I’ve only been in a prison once when I was a Rotary Club President and I sponsored a young prisoner for his graduation.  He was imprisoned before he received his high school diploma.  Through hard work and study while in prison he managed to finish and even walk through his graduation ceremony, in prison.  He had no family to visit him.  No family to support him.  No family to celebrate with him.  I was asked to sit in for his non-existent family.  As I left the prison gates that day I was profoundly impacted by this young man’s steadfastness in the face of a life of mostly voids; no loving family, no job, no home.  All of which I have taken for granted my entire life.

Its one of the greatest mysteries  to me how the poorest of the poor, of whom millions spend their youth without a home, without any sort of decent shelter, and who have gone to bed at night hungry more times than they can recall.  How does a young person grow up in such lack and have any kind of chance of carving out a healthy, meaningful, crime free life?

Recently a great tragedy be-felled a white South African farmer and the 15-year-old co-accused in his murder. The murder itself has shocked millions of South Africans but the admission by the accused, that life is better in prison than outside is a startling indictment how life, society, and government are failing such marginalized people.  The accused said he was happy and had not even been asked to be released on bail because he had three meals a day, his own bed, and can watch television- all for the for the first time in his life.

After having dropped out of school at the age 14, he is attending school again.  He left school originally to start tending for the murdered farmer for reported wages of sixty six dollars a month.  He had taken this job in order to help support his family and look after himself.  He lived in the cattle corral of his employer in conditions that I can only assume were lacking even the basic necessities.

“That prison should be a better alternative to his everyday life raised loud alarm bells about whether a jail sentence is enough deterrent to would-be criminals,” wrote a South African journalist.  What chance do kids have in a world where life behind prison bars will protect him better from the reality of his miserable existence.

“There is no object of desire quite like a house,” writes Meghan Daum, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. “Few things in this world are capable of eliciting such urgent, even painful, yearning. Few sentiments are at once as honest and as absurd as the one that moves us to declare: ‘Life would be perfect if I lived in that house.’”  What a timely sentiment of how most people in the world think of what the ‘perfect house’ would or should be like. After all, it’s the American dream…to own a home.

Perhaps more meaningful for a youngster accused of murder in a  South African prison cell tonight would be to re-quote Ms. Daum’s last sentence, but add one small caveat, “Life would be perfect if I lived in ‘A’ house.”

Amor builds homes to keep families together.  Amor serves the poorest of the poor to share the love of Christ.  Amor helps keep kids out of prison.  I won’t ever take this for granted.  I hope you don’t either.

March 23, 2010 broadcast with Scott from Rainbow FM 90.7′s studio in San Diego with Humphrey and Tracy at the Rainbow FM 90.7 Johannesburg, South Africa studio. Topics include Mexico border crossings, mission trips to Mexico, barefoot Pastors in the US, etc.

The EV Free Church “A” team has come home from South Africa as the “E” team. We are all EXHAUSTED! This team worked so hard and yes we played too. The SS. Simon and Jude team from Phoenix, Arizona, led by Jen Pitera were awesome. When our team was departing from the Johannesburg Airport Saturday evening we stood in a long line because “Don’t Expect Luggage To Arrive” – DELTA computers were down. When the SS. Simon and Jude’s arrived a huge round of applause and whoops went up. Everyone in the airport stopped in their tracks because it was so loud. You could tell what they were thinking, “what’s that all about?” What it’s all about is exactly what we should all be doing as Christians, stopping people in their tracks and making them think, “Hey, look what those people are doing! I want to know.”

What a week; so much living, seeing, hearing and interacting. Amor Ministries is incredible. Scott Congdon, staying home and coordinating Amor’s website so thousands all over could see and hear what we were doing – as we were doing it! Thank you Scott! This was the most promoted Amor project ever, and for good reason – the future of hope and reconciliation, which God has been working on and planning for all along. We are all so blessed to be part of it.

So many stories to talk about. So many people to thank God for. Let’s start by thanking Humphrey Birkenstock and Rainbow 90.7 FM for making so many wonderful things happen for us in South Africa; the meals out, SOWETO, the tented-church service, the buses, the historical information and the Lion Park, he along with his beautiful family, Anita, Raymond and Jerod accompanied us every step of the way in love. Thank you Sir Humphrey! “Amor,” what can we say about Amor Ministries who worked so hard to make this happened. The ones who are seen and the ones behind the scenes. Thank you Steve Horrex, Luke Makwakwa, Forest & Carrie Fowler, Scott & Gayla Congdon and all of their unbelievable staff. You are AWESOME MAN!

How can I sum this trip up? God did it for me last night at the airport. Understand, we left on Saturday and some of us (thanks to DELTA) didn’t get home until Monday, meaning many of us spent Father’s Day traveling and in airports. To be honest, my brain is fried! It is like mashed potatoes, but God has sustained me. We had numerous groups coming in at different times because DELTA split us all up in Atlanta instead of holding our flight for ten minutes. Sure, they did what man does when the opportunity arises; they resold all of our tickets at three times the price to their line-up of standbys, even though at every stage I spoke to DELTA asking them not to do just that. They told me it would never happen; they said we would make our connecting flight in Atlanta no matter what. By the end of this trip, I could only think $(#&@ DELTA – So, I hung out at the Sacramento airport waiting for our final group to arrive (and of course much of our luggage was missing… again). I was “Dog Tired.” I fell asleep right where the passengers come down the escalator, hoping the last group would see me. As I sat there in what has become known as the “Lou Diaz Deep State of Prayer” – head bowed down, eyes closed, looking to be in prayer, but actually in a deep sleep, I felt tapping on my leg. I opened my dreary eyes, he was a blur at first; I then realized it was my son Sean! who couldn’t join us in going to South Africa because he recently took a job with HP. Sean learned Dad was sitting at the airport all by himself and he came down to wish me a “Happy Father’s Day.” It was the best Father’s Day Gift I ever received. I stood up and hugged him. Then I heard a voice, “Hey Dan! Dan Irving!” Hearing voices on this trip is something I’m come accustomed to. I looked around and just saw a blur of people. But the voice would not go away, it was persistent and was coming from above and it was getting louder, “Hey, Dan Irving, Up Here!” I looked up and right above me was Bryce Lundberg, his wife Jill and some of the infamous Lundberg clan (they were returning from a family visit in Seattle). “Hey Bryce, how are you!?”

Now for God’s loving and welcoming story! When I first went on the EV Free Amor Mission Trip I started calling Bryce “My Main Man” because of something he did, something from his heart which made me think twice. On that trip in Mexico our campsite was hit with a nasty, tent shattering, rain & mud producing Pacific storm. It was a horrendous night. You couldn’t even go out in it to help others whose tents were being blown apart. It sounded like a war zone; girls were screaming, crying and calling out for help. You’d couldn’t walk in the 60 mph winds and there was no footing in the slick, snot like mud. When a window of opportunity finally opened there was lots of work to do. Kids were shattered, wet and cold, covered in mud. Bryce went out, got a bucket of water and a wash cloth and set up his station where he knelt and washed everyone’s muddy, cold wet feet. Two of those feet belonged to Allan Fleming. As I watched Bryce, I could only think of Jesus washing His disciples feet. That’s when I started calling Bryce, “My Main Man!” That was the voice calling out to me at the airport, and the voice behind that voice is the One who is calling out to all of us.

Then I saw a familiar face in the crowd, it was Steve Raley who had driven down to help transport our last arrivals. Then I heard another voice, I turned around and there was Eleanor Southwick with a group of her family, lots of teenagers all holding up signs that read, “Building Hope, one Home at a Time. Amor. Welcome Home Amor South Africa. EV Free Chico, We love U! Welcome Uncle Brett and Happy Father’s Day – Harlo!” There they stood at the bottom of the escalator with a gift box for the last group of arrivals. When Pastor Lou, Laura Diaz, Rich Willman, Dave Newquist, and the last of our group appeared, another loud round of applause went up and everyone at the airport stopped in their tracks, looked and listened for the moment. When they kinda figured out was happening you could see heart-warming smiles everywhere. So no matter how difficult our travel was, no matter how tired we were, no matter what a pain in the @$$ Delta was, there God was with us every step of way, making this A Trip of a Lifetime!

Now, before I forget, (I’m going to do it right now, after I finish this blog) I’m going to write a check and send it to Amor Ministries and on the memo line I’m going to write: “You are Awesome!” I pray you will too, because God’s ministry needs that kind of help.

We all made it back and we are HOME. It is good to be home, even though we left part of our hearts back in South Africa. God Bless you Amor Ministries. God Bless you Humphrey Birkenstock and Rainbow 90.7 FM. God Bless you SS. Simon and Jude’s God Bless our team leaders: Pastor Lou Diaz, Dave Newquist, Jim O’Bannon, Rich Willman. God Bless the EV Free Church of Chico California and God