Your Child's Experience

Your child has decided to take part in a life-changing experience, and we want to equip you, the parent, with the tools necessary to partner in this trip as much as possible.  The times before, during, and after an Amor Mission Trip will bring new challenges, growth opportunities, and eye opening moments.  One thing is for sure, your child will return with a new perspective on poverty and God’s love.

Your Child's Trip Timeline

Each group's trip timeline will vary slightly and we recommend you contact your child's group leader for specific timelines and questions.  Below you will find the general timeline for an Amor Mission Trip in our Mexico border locations. 

Day One: Today your child will meet the family he/she will build for.  There is an excitement about what  he/she is about to do and some reservation as to how he/she will communicate across cultural boundaries or build a house in such a short period of time.  The group leader will assess the building site and will build a strategy for the week.  Soon your child is digging, leveling, mixing cement, and taking part in some pretty tough manual labor (no power tools will be used while they are building the Amor house).  He/she is also playing with kids from the neighborhood and making connections with the family.  By the end of today, the group will hopefully finish the foundation for the house.  Your child will start thinking about what poverty means to him/her now that he/she knows someone who is truly poor.

Day Two: Today your child will wake up sore.  There was a lot of mixing cement by hand the day before!  The cement slabs have hardened and the group can continue in the building process.  If you were to watch today, you’d see your child sawing, hammering, measuring, and becoming an expert in the art of framing.  He/she is also building on the relationships he/she started yesterday. Your child may even pick up some Spanish words. By the end of this day, the walls and roof are together and positioned on the foundation.  The project will start to look like a house and the reality of providing the family with this gift of hope will start to sink in.

Day Three: As the week comes to its mid-point, time is flying by and your child is acclimated to his/her surroundings. The once intimidating poverty has become a part of daily expectations, and it’s now been week without TV, Playstations, computers, and life’s other distractions.  With the walls standing and prepared for stucco, the roof completed and the door and windows installed, the final day will be left for two coats of stucco.  The once empty lot is really taking on the form of a home that will keep a family together.

Day Four: Today is filled with much emotion.  The group knows it is the last time they will be with the family they are building for, and they begin to realize that they will soon have to re-enter into life back home.  Your child will go to the work site excited to finish up the two coats of stucco and give the gift of a completed home to the family. 

This is an incredible moment. 

The group will gather the family together to express their love, but more importantly, the great love and grace of God.  The key to the home, a symbol of safety and stability for this family, is presented to them.

Throughout the course of the week, your child has come to a place where he/she has adjusted to seeing poverty, and instead of being threatened, starts to question why poverty exists.  He/she also begin to see change happening.  There is an understanding your child can make a difference, they have something to offer the world, and he/she has a role to play.

By taking part in providing the gift of a simple home, your child has experienced a glimpse of the joy that comes when we give rather than receive.  This is just the beginning of a life that is shaped by not only building into the lives of a family across the border, but making a difference in the lives of each person your child will encounter upon returning home from the Amor Mission Trip.