More Than Turkeys

Thank you. 

In a world where much of what you hear is negative, gloomy, or depressing, we want to take a moment to just say thank you. 

We're thankful family who love us, friends who support us, and a God who sustains us. 

Here in Mexico, it doesn't feel so much like the regular Thanksgiving week, but we can still be thankful! We miss you and hopefully we'll get to see you for a little bit when we're home around Christmastime. 

How do we move forward?

How many of us get excited when someone comes to us and says:

"You're doing it all wrong"?

Probably not the words you wanted to hear; am I right? 

Over the past few weeks, we've been learning things that we wouldn't have imagined. Through a recent training by a group from Costa Rica (Casa Viva) and reading a couple insightful books (When Helping Hurts and Toxic Charity), it feels like God has taken a wrecking ball and let it come smashing through our glass walls of what we were used to doing. 

In certain ways, living in Mexico makes us feel like we're 50 years behind. For example, foster care was implemented in the United States to replace children's homes and institutional orphanages years ago. After much research, studies show that for children living in an institution, their emotional, physical, and social development are drastically decreased. But when those children are in a family environment such as their biological family, a foster family, or an adoptive family, their overall development is greatly increased and they stand much better chances of experiencing restoration and healthy growth to prepare them for life. 

However, foster care does not exist in Mexico. We heard from Casa Viva even more confirmation that children need family settings instead of institutions. They need out of children's homes and in real homes instead. To share a bit of their story, Casa Viva is a Costa Rican group that is ran almost completely by Costa Rican nationals. They began to work with their government to introduce and help facilitate foster care in a country where foster care did not exist as an alternative. Children's homes do still exist in Costa Rica, but they are no longer the first and only alternative for children who have no parents or someone close to take care of them. All this to say, children's homes are still much better than if the child were living on the street, but we should be working towards a long-term goal of restoration and seeking a family environment of some kind for each child. 

What do we do now? 

While there are still kids in children's homes who need love and taken care of in the meantime, we would like to move towards more long-term goals of establishing relationships between children and families. How does that happen? We build more relationships with the local church and help equip and work with them to step up to the responsibility. 

And as we've been reading the two books I mentioned, that's what we're coming back to over and over again. The local church is the one responsible to step up all around the world and carry out the call of "defending the orphan and pleading for the widow" (Isaiah 1:17). 

The beautiful and sometimes suprising truth is that you don't have to go to another country to do that. Look around you. You have the opportunity to love your neighbor as yourself wherever in the world you are. 

--Nathan 

163 Million

Be the difference for ONE.

On certain days, the weight of seeing what some of the children, adults, and families have gone through, hearing their personal stories, and learning about the difficulties and odds that surround them weighs heavier than other days.

It's been one of those weeks.

After hearing statistics and research that show the effects of what living in an institution has upon children and not only their physical development but also their emotional, social, spiritual, and educational development, it's easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you can't make a dent in the situation.

And to be honest, that's not far off from the truth. You and I can't transform the child's life. That's the miracle of Jesus and His beautiful story of redemption, pursuit, and restoration. It's humbling to know that I can't fix a situation by simply snapping my fingers (not to mention, I can't even snap--true story). But it's so comforting to know that we have been adopted into His family and that He allows us to be part of His kingdom story (wherever in the world we are).

It's the story that He's been weaving together since before we ever realized.

That truth is what picks me back up and gives me the motivation to keep going. No amount of legal bureaucracy, government officials, politics, corrupt systems, spiritual darkness, or human opposition can stand up against the power of the Holy Spirit.

After reading Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow," one can see promises for those who carry that out. With today being "Orphan Sunday," it's a great opportunity for the church to step up and be a voice for the voiceless.

Ways you can help:

--Pray: For the estimated 163,000,000 orphans around the world; for those who have lost one or both parents, as well as for those who are a "social orphan," who might have biological parents still but for one reason or another are not in a family setting.
--Become foster parents: Help show the love of Jesus by taking children into your home and inviting them to be part of your family.
--Support a foster family: Make them a meal, take the kids out to a park.
--Depending on where you live, find out if there's a children's home that you can help at.
--Adopt: Easier said than done, but I guarantee if you ask anyone who has done this, they wouldn't regret it for one second.
--Support an adoptive family: Bring them in as part of your extended family. Help them in any way you can. Do they need diapers? A babysitter? School fees?
--Pray more: Pray for governments to make wise decisions that protect children; for orphans of any kind to experience healing, restoration, and fulfillment in walking out the purpose Jesus has for them; and then pray for anything else you can think of. :)

No matter how overwhelming the responsibility we have may seem, it's worth it. And remember, we have Jesus as the source of our strength.

