The other day Andy and I were waiting in a parking lot to meet up with a group and take them across the border to our campground. We were sitting in a truck with the Amor Ministries logo on the side when a man came up to the truck and knocked on the window. He said to us, “You don’t know me, but 10 years ago you (Amor) changed my life when you built my church.”

It was incredible to be able to see an example of the long term effects of the ministry.  My hope is that all of Amor’s participants, volunteers, supporters and team members understand they are the “you” of whom this man was speaking.

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.

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.

By Alyssa Robinson

They were a hard-working church of fellowship, building walls, a roof, and erecting the frame structure of a modest house before 9:00 a.m. on a sunny Saturday morning.  One man entertained himself and the group as he made cat noises while working on the roof, keeping the mood light-hearted and lively.

Who were these workers that, despite the danger painted by the media, showed up to build love and hope through a home?  For the first time in the history of Amor Ministries, a group of men from Tijuana came together to build houses with Amor Ministries.

Amor houses are usually built by Mission Trip participants from the U.S. and Canada. Earlier in the year, however, a group of students had begun building this same home but because of suspected drug activity in the area, Amor decided to reassign the group to a new worksite, leaving the house unfinished.  Instances such as this have occurred for decades in Tijuana, just as they do in every large city.  But because Amor has always valued the safety of its’ participant groups, they moved the young builders out of potential harm’s way.  Many never realize how seamlessly such situations are handled.

And so the projects were brought back to where they started, to the Pastors of the Mexico Ministry Planning Board of Tijuana. When Lydia Lozano, Amor’s Mexico Ministry Coordinator, met with the Tijuana pastors, she explained that the houses could not be finished.  After learning of the many Mission Trip cancellations Amor has faced this year, they offered to build the houses themselves, and providing themselves the perfect opportunity for their own churches to serve.

Undefeated, the pastors immediately gathered groups to start working.  The congregations of Tijuana jumped into action to serve the people of their very own communities.  Inspired by the Mission Trip groups who come to build and provided with the materials and resources supplied by Casa de Amor partners, the local church brought hope.

The men building this home were not looking for spiritual fulfillment nor were they changed by the sight of extreme poverty.  When one man was asked why he came to help, he simply responded, “My pastor asked me to.”  He didn’t second-guess the conditions or over-evaluate the possibility of danger.  He knew he was needed, and he showed up.

Out of the violence that has surrounded Tijuana for years, God has encouraged the local church.  The pastors’ desire is to continue to build in their communities, as well as have their youth work alongside the Amor groups.  Perhaps one day soon, we will see churches on both sides of the border working together to fulfill the Great Commission.

If you have a story about the impact of your Amor Mission Trip, we want to hear more!  Please reply to this post.

I found out a cool story from a recent Facebook thread.

These things need to be shared.

In 1996 a youth group from Salem, OR built a double house for the Lobatos family with Amor Ministries. Seven years later the father of this family, Jesus, joined our Mexico Ministry Planning Board. This is the group of local pastors who helps families in their communities receive homes and other resources.

To date 446 families have either had a home built or are in queue to receive one because of the recommendation of Pastor Jesus Lobatos.

The week a group of teens from Salem gave over 13 years ago is still having a profound impact – greater than one could have ever guessed. Thanks!

What is your story? Share it with us.

I looked down the thirty-foot slope of dirt and rock, I saw six-year-old Casandra looking up at me from the doorway of her families two month old home. I waved with a grin on my face. “Hola!” I said. She smiled and her eyes widened as she scrambled inside to get her mother. I was greeted at the front door with a big hug from Maria. She has a way of smiling with her whole face, full of love. Excited, Maria invited us in to see what she had done with her home.

Jose and Maria’s beautiful double house custom built with a step down slab to accommodate for a large, immovable stone.

The week of July 20th, I had the blessing of leading an eager crew from Tigard Christian Church in Tigard, Oregon up the rough and windy, dirt road to Jose and Maria Barrasa Alvarez’s property in the community of Colinas del Florido. They live on the east side of Tijuana out in the hills near the Amor Ministries main camp. We would be building a double house (22’x22’) for their family of five who were currently living in a one-room plywood shack. Their little stove was about one foot away from Jose and Maria’s bed, and every time it rained, water would wash down the steep hill that their property is on, under their walls, and across the dirt and rock floor of their home. Not an ideal place to raise three children of 14, six, and five years of age.

