Hello! We're the Finchers from Nashville, TN. Check back here often to read about our adventures in our new life at the City of Children in Ensenada, Mexico.
This week we are back in Mexico. It is our first trip back since we left in August. We are here to attend the annual board meeting that took place last Friday, to work with a group that was visiting from San Diego last Saturday, and to work with a group of 12 that is here this week from Brisbane, Australia.
This is the first time the City of Children has had a dedicated group come for a week from Australia. They are led by my good friend Mike Shepherd. Mike and I worked together as youth ministers in northern Alabama in the late 1990’s. We also served several years together on the board of directors for a camp that takes place at Lipscomb University called IMPACT. He along with two other teachers from Redlands College (which is the high school in Brisbane where they work and attend) brought 9 seniors who are going to graduate in a few weeks.
What set this group apart from all of the other groups that have visited this year is that these teens get to learned 2 different cultures simultaneously. Its been a lot of fun this week answering their questions and telling them about both Mexico and the United States. Planning their menu for the week was also a great challenge for the team not knowing what types of products are available in the United States. There are a lot of food products that they use on a regular basis in Australia that can’t be found in either Mexico or the United States. In spite of all the challenges and difficulties, the team did a great job at the home! They worked with Chesco on work project throughout the week – they delivered food to 8 families in Maneadero on Wednesday – they hosted and fed all of the kids at the home – and they put together a great VBS program each night. For their VBS program, all of the kids stayed together in the gym. The first night they sang, Mike spoke, and tied into his message a movie that we then watched called The Great Mouse Detective. The movie came out in the 1980’s so none of the kids or staff had seen it! The second night Mike talked about being “clothed in righteousness” and then the group hosted a fashion show where the kids split up into teams and creatively clothed two of their team members using things like paper towels, construction paper, and streamers. The third night, using scripture that talks about how important you are, Mike and the team had the kids create machines where everyone in the group had to become a part of one machine that was then acted out in front of everyone. On the last night the children and Australians made posters with their hand prints on the and their favorite scriptures. Our kids had a great time!
Natasha and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with the kids and staff again! We also really enjoyed getting to spend time with our good friend Mike and his group. We are planning on going back to Ensenada next month to work with the Boyd-Buchanan Mission team.
It’s been approximately 6 weeks since we left the City of Children to move back to Nashville. The day we left was a really long day! Not only did we say goodbye to the last group of the summer early that morning, we also said goodbye to the life we had know for the previous 2 years. All day long we packed, hugged kids, packed some more, hugged kids, ate a quick taco, hugged more kids, and finally finished packing at around 9:30 p.m. Then we drove to San Diego and finished temporarily unpacking at around 11:30 p.m. It was a physically and emotionally draining day to say the least. After a night in our apartment in San Diego, we packed it up and started our journey across the country. Our brother-in-law, Rob “Chinito” Regg, joined us for the first part of our trip. He was a HUGE help! Not only did he help us pack, he eased our minds as we struggled to drive away. He also helped us drive. Our journey took us through Sedona, Arizona (easily one of the most beautiful places on earth) – Santa Fe, New Mexico (where we stayed with Rob’s amazing aunt and uncle) – Amarillo, Texas (where we went to a drive-in movie after being in the car all day – seriously, what else is there to do in Amarillo?!) – Dallas, Texas (where we stayed with some friends) – Little Rock, Arkansas (which was surprisingly cool) – and finally back to Nashville.
We’ve been home for about a month now but have yet to get settled. Two weeks before we left Mexico, a pipe burst in the kitchen of our house in Nashville and the man who was living there was out of town. The flooding destroyed the flooring and subflooring in our kitchen and living room, the kitchen cabinets, and a portion of the walls. When we walked in for the first time, it looked like a bomb had gone off with all of the cabinets having been ripped out, the flooring and sheetrock walls gone, and much of the subflooring rotted out or gone altogether. So for the past month, we’ve been working with insurance agents, contractors, and construction professionals (more than 12 total) to try and get our house back in order. There were several things not covered by the insurance claim so Natasha and I have been trying to do as much of the work as we can to try and save some money. That means lots of painting, demolition, and even staining and sealing the hard wood floors. We are really looking forward to having all of the renovation completed in the next couple of weeks.