--Nathan

Casa Hogar Del Norte: Meet Martha Rojas

Meet Martha!

This is our dear friend Martha Rojas. She is the director of Casa Hogar Del Norte (Children's Home of the North), where we spend most of our days here in Mexico. Allow us to share a little bit about Martha with you.

However, to best be able to understand Martha, we must go off on a small tangent first. . .

Okay, let's talk about. . . Retirement.

When you envision your retirement, what does it look like? Are you playing golf? Traveling the world? Sitting in a recliner in front of the 903rd season of “American Idol?” Driving your flying car (would the verb still be driving)?  What words come to mind? Rest? Relaxation? Peace? Quiet?
Whether you've thought a lot about it or not, I'm sure you can at least forecast in your mind a picture of what that post-work season of your life will look like.

Okay... did any of you in your retirement vision decide to battle against government officials for the land to build a home for screaming children whose parents can't/don't/won't take care of them? You didn't?? Shocking.

Enter Martha. A 77-year old RETIREE (nurse) in charge of caring for what currently totals 42 lost children (ages 3 months to 15 years). Martha had quite a vision when it came to building a safe haven for these children. When something like a children's home is built in Mexico, the land is leased from the government. However, obtaining the land isn't always easy. About 17 years ago, with much persistence, Martha would visit the government offices every week to explain her vision and ask for the land to build a children's home. Every week they would  make it more difficult, telling her to do "this, this, and this" and then come back--fully expecting that she would not return. Well, there she would return every week. After TWO YEARS of  determination, relentlessness and consistent trying, she FINALLY got the land. Normally these plots of land are leased for 15 years and then reassessed. Martha was given the land for 90 years.

She's done more than many can even imagine at her age. Yet, she is incredibly humble. 
EVERYTHING that Martha says and does, is so that the children will know who God is.  Here is a video that features Martha. Even hearing her voice will give you a better picture of who she is.

James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Martha is a widow, helping orphans. Talk about going beyond the call of duty! If that isn't the heart of Jesus, then I don't know what is.

“And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of - lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about.”
― Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

I never met Mother Teresea. . . But I got pretty close when I met Hermana Martha.

 

-Whitney

 

 

Laugh a Little

Before the older kids came back from school, we were playing on the swings with 3 of the youngest. We couldn't help but share this video with you. 

Want to have your heart stolen? Watch this video. 

If it doesn't load here for you, you can also watch the video on YouTube here. 

As always, thank you for partnering with us and allowing us to be here. We hope to share with you a thousand more laughs. 

Left...No, Right!

"Me das un push?" Jonatán kept repeating. 

It took me a second to realize he wanted me to push him. I always get thrown off when English words are thrown into a Spanish sentence. Oh Spanglish. 

Today, I pushed Jonatán up and down the sidewalk outside his casa hogar (children's home). Of course, he didn't get tired because he had the plastic baby bike without wheels--so he wasn't doing any of the work. But his job was to steer with the wheel, which I noticed all the other kids did pretty well (even the younger ones). 

I soon realized he didn't know his left or his right. When I told him to turn left, he either turned right or didn't do anything. As I tried to teach him what direction is left and which is right, I realized you can't use the same trick you use in English. When learning my left, I remember my teacher having us hold up our left hands as she traced an L from our index finger to our thumb. 

But izquierda doesn't really work the same. So I didn't have a trick to help Jonatán remember which way was left. I was stumped. 

Fortunately, repetition works pretty well though. By the end of the day, I think he started to catch on. At least, we ran into less walls and didn't end up on the grass. 

On a different note, have you ever seen a more fancy Wendy's? Yep, even Wendy's has made its way to Monterrey. And it tastes the same! 

You have to dress up to go this classy Wendy's. 

Have a great week everyone!

--Nathan 

OUR PLACE

 Bienvenidos a la casa Reiter!

 Welcome to our humble abode! We have finally moved from our temporary living quarters to our permanent living space. So now we can share it with you all. Who will be our first dinner guest?! Just kidding :)  But, since you can't be with us in person, allow us to give you the virtual tour. Try to play along. 

There we are up on the second floor, waving you in! Don't you see us? Look closer. Closer. CLOSER. JK. We aren't really there. Don't you feel silly! Just how close did you move your face to the computer? Okay, we promise, the mean tricks are over!