From the road where we parked our vehicles, their existing structure was about 100 feet up a precarious slope of dirt and small stones. Further up the hill was a flat area that Jose built to accommodate there new home. Because of the grade of their property, Jose had to build a wall that was approximately ten feet tall out of stones that he broke out of the mountain with a sledge and steel rod. He told me it took him six months to build the wall by himself and that his family had been waiting about eight months or so to receive an Amor house.The next four days were characterized by hard work, patience, and lots of quality-time shared by the family and the Tigard crew. Helping me that week was Linz Snyder, a Nexus intern, who led the way in befriending and engaging the Barrasa Alvarez family.

This is the system we created to move all of our sand and gravel down the 30 foot slope on slab day! Just one of the obstacles we overcame that week. I called it the via rapida after a road in TJ.

On the first day, we spent hours trying to break stones that were elevating the back edge of the form. We ended the day with half of the slab poured and the second half of the form not quite finished. We ended up deciding to pour the second half of the slab one and one-half inch higher because we couldn’t remove one large stone no matter how hard we tried. That was one of those frustrating, “I wish we would have thought of that earlier” moments.

After having a big set back on day one, nobody panicked. Tigard’s trip leader, Matt Rader, is the reason why. He led with a calm consistent drive. He didn’t push too hard and let everyone get the rest they needed, but he also didn’t let people get disengaged. If kids from the group were spending time with the family or other neighborhood kids, he let them, knowing the importance of building relationships.

By day four, the house was finished with time to spare. We were able to celebrate Cristian’s birthday with a piñata, balloon animals, and face painting before finishing the second coat of stucco later that afternoon. It was clear to me that the Holy Spirit was at work in every individual on that worksite. The joy and bonding that occurred in those four days are a testament to that.

When it was time to leave, the group had a key ceremony where they gave their blessings and presented the keys as well as other gifts that they brought from Oregon to make the house more of a home. Maria wept tears of joy as did I, Jose, Matt, Linz, and most of the group. Before we left, Maria made sure that each of us wrote our names on the wall studs in her home so she could remember us all.

Six weeks later, after receiving a photo-book that documented the build week made by Kathy Veerhuizen, one of the mothers from the Tigard group, I returned to deliver the gift with my dad, and Katie Haar. The three of us were on a mission to take professional-quality photos that Amor could use for marketing, advertising and other design needs. My dad was serving as the photographer, Katie (former Amor Team Member) was serving as our interpreter, and I was the driver. We ended up spending almost two hours chatting and laughing together with Maria and her children.

Casandra and Cristian showing off their books for the camera while they sit on their mother’s new bed that was given to them by a neighbor after their new home was completed.

Maria shared with us that everything in her new home was given to her family as gifts since I had last seen her! They had been given beds, tables, a stove, chairs, a stereo that Erik has in his room, and even a big bag full of meat and other food that lasted them for several days! She also said that she has had many people, strangers who were passing by on the road, come to tell her how beautiful her house is. Maria’s face glowed as she shared these praises with us, giving all the glory to God. Before we left, Jose was able to come home and join our little reunion. We took some photos of the whole family and hugs were given all around as we left.

Matt Rader, me, and Linz: Los jefes de la semàna.

I am amazed at how God works in our lives. Jose and Maria are a shining example of the Lord providing for those He loves. Matthew 6:25-34 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Maria and Jose stand proudly with their three children, Erik age 14, Cristian age 5, and Casandra age 6, at their back door that overlooks the beautiful landscape below their colonia.

I see now, after nine months with Amor, that this is what our ministry is really about: building relationships through acts of love. This family was already involved at their local church and they knew very deeply that it was because God loves them that He sent a group of strangers down from Oregon to their hillside in Tijuana to help them build their new home and become part of their family. Though not every group and family become so close, the underlying truth remains whether or not anyone acknowledges it; God loves us all more than we can understand. I love the way Amor Ministries understands this and creates opportunities for us to work out God’s love for us in our lives in a tangible way… by building homes, providing water filters, backpacks, school supplies, and food to those in need. Amen.

To read more of Andrew’s experiences in Mexico, check out his personal blog, druznuz.