Just so we wouldn’t feel sorry for ourselves, God opened our eyes this week when we decided to take our dog for a walk through our neighborhood. In May, Nashville had the worst flooding on record when it received more than 18 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Rivers were unable to hold the excess water and many homes throughout the city were flooded. Some of the worst flooding occurred in our neighborhood, where more than 60 homes were completely inundated. The homeowners not only lost their homes, they lost everything that the waters touched. Several people lost their lives. We were lucky. Because our home flooded through a pipe in the kitchen, insurance covered a majority of our loss. However, most of our neighbors who lost their homes didn’t know they lived in a 500 year flood plain (meaning there is the possibility that it could flood once every 500 years). Therefore they didn’t have flood insurance. Although FEMA was quick to help, the money they provided was rarely enough to cover the loss. Please keep these families in your prayers. We will be back in our home long before they will.
As we have contemplated transitioning the leadership at the home and making these proposals to the board of trustees, we spent hours in prayer asking God for guidance – guidance in our personal lives as well as for the mission of the home. We have spent a great amount of time seeking wise counsel from friends, family, and mentors. With that in mind, we are really excited about this new chapter in both our lives and in the life of the home.
We have already received several questions from many of you, so here are a few answers:
Who will be the American Director at the City of Children?
Tom Begin was hired by the board to serve as the American Director after we leave. He is from southern California and is planning on living at home and visiting the City of Children on weekends (much like Stan and Carole did). Being from southern California is a huge plus for Tom since that is where all of his friends and family are located (as opposed to them living 2200 miles away like ours). He will be working with the finances and the American visitors. He is eager to learn and to serve in this way.
Who will take care of the day to day operations of the home?
Ricardo and Patty will continue to work as the Mexican Directors, handling the day to day issues like dealing with the DIF, disciplining the kids, being the contact person with the schools, etc.
Will the City of Children continue to host mission teams?
Absolutely! The visiting American mission teams are an essential part of the kids lives! In fact, we are hoping to have even more than the record number of groups that visited this year come back next spring and summer. Tom and the board will be working to coordinate the 2011 visiting mission teams.
Will Jeff and Natasha still be involved with the City of Children?
We will definitely continue to be involved in the work of the home. We in no way are quitting or were fired. This change comes as a result of 2 years of studying the current leadership model at the home and suggesting a healthier model which we believe this is. As for us, we will remain full time with the home from now until February working from Nashville, returning in September to work with a group from Australia, returning in October to work with our friends from Boyd-Buchanan, and returning in December to help with Christmas. In the fall and in the spring we will also be going on tour to spread the word about what God is doing in Ensenada. We will be visiting current sponsoring churches as well as hoping to make some new contacts in churches and schools. We’ll tell you more about the tour in the near future.
Please continue to keep the City of Children in your prayers. Specifically, we ask your prayers for Tom as he begins this new journey, for Ricardo and Patty, for Natasha and I as we begin the next chapter in our lives, and for the kids as they attempt to comprehend all of this change. We have experienced love that went way beyond words as a result of our work with the home during the past two years. The relationships we’ve formed with the kids, staff, and American visitors have changed our lives and will last a lifetime. In all of this, we give God the honor and glory recognizing that He is in control.
We are leaving our lives in Mexico today. Over the past two years, Natasha and I have learned a lot about each other. Not necessarily because we wanted to, but because we lived together – worked together – traveled together – and did everything in between together. I have learned that Natasha is great with people – kids, young, old, American, Mexican, etc. I have learned that Natasha is REALLY smart having become semi-fluent in our two years here. I have learned that she loves gardening, nature, and the beauty of God’s green earth. I have learned that she is much tougher than I ever thought she was – and I’ve know for a long time that she is really tough! I have learned that she is really compassionate about seeking justice and making wrongs right. I have learned that she loves watching Mexican soap operas and Discovery Home and Health. I have learned that if she had to choose between me and our dog, Webster, that I’m not sure that I would be picked. I could continue this list for a very long time! I have learned a lot about my wife in the last two years. Mostly, I have learned how lucky I am to have been given such an amazing helper, friend, supporter, and spouse. I am so proud and blessed to have been on this journey with her. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in the next chapter of our lives.