The Colorful Kitchen

My oh my! You are out of breath. It must be the two flights of stairs you climbed to get up here. Try doing it with 10 bags of groceries! Well...WELCOME! Not too shabby, huh? Was this what you were expecting Mexico to look like? We love our new little place. Thankfully it came furnished with all the necessary appliances (oven, fridge, stove). We got a little tired of the pantry doors always falling off their hinges though, so we replaced them with a curtain. Behind those white IKEA curtains is the land of food. 

Faith. Love. Coffee

The kitchen is most definitely coffee-themed. And appropriately so. If any of you don't drink coffee, yet are still friends with Nathan, count yourself lucky. He's pretty snobby when it comes to his love for coffee. :p It is also very colorful, with mostly red and orange accents. Everything is more colorful in Mexico! It is a perfect contrast to the neutral concrete walls. There's no punching through these walls if your angry! They'll punch back!

I think our water dispenser needs a name.

This is our fine comedor (dining set) of mismatched chairs and wobbly table. Normally, that wouldn't sound good, but it means another fabric/craft project for Whitney to make all the chairs matching. She won't mind that! You can also see our trusty water dispenser. Yes, the one thing you can actually believe about Mexico is that you shouldn't drink the water, so this is how we replinish. The garrafónes (jugs) are actually very well priced at about $2.50 a piece. 

Don't hit your head on the lamp!

If you ever visited our apartment in Dayton, this all may look very similar to you. Since all the big stuff (couch, entertainment center, bed, etc.)  was was provided to us by Back2Back, when we moved we were able to fill our car with mostly clothes and decorations that we already owned. That way, it feels more like home!

Our television is pretty small for the entertainment center. It doesn't look as comical in the picture as it does when you are across the room and trying to focus on the rectangle of light and sound inside of the giant square. That's our living room! The windows are nice and big so it lets a lot of light in during the day. We love it. Except for siesta time which comes around 3 o'clock. Just kidding, we don't take too many siestas!

Just a little collage of love. Not too much to say here.

And now off to... the baño! Again, bright and colorful. We love the shelves that were already in place. With the concrete walls it's not as easy to hang things. No simple nail and hammer task. So, we really appreciate the holes and screws that have already been drilled into place! Can you smell the scented toilet paper? Yup, toilet paper is scented in Mexico because in many places you can't flush it. We will probably put about 45 candles on our Christmas wishlist.

Time to sleep!

And last but not least, our bedroom! It's a pretty narrow living quarters, but plenty cozy. While the big windows are great in the living room, they aren't always as practical in the bedroom. You're up when the sun's up. 

And there you have it! Our casa. which is obviously su casa too. 

Who will be our first visitor?

Next installment.... You will meet a kid or two!

--Whitney

Huele a fall

So it's the first week of October already--how did that happen?! Being in Mexico, this month would probably go by as an ordinary month.

Except for one small detail: 

Fall is Whitney's favorite season. And you guessed it--we're not really having much of a fall here in Monterrey. The temperature is still anywhere from 80 to 90 something during the day, but there's a mental block that still makes us want to have a bonfire, eat pumpkin roll, wear hoodies, and roll around in the leaves. 

In order for us to feel like it's really October, we've been searching for fall-scented candles, but haven't found them anywhere here. But listen to this, yesterday a medical team arrived to work with us for a week. One of the group members approached Whitney and our coworker Jenn, explaining that she brought a few donations, including some candles for staff. What scent were they? I'll give you one guess. 

Yep, they're fall-scented. So, now we have "mulled-cider" and "warm apple pie" ready to make our home feel like fall. Many times, it doesn't take a whole lot to make us happy. Now tell me God doesn't work in even the smallest of details. :) 

Here's more of what our fall is looking like at the moment. Hope you enjoy this short clip of a group of kids from a casa hogar (children's home) nearby. They literally can't get enough of the pool. 

--Nathan

Take a Walk

With our unprofessional and amateur video skills (aka, walking around with an iPad), we wanted to give you a brief visual tour of what the Back2Back campus looks like. In the video, you can see our main dining area where groups and volunteer teams eat when they're here, the elementary school on campus, the teen homes, and a few other buildings and areas here. 

Check out the video here! 

We move into our apartment next Sunday! We are suuuuuper excited about that, especially since we've been traveling nomads since May of this year. After that, we'll upload pictures so you can see what it looks like. 

