grateful.

The sad thing is that I can't tell you a single one of my high school coaches' names. But I can tell you what they taught me. Money talks, and if you don't win the race you don't matter. I guess it's no surprise I can't remember who they were, and that it took me a few years to step foot in a pool after high school.

It got me thinking about the impact you can have on a kid, even a really young one. It makes me so thankful that Back2Back invests in children of all ages and gives them such positive role models. Those coaches took the time to invest in my brother and I, and it's paying off 20 years later. I only hope that I can invest in the kids in Mexico the way my coaches invested in me when I was little.

Drops in a Bucket

I've been pondering what to write about for several weeks now. I'm obviously not in Mexico yet, and I haven't been able to do much work on fundraising, but God is definitely preparing my heart for the journey. How do you write about the work God is doing in your heart and actually do it justice? I sat with my friend Jenny for at least 2 hours at Panera this afternoon talking and still couldn't put adequate words to it. But I'll try nevertheless.

"Expecting stuff (or a significant other, parent, child, or friend) to fill you up is like holding out the dusty cup of your soul to catch the last drop of water from a broken faucet. It may feel a little wet, but there is nothing else coming to wash away the dust and fill the cup....You have been given an invitation to come and indulge in the feast of God's love. Don't settle for less...Don't expect cheese on a cracker to be enough when a five-course dinner is prepared in the next room. God has so much for you. His love is lavish. His grace is abundant. The invitation is free." Angela Thomas

The author goes on to talk about how your cup needs to be completely full of God first, and that when you get the drops of water from others it will cause your cup to overflow. While I'm still mulling this concept over in my own personal life, it has released me from expectations I place on myself when I am working with the orphan child. I often expect to be able to fill their cup fully, and that if I lend my listening ear, offer enough hugs, meet all the physical needs, and encourage them, their cups will run over. There are obviously many things wrong with that statement, and I often feel discouraged and ineffective in my plight to rescue these children. I am by no means powerful enough in my own strength to fill anyone's cup, I am flawed and make mistakes, and there are others out there dumping the water out of these precious children's cups faster than I'm filling. But most importantly, these children's cups need to be full of Jesus! While my flawed, conditional, earthly love is good and important, it can never be enough. They need the saving grace of Jesus, the perfect love of the Father, to fill their cups. Many of you who have prayed for me have often reminded me that it is not my job to save the orphan child, it's Jesus' job. It's my job to love them well, teach them who Jesus is, and partner with the Holy Spirit in the work that he's doing. I'm enjoying the freedom that comes from realizing (once again) it's not my job to save them, while feeling increasingly burdened to pray that these children's cups are filled with Jesus and the heavenly Father's perfect love and not just my drops in their buckets.

My mom told me to keep my blogs short. Mom, when have I ever done something the easy way?!? You'll read it all because you love me and I'm your kid, and I'll work on making them shorter for you or adding some pictures.

And we're off!

They say patience is a virtue. One that I have to pray for constantly. In 7 months I'll be moving to Monterrey, Mexico to join STINT (short term international) staff with Back2Back Ministries. All of the interviewing and applications are done, I recently went to Mexico to visit with the current staff and talk more about what my role as a STINT staff would look like, and I've spent much time praying and talking with "my tribe" about the journey ahead. I've now entered the very illusive support-raising phase of the journey. I think this is the part that scares me the most. I've done major moves before (I'm currently living in my 5th state), and so the move to Mexico isn't feeling scary right now. I've been involved with Back2Back for 10 years, and I feel very comfortable with the ministry, children, and the staff in Mexico. I adore the Mexican people, their culture, and their weather. I don't know much Spanish, but I have time to learn. The support-raising, that's scary stuff! I shared this fear with my lifegroup ladies this week and asked for prayer for my own humility and increased confidence in God's power.

Jenny and the other ladies quickly reminded me about when Clear River Church needed money for our new building this last February. Our church at the time was around 250 people, and at least 60% of them were college students. The rest of us were made up of young professionals and younger families. We had outgrown our rental space and needed to find a permanent facility. After a year of searching, we found a building in the downtown area that was PERFECT. We needed to raise $70,000 to re-finish the inside and to buy equipment since we had been renting our old space. I had serious doubts that we could raise the money, given our church's demographic. Most of my friends can't pay me when I babysit their kids, how in the world can we come up with $70,000?! Wasn't I humbled when in one month, we collected $102,000! The most amazing part to me was that the largest contribution from one person was around $5,000. There wasn't anyone who dropped a ton of cash into the basket, it was a lot of people faithfully giving what they could. What I need is people to faithfully give what they can, not just one huge donor to pay my way (although it would be nice and I wouldn't oppose it). I was also reminded of the growth that's occurred since we've moved into our new building. We were at almost 400 people last Sunday, 39 people were baptized last year, we've been able to start Bag-Hunger, we've added full time and part time staff, and we've almost doubled our lifegroups. Not only did we experience financial growth and fullness, but we have experienced spiritual growth and fullness. That's what I need to be praying for. Not just the money to come in, but for spiritual filling and growth in the process. And so we're off on the fundraising journey...