Jeff and Natasha

A Time of Transition, Part 2

jeff — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:23:10 +0000

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, punishing 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.

A Tribute to my Wife

jeff — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:17:19 +0000

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.

Pictures from Pennsylvania and Montana

jeff — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:56:42 +0000

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!

A Time of Transition

jeff — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:02:07 +0000

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.

Preschool Popsicle Party!

jeff — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:44:37 +0000

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:

Overall, everyone LOVED the paleta’s!

City of Children LipDub

jeff — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:10:32 +0000

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!

Pictures from Roseville and Redlands

jeff — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:08:30 +0000

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.

Pictures from Campus and College Hills

jeff — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:39:31 +0000

What an amazing week with Campus and College Hills! Here are a few of the photographic highlights of their trip:

Pictures from the North Blvd. Team

jeff — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:52:34 +0000

In addition to the rocket extravaganza pictures and video below, I had to show you a few more pictures from the North Blvd. Week. Here are a few more images from their VBS:

In addition to putting on a great VBS, they also hosted an eye clinic here on campus. The optometrist who came with them was able to help us determine if our kids needed glasses or not.

During snack time, they continued the tasty tradition of five of their elders passing out ice cream cones:
And on top of all of that, two of their chaperones decided to sponsor the last child that needed sponsoring. We were all really excited:

Sushi Night

jeff — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:28:06 +0000

Last Friday we invited all of the teen girls and teen boys over to our house in introduce them to sushi. None of them had ever had it before and had been asking for some time if they could come over. So we went to our favorite sushi restaurant in town (called Temaky) and bought a large assortment including sushi made with fish, crab, and some with only vegetables. We also bought several types of negiri including tuna, salmon, and what I thought would be the last to go, octopus negiri. However, it was eaten first by our teen boys! There were several of the teens that liked the sushi. And there were several that liked the rice and teriyaki chicken more. But everyone tried it and are now able to claim that they’ve had sushi. After dinner, we had a mini concert from Andres and Blake followed by all of us watching a new movie. It was a great night!