It's going to be another full week here as we officially step into our roles as children's home captains. The previous captains just moved this weekend to another city in Mexico, so Whitney and I now are transitioning as the captains there. Two volunteer teams from the States are also coming this week, so we will be helping them with several projects and responsibilities. 

Come back to the blog soon for another update. :) We miss you! 

Dios te bendiga!

--Nathan 

Shalom

What is poverty? 

As part of our training this first month, we're reading the book When Helping Hurts. It's been eye opening as we study this research and come across thought-provoking questions that ensure everything we're (Back2Back, churches, individuals) doing here in Monterrey is beneficial to the Mexican children. We were asked that initial question before the most recent chapter of the book. 

If you took a minute to think about how you would answer, how does it compare to our response? Whitney and I initially answered "What is poverty?" in terms of lacking physical, material, and tangible things, such as a house, clothes, food, money, etc. 

What we've come to find out is fascinating: 

     "We have conducted the previous exercise in dozens of middle-to-upper-class, predominantly Caucasian, North American churches. In the vast majority of cases, these audiences describe poverty differently than the poor in low-income countries do. While poor people mention having a lack of material things, they tend to describe their condition in far more psychological and social terms than our North American audiences. Poor people typically talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness. North American audiences tend to emphasize a lack of material things such as food, money, clean water, medicine, housing, etc. As will be discussed further below, this mismatch between many outsiders' perceptions of poverty and the perceptions of poor people themselves can have devastating consequences for poverty-alleviation efforts." 

Which goes back to why we love Back2Back. We as a ministry believe in 5 basic needs of a child. Yes, there are definitely physical needs, but there are also educational, spiritual, emotional, and social needs. 

After last week, we're learning that this work can be exhausting. Pero vale la pena. 

This past Wednesday, Whitney and another co-worker spent the day (and night) with a group of teenage girls at one of the children's homes we partner with. Imagine waking up 6 teenage girls in a foreign language at 5 in the morning to get ready for school. Keep in mind these girls have never had anyone as a stable role-model for them to respect, obey, and learn from. The day had its stressful parts, but it also had really good parts. 

But after spending time with them, Whitney knows more than just their names. She knows a little of each one's gifts and talents, what kind of food they like, their hurts, favorite colors, and more Justin Bieber lyrics than she would care to know. 

With time, those relationships that are so vital will keep developing. Relationships take time. They take energy, work, and patience. In fact: 

     "...it may take years to help people overcome their problems. There will likely be lots of ups and downs in the relationship. It all sounds very time-consuming, and it is. 'If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday' (Isa. 58:10). 'Spending yourself' often involves more than giving a handout to a poor person, a handout that may very well do more harm than good." (When Helping Hurts).


--Nathan

Adios Honeymoon Phase

You want to learn about yourself? Like, REALLY learn? 

Move to another country.

Throughout the months leading up to leaving for Mexico, all we heard were statements such as:

      “That’s so awesome that you are willing to do that. I could never do something like that.”
      “I am just so impressed by you guys! Living out your calling! Wow, what a dream!”
     “Geez, that takes some real heart! God must have made you pretty special!”

Of course we always replied with a humble “It’s not us, it’s God!” kind of response. But I think I let more of those comments go to my head than I ever would have realized.

Subconsciously, I must have thought I was pretty awesome. I must have somehow built up in my mind that God had called us to go to Mexico because we had superpowers and talents far beyond the average human. Well my bubble burst, my parade was rained on, and Nathan’s ear drums were severely damaged when I saw the first cockroach in my new home. After a rant that went something like:

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! KILL IT!!!!!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!!!!!  CHOP ITS HEAD OF WITH A BUTCHER KNIFE!! TEAR IT LIMB FROM LIMB! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO JUST GET IT OUT OF HEEEEEERRRREEEEE!!!”

I realized I wasn’t as awesome as I thought I was. And Mexico wasn’t going to be a magic fairytale land where I tell children about Jesus, they grab onto that truth, and we can ride off into the sunset on unicorns sharing a chocolate sprinkled ice-cream cone and singing songs about the sunshine.

Truth is, there are a lot more stray dogs that chase and nip at you than there are unicorns (believe it or not). There is more sadness than singing. More ants than sprinkles. And a lot more bean and egg tacos than there are ice cream cones.

The honeymoon phase is definitely over. And that left me feeling somewhat hopeless as to what the heck God was thinking when he asked us to move here!!

But I was comforted by a few simple words written by Stuff Christians like blogger Jon Acuff. 

