Geppeto's Workshop in Mexico...Building Dreams

In the dry dessert-like conditions of the city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua (bordering with El Paso, Texas) a small group of young adults, five Amor Ministry pastors, three El Paso team members and me held our annual outreach in one of the communities. Along with two wonderful volunteers from Lone Tree High Adventure Camps we played, sang, prayed, preached, and loved on the people of the community of Granjas de Desierto.

The great story about this particular community was the connection one of our Amor pastors did with this community. This community is a newly established colonia which many families from all over Mexico come to buy land and build a simple home. Work is becoming scarce and building materials are very expensive. Many families build precarious homes of scrape wood or with anything that they can find. This family made up of a father, mother and five children worked hard to give their children food, clothing and schooling, but the house was inadequate. What a blessing to get the news that they qualified for a home!

Pastor Felipe from Amor Ministries mentioned that he has been evangelizing in this community for some time now and was excited to have the outreach in this community.

So after connecting with an awesome group who built this family their house they also went a step further and sponsored the community outreach. Plus, as an added bonus we held the outreach right on the land of the family the group had just built for!

We had games for the kids to play and win prizes. Music to fill the air with Praise. A message of hope from an Amor pastor and plenty of Bibles to give to the people. After we all shared a simple lunch. Everyone was filled both physically and spiritually. It was a wonderful celebration of hope!

If you are interested in finding out how you can help proclaim God's goodness please come to our website at www.amor.org . Also, we are in need of school supplies and Spanish Bibles... You can also donate toward those supplies just follow the links to the gift page. Thank you!

The following are pictures taken at the outreach. Enjoy!

As Mexico Ministry Coordinator for Amor Ministries I run into some amazing people in Mexico.

I wrote recently an article for the ministry that really impacted my life once again

It impacted the way I see the hearts of people.

It impacted my role in God's kingdom...

Each year our Mexico Ministry Planning Board holds a community outreach sponsored by an Amor group. This year our Tijuana pastors hosted an outreach in the community of Terrazas sponsored by the Trader’s Point Christian Church of Indianapolis.

It is amazing to see the connection between our Amor pastors and the “American” groups. TPCC was so excited to make such a huge investment into the Kingdom of God. They met the Tijuana pastors and worked along side them to reach about 500 people at the outreach. Most of which were children.

One thing that stood out for me was the following story of a family of seven who came to the outreach. An Amor Ministries outreach includes fun games for the kids, crafts, small lunch, and a message of salvation for all to hear. All these festivities are free to everyone who comes and there are many opportunities to share the love of God to the hurting. Children from all over the community came to play games and win prizes. Laughter rang through the hills. Each participant had a job to do. Either they were manning the game booths, helping little hands with crafts, making ham sandwiches or talking one on one with a hungry soul. The pastors were busy talking to families that Amor Ministries has built houses for letting them know that all this was a gift from God to them. One lady came up to me with such an expression of joy as she shared that she was grateful to Pastor Eusebio Haros (one of the Tijuana pastors) for connecting her with Amor Ministries. Now she and her family have a home to enjoy and the love of God made such an impact in her life. Still there was one particular family that really touched my heart. In all the chaos of children running around having fun there was a family of seven who stood in the middle of everything looking a little bewildered. A father, mother, and five children huddled together as they tried to figure out what was going on. I noticed that they were carrying buggies, boxes, bags, and a little cart full of scrap metal. The families’ clothes were worn and dirty from foraging through mounds of trash to find a little metal to exchange at the recycling mill for money. Yadira and I explained to them that this was free to them and that the children could play games and win prizes. At first the children felt embarrassed because of their clothes, but with a gentle nudge of their father the children tentatively made their way to the games. The father stayed close to his kids and the mother stood watch over their things. I loved seeing how the father would rejoice with his kids when they would win at a game. I marveled that this family took time for their kids to have fun. I was touched when I saw the kids bring their tickets to their mother so that she could “buy” something at the prize table. She chose a handmade quilt which she continually caressed with her calloused hands. They made a connection with our pastors who will help them as much as they can. I even had a chance to introduce Stan (TPCC trip coordinator) to them. I told Stan that if this outreach was for only this family it was all worth it. I asked the mother if she would allow Stan and I to pray for her and her family. She happily agreed and we prayed together knowing that God heard our cry. The family had to leave so I made sure to pack them a good lunch and gave them a Bible. All this happened because of someone who took the time to care. The outcast of the world met with the eternal love of God. It reminded me of the story of Jesus when he spoke to the Samaritan woman. She was an outcast of society yet He took time to give her what she needed most….love. Thank you for that opportunity to love people into the Kingdom!

My real good friend and co-worker at Amor Ministries, Yadira and I went with some people from Calvary Chapel San Diego to Reino de los Niños (Kid's Kingdom) in Ensenada, Mexico.

Directors Tomas and Marisela Shockey have been serving the Lord at the orphanage since 1989.

We enjoyed a time of fellowship with the kids. That it was hard to leave! Our group took the kids for Pizza at the nearby Costco. They can EAT! One skinny little girl ate 5 slices of peperroni pizza!!!!

This is Tomas with two of his "hijas".

Tomas and Marisela is "mom & dad" to about 35 children ranging from 2 years-old and up. Tomas shared with us the need to just love these children. Some of the children's stories are heart breaking. Some have emotional scars that need healing. And what better place than a christian environment!

I've known Tomas and Marisela for many years and I am always amazed at their fun loving dedication to the children of Ensenada.

Even the puppets had a time with the kids and they were a hit. Especially when Tito came out. One little boy about 3 or 4 years old named Ivan loved Tito so much that when Tito was packed up in the suitcase Iven saw Tito's hand hanging out took one of his fingers and told Tito, "Good Night Tito."

Tomas and I.

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p>Tomas shared the story of this ten year old that is living at the Casa Hogar because his mother could not take care of them due to her drug addiction. In his desperation one day he left school and traveled by foot for about 15 miles with a heavy backpack on his back in search of a father he never knew. The local authorities were informed of the incident and everyone was looking for him. They found him at his mother's house. Tomas spoke to him and asked him if he wanted to come back to the Casa Hogar. The young boy said yes and mentioned that he was sadden to see that his mother was strung up on drugs. I was so happy to see him laughing and smiling after living thru so much hurt.

Yadi with Juanito.

Dennis with one of the young men at the Casa Hogar.

The little girl in pink next to Tomas is Lizbeth. She came to the Casa Hogar with her brothers and sisters. Her story is of neglect and abuse. Tomas mentioned that this little one has a place in her imagination where she goes when she wants to shut out the world. Still she was the one who prayed for us... Even in the middle of her healing she still believes in a God that loves her.

Here is Kelly with Lizbeth.

August 17, 2006 Amor Ministries and a wonderful group from San Clemente , CA. hosted a community outreach in the community of Altiplano/Valle Imperial.

There was so many people. To me it felt like 300 kids and adults came to hear about the Love of God and enjoy each others company.

The follwing pictures are just a few snapshots of the days events. What I am grateful for that we were able to touch the hearts of many families with God's goodness.

The summer sun can be merciless in the city of Tecate, Mexico, but that didn't stop about 150 people from attending Amor Ministries 1st Annual outreach in Tecate.

Amor Ministries together with the Ministry Planning Board of Tecate hosted a community outreach in the Cerro Azul area. Many children came to have fun winning prizes with our game booths and gave out over 200 hot dogs.

Pastor Hortencio Guerrero gave a wonderful message of God's love to many hungry souls. Many came up for prayer and the tears flowed freely.

I love the way God moves on the hearts of his people!

I've been going to a women's Bible study that has been such a great encouragement for me. The last meeting we talked about the word goodness.

Narrowing it all down what I learned was that goodness is not just a "state of being good", but an "action of goodness".

As Mexico ministry coordinator for Amor Ministries I have many opportunites to work with men and women who demonstrate goodness to others.

For example this past month a group from Anchorage, Alaska and the ministry planning board of Rosarito hosted an outreach for the families in the community of Ames. Amor Ministries coordinates such events where over 100 people were in attendance!

I had an opportunity to even share God's word with everyone and many raised their hand for prayer.

Together we were able to bless many and with the help of the pastors in the community we have also impacted the Mexican church.

I thank God for the opportunity to share His "goodness" with others.

As a kid it was always a heartache to hear the words...Back to School. It meant studying, classes, and oh yeah teachers. The one thing though that made things exciting was when my mom or dad would take me "Back to School" shopping. All the new clothes, notebooks, pens and pencils made my heart endure the pangs of going back to hit the books. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to buy those luxuries. Luxuries? Yes, because many children in Mexico find that it is a luxury to have school supplies.

Most parents in Mexico average around $30.00 to $50.00 a week. That covers mostly for there shelter, food, and maybe clothing. Let alone if any family member needs medicine or treatment from a doctor. What makes it even more harder is when a family has more than one child to send to school. There are registration fees, uniforms, plus all their school supplies. Multiply that by how many children are in a family that could get expensive.

That's why Amor has set up a "Back to School" program. This way we could help these families by providing their children with the basic school supplies they need to start school.

The supplies include:

A Backpack

Pencils

Pens

Crayons

Glue

Loose Paper

Notebook

Ruler

Erasers

3 ring binder

Currently, I am trying to start a school supply drive. Our funds for this program are not sufficient to supply the need. Please, pray with me that I will soon hear a response because these children look forward to going "Back to School".

"Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you...May everything good from God be yours! 1 Peter 1:1-2 MSG"

Hi, this is Lydia Lozano your Amor reporter giving you the latest news about the goodness of God in Mexico.

I've been feeling like that lately...though I really like it!

One thing I know that many of us here at Amor Ministries are actively involved in our churches and other ministries. For example, I have a puppet ministry and Sunday School program at a child abuse center. This facility takes in children temporarily due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. Then they are placed in foster care. We bring joy and the love of God to countless of kids and I have been doing this by the grace of God for over 5 years! We have a Bible program that gives a child in his own language a Bible to keep as their very own. It has been a blessing each time we have gone.

Another person who has been very active in his church is our Mexican Field Representative, Luis Millan. Luis Millan is our Mexican staff person who ensures that the houses are verified, materials are on the ground and that if their is any emergencies he works hard to get make the necessary connections.

His church in the community Cerro Colorado III is very active in missions. They currently have a mission church in the community of Terrazas del Valle and also make a yearly trip to an indian reservation close to the town of San Quintin, Baja California Norte. It's about 7 hours from Tijuana by car.

This is the name of the church. "Philadephia Church" for the gret love they have for one another.

Here is my conversation with Luis about his trip.

Lydia:Luis, how long have you been working at Amor Ministries?

Luis: I have been working at Amor Ministries for about 4 years now.

Lydia: What is the name of your church? What's your pastor's name? How many years have you been an active member of the church?

Luis: My church's name is Iglesia Centro de Fe y de Amor and my pastor's name if Pastor Martin Gomez. I have been steadily working in the church for about 8 years.

Lydia: Tell me a little bit about your trip with your church to the Indian reservation and tell me how God moved among the Triki tribe.

Luis: Every year my church gathers things to take to this church. The tribe we visit is actually the Triqui tribe and we also minister to the Mixteco tribe. Amor Ministries has been able to help by providing clothing, first aid kits and blankets to this very poor community. The men are rarely seen because most of their professions is either working on farms or fishing in the oceans. My pastor has a great heart for these forgotten people. It is said that the indigenous here in Mexico is like a people without a country they rarely have a voice in government affairs. The people here are very quiet and friendly. Even though we all speak Spanish we need an interpreter because they all speak the Triqui language.

Lydia: Wow, that is so awesome! I'm glad that Amor could help you take donations to these wonderful people.

Luis: Everyone was so happy to receive blankets (from the Wrap Them in Love organization), first aid kits (from the Harborside church of Florida), and clothing (various groups that come on trips).

Lydia: Other than the donations what else did your church do?

Luis: We had a huge outdoor service for all the people in the community. We had to have it outdoors because the church is too small for us to all fit in! Then my pastor helped the pastor of the Philadephia church perform a baptismal celebration.

Lydia: That's great! How many people were baptised?

Luis: Three young people.

Lydia: Thank you for sharing this time you had with the Triqui tribe. Also thank you Luis for all your hard work that you put into working out in the field.

Here is Pastor Martin Gomez with his co-pastor and the two gentlemen in front is the pastor of the church and his Triqui tribe interpreter.

Here is Luis leading worship at the outdoor service.

This is the pastor of the Triqui tribe.

Pastor Antonio and his family.

Too many people to hold church inside!

Singing His Praises!

The ladies of the tribe wear these beautiful robes in their tribal colors.

Luis arranging the donations that Amor Ministries help provide.

This grandma was so happy that Luis gave her this sweater that she gave him a little bracelet that she made in return.

Pastor Antonio, Luis, and Interpreter Juan.

Baptismal service at the beach.

Praising God.

One young man's journey to new life.

God is good all the time!

Newly baptized members.

The man who started this all Pastor Martin Gomez.

"Every day holds the possibility of a miracle!"

Last year I had the opportunity to meet John Close from the Church of Christ of Calgary, Canada at one of the Youth Specialties Conferences. He was oragnizing a group of young people to work with the children in Mexico. I was able to help them organize their program for a week long vacation Bible school in the colonia Lucio Blanco in Rosarito. Yesterday, I was able to see them in action. They did great! Even I was able to participate. Fun! Fun! I hope in the furture they can participate with us. Way to go Canada!

Two sweet little girls having fun with bubbles.

Isn't he darling?

If only we could delight in such simple pleasures!

One of the Canadian teens with a new best friend.

Necklace anyone?

Little two year-old Lily was carefully making her necklace. Though she was busy at work she never let her piece of bread far from her side.

Amazing what a child can do to you.

This is the little church where we had the program.

I find myself reflecting on why God would take time with us to come down and visit with us. Then I see the sheer joy of a child and the complete trust that they have in knowing that no matter what happends we are all going to be ok.

"You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are." Max Lucado