By Dave Gladson, Year-Long Intern

It’s funny when the student whom you thought wasn’t paying attention is the one who teaches you something…

It gets pretty busy down on the worksites, trying to show everyone how to do all the different jobs that come together to create a house, while at the same time trying to keep them safe and making sure that the house gets built well.  It’s easy sometimes to focus on the ones who are eager to learn and who seem to get it.  When there is a student who seems to lack a desire to work it’s easy to lose track of them while you are running around doing everything else.

Last week there was a girl in one of my groups who seemed like she would rather be anywhere else than in Mexico working on a house.  I tried showing her some of the basics, like how to hold a hammer, and found her some projects to work on.  But about ten minutes later I would usually spot her sitting down playing with the children from the family and after 3 or 4 attempts at this I shifted my focus onto other participants.

On day four we finished the house and spent some time praying with the family.  Then it was time to head out.  Guess who the family said the warmest goodbyes too?  Yup, the one who I had thought wasn’t very engaged in the project.  She had spent a lot of time hanging out with the family and playing games with their children, and she had built up a great rapport with them.  It was then that I remembered the house that we build is not the most important part of the trip.  The relationships with the family and with the local church are way more important than the actual building that we build.

That girl, who I had been trying to teach all week, taught me a great lesson!

By Stacey Davidson, Amor Ministries Year-long Intern

Here at Amor we love to tell stories. And we know that each and every participant and group has a special story to share. Whether you come on an Amor Mission Trip by yourself, with a church, or with your co-workers, each experience is special and we want you to share it with us.

Last month, we had the opportunity to meet a group of 24 co-workers from Orlando, Fla.-based boating company Nautique. This group traveled from their homes in Central Florida to the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Ariz. to spend a portion of their vacation building homes for families in need.

These Nautique employees helped continue building onto two houses in progress by installing doors, beams, windows and roofing. This is the fifth service trip Nautique employees have taken outside of the Central Florida in the past four years. The previous four trips have included two trips with Amor Ministries to Mexico to build homes, a trip to work at a center for homeless mothers in Nicaragua and last year’s trip to build beds for disadvantaged families in Guatemala.

The Nautique team had the chance to meet the Apache families who will soon receive a house.

“Meeting the families made the work all that much more personal and increased our team’s already high motivation to do a great job,” Bill Yeargin, President and CEO of Nautique wrote in his blog.

Steve Carlton, a Nautique chief designer, is heading up a project at the Nautique headquarters to continue assisting Amor Ministries by designing a fiberglass mold that will help groups easily pour concrete into the load-bearing beams of the home, and a simple, durable jig that would allow volunteers of any skill set to easily bend the stirrups that support the rebar inside this beam.

These two tools will allow the San Carlos build to run even more smoothly and utilize more volunteers of any skill level. We are excited to continue partnering with Nautique to make our build in San Carlos even more efficient.

Read more about the Nautique trip to San Carlos on the company’s Website or CEO blog.

For more information on Correct Craft, Inc., the manufacturer of Nautique boats, please visit www.nautique.com.

By Stacey Davidson, Year-long Intern and Erin Lyde, Integration Specialist

7 weeks,

15 trips to Costco,

37 Project Barnabas volunteers

and 1 successful spring season later…

…Project Barnabas has wrapped for 2011! And we are so thankful to each and every Barnabas volunteer, because this spring we couldn’t have what we do without them. Who are these great people? Well, Project Barnabas volunteers are just like you (plus one Saturday of training). For the week to four weeks that they are here, Barnabas volunteers act as representatives of Amor Ministries and as a liaison between the groups and Amor. But the most important quality of a Project Barnabas team member is their attitude of service.

This year, our volunteers were the best. They assisted with the Amor Store, cooking meals for large groups, logistics and tool delivery, camp maintenance, and more on top of their usual volunteer work of encouraging and empowering groups on the work sites. They went above and beyond to help Amor succeed this spring and have encouraged our Amor Team as well with their positivity, passion and energy.