“I often feel that I am in the midst of a great adventure from God. We talk about “calling” in our culture a lot, and going on “missions” for God. Sometimes, though, I put tremendous pressure on myself to make sure I don’t mess up that mission. Deep down, I secretly feel that if I fail, God’s design for my life, my community, Nashville, the world, etc. will not come together.

But here is something I recently wrote on a note, for me, that might also be a note for you:

The success of God’s plans are not dependent on my ability to execute them.

He will not be handcuffed by my failures or unleashed by my accomplishments. He is bigger than that.

The next time the enemy tries to tell you otherwise, remind yourself that’s a lie. God invites us into his story out of love, not employment. The pressure of perfection is off. We’ve got a perfect God.”

Every day is not going to be daisies and lemon drops. It is going to be hard. And quite frankly, it might suck at times.

But we are still certain that this is where we should be.

For such a time as this...


                                                    -Whitney

Outta my lane!!

Agressive and defensive.

No more cautious and courteous driving

Two words that describe how you need to drive in Mexico.   

Stop signs? Mere suggestions. Lanes? Who has a lane. Speed limit? Forget about it. As our initiation to our new home, we were immersed onto the roads immediately upon arrival. Weaving in and out of traffic, we successfully made it to the grocery store and back! We even found mostly everything we were looking for--minus a few staples of ours that are more difficult to find such as brown rice, liquid coffee creamers, adobo seasoning, etc.

Other new things we've learned: you order 30 centimeter subs from Subway and not a foot long (we need to learn the metric system ASAP--how much is a half kilo of turkey lunch meat? Or 200 grams of almonds?), eggs aren't refrigerated at the grocery store, the attendant at the gas station pumps gas for you, you tip the grocery store bagger, if you don't want the whole cantaloupe or watermelon--you can buy just half of it (they'll cut if for you), and grocery store receipts will scare you at first glance. On our first trip to the store to stock up on food and necessary supplies, we spent $1,596 pesos. Did we just spend all our money!?! 

Nope. Fortunately, that translates to around $122. 

What does our daily life look like right now? We have done more than just go to the grocery store, we promise! :) We started training last Wednesday for the different areas of ministry here. Because of the core focus on relationships and going deep with the children, there's much to learn, but it's all so worth it. 

We had our first all day experience at a children's home today. We were there when they woke up for school at 5 a.m., helped get them ready for school, worked with them through homework and chores afterwards, ate dinner, and rewarded them with some late night swimming at the pool. Ever wondered how many teenagers can fit in the back of a 2005 Honda Element? At least 11. 

And so it begins. 

Let's Caravan Together.

It's real. 

The heat. The sun. The long drive. No faucet water. No flushing the toilet paper. We're in Mexico. 

After driving 28 hours over 5 days with a car filled with everything material that we now own, we are officially in Monterrey, Mexico--our new home. Several incredible families were so generous in letting us sleep in their homes at various points along the way. More than just giving us a bed and a room for the night, they gave us more food than we could handle. Thank you! 

Click here to see their photo journey.

Yes, llamas make incredible company. 

Not only did breaking up the trip help make the drive much more enjoyable, we had two tiny traveling companions with us the whole way (llama photos).

The border crossing went slowly but smoothly (gracias a Dios)! From McAllen, Texas, it's about a 3 hour drive to Monterrey, where we arrived Sunday at 7 pm. Now that we're here, we're spending the first couple days getting settled in and adjusting to our new lives. On Thursday, Whitney and I will start training for our job roles. 

Since September is a big transition period for many people here at Back2Back, we're in a temporary home for the rest of the month with 2 other staff members. On October 1st, Whitney and I will move into our apartment where a staff family moving to Mazatlan is currently living. Once we get into our new place, we'll be sure to update you with photos so you can see what it's like. 

So the moral of the story is: we're exhausted from the long drive and adjusting to the culture shift, but we couldn't be more excited to be here! God has been opening doors for a long time and preparing a way for this to happen. We have so much to be thankful for and are ready for all that God has in store. 

Thank you for joining us and stepping out in faith as we pursue this vision together. 

-Nathan

The Road Ahead

If it's been the same with most of you, this summer has flown by! 

Now that our car is officially packed, we have an itinerary:

Tuesday, August 28th: leave Ohio and arrive in Knoxville, Tennessee for my brother's graduation from an Air Force training he's been in for the past 6 weeks 
(5 hours).

