Moon Rising Over the Amor Ministries Camp

Photo by Dawn Johnson of Naperville, IL

If you have a photograph from an Amor Mission Trip that you would like to see as our Photo of the Week, please email it to jon@amor.org .

In the spirit of Howie’s last post, in which he allowed the words of others to tell the story of mission, we turn to a participant from the great state of Oregon. Mr Suckow – take it away.

My Mexico Experience

I have been to Mexico for a short term mission trip through Amor Ministries four different times now, but this year was a little different for me.  I went in to this year with all the normal expectations that it was going to be hot, that I would work crazy-hard, and that giving the house away would be the best moment of the week.  All those things ended up true for me, but as I said this year was just a little different.

The biggest difference came on the day we gave our family the keys to their new house.  If you have never been to Mexico there is no way I could possibly explain what that moment is like, but let me just say that it is always very, very special.  This year we worked for a family of nine who was living in a house the size of my garage.  The father of the house (Javier) worked with us all week on the house, and as I watched him all week it was as if he wasn’t very excited about his house.  It just seemed like it was an everyday event and that was different for me because usually the families I had built for in the past were so appreciative.  When the day came to give the house away I was able, in broken Spanish, to tell the family how our group built this house with the love of God for them.  Then we all prayed together, some in Spanish and some in English.  After we finished praying I looked up and Javier had huge tears in his eyes.  I walked over to hug him, and he fell in my arms and began to weep.  I think we all cried that day, and I knew then Javier was very grateful.

Even though this moment was so incredible for me the difference didn’t come until I left.  I realized that we did make an impact on this families living situation, but my heart broke as I wondered if the impact we made went further than that.  A house is important but a hope for an eternity with Christ is far more important.   I can only hope that the impact was greater than just the house, that serving in the name of Jesus and showing that family His love will make an eternal impact.  You see I learned this year that you don’t go to Mexico to build a house, you go to hopefully make an eternal impact.

Glen Suckow

Gladstone, OR

Thank you Glen.

Hey everyone,

So we are approaching the end of our time in Mexico with Amor Ministries.  I have been thinking about how we, the Nexus Team of 2009, are going to figure out what’s next in our lives. I’m pretty sure we can all say we’ve had times when we were just going with the flow of Christianity. Sure, we consider ourselves Christians, but are we really living that out or just saying it? I often hear people  say, “I want my life to reflect God’s will,” but what will they do to get to that point? Will they fight for it?

We were recently sitting in church service when the pastor read  Philippians 2: 5-8:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,  taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross.

I started to think about this a little more. It seems everyone wants to be known and have their name “out there.” We try to be known within our community, jobs, school, families, and pretty much anything else within our lives. We try to be the best and fit in with whoever is around us.

But Jesus never hung out with the best of the best. He was always around the sick, the poor, the dumb, the mute, “the least of these.” Instead of trying to become known, can we be Christ-like and humble ourselves? Can we have a servant’s heart in everything we do? I want us to be vulnerable with God to a point where we say, “God, I am living your life, take me where you want me to go. You gave me the gifts that I need to do your work so lead me where I am meant to do what you need me to do.”

It says in Isaiah 64:8, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” We should want God to mold us into what he wishes to accomplish His work. He puts us through all sorts of trials, but I think He is just preparing us for the bigger storm that is heading our way. He gives us a little at a time so we are ready for what he has waiting for us.

We have all had our storms this summer, whether big or small. God has used our time here to move us toward his purpose. We don’t need to focus on what others think we need to be doing or what we need to do to fit in with society. We need to focus on being a servant to God and be obedient.  Do what He tells you to do, go where He wants you to go, and live how He wants you to live. Thanks for all your love and support throughout our journey.

-Jessica Melvin

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.

When I write these letters I try to share the mission by telling the stories.  Sometimes, the words or the stories of others say it better than I ever can:

A lady said to me, “I am so glad that I didn’t let the media keep me from being here.”

A pastor wrote, “My prayer is that our mission committee will not again be trapped by fear.”

In my last letter I tried to put fear in perspective.  I received some responses from friends that go straight to the issue.

One wrote, “Fear is the belief that evil will triumph.”

Isn’t THAT a paralysis of the spirit?

Another powerful quote came from a Methodist preacher: “To be alive at all is to be in danger…therefore let us live dangerously by design rather than by default.”

