Mexico

Very simply, the singular focus of Amor is the mobilizing of volunteers to build simple homes for poor Mexican families. As a result, Amor has made an enormous impact for more than 16,000 families.

Our Commitment

Since its founding more than thirty years ago, Amor has built homes to minister to the Mexican people and to open doors for evangelism. Initially, the focus was on serving the needs of orphanages, but the organization realized that by building individual homes, they could help keep families together and children out of orphanages. Involving the expertise of local Mexican pastors, Amor began providing housing for poor families while focusing on the needs of the local church. Today, local Mexican pastors nominate families to receive an Amor home, and commit to work closely with the family throughout the process.

Partnership with Local Pastors

A caring local church and pastor meet regularly with the family to invite them to church, present them with the gospel, and introduce them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastors use the home as an object lesson in evangelistic presentations to the family: as the family has received the gift of a new home, through grace, they can receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Through the fulfillment of basic physical needs, the love of Christ shines most clearly.

The Need

When Mexican pastors are asked what the greatest need is in their community, adequate housing is the answer. Without a decent place to live, people cannot be productive members of society, children cannot learn and families cannot thrive. In Mexico, however, affordable housing is an impossible goal for millions of families.

Many family providers work between eight and ten hours per day and are paid a couple dollars for their work. If there is a rainstorm that washes out the road, or another such occurrence, people are unable to get to work to feed their families. Without the support of governmental systems, even small disasters, such as a rainstorm, prevent Mexican workers from providing food for their families, much less providing adequate housing. Even if every family in Mexico could afford one, there are simply not enough homes to satisfy the demand.

Because of this housing crisis, numerous other social problems emerge. Increased crime, poor education, malnutrition and low self-worth affect millions of parents who cannot provide for their children. Most children in Mexico’s orphanages were abandoned because their parents were unable to provide for them. While Amor may not be able to provide all of Mexico’s poor with a home, the ministry can make a life changing difference in families such as the Monteros.

The Proof

“Three months ago I didn’t know what we were going to do. My car was stolen, our house was falling apart and we had our fourth baby on the way. But now I am about to receive the blessing of a new baby and a new house. Thank you for this blessing. You can never understand how much this means to me and my family.”

Benito Montero, Father

For families like the Montero’s, Amor Ministries, by providing four walls and a roof, offers much more. By addressing a family’s most basic need, Amor provides the chance to improve their physical and spiritual conditions and to offer the local church a solid outreach opportunity.

It is the difference Amor provides for families such as the Monteros that keep the organization motivated to accomplish the tasks at hand. Early in Amor’s ministry horrendous rains drenched much of Mexico’s land. As volunteers worked against the rain to build houses, Amor was encouraged by the words of one Mexican mother who lived under a tarp with her two children. She presented a picture of her baby and shared that the baby died of pneumonia. With tears in her eyes she expressed her gratitude declaring that Amor’s work was going to make life better for her remaining two children. They would no longer have to face the harsh elements without adequate shelter.

Building the Church

Although Amor is based in the United States, local Mexican churches guide and advise the ministry activities. While Amor funds the projects and provides the manpower, the ministry’s presence is temporary. Amor’s work in Mexico is not for Americans to be recognized. It is the Mexican Ministry Planning Board (MMPB), a group of established, local pastors, who accomplish the long-term mission of Amor. Often maintaining a full-time job and pastoring a congregation, these men assist Amor as volunteers, deciding which families can most benefit from an Amor home and ministering to each family throughout the entire process.

Once the house is completed, pastors offer on-going support, including church invitations and practical aid. The transition into a home is full of unexpected challenges. Many families rely upon the church to help them adjust to life in a home and equip them for success.

Many of those who receive a new home are not Christians, and these homes provide a natural bridge to the local church as well as an open door for evangelism. The ultimate hope of Amor is that through the generous gift of a home, individuals will better comprehend the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Process

The pastors interview prospective families, create biographical sketches outlining individual needs and select the neediest families to receive homes. Pastors utilize the following eight basic criteria in selecting and prioritizing families:

• Current housing situation – Where are they living right now?
• Time period – How long has the family been living in these conditions?
• Family size – How many people live in the current conditions?
• Income – What is the family’s collective income?
• Transience – How long has the family lived in the community?
• Health – Are there any health problems that having a home would make easier to solve?
• Age – Does the family care for very young or very old members?
• Resources – Does the family have other resources (e.g. a family member with housing for them in another town)?