Wednesday, August 29th: leave Knoxville and arrive in Little Rock, Arkansas. On our drive there, we plan to meet up with our friend Jenn who is moving to Mexico at the same time as us. Know anyone who lives in the Little Rock area? (8.5 hours)

Thursday, August 30th: leave Little Rock and arrive in Houston, Texas, where we will hopefully finish up another step of our visa process. We have some friends in Houston who are willing to let us bombard their place for the evening as well, so that will be nice to catch up with them and get a good night's rest (7.5 hours)

Friday, August 31st: stay in Houston as we do visa work. Another friend from Missouri who's also moving to Mexico at the same time will be meeting us in Houston.

Saturday, September 1st: leave Houston and arrive in Harlingen, Texas where we have friends who are letting us stay at their place for the evening (5.5 hours)

Sunday, September 2nd: leave Harlingen and arrive in Monterrey, Mexico! Staff from Back2Back will meet us in McAllen, Texas, where we will then all caravan together over the border and arrive at Back2Back's campus (3.5 hours).

To see our planned-out journey on a map, click here.

Please pray for our drive towards Mexico and for a smooth border crossing as well. It will be an adventure-filled journey! Once we get to Mexico, we'll update everyone on the road trip and what it looks like as we get settled in. 

We're filled with so many emotions right now, but we are extremely excited for this opportunity and what God has in store... We are so grateful for your partnership of support and prayer! We couldn't be doing this without you. 

--Nathan

Love Is Like War

“I’m not sure I’ll ever end up settling here,” Whitney shared over our fourteenth cup of coffee. And that’s the day we fell in love.

It was a classic tale of boy meets girl. I liked him, but didn’t think he liked me. Well, he liked me but didn’t think I cared for him. And so the story goes. Fast-forward past the awkward “how do we go from friends to dating” conversation, the month separated while studying abroad, one letter for everyday apart, a winter-eve proposal, a 6-month engagement, 14,000 cups of coffee, 80 weekend trips to Columbus, the “I do’s”—and BAM! Here we are today…

15 days from moving to Monterrey, Mexico.

It’s not your fairytale post-wedding destination. Mexico is more dangerous than it is glamorous. You see it in the news everyday—and while much of the news you hear IS biased—we do have our reservations. BUT, we couldn’t be any more certain that this is what we were made for. Yes, Mexico is war-ridden. But I think H.L. Mencken said it well when he wrote:

“Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.”

So that’s our plan. To shower Mexico with love—with the love we were so freely given.

How you ask?

We will be working with a group called Back2Back Ministries in pursuit of the hearts of the orphaned and widowed. Back2Back’s name comes from just that—we partner with Mexican nationals who are already doing orphan care by supporting them with resources and manpower to keep doing the work they originally felt called to do.

Mission: Back2Back Ministries is an international Christian non-profit organization that is dedicated to being a voice for orphans. We exist to love and care for orphans and impoverished children, by meeting their physical, spiritual, educational, social and emotional needs that they may overcome their life circumstances and break free from the cycle of generational poverty. 

Vision: We desire for every orphan and impoverished child to have the opportunity for success through “care for today and hope for tomorrow.” Our goal is that each child would experience restoration to a life of purpose in which they can become fulfilled and mature Christian adults.

We cannot wait to have countless stories of changed lives to share with you. We cannot wait to attack Mexico with love and a hope for a better tomorrow.

We realize there is need EVERYWHERE. As would-be followers of Mother Teresa we can all take her advice well:

“Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. … You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.”


--Blessed Mother Teresa

Mexico will be our Calcutta. What will be yours?

-Nathan &Whitney Reiter

Ready, Set, Pack!

Time to start packing

We're leaving in 22 days.

Yep, you read that right. The time is almost here!

Over the past three weeks, Whitney and I have been to Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey--all in preparation to get ready to leave. Time has been flying by so fast! Since it's already August 7th, we wanted to fill you in a little more on the details.

We're planning to leave August 29th in order to get to Monterrey on September 2nd. We have another friend who will be driving to Monterrey at the same time, so we are going to caravan there together. Like we said in the e-mail update, instead of driving the 27 hours non-stop to Mexico, we'll make it a several day journey to enjoy the process a little more (and maintain our sanity so we're not crammed in the car for too long).

In case you missed the e-mail, we're having 2 different going away parties before we take off.

The first one is August 12th at noon in Columbus (1055 McNaughten Rd.). If you can't make that one or don't live nearby, the second one will be right before we go on August 25th from 4-7 in Middletown (3628 Fiesta Way). If you can, we'd LOVE to see you! 

If you have some other questions, check out our FAQ post or ask us! :) 

It's really happening! 

--Nathan