Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial Day weekend is traditionally our big kickoff weekend to a huge and fantastic summer. While it wasn't huge in numbers it was fantastic and it was a great kickoff to what will be a great summer. We hosted three amazing groups in our main camp this weekend and built five homes in the community of Lomas De Pedregal.

The Crossing Church was represented this weekend as well as their sister church Canyon Ridge out of Las Vegas. Being sister churches, a little friendly pranking ensued in the form of water balloon launching from work site roof tops but ultimately Amor won the pranking battle when a bucket of cold water was dumped on the unsuspecting Crossing group during picture time. The picture says it all. As a co-conspirator in the prank I will take half the glory and the other half belongs to my brotha from anotha motha, Nick. Way to represent. Kairos church out of Santa Monica was also building hope this weekend in Pedregal. They were a small but mighty group with a great sense of humor. Their express desire for their mission trip was to serve the family and community. We got to experience a church service together at Armando Ponce's church plant "Agua Viva" where Armando's brother Israel spoke on perseverance. The homeowner Jaime worked skillfully alongside our unskilled hands for all four days as his beautiful wife and daughter watched with joyful expectation. From time to time we would all laugh together at some blunder of ours and Jaime's one year old daughter would explode into boisterous giggles at the sound of so much laughter.

One of the families we were building for this weekend was absent because they were demonstrating for lower prices on land at the Mayor's office in Tijuana. Some of the families in Pedregal are finding it hard to keep up with their payments and may even have to move. For families already struggling just to survive, the gift of a home and a water filter is not just some place to sleep; it is hope. For these families, a home is security for their children, like Jaime's daughter, and a water filter is a source of life giving water that saves money for necessities.

Our God is always building in ways that I would never expect for as I serve here and build hope for families I see hope being built in me. Come build some hope and watch it flourish in you.

It's Time to Run

A co-worker of mine, Howard Major, always says, “The mission is bigger than the Ministry.” That has never been more true than now. Hardships have hit Amor Ministries left and right this year, but the mission, the calling, remains. Fear raised by the sensationalized media attention to the violence in Mexico, the down turned economy, and now the swine flu have created a perfect storm for our ministry, but the mission remains. Participant numbers have been discouragingly low, thus lowering the number of houses we are able to build, but the mission remains. Our calling has not changed, the need has not gone away, and we have not left Mexico or closed shop because God wants us here, and the mission remains.

Recently, I was sitting in on a Pastors’ meeting as we were talking with them about how many of our groups were cancelling. Their response was excellent. They said, “This is not a time for tears and hopelessness. This is a time for prayer. Pray and they will come.” Simple as that. Several groups did come to build with us this spring because they understood that the mission remains.

One group I had this spring season (which was incident-free) came to build for a family in a community called Maclovio Rojas. This family is probably the poorest I have ever seen. They were poor even by Mexico standards. Their “house” was perched precariously on a hill side that overlooked a valley covered in a blanket of urban slums. This particular hill is so steep that three different tiers had to be cut into the hill like a wedding cake so that people could inhabit it without climbing gear. Quite literally, this family was living on top of another family. They had no water, no food, no bathroom, no room, no nothing. Their shack, clothes, bodies, and everything around them smelled like the slum. Maria’s 16 year-old son had been shot the year before by a local gang, and every penny she earned at the local factory since then had gone toward his care. Still, they could not afford to have the bullet removed from his spine leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, incontinent, and dependent on Maria for everything including changing his adult diapers. When Maria spent her last couple of pesos to buy Coke for the group one hot afternoon, we wept together in appreciation of her gesture. It was the only way she could afford to say thank you, and it probably meant that her family would go without food for a day.

I sat at the top of the hill in my truck that day looking out over the valley, wondering at how many more families there were just like Maria and her family. Like the morning fog burns off in the sun, I realized with clarity the enormity of how good God is. He tells us that He knows every hair on our head and that He cares for us. It is something that Maria knew and that I had always heard but never understood. He would take care of these families just like He would accomplish His mission, no matter how many groups came to build.

I still have moments where I realize that this is actually my life; I’m not dreaming. It is the best feeling I’ve ever felt. Please pray with us as we continue on because the mission remains. Pray and get involved. Come do Project X with us or give to Casa de Amor. Check out the website for more details. Read Joshua 1:9 and come to Mexico.

I'm back!

Wow. It's been awhile. The last time I posted to this blog I was still an intern here at Amor Ministries. Today I am a full time team member working as a field and appropriate technologies specialist. Allow me to fill in the gaps.

As my internship continued a position in the field opened up here at Amor and something inside me stirred. "How cool would it be to work in the field and actually get to see some of this water stuff get implemented?" I knew taking the position would mean a lot of changes for my life in general but I went for it and got it. Good thing too. Hindsight is 20/20 but I'm so glad I listen to God and not the wall street journal to make my life decisions. Shortly after my decision to take the position the economy started to crash. I was lucky enough to keep my job because Amor was wise many years ago and saved money.

Along with my new field responsibilities I also took on more clean water for life responsibilities as the program began to take shape as well as urban gardening responsibilities as the newest highlight of our research efforts. We had many meetings to discuss business models, budgets, projected revenues and the such. I had many restless nights and sent up many fervent prayers for everything to work out. Finally, God answered our prayers by bringing His plans to fruition in just the right way at just the right time. The first family to receive a water filter was in the community called Lomas Del Pedregal in Tijuana, Mexico. The Delgado family received their filtration certificate from Vernon Christian School in Canada in March 2009. Pastor Eusebio Harros that works on our Mexico Ministry Planning Board was in contact with the family that same week to make sure they received their filter and training on how to use it.

The Delgado family is just one of 300 families that have been relocated to Lomas Del Pedregal recently due to land slides that came every year with the rain to the ravine that they lived in previously. Due to the danger of their situation the city of Tijuana relocated these families giving them the land and reaching out to Amor Ministries to provide these families with housing. By the end of May Amor Ministries will have built homes for the entire community of Lomas Del Pedregal. The icing on the cake is that we will also provide filters to most of these families as they are some of the poorest in Tijuana and have no running water or access to clean water for drinking. All of this thanks to God and to people who partner with Amor by sending money and volunteer time despite the disproportionate media attention to the violence in Tijuana and other parts of Mexico.

The filter we have decided to use here in Tijuana is the Sawyer Point One Filter. It is the definition of Appropriate Technologies. This small filter uses the same technology as kidney dialysis called hollow fiber membrane technology. The filter meets and exceeds EPA requirements for drinking water and maintains a very efficient flow rate of five gallons in 13 minutes. The design is very simple and easy to use. The filter is attached to a hose that attaches to a five gallon bucket. Non potable water goes in the bucket and potable water comes out the filter thanks to the motivating power of gravity. It removes harmful organic compounds from the water such as bacteria, protozoa, cysts, E. Coli, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium making the water safe to drink. The filter is guaranteed for one million gallons which is essentially a life long guarantee for the family. It never has to be replaced. The only maintenance required is a simple back flushing of the system with clean water when the flow rate slows down using a bulb that is provided with the filter. For our families this filter means that they can save, on average, $80 per year on drinking water. That is enough in savings to send a child to school for a year. There is no easier way to make a difference in the lives of a family. For $100 you can give a family clean water for the rest of their lives.

Next on the agenda...Gardens! That's all for now. Check back for more stories from the field and updates on more Project Hope programs.

P.S. The Amor Store is online now! Check it out. http://www.amorstore.org/

Praises never end

The scope of my internship has just been expanded to appropriate technology under the university of Amor from just water program development. It would appear as though God has planned for me to be here at Amor for a little while. Past January anyway... Come January I hope to be able to say that I am an employed salary worker here at Amor and that possibility has never looked more feasible.

I am so blessed to work at my dream job right out of college. I am so blessed to work at a place that values passion and a heart for God above years of experience and education. I am so blessed to work at a place that desires to impact PEOPLE for the kingdom of CHRIST. I am so blessed to work at a place that does not put dreams on hold simply because the economy is in recession.

On top of all that I received a huge compliment today from some of the people that I look up to most in this world. It is fantastic to know that simply by giving all to God in humility He will choose you to do His amazing work. I am neither qualified or anywhere near knowledgable enough but He has chosen me to work in some big ways here at Amor that will take the ministry to a whole different level of service. We are caring for God's children in hopes that we will eradicate spiritual and physical poverty in their lives.

Not Dead

So the experiment went well. I'm not dead or even sick. In fact the reason this update is so late is because I totally forgot that I even did such a crazy thing because I was feeling so well.

The pastor's meeting this month went really well and soon I will be making my way out to some work sites to ask families if they would want a water filter. Our pastors want to be our first test community so hopefully we will get a donation from Sawyer that will make that possible.

That's all the updates for now.

Kamar

Experiments

So today I decided to put my money where my mouth is. For those of you who have not heard yet about the most recent water filter we are looking at it is basically a camping filter that attaches to a tube and attaches to a bucket. It filters water well above and beyond EPA requirements which means that it is better than the water you drink from that bottle you're holding or from that tap you turned on a minute ago. It takes about two minutes to set up and has a lifetime guarantee. It filters 5 gallons of water in about 13 minutes which is enough water for one person in Mexico for five days and requires very little maintenance. Long story short; it's really freakin' amazing.

Anyway, so I decided that since I was going to Mexico today to take a group in I might as well take along my very portable and very small filter and test it out on some Mexico water. Since testing on humans without permission is usually frowned upon I decided to be the researcher and the very first subject. I set up my filter in less than a minute, grabbed some bad tombo water, filtered it, and took a couple big swigs. It smelled fine, tasted great, was the right color (clear), and hasn't made me sick yet... for results check back soon.

Also, some very big and very exciting ideas on the horizon for Amor and our ventures in appropriate technology. Still just in the ideas stage so I won't spill details now because there are none.

Here's hoping that soon I will be able to boast that Christ has impacted lives through this water program and it's implementation. Yet I can't help but think that God's timing is perfect and that He has a plan far greater than mine.

On diarrhea watch
Kamar

The good ol' drawing board

So here's the deal. The Biosand filter is a really great idea for people who don't have access to clean drinking water. It's 90-99% effective after the biological layer forms, cheap to make, simple in design, use, and maintenance, uses local materials, lasts for upwards of twenty years, and is a very "appropriate technology". For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "appropriate technology" it is a term used to describe products that are "designed with special consideration to the environmental, ethical, cultural, social and economical aspects of the community it is intended for. With these goals in mind, AT typically requires fewer resources, is easier to maintain, has a lower overall cost and less of an impact on the environment," (Wikipedia).

But what about people who do have access to clean drinking water as is the case in Mexico. Every community I have seen has small tiendas that sell purified water and if you have a car in Mexico you can drive to the local "machines" (water filter plant) and get purified water for even cheaper. Even the poorest of poor have access to this usually. Why would they want a filter that is not quite as effective as the purified water they can buy? Is the Biosand filter taking a step back, so to speak, for these families? Sure, they can save upwards of $300 per year with the filter but is that worth the risk of drinking water that is filtered but not purified like the stuff that can be bought? These are the questions that have been floating around between my ears for the past week.

A couple of things are abundantly clear. People are willing to THROW money at a program like this in a heart beat; that is clear. We have the ability and the knowledge to implement a program like this; that is also clear. We have the passion to carry out what we feel is God's work BUT... can we humble ourselves and make our hearts meet our heads? Can we be good stewards of what God has given us and objectively ask, "Is clean water what these families NEED?" Because if they need something other than clean water more then let's dedicate ourselves to that end and give them what THEY need not just what we want to give them so we feel better about ourselves.

Don't misunderstand. I still think there is a need for clean water in Mexico. I also think that every community is going to be different; some will want it and some will opt to continue to buy their water. Who knows, maybe this program is meant for South Africa more so than Mexico. Sometimes things don't always end up how we originally envisioned them but God has a tendency to make them end up even better. I know that this work will be used in some way because it will glorify God in its use.

Also very encouraging is this new technology that stumbled (was divinely placed) upon us. It is called the Sawyer Point One Filter www.SawyerPointOne.com . It resembles filters that campers take with them into the wilderness. It uses hollow fiber membrane filter technology which is the same technology used in kidney dialysis. Sawyer is a company that is owned by Christians whose daughter came on an Amor trip years ago. Since then they have been donating all kinds of thing to use including bug spray and sunscreen. If you frequent REI you may have heard of them.

They have managed to adapt one of their featured camping filters to hook up to a bucket to be used in developing countries. It exceeds EPA requirements in it's removal of pathogens making it more effective than the Biosand filter (and U.S. tap and bottled water for that matter), comes in a small package, includes everything needed to assemble the filter except the bucket, is affordable, requires no labor, and takes about two minutes to set up. Oh, did I mention that it has a 1 MILLION gallon guarantee and has been lab and field tested extensively? That's right...1 MILLION. A typical person in Mexico uses about 1 gallon of drinking water per day. A family of 7 could have all the drinking water they need for 392 YEARS! And the flow rate is extremely fast as well. This thing can pump out a person's water for the whole week in 20 minutes. Seems like the miracle filter, right? We shall see if Mexican families can get over the obvious mental block they have about drinking from a faucet or a tombo even if it does come through a filter. If no families accept and use the technology then it is pointless. God your will be done.

Passionately her Savior's
Kamar