Click on the pictures below to see the full sized versions.
What a great week we had with the Pennsylvania and Montana groups! Our kids had so much fun hanging out with our last group of the summer. Many tears were shed the last night, both from the Americans and from the Mexicans – a testimony of the powerful relationships that were built throughout the week!
This summer Natasha and I completed two years as the American Directors of the City of Children. When we were asked to move to Ensenada three years ago we were quite confused. Besides loving the City of Children, we are nothing like the couple that the board of directors wanted us to replace. They stated that they realized that, which is why they offered us the job. They wanted us to come in and update the internal operating systems while assessing the current leadership model. We didn’t know what to expect or why they had chosen us but we prayed about the opportunity for a year before we decided that the time was right. We told the board that we didn’t think we could make a long term commitment and they agreed thinking that we could serve between 1 and 5 years. We worked hard and tried to use the time that God has given us here to do our best. While working to assess the current leadership model, we knew that something within the leadership of the home needed to change but we didn’t know what. As we prayed and meditated on our time here, God opened our eyes to what would be needed to help the leadership serve more efficiently and successfully. So we presented what we had experienced and learned to the board and suggested two different options. They replied by combining the two suggestions which included hiring one of our board members, Tom Begin, to serve as the American Director from his home in California while Natasha and I move back to Nashville to serve in a different role. So with mixed emotions, we will be going back to Tennessee next week. We are very excited about this new adventure and we praise God for providing Tom who will work extremely hard to continue the mission of the home.
Because of the experience God has given us for the past 2 years, we have a far greater love for the children, the staff, and the City of Children. Because of this time, God has given us an even greater desire to help the home using the gifts he has given us, in a different role. Natasha and I will be working to raise money for the City of Children, telling the stories of the kids, and spreading the news about what God is doing here in Ensenada. In doing so, we hope to help move the home to a better place than it is now by providing things like a Creative Arts and Learning Center, an endowment, and a Transitional Home for those kids who leave the City of Children after they’ve turned 18. And even though we will be working from Nashville, our hearts desire is to continue building relationships, as we have for the past two years, between us, the staff, the kids, and the American visitors. We will be returning for a week in September and a week in October to host visiting mission teams. We will also return for some time in December to help with Christmas.
Please keep us in your prayers as we all make this transition. This is a very important time for the City of Children and it is going to take a lot of prayer to see us through. We will be providing more information on this transition in the coming weeks here on our blog.
Over the weekend, between groups, Natasha and I took some popsicles over to the baby dorm for an afternoon treat. The result was sticky hands, sticky floors, and lots of happy faces!
Some of the popsicles were sour (lemon flavored). This is how the kids reacted:
Some of the popsicles were spicy. Natasha brought 3 mango and chili, 3 pineapple and chili, and 2 cucumber and chili popsicles. Eating these are a complete contradiction for your taste buds due to the fact that you are eating something that is frozen while your mouth is on fire because of the chili powder. I didn’t think the kids would like them at all but to my surprise, they were the first ones grabbed. Here is what they looked like eating the spicy ones:
Baby Jesus received quite a bit of attention and loved every second of it:
To summarize their week at the home, the North Boulevard Youth Group decided to make a Lipdub video at the end of their trip. The result was a hilarious video that our kids loved making and watching at the end of the night. What a creative end to a great trip!
What a great week we had with our only group from California and Oregon! As you will see from the pictures, they brought a large team that our kids really enjoyed hanging out with as well.
Natasha and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with the kids and staff again! We also really enjoyed getting to spend time with our good friend Mike and his group. We are planning on going back to Ensenada next month to work with the Boyd-Buchanan Mission team.