Do you want to volunteer with Amor? Even though Project Barnabas 2011 has ended, Amor is looking for volunteers to help us serve our Amor groups, as well as families in need, on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.  We are looking for both volunteers with construction experience and also volunteers who may not have construction experience, but have a heart to serve.

If you have construction experience:

We are looking volunteers with experience in framing, plumbing, electrical or any general construction skills.  Our schedule is flexible for those with construction experience.  If you are interested please contact Erin Lyde at erin@amor.org with your availability and experience level.

If you would like to assist a group building a home:

We are looking for volunteers to serve as an Amor representative on a worksite.  You will be assigned to work with a group and support them on their Amor Mission Trip.  You will be a liaison between the group and Amor, working as a customer service representative and a very important source of encouragement for the group.

This role does not require any previous construction experience.  Available start dates (the end dates vary based on the week) are Memorial Day weekend through August.

You must be at least 18 years of age to volunteer with Amor Ministries in San Carlos.  For more information, or to apply, please contact Erin Lyde erin@amor.org.

This year we have decided to create 12 Monthly Focus points to tell groups about to help all of us learn about Amor’s programs and to ask for your prayer in support of our programs.  April’s monthly focus is Internships!

Amor has a few internship opportunities that provide a way for almost any individual to get involved with Amor on a deeper level.

Project Barnabas is our shortest internship opportunity. Project Barnabas volunteers are needed for 1-6 weeks in the spring to help assist Amor Team Members during our busy spring months. They work with alongside groups to encourage them and help Amor provide better customer service to each group.

Project Nexus is our summer internship for young adults ages 18-25.  Project Nexus help assist Amor with building projects and programs, as well as serve our groups and families.  Project Nexus is a designed to provide you with a hands-on, get dirty, get involved, ministry experience in a team setting.  This year the Project Nexus program with run from May 29- August 7.

Our Year-Long Internship is our longest option and will give you a true view of how the Ministry runs on a day to day basis.  The Year-Long Internship is often worked around your talents and goals, as well as including current needs of the Ministry.

Each internship helps the Ministry run smoothly and our interns are such an important part of the work at Amor.

For more information on our internships you can go to www.amor.org/join/internships.

Last month’s focus was Project Hope: Clean Water for Life.  Click here to read more about Clean Water for Life.

By Stacey Davidson, Year-Long Intern

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Tecate, a city about 30 minutes east of Tijuana. In Tecate, we work with 3 local Pastors that minister in that community.  During the last few years, we have not been able to build many homes in Tecate, but this spring we are excited to be back there again!  And more than that, the Pastors are excited for us to begin building there once again. During this visit to Tecate, I had the opportunity to meet the Flores Cortes family, the grandmother, Maria is the head of the household.

Maria and her family moved to Tecate in 1993 in search of work, like many other families during that time.  She raised her family in Tecate and is now helping to raise her grandchildren while also taking care of her disabled husband.  Maria was living with her daughter and three grandchildren along with her disabled husband in a one-room house until last spring when they received their Amor house.  The two grandparents and three grandchildren were all sleeping in one bed and the kids’ mother, Elizabeth, slept on the couch.  The kids’ father, Miguel, left Elizabeth and their three children for a life of drugs.

Currently, Elizabeth is the only working member of the family.  She is working in a local factory.  Her children, Jose (age 10), Alexis (age 8), and Mariana (age 6) are all in school.

While we talked, Maria began to cry as she explained the huge impact her Amor home has had on her family’s life.

“Before, we were all living in one trailer together,” Maria said.  “Now the children have room to spread out and each of them have a bed.  The children are much calmer, happier, and content in this new house.  It was a huge blessing from God.”

Maria said they are extremely grateful to the Pastor, the church, and God.  They had been wanting a home for awhile but had no money to save for one due to all of the expenses from the children.

All of us at Amor are so thankful to have been able to provide this family a home, we are so thankful for the Amor Mission Trip participants that built this home for the Flores Cortes family.

Maria in front of her Amor home!