Amor is stoked to be Jedidiah’s Summer 2010 Partner! Jedidiah is a rad company doing amazing things and Amor is honored to partner with them to look for creative & collaborative ways to change the world. Through the opening of these new doors, we can tell more people about the work Amor is doing around the world and how everyone can be involved.

Jedidiah is not only helping us get the word out. They are partnering with us financially as well. 5% of their total sales for the Summer quarter will be going to Amor.

On June 1, 2010 Jedidiah will be launching a full line of mens and womens clothing inspired by Amor Ministries. Until then be sure to pick up one of these tees and $10.00 from your purchase will go directly to Amor.

Check out their blog and website, buy some sweet clothes, and help continue the work of Amor.

If the concept of salvation, regardless of variations in theology, is what unites the Christian Church worldwide, then why is the global Church, and even those local churches found in small communities for that matter, so disjointed?  In the previous issue of Matters of the Heart, it was determined that the local church itself radically differs by person, community, and the like.   By and by, it is perhaps this assortment of faith practices which allow the Gospel to be spread to multiple people groups and countries.

What’s more, these differences can create diversity amongst people and a multiplicity of ways to be sensitive to the guiding and leading of the Holy Spirit in sharing the “Good News.”  Yet, it is this same diversity which has created a distorted view of Christianity worldwide, particularly for those serving in short or long-term missions.  The end result is that the Church is often found fighting an uphill battle of bad public relations.  Should it?  Is there a better way to reconcile the mixed bag of language, affluence, denominations, local governances, social patterns, and morays in order to do mission?

If the answer is yes, then those looking to serve would likely never set foot onto a mission field.  One might become so daunted by the task that it would be difficult to imagine where to begin.  If, however, the answer is no, then those wanting to serve would have to ask themselves what does missions look like?

David Livermore, author of Serving with Eyes Wide Open, states in his book, “More than one million people participate in short-term mission projects outside of North America every year—and millions more are involved in domestic cross-cultural missions [in the United States].  This is encouraging news.  But the work is not done.  There are weaknesses in our approach and practice.  And these volunteers need resources to help them prepare for effective cross-cultural engagement.”  How does the broader church hope to have an impact on the local church when we enter as guests into their world?

Interestingly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ study “Volunteering in the United States” shows that “in 2009, the main organization—the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year—was most frequently religious (34.0 percent of all volunteers), followed by educational or youth service related (26.1 percent).“  Clearly, Christians are serving and have a desire to impact the world around them but do those eager to serve go in humility or go to impose a preconceived agenda?  Perhaps there is no “right” answer.

When we practice the well-known theology of missions called the “ministry of presence” so often associated with Henri Nouwen, one finds, however, that serving abroad is a two-way street—so that those desiring to serve are also served by the presence of those they work alongside of, in whose land they have the privilege to serve.  Fuzz Kitto, a church growth mentor in Australia says, “When we go in humility to serve, we are also served.  There is little we really have to give than, that of presence, for it is the spirit-to-spirit connection of our humanity united in the image and likeness of God.  There is no greater joy than having the privilege of serving another human being in the name of Christ, for it is surely the way of Christ.  It is Incarnational.  It is the prayer of the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven.  The impact lifts us up to our true worth as it brings us down from our false images of importance.”

The simplicity of this message is more likely to keep the Church out of the troubling problems occasionally found on the mission field when trying to do the “right thing,” minimizing the differences in faith practice.  Take, for example, the recent alleged kidnapping fiasco in Haiti.  According to Christian Post’s recent article “Freed Haiti Volunteer: I Thought We Had All the Paperwork,” where Jim Allen, one of the eight American volunteers arrested for kidnapping and freed from jail while in Haiti said, “He believed the team had all the paperwork necessary to take Haitian children to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.”  Good intentions do not necessarily make for good missions.

When the larger, global Church serves in mission, it strengthens the hands of the local church and pastor in a community.  By becoming an extension of the local church rather than the focus of the work itself, mission teams can better assist our brothers and sisters worldwide by extending and strengthening their specific local ministries.  Mission teams can then truly build community among the global Church even as we give local churches and pastors the tools to build community amongst their neighbors.  For, while we work on the mission field, God is often working on us as well.  Thus, the mission trip fulfills its purpose in multiple and meaningful ways.  It is possible that in the end, this may be enough—that the Gospel is shared and that the Church is built up one person at a time.

