It all started with a desire to change the world through teenagers.
The fall of 2005 we were put in contact with a beautiful orphanage in La Mision, Mexico, Door of Faith Orphanage. An orphanage isnt always beautiful but the love and health of this giant family drew us in. We also met an inspiring young couple with a dream and lots of faith which began our relationship with- what was to become- Open Arms Daycare in La Mision. A lovely little village on the coast of baja with two amazing ministries- one caring for orphans and the abandoned, the other doing justice in keeping families together to prevent child abandonment in Baja. The last six years we have led groups to this tiny town, partnering with these two organziations supporting their work and the community. Both organizations have grown and are doing amazing work. We have deep respect for both and look forward to years of continued partnerships with them. At the same time we look forward to new adventures. In 2012 we visited three more orphanages in Baja and identified Casa de Paz and Mount Horab as orphanages that we will develop a longer term partnership with.
Desiring to help students become world changers means we approach service with a specific philosophy. This includes doing things WITH not FOR, stepping into a culture with the posture of a learner and an attitude of humility. It requires asking good questions, observing, understanding. It means being okay with sitting in the tension instead of solving the “problem”. Years of learning to understand, invest in and build relationships with our ministry partners in Mexico led us to another organization that has helped us learn to sit in the tension, grow our empathy and serve those truly in need yet do so in a way as much as possible as to respect their dignity. This ministry serves the families living in the old Tijuana dump. Literally, built on top of mountains of garbage dumped over years are little houses, shanties, filled with some of the most loving and life giving people we have ever met. So in 2014 we began our partnership with Life In The Canyon, providing necessities and medical/dental help for those they work with in Tijuana.
Looking ahead we have been working hard to understand and educate others regarding the issues of modern day slavery. We are broken by the fact that more people today, then any other time in history, are enslaved. In keeping with the mission of Be2Live and fulfilling the work of the SLA we worked to identify an organization to partner with that is working specifically on the prevention side of the slavery issue and in 2015 Be2Live took two trips to Ghana, West Africa. We are partnering with City of Refuge Ministry, an amazing organization that is doing the hard work of restoring young boys brought out of the fishing slave industry, breaking the cycle with their school and working on prevention with their Women’s Business Training Center.
