I left the Amor Ministries campground in Mexico last night around 9:15 p.m. to return back home to San Diego after visiting the Family Camp group. I wasn’t happy when I realized that I was in my personal van, which didn’t have the necessarry permits to cross through the shorter dedicated commuter lanes (Sentri), and would have to sit in the much longer normal traffic lanes. My mood worsened when I saw a line of cars going to the U.S. that I estimated would take at least an hour to get through. (After crossing the border for almost 32 years I’m pretty accurate in guessing how long it will be – this night took about an hour and fifteen minutes.)

So I found myself in line with plenty of time to reflect… on Family Camp,  on Mexico, on Amor.  I also watched people that I had been missing by going through the Sentri lanes.  Moms holding their babies were begging.  A man with only one leg hopped up and down the border line asking for spare change. Men with grimy rags aggressively cleaned windows with the hope that one would give them a buck.  Then I saw this:

A mom and dad holding the hands of their two little boys – a family just like the ones for whom we build.  Of course,  I don’t know their exact story or why they were at the border.  But I could tell they lived in one of the communities in which we work – in one of the makeshift shelters that barely protects them from the elements.  And it got to me.  Just like it is now as I write about them with tears in my eyes because I HATE POVERTY.

I wanted to open my door and ask them to come in.  The van, my van, that I was cursing just a few minutes earlier is a better shelter than where they live.

It’s been said to me several times in the past year, either directly or indirectly, that I would tell people they are safe to come to Tijuana because I need to get those houses built.  I find that incredibly offensive. Anyone that has uttered those words should be ashamed, especially if they have ever been on an Amor trip. But I will not apologize for the fact that I do indeed want those houses built.  We build homes to keep families together.  Maybe, just maybe,  that family at the border last night needed a home.  I will never know.

What I do know is this:  I needed to sit in that border line.  Because even I, as someone who goes in and out of Mexico on a regular basis, need to slow down and see God’s people.  And now I am left with trying to understand how so many that committed to come to Mexico this year could cancel knowing that a family would not get a home.  Maybe everyone needs to sit in the border line.

By Gayla Congdon, Founder and CSO of Amor Ministries

Read more by Gayla by clicking here.

As we sorted through the two big boxes containing photos, cards and memories left behind by my mother, the difference between my sister and me became very clear. Her stacks of photos captured her children (now adults) with various members of our family. She said she was going to show the kids, and anything they didn’t want, she would toss. My stacks of photos were pictures of my childhood and of my parents at various ages throughout their lives. At one point I looked at her and said, “Isn’t it odd that I am the one who hangs on to history and have no heir to share it with?”

While I may not have heirs in the form of children, I have a responsibility to those with whom I share my faith, values and ideals as a follower of Christ. Too often we see our heritage as circumstances of our birth, the passing down of family traits and wealth, our nationality or place of birth. As followers of Christ we have another kind of heritage to transfer to another generation.

One of my Bible college professors said that Christianity was one generation from extinction, always, because it isn’t a birthright or  family asset or nationality. Christianity is a choice made by individuals regardless of all other circumstances. That’s why followers of Christ can be found in countries where nationality implies religious affiliation like Iraq, India, and Israel. They are found in prisons of conscience, of war and of punishment. Followers of Christ exist in places where written language is non-existent and even a few can be found in places of profound learning and an abundance of books. Followers of Christ serve in the military, in the sciences, in the arts, in politics and alongside the church. The family of God is big and diverse.

What is the common thread that holds us together as believers? Is it a birthright? Is it a physical location in the world? Is it a language? Is it a political point of view? Is it a free-market economy or the leader of a country? Is it the color of our skin? Is it our personal rights? Is it our corporate rights? Is the promise of prosperity? Or the hope of the future during times of trial?

Romans 15:7-9: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.”

Bringing Christ to all is done through the breaking down of barriers and loving one another as Christ has loved us. Who are your heirs and what will you leave behind to teach them about what is really important to you?

The family of this  sweet and talkative little girl received a house in Lomas de Pedregal. She lives with her great aunt because her mother left her as a baby and never returned. Amor Ministries Field Specialist Jonathan Zinn was working with the group who built the home. He said the little girl (5 years old) scolded him for not being there sooner. She complained that in her old house she would get wet when it rained. Then she told him that she was strong enough to work, so she asked him for a hammer to help build her house!

If you have  a photo of an Amor Ministries experience you would like to share, please send it with a description to jon@amor.org .

As I was thinking about what to write for this week,  several things where running through my head. I found myself wondering what people thought of me, what I thought of myself and most of all, what God thought about what we are doing. I wondered if living in Mexico for two and a half months was really worth it. Am I really able to make a difference in that amount of time? Can living in a dirt campground, showering with water that is not really clean to start out with and spending my days building houses really helping anybody? Is it worth it? Should I have spent my summer doing something else?

After thinking more about these thoughts and others I came to the conclusion that yes, it is worth it. God has called me and the rest of my team to do this. He would not have placed us here unless it was worth it. We might not be able to build a house for every person in Mexico, but we can build a house for the one, two or three specific families each week. It may not be fixing all the problems we as a group encounter and  will not fix all the problems of the families for whom we build, but it is a place to start.

We might worry about what others think of us … and what we think of ourselves. But I have come to realize that we should never wonder if it is worth it.  It is – and we are making a difference even when we do not feel good about ourselves and even if others do not like us all the time.

By Rachael Baughman

Project Nexus is a group of 18 – 25 year olds who are spending the summer in radical service, living at the Amor Ministries campgrounds and serving our groups in Mexico.

A few years back, I was introduced to the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. He offers these sacred agreements as a way for us to bring our best into the world on a daily basis:

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