Groups ask many questions about how mission works. One of the larger questions is, “How does a mission trip work in and for the local church when there are so many differences of culture, faith observances and economic backgrounds? How do we reconcile all the diversities of language, affluence, denominations, local governances, social patterns and morays in order to do mission? Do we have to?”

If the answer is yes, then we would probably never be able to set foot onto a mission field. We would be so daunted by the task that it would be too hard to imagine where to begin. Steve Horrex is Amor’s Vice President of Global Expansion. He just returned from a trip into Haiti to gather information on how we may be able to help rebuild some day when the conditions will allow. Our approach is to work through the local churches and their pastors. Much to their surprise we ask them first to tell us what they need. When approached this way in South Africa, the pastors said, “Are you nuts? All we ever hear from other NGO’s is what they want to do. None of them ever stop to ask us what we need!” We don’t begin by taking on all of those diversities. We begin by coming along side in partnership. In fact, one hundred and forty four participants were just here from England training for their next trip into South Africa. But, I ramble!

If the answer is no, then we have to ask our self what does mission look like? How does a church on a mission hope to have an impact on the local church when we enter as guests into their world? Do we go in humility to serve or do we go to impose our agenda? Andrew Lyde, of Amor Ministries, suggests that perhaps we could answer the question better by turning it around, “How does the local church impact the broader church?” Are we so distracted by our position in the “rich helping the poor” equation that we forget to see ourselves as brothers and sisters reaching across the void rather than reaching down into the void that separates us?

There is a theology of mission called the ministry of presence. It is a two way street where we are also served by the presence of those we work alongside of, in whose land we have the privilege to serve. My good friend, Fuzz Kitto, a church growth mentor from Australia, says, “When we go in humility to serve, we are also served. There is little we really have to give then that of presence, for it is the spirit-to-spirit connection of our humanity united in the image and likeness of God. There is no greater joy than having the privilege of serving another human being in the name of Christ, for it is surely the way of Christ. It is Incarnational. It is the prayer of the kingdom come on earth as in heaven. The impact lifts us up to our true worth as it brings us down from our false images of importance.”

When the church serves in mission, it strengthens the hands of the local church/pastor in a community. By helping the poor we become an extension of the local churches where pastors are on the ground 365 days a year. We serve them by serving the people they pastor, extending and strengthening their ministry. We truly build the community among the global church even as we give local churches/pastors the tools to build community among their neighbors.

Pastor Armando Ponce, the head of Amor’s Mexican Ministry Planning Board, once commented that Americans coming to Mexico to give with nothing expected in return are a curiosity, not the stereotype that many Mexicans have of Americans. When they see missionaries at work they see God’s love in a “raw form, paving the way for sharing the Gospel.” The local pastors often spend a good part of the interview with a family applying for a house convincing them that this is not a gift from the group on mission, or from the pastor or his church. It is a gift from God’s free love. Thus begins the mission of breaking open hearts and minds to the Good News of Luke 8:1, “Now it came to pass that Jesus went through every city and village preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him.” My brothers and sisters, we are the twelve!

Missionaries are often asked why they are doing this. Why would they help someone they don’t even know while asking for nothing in return? Eyes are filled with wonderment when they learn that the missionaries are not being paid to do this, but that they are even paying their own way to be here, that God has called them to serve. It is a free gift of God’s unconditional love. Nobody has ever done something like that for them in their life. The impact is dramatic. It is like a body blow to the soul. It is a head on collision of the spirit. It proves that you don’t have to be a cardiologist to touch the heart of another person. The radical impact of unconditional love brings tears, laughter, hugs, disbelief, and professions of faith reborn.

This impact is reciprocal. It opens the eyes and changes the hearts of those who have never seen such abject poverty. They are not only aware of, but also more committed to rectifying the injustices in the world. They are less absorbed with easing their own consciences as “the rich” than they are obsessed with how soon they can return to continue the journey with their new found brothers and sisters. They go home less preoccupied with seeking their own comfort zone. For, while they were working on the mission, God was working on them. As one pastor wrote, “We were changed through this year’s immersion. We don’t know exactly how, but we are all different, our minds, our hearts, our souls, and our life. God is going to work on us.” Another wrote, “Mexico wrecked me! Ironically, as I returned to what I thought was my reality at home, I realized that I wanted to bring that other reality back with me.” The journey continues…Luke 8:1.

