Over the next five days, we want to share some of the adventures that took place on the 2010 Amor Mission Trip in South Africa.  We want to share stories (of both those we served and those of us serving) and photographs so that everyone can get a glimpse of what God is doing in Delmas, South Africa through Amor Ministries.

On July 24th, after some long flights (and a few missed flights) the Amor Mission Trip in Delmas, South Africa began.  The group headed straight to the Ebenezer Farm, their new home away from home!  The next day, the group headed out to visit two local churches that are pastored by Pastors of Amor’s South African Ministry Planning Board (Pastors Board).  The group was split into two groups; one group attended Pastor Jacob Msipa’s traditional South African (Zulu) Church and the other group attended Pastor Wouter van de Marwe’s Dutch (Afrikaans) Church.  Then the group was able to take in some cultural experiences and historical locations.  But the next day was what the group was really anticipating.  The next day was when they got to meet Maria and her family, those that would be receiving the home at the end of the week.  Today the group saw Styrofoam and more Styrofoam that would become the house!  The house building process was in full swing.  For the next several days, the group traveled between the Ebenezer Farm and Maria’s house to build.  Each lunch was provided by a different local churches in the community, allowing the group to become quick friends with the church congregations.  As the Amor Mission Trip came to a close, the group recognized that they were not going to be able to finish the house.  So, the group made an unanimous decision to forgo their last day of “free time” in which they were supposed to visit the Lion Park and finish building Maria’s house!  And before the group knew it, everyone was parting ways to return home.

This is just the beginning of the story that was written on the Amor Mission Trip in South Africa.  Check back tomorrow to learn more about what the group did there, the stories they learned, the life lessons they learned, and oh, so much more!  For now, check out these photographs.  Amor is so excited about what God has done and will continue to do in the community of Delmas, South Africa.

This is the house Maria was living in before she received her Amor house.

Maria working hard to assemble the walls of her future house.

Leading the local children in a game.

One of Amor's founders, Scott Congdon, sharing his photos with the kids.

Group photo while visiting a memorial on the cultural experience day.

With that, we leave you with a quote from one of the Amor Mission Trip participants, Kyle Ozawa wrote:

I came into the [South Africa Mission] trip expecting a similar experience as Mexico.  What I wasn’t expecting was how powerful the experience ended up being for me.  I realized that the real accomplishment of the week was much more than just the house we built Maria.  The fact that the project brought the local white and black communities together will have far greater effects in the future that I don’t even think we can begin to understand.  It was truly a blessing to witness.

Come back tomorrow for more!

We are opening up two week: July 24 – August 7.
We need 150 participants, 75 each week to make both weeks happen.
Cost is $600 a person which provides everything but airfare and the day excursion.

Contact ladonna@amor.org with questions

Our South Africa partner in ministry, Rainbow FM 90.7, in Johannesburg, has posted videos of our teams at the Amor Ministries work sites. Click the picture below and go to the Rainbow FM 90.7 page with 7 short, but fun videos to watch:

In anticipation of Amor returning to South Africa to build homes in Johannesburg this coming June 2009, a live broadcast from Chico, California and Phoenix, Arizona was conducted. Dan Irving, from EV Free Chico, and Jen Pitera, from SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, shared their anticipation and expectations of this upcoming trip. You will also hear from some of the youth who are joining Jen on this upcoming trip share about their experiences on past trips to Mexico with Amor and what they anticipate from their first trip ever to South Africa.

Johannesburg based Rainbow FM 90.7 Station
Manager, Humphrey Birkenstock, interviews
Dan Irving, Jen Pitera, and the Youth from
SS. Simon and Jude.

Click the Podcast logo below to go directly to this live (but recorded) broadcast:

Blessings,
Scotty

Scott Congdon is the Founder and CEO of Amor Ministries. Read his personal blog here.

Months ago, I received a phone call that reminded me of the sacredness of availability.  I soon was sitting on a bus stop bench in downtown Columbus with my friend, Jeff.  It’s been nearly ten years since I first met Jeff as a homeless man in the dead of winter living on the streets.  Over the years we’ve enjoyed our almost weekly chats, cups of coffee, and my visits to the hospital when bouts of pneumonia would overtake his one working lung, pacemaker, and cancer-survivor body.  A few years ago we helped get him into a room at the YMCA when he couldn’t bear another winter outside.  We’ve continued to stay in touch.

On this day, tears streamed down his face, weaving in and out of each straggly whisker.  He muttered “I didn’t know who else to call” as he began to share his feelings about the fact that three of his closest friends had all died in the past three weeks.  He was the chosen one to clean out their rooms at the “Y” and call their loved ones.  The questions overwhelmed him.

“Why is this happening to me?”

“Is God punishing me?”

“How come I’ve been revived in the hospital with my illnesses in the past and my friends just abruptly pass away?”

He spoke and I listened.  He lived in an environment with hundreds of people all around him, but yet had no one he could share his feelings with about the loss of his friends.  “They call me a cry baby” he said as he described the experience of trying to tell someone he thought would understand.

As he shared, I felt the sacredness of that moment.  Not because of words or doctrine, but presence.  I thought of the countless people who surround me every day, support me, and would be right there with me if anything half this traumatic were to happen to me.  My gratitude wrestled with my sadness for his deep loneliness.  His final words spoke poetically for this sacred moment between two friends, “Thank you for coming to be with me.”  What a privilege it was to be able to “be” together.

I wonder…

• Who in your life right now is in need of your “availability”?
• Who in your life doesn’t fully understand your gratitude for their spot in your life?
• How can we be more available to those along the paths of our lives?

“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody.” – Mother Teresa

Jason Barger is an 11-time Amor Mission Trip leader who has connected over 1700 people to build 120 houses in Mexico. As the former Director of Camp Akita in Ohio, he designed and implemented programs for over 1900 kids a summer centered on faith, love, service and leadership. Jason’s experience with servant-leadership led him to the creation of First Community Church’s Streets Mission Project to serve the homeless of Columbus, Ohio as well as mission trips to the Casa Hogar Sion Orphanage in Tijuana and the Village Mountain Mission project in the Dominican Republic. Jason is the author of the book Step Back from the Baggage Claim: Change the World, Start at the Airport and spends most of his time today serving, writing, speaking and consulting for organizations looking to bring about positive change. Jason, his wonderful wife, Amy, and their two sons, Will and Benton, currently live in Columbus, Ohio. To connect with Jason, please visit www.stepbackfromthebaggageclaim.com