One of our X Project participants reflecting on his experience said, “It would be nice to go back home where everything will be the same but there’s a problem…nothing will ever be the same.” It sounds like he has been living “dangerously by design.”

The supreme irony is that groups say they feel safer here than back home in their own cities.  One kid from an inner city ghetto said that this was the first week he could remember not being wakened by the noise of gun shots.  A group that wasn’t allowed to come to Mexico by their church went to New Orleans instead.  They had a good experience there but they said that it cost them more money and that it felt more “dangerous” than their past trips to Mexico.

Then there is the testimony from a group leader whose enthusiasm is much more contagious than any flu virus and whose optimistic hope could stifle any fears of danger:

“Our trip was AMAZING!!!  A total gong show from start to finish.  I’m sure you’re wondering if you’d ever let us come back   BUT, it was an incredibly life changing experience for everyone!  I don’t know a person who came home the same.  It looks different for everyone, but it was huge.  It was being faced with poverty in such a real way, seeing that we could make a huge difference with so little sacrifice.  It was kids coming to see that Hope was something far deeper than simply giving people a home, food or money.  Hope is something that is much richer and deeper.  It was coming to realize that poverty happens all over the world.  The Mexican families we worked with maybe were impoverished as far as food, shelter and material things, but they were rich in love, generosity and relationship.  They were rich in ways that many of us are poor. They were absolutely beautiful people in every sense of the word!  It is impossible for me to describe the 101 ways we were all changed and challenged.  There are so many incredible stories!  So many ‘trickle’ effects too.  It didn’t just affect our group; it affected our whole church and a lot of our community.  It was the Hindu lady at our corner store who couldn’t wait to hear our stories, and the teachers at our local high school that wanted to hear all about it.  It was the parents and families of our non Christian students that were blown away.  It was parents who came on the trip who now ‘get’ youth ministry and ‘get’ why missions is so vital, and why God asks us to serve the poor.  All very cool!”

What could I possibly say or do that would encourage you more to take that “dangerous” leap of faith except to say that we will be here for you when you come down the road.  The dream is alive and well.  Come and share it with us.  Come Build Hope.

Peace,
Howie

God places unique calls on our hearts when it comes to where we are to serve and give.  Some move thousands of miles from home as missionaries, while others support projects in their own communities.  For Northglenn Christian Church in Colorado, the launch of Amor’s Clean Water for Life program struck a cord.

After hearing about the program in the fall of 2008, the church began brainstorming how they could support Clean Water for Life.  With the Christmas season nearing, Pastor Andy Pryor urged his congregation to “spend less extravagantly for gifts to our family and friends in order to give more extravagantly for providing clean, safe water for some people who can really use our help.”  The church “sold” water filters for $100 that members gave as Christmas gifts to loved ones.  In January, Northglenn Christian Church helped to launch Project Hope: Clean Water for Life by presenting Amor with a check totaling $9,300.  This generous donation will provide 93 families with a clean source of drinking water for life.

In March, just a few months later, the first water filter certificate was given to a family in Tijuana on behalf of the students from Vernon Christian School in British Columbia.  The family not only received the precious gift of a new Amor house built by the students, but also access to drinkable water, saving over $100 a year for other family necessities.  That can translate into one month of food, five months of transportation, seven months of electricity, or one year of school.  This can also double their savings, or provide a really great emergency fund.

“Providing a way for families to have safe water without paying for it improves health and breaks another link in the chains of poverty,”  says, Kamar Chafi, Amor Ministries’ Appropriate Technology Specialist, as she explains the impact a water filter can have on a family.  Amor’s goal is provide twice as many water filters as houses, giving the pastors of the Mexico Ministry Planning Board the capability to reach more families, some who may not qualify for a house.

Amor distributes the Sawyer Point One™ Filter, which cleans five gallons of water in 13 minutes and has a one million-gallon guarantee.  It is effective, efficient, and easy to set up, maintain, and use.  Most importantly, its simple design is appropriate for the environment and accepted by the Mexican people.

One water filter, water bucket, and maintenance class only costs $100—truly a gift that keeps on giving!  A water filter can completely reshape the daily life and future of a family.  To support Project Hope: Clean Water for Life, please visit www.amor.org/store .