It was fun to be in camp over spring break and to feel the excitement of building houses, building community, and building the kingdom. One youth pastor who survived the tsunami in Indonesia likened that experience to how he felt being here. He said that he witnesses the kingdom of God when he sees how people come together to help each other without reservation. We had a few muddy weeks as if to remind us to stay humble in our reverie. I like to call it “Mud, Sweat and Tears”. One particular group was special to me. I accompanied them on theirs and my first Amor Mission Trip back in 1993. So I asked how many of them were 16 or 17 years old. Most hands went up. Then I told them that they were new born babies on the year that we started doing this and that , in a certain sense, I had waited their whole life for them to get here. What took them so long?

Heads up to all you fans of X Projects. There’s one coming up fast on May 1st. After that we are planning one in August, September and October. Go on line at Amor.org to learn more about this popular program and other ways to get involved. You can also check out the Amor Store where you will find Lives Built on Hope, a beautiful new book with photos and reflections on life in the mission field. Go also to Amazon.com for the book reference.

The Peace of Easter be with you.

Howie.

With permission, I am posting an email sent by the Mission Pastor from Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, Tom Theriault. He was responding to the concerns being shared at the church about going to Mexico in light of the most recent events in Juarez.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this since the news hit the streets. On Tuesday I attended a town hall forum with the current moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA. Before we heard him speak, we did some small group digging into Luke 10 – Jesus sending out the 72. One person highlighted verse 3: “I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” His comment: “Just because there are wolves out there doesn’t mean we should stay home.” This hit me like a thunder bolt from heaven. Jesus makes it abundantly clear: “I am sending you out, not into security and safety, but to go into the world where there are wolves. If you stay home, the wolves win.”

Tom continues by saying that this word from on high has been “ringing in my ears and heart”.

Somehow, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we’ve got to press past the American faith that automatically rules out sacrifice and danger. I can’t find that kind of faith in the Bible (except in those held up as a negative example). The only way we and our ancestors got the gospel is because faith filled saints ventured out beyond the safety of home and took risks for and with Jesus. Where is that spirit of daring faith in our American churches???? We are not called to be foolish. The Lord of all, however, does call us to walk in faith, not in fear.

Tom finishes his call to serve this Memorial Weekend with these final comments:

The difficult situation facing our neighbors to the south give us a privileged opportunity to display the timbre of our faith. Are we fair weather only friends, or will we show up when there are dark clouds overhead??? Our Amor friends would not open the door foolishly. They are opening the door of faith. Oh Lord, inspire your people at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church to step up and walk through!

I read this and welled up with tears. Not because of what I hope you hear as much as Tom saying what we all need to hear. Amor Ministries has to continue being a “lamb among wolves” as we respond to God’s leading us to expand to other parts of the world.

Jesus is who we follow and he was definitely a “lamb among wolves”. I want to be like him.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

The words of the powerful Negro Spiritual echoed through my head as I stood in the small farming community of San Agustin (located just outside Ciudad Juarez), Mexico on Sunday afternoon. The poverty is as transparent as the hope needed for the residents of Cd. Juarez.

I had come over from San Diego on Friday, March 12, 2010 to support Michael and Alfredo, Amor Team Members, with the six groups that were scheduled to work this week. On Saturday, we spread out on a variety of tasks: Mike and Alfredo getting groups across the border; I was with a group building and made myself familiar with the community by driving through it while locating our other sites for the week.

Pastoral was the word that came to mind seeing all the different livestock on each lot. One had hutches of rabbits, another chickens, while the house down the road had goats, and across the street were horses. One of our sites had a baby pig who was delighted to meet us too. I imagined that trade among neighbors was a big part of life in San Agustin. The area around our camp is agricultural; in fact, our neighbor to the east has rows and rows of pecan trees to harvest.

Every street that I went down, our Amor van brought smiles and waves because not only are we building the church through building homes, we are their neighbors. Our camp is a sign to the community that we are there.

