132 runners joined us on Saturday morning to run 3.1 miles in support of families facing poverty with courage.  The day included lots of  laughter, sweat, beautiful views, snacks, music, and lots of fun!!!

Thanks again to all our vendors, sponsors, our fantastic 80s cover band from Newbreak Church, and all the Lion Chase participants.

If you missed the fun this year, make sure you join us next year for the Lion Chase 5k!

This post is the first in a series of seven written by our Project Nexus team members. Project Nexus is a 10-week summer internship experience for anyone ages 18-25. These Project Nexus team members are splitting their time between three of Amor’s locations working with groups in Tijuana, Rosarito and San Carlos.

By Kevin Dobbs

This summer in Mexico has been an incredible and life-changing experience. There is too much to say about how God has been working here so I’ll just share a short story….

The last week of June, I had the chance to work with my first group in Rosarito, building a house for one of Amor’s own Mexican Team Members.

Miguel Dominguez works for Amor as a part of the logistics team in Mexico. He is in charge of getting the necessary tools and materials to the worksites so that groups can begin building as soon as they arrive. Miguel lives in Rosarito with his wife and kids.  Also living with Miguel is his mother-in-law, who has needed a house of her own for quite some time. When I heard that Amor was building a house for Miguel’s mother-in-law and that I would be working with the group building it, I was overjoyed.

There was just something extra special about this build. I saw Amor being who they are in the community they serve in and even more so this week among their own people.

Miguel’s family was at the worksite everyday while he was out doing work in the field. I had just a few interactions with Miguel as he returned home everyday at the same time our group would head back to camp, but I was still impacted by him and his heart for others.

It blows me away every time I see the generosity of families as groups build houses for them.  Although people are coming to Mexico to build homes, the families we build for also truly understand what it means to give. As we prepared for the last day of work on the house, Miguel informed me that he would be cooking a special meal for us on the last day. By the words that he said, and how he said them, I could easily see that Miguel and his family simply had a desire to give. They bought the food, they cooked it, they set out the plates, and they even served the food to us. We simply sat down as they brought us an amazing meal!

By doing this, Miguel and his family were living out the words Christ spoke on this earth. They were truly being the hands and feet of Jesus, serving his Kingdom.  I am continually humbled by this as I interact with the families we build for – and as they serve us each week. I pray that God will teach all of us more about Himself by these generous people who constantly give for the glory of God.

Amor Ministries Field Specialist, Kamar Chafi, shares why she is impacted by every Amor Mission Trip she is involved with.  We hope that those of you who have also been involved in many Amor Mission Trips are still impacted every time you serve a family in need.

This past winter we made the six-hour-plus trek from Tijuana across the desert to serve with our groups alongside our pastors in the very impoverished communities of the little tourist town of Puerto Peñasco.  We built houses, visited with families, broke bread with one of the local Pastors that sits on our planning board, ate good camp food, did house dedications and took fewer showers than normal (cough…none…cough). It was just another week in the life of an Amor Ministries field specialist that leaves me tired, dirty, and a little heart broken, yet, refreshed in knowing that what I do still isn’t old hat to me.

One of the questions I get asked by groups all the time is, “What is your favorite part about your job in the field?”  My answer is always this:  I get a front row seat to watch the Holy Spirit change the lives of everyone associated with their Amor Mission Trip.  The families, the community, their group, the local churches we work with, and even me. I had a lot of time on the drive back to Tijuana after that week to reflect on this and remembered the three house dedications that I was privileged to be a part of.  These dedication times, however emotional or not, are never routine, are never meaningless, and we never leave them unaffected by God in some way.  Though I’ve been a part of building, literally, hundreds of homes, handing over the keys at the end of the week still gets me and, every once in a while, a few tears escape.  These are some of the sweetest, most cleansing tears I have ever cried.  God deeply impacts our lives and I get to stand as a witness to it almost every week. I could not be more blessed to be a small part of something so big.

If you would like to share a story of how you have been impacted on an Amor Mission Trip, you can share it with us at www.amorblog.org/myamorstory.

Calling all Denver, Colorado friends and family of Amor!

Come hear Andy Lyde, Amor’s Director of Mission Education, unveil the vision of Amor for the future!

30th Anniversary Celebration Event – Denver, Colorado

Event Details:
August 29, 2010
Northglenn Christian Church, 1800 East 105th Place, Northglenn, CO 80233
Celebration events will occur during the 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. church services.
Event Location Map

For more 30th Anniversary Celebration Event information, visit www.amor.org/30years.

Upcoming Celebration Events include:
Padres vs. Dodgers Game – September 6th
Southern California Dinner – October 2nd
Celebration Event in Naperville, IL – October 10th
Dallas Golf Tournament – October 18th
Northern California Dinner – October 23rd
You won’t want to miss out!

One of the many ways we are celebrating 30 years in ministry is the re-creation of the original participant t-shirt. The lucky few who received this shirt came on a trip in 1980. To the best of our knowledge – only one still exists – and it is unwearable (though it looks great framed and on the wall in the Amor office).  So, for those who remember the crazy days of yore, or those who have benefited from this ministry and its mission to serve those in need, or those who just dig cool shirts – this is for you.

As with all of our gear, proceeds for the purchase of “The 1980 Original” benefit Project Hope Please join us as we celebrate 30 years of God’s faithfulness to this ministry! Stay tuned for more ways you can be a part of the festivities.

To get yours, click here.