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Michael pulled up to my work site on Sunday morning with a look that said everything was no longer pastoral. A shooting had occurred in the community the previous night and at least one person was dead. It is the usual story that can happen in any community surrounding a weekend party gone bad; but the first incident of any kind in San Agustin in over a year! However, this isn’t any community – it is the community where we ask our groups to build.

A phone conference with Founders, Scott and Gayla Congdon confirmed that we were going to ask our groups that had underage minors traveling without their parents to return to the U.S. Mike and I met with every group on the field. Over and over again, they expressed the same sentiment, “We feel safe; we want to stay.”  I felt the same way, but because we needed to do the right thing for their group, we asked them to reconsider. Just a few blocks down the road, another group hearing the news, paused to pray for the families and community before getting down to work. They were there.

By lunchtime, every group leader was on the same page: the youth groups were leaving first thing in the morning; the adult groups were going to stay. Our team in San Diego was on the phone with the groups in transit to Cd. Juarez and informed them of the situation. Those groups made the incredible decision to drive an extra day to work in our field location in Puerto Peñasco. They were committed; they were there.

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

In the early afternoon, Michael’s truck slowly rolled up to the work site and one look told me there was more news. We waited together for the call from Scott and Gayla who informed us of the tragic and intentional, targeted murder of three people associated with the U.S. consulate in Cd. Juarez. Together, we formulated the evacuation plan for the four groups working to have them in the U.S. before dark.

Every student, every adult, every parent in these groups handled it with a sense of peace that came from knowing that while they felt safe, it was the right thing to do. They all returned to camp, got their gear stowed, and with the help of the San Agustin community patrol, we escorted the caravan of sad workers away from partially finished homes. No one was frightened; no one had any real fears, but everyone was sad.

These families had waited years, some since 2008, for us to bring a group to build their home, and now we were leaving them with finished slabs, partially framed walls, and unstuccoed exteriors. One family took it very hard; feeling as if all hope was lost. Before we even left the camp, Michael was making plans on how to have those homes finished very soon. Michael, Alfredo and the pastors from our Ministry Planning Board in Cd. Juarez will have the task of visiting each of these families in the weeks that follow to ensure that hope is restored. Those families need to believe that we will be there.

Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?

Sunday night in my motel room, I watched CNN and Fox News along with the local and national news from Mexico available on television into the early hours. The insanity of the drug cartels, the toll of drug use, addiction and glamorization on our culture, the “war on drugs” we aren’t winning, and the catastrophic loss of life either through violence or addiction that is a plague on us weighed heavily in my thoughts.

People ask us frequently if we will leave Mexico or specifically, Cd. Juarez in light of the current troubles. The simple answer is, “No, not ever.” Amor doesn’t exist to be a short-term missions agency; we exist to serve the local church where we are called. As long as the church exists; Amor will serve there.

For me the face of Cd. Juarez is the woman who walked up holding the hand of her three-year old daughter and said, “Two years ago I was approved to receive a home, and I see you are working again in the community. The paper you put on my property blew away in the wind yesterday. Does this mean I won’t get a home now?” The paper she was referring to was an address marker for our vendors to find the home for material deliveries, but to this woman it was an 8 ½ x 11 inch sign of hope.

My heart broke as I put her on the phone with Alfredo to reassure her that we would be back to fulfill our promise and to not give up hope. In my childlike Spanish, I told her that God had promised we would be there, and we will be there.

At the end of last year after seeing the movies Blindside and Invictus, I posted an article called ‘Have I done enough?’ In the interest of doing more, Scott and I had the opportunity to volunteer with our church, Solana Beach Presbyterian, when it closed its doors on a recent Sunday morning and went all over San Diego County to serve.  In completely honesty, I loved telling people about the sacrifice Scott and I were making by participating in this project -  knowing just how impressed they would be given how much we already do, of course!

I was able to find a project close to our home where we were going for 3 hours to clean a Boy’s and Girl’s club.  Those who know me well are aware of what a clean freak I am (read: bordeline OCD). Thus, I was happy when I was assigned to clean the kitchen.  Until I walked into the kitchen… by myself… as no one else wanted to be assigned that project!

Now I am going to give you a hint of why I’m not allowed on twitter.  Sometimes my thoughts don’t always reflect well on who I am. Sometimes I need a kick in the rear to remind me being great in God’s kingdom means learning to be a servant of all.

The first thought that was going through my mind was how much better I could organize that kitchen.  While cleaning the walls where the kid’s food had landed after missing the trash can, I was thinking how I would never have let that happen under my watch.  Sounds like the people that just drive me crazy when they come to Mexico and tell me how they would change things!

I’m not done.  It gets better.  Three other volunteers were spending their time organizing all the board games. They spent 3 hours counting Monopoly money! That takes 3 people!?  And the more they laughed and talked the more frustrated I became. Because: I was by myself in that dirty kitchen doing real volunteer work.  At some point I began envisioning an awards ceremony at the end of our project where I was awarded the hardest worker of the day!

I know what you are thinking, and you’re right.  My ramblings sound like one of those people Jesus spoke about who was not happy with their lot in life.  Like the servant that worked more hours but got paid the same.  Or Martha (who I’ve always thought got a raw deal) wanting Mary to help out a little when Jesus visited.

So, I apologize to those 3 women. They came to serve that day with joyful hearts and made me ask myself, “Who’s the servant of all?”

With permission, we are re-posting this letter from Pastor Mike Farra to his church, North Point Christian Church, in Lewisville, TX.

We returned from our Amor Mission Trip a little over 48 hours ago.   Here are some fresh thoughts…right off the grill:

To be sure,  I have a lot of emotions as I reflect back on our annual trip to Juarez. It has been two years since we last made the trip from Lewisville to the border town of El Paso. Two years since we built houses and took bucket showers and connected with people from another country. It was time to go again.

But going didn’t make sense to a lot of people. There has been a legitimate concern over violence in Mexico. But as i said in a letter to our men’s group last week, the war on drugs in Mexico appears to have escalated since 2003, but it has been being fought on the streets of border towns since I was in college.

Is there more violence in the past decade?  probably. The publicity in the media has certainly escalated! The Texas State Department is now saying things to spring break travelers that should have been said all along. The warnings to avoid downtown areas and night travel and public intoxication are all prudent instructions.

It would have been a lie to say that there were no risks in traveling to Mexico. There have always been risks. We have made this trip to Juarez 13 out of the past 16 years with our youth group…and 8 out of the past 9 years with our men’s group. It was with great awareness and tremendous sensitivity to the concerns of parents and loved ones that we chose to go this year.

As you should know by now, there were multiple acts of violence in Juarez while we were there. The final act…the attack on American citizens that caused the evacuation of the U.S. consulate…resulted in a decision by Amor Ministries to close down their operations where we were working and send us back across the border immediately.

First of all, I want to give a major shout out to Amor Ministries on their concern, informed decision-making and total professionalism in the way they took care of our group in the face of crisis. This is why we work with Amor and place our trust in their leadership! They constantly placed the needs and safety of our group ahead of every other concern.

Here are some lessons that came through loud and clear from this experience:

• The North Point Church family is the best! The support, understanding, encouragement, sharing of resources and expressions of faith were amazing.
• Our group has the “dna of service” deep in our spiritual genes.
• Our men were incredible. The friendship…the bonding…the humility…the honesty…the willingness to give…the sensitivity to god’s leading…all of it was simply awesome.
• It was so cool to see a bunch of brand new, young and inexperienced kids step up to the bar that had been set by youth groups of year’s past…and exceed it! Watching them assimilate into a culture of service was inspiring…
• Trust means everything. Without it, groups cannot function. The North Point leadership team trusted our staff to make the decision to go. We trusted Amor Ministries to give us an accurate assessment of the level of risk we would be facing…and provide a safe plan for our trip. Parents trusted our faith in Amor and our diligence in planning and attention to details.   Kids trusted our leadership on the trip. We trusted the decision that Amor made to have us stop our trip early and leave the country. Yeah, trust means everything.
• Because Amor is trustworthy,  we will resume our work in Juarez as soon as Amor says it is safe to go back.
• It was incredibly difficult to leave the work site with unfinished houses. The fact that it hurt so much to leave is, in itself, a great sign of growth!
• As we were leaving, a lady from the neighborhood asked how she could get a house. Knowing it might be a long time before anyone comes back was very, very sobering. And an absolute confirmation that we have to come back.
• There is a lot of bad stuff in the world. A lot of bad people doing bad things. I get it. But that’s not the whole story.   The world is also full of a lot really, really good people. We met some of them on this trip.  Many of them were people in the neighborhood.  Each time we traveled through the streets, we were provided a security escort.  As we left the country on Sunday evening, we had a security escort all the way to the border.  Amazing!
• I don’t know the answer to the problem of violence in Mexico.  It looks like it could get worse before it ever gets better.  I definitely don’t know the role that the U.S. should play in the plan…but i would love for us to remember that Mexico is our neighbor.  They are not our enemy.
• I was having a conversation with a good man yesterday.  He is an upstanding, honest, hard-working, church-going,  American citizen.  Here was his answer to the problem:  “We need to build the wall…put our military on top to patrol it…and then sit back and watch ‘em all kill each other.” That sentiment was echoed on the radio today as I drove around.  My heart ached.

There are no easy answers.  We live in a sinful, broken world.  But I believe that Jesus lived and died that we might have life and have it to the fullest (John 10.10).  I believe that people…all people…deserve to have their basic needs taken care of.  All people, regardless of where they were born, should have clean water to drink and a roof over their heads and food on their table and a safety as they live out their days.

I also believe that Jesus’ followers are called to respond to the needs of the poor and the oppressed and the broken and the outcast and the strangers and aliens. I believe the story of the good samaritan is a modern-day parable of the response the church should be having to the world.

When Jesus calls us to pick up our cross, die daily and follow him…there is inherent risk.  The calling is not to safety or comfort but to obedience and self-sacrifice and humble service.

I am often embarrassed by the priorities that American Christians live by.  This is not stone-throwing…just a realistic awareness of how far we have wandered away from the lifestyle of the early disciples and the heart of the gospel.  But the potential for change is never far away.

I’m glad we went to Juarez.  We are all better because of the experience. There is nothing I would do differently,  if I had it to do over again.  We will be back again.

Until then, pray for our neighbors.  Pray for the churches in neighborhoods that are gripped by fear…that they would be beacons of hope and shelters of peace.  Pray for families to be strong and wise and to turn to the grace of God through Christ.  Pray for Amor Ministries…for their vision and stability and purpose.

And give thanks to God for the courageous…those who would put the needs of others before their own safety and comfort…those who provide hope and inspiration for the rest of us.  We need them.

We need to be them.

Our groups often find themselves building for a family on a street where other families live in the same or worse conditions.  Overwhelmed and confused by the specter of poverty, they ask, “How do we pick the families?”  The pastors we work with are members of our Mexican Ministry Planning Board.  They live, work and pastor in the areas where we take our groups to build.  They know their people and the needs of the community.  When we give them a seasonal quota for the number of houses we can build, they bring in the applications for the families based on the greatest needs.  They pick the families as a Board so that we can be assured that we are doing the right thing.  At the same time, we are giving our pastors a meaningful opportunity to reach out to their communities in witness to the love of God.

Last month, one of our groups walked in on an unusual set of circumstances as told by their Amor Field Specialist, T.J. Putman.

“Sometimes our pastors will bump a family to the top of the list because of  extreme hardships such as a devastating fire or health and safety issues.  One week before Christmas, Pastor Ponce, the head of our MMPB, bumped a family to the top of the list.  Francisco, the 39 year old father of five, was in a car accident last April.  He was in and out of the hospital for eight months.  His wife, Silvia, regularly attended church. Francisco did not.  When Silvia called on Pastor Ponce, he started visiting Francisco in the hospital.  They became really close through the whole ordeal.  One wish/dream Francisco shared with Pastor Ponce was, ‘I always wanted to provide a house for my family.’  Pastor Ponce was able to share his association with Amor Ministries and give Francisco the peace of mind that his family would have shelter.

I showed up to build the house the day after Christmas with Abiding Hope Lutheran Church from Littleton, Colorado.  Step by step we learned the family’s situation.  I wasn’t aware of what was going on when we met the family on the first day.  The mother broke down in tears when she shared the story with the group.  I had trouble holding back the tears as I translated.  When the group showed up the doctors had given Francisco seven days to live.  His blood pressure dropped and he would slip in and out of a comma.  The family spent each day of the build at the hospital.  Francisco’s two teenage daughters stayed home to answer our questions about the house and to babysit the two year old daughter.

After three days of strenuous labor we got the house to a point where the family could move in.  We needed one more coat of stucco to finish.  As we were driving off after the third day, I saw Silvia and Francisco’s sixty year old mother, Francisca, walking arm-in-arm like neither of them could stand without the support of the other.  They came up to my truck with tears in her eyes.  She grabbed my arm and said, ‘My son died today.  Silvia is on her way into the house to tell the girls.  They don’t know.’

We drove off and I made some calls. I called Pastor Ponce and told him that the house was at a place where the family could move in and that we could come back the next day and finish it.  He went to visit the family later that night and explained everything.  The family asked Pastor Ponce to pass along this message, ‘This house is a gift from THE Father.  We want to be here with the group tomorrow.’  The group showed up on the last day to finish the house.  After laughing and playing all week nobody really knew how to act or interact with Silvia or her family.  They finished the house in a few hours.  Before the group left they met with the family inside the house to pray and to share the love of God.  Grandma Francisca told us the whole story about what had happened to her son.  She shared how much she will miss him, but she knew he was at peace with God.  He had accepted Christ the day before he died.  She gave each participant the most meaningful hug they had ever experienced.  I am amazed each and every day at how God works and saves lives.”

One of the group members shared how deeply they were affected.  None of them had ever met Francisco, but they all loved him through getting to know his family.  Praying with his family on the last day was an incredibly heartbreaking experience, but one of the beginnings of healing.  Even though the group had been here before on trips that were meaningful and life changing, this one was special.  It proved that God is not random, that He made everything line up so that Francisco could be at peace about his family having a place to live.  It proved how we can all be a part of His perfect plan when we open ourselves to His grace, His invitation to serve someone in need.  It also proves that we can’t always know how much we will impact the life of the family, the local church, or the pastors’ ministries for generations to come when we say yes to a mission trip.  We don’t just build houses.  We build hope.

Peace,

Howie

P.S.  I want to invite all of you to visit our web site at www.amor.org.  There you will find lots of exciting information about the work of Amor Ministries, including our quarterly newsletter, Matters of the Heart.  Learn about our work in the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona, our South Africa mission trips, and our trips to Puerto Peñasco, a small fishing town on the Sea of Cortez, just south of Arizona.  Also learn about our 30^th Anniversary Celebration Tour and many other ways to be involved with us and to support us. Thank you.

The X Project is your opportunity to join a movement of individuals who will provide a tangible gift of love to families in Mexico by building a home! It only takes two simple steps:
1. Sign up
2. Show up
The outcome will be an AMAZING experience and AWESOME act of service!

We have done our best to keep the cost for each trip as low as possible. Your trip fees includes: Building materials and tools, meals, local transportation, devotions, camping equipment (for three-day builds only), and an eXperience you’ll never forget!

Make an eXtreme commitment! You will be an answer to prayer for these families who are anxiously awaiting a home. Come to San Diego on any of the dates listed, and let Amor Ministries do the rest!

Additional Trip Details

A 50% deposit per person is due upon registration. Your balance must be paid 21 days before the trip start date.

You will meet at the Amor Ministries headquarters in San Diego, CA at 7:00 a.m the morning of your trip. Participants are asked to bring sleeping bags and proper work clothes. We will provide all other necessary supplies and will facilitate a nightly campfire program.

All minors under 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult. Additionally, Amor Ministries will perform a background check on every participant prior to participating in the project.

Video: Courageous Volunteers Wanted

What: Project Nexus is designed to provide you with a hands-on, get dirty, get involved, ministry experience in a team setting.  You will experience a summer in full-time ministry with all its joys, heartaches, and challenges while learning from the experiences, training, and teaching of our seasoned ministry team.  Each week, you will assist the Amor Team with building projects and programs, and serve the groups as well as the churches and families Amor serves in Mexico.  Time off will be spent on team development, cultural experiences, and much needed rest and relaxation.

Who: YOU…if you are 18-25 years old and looking to serve the Lord for 11 weeks in the Mexican desert.

When: May 23, 2010 – Aug 8, 2010

Where: Tijuana, Mexico

Why: We all know summer jobs can be really lame. What better way to avoid the lull of summer break (and evade carrying golf clubs or making slushies for 12 hours a day) than by serving alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ in Tijuana?

Want more? Visit us at http://www.amor.org/join/internships/nexus

Direct contacts: Erin Lyde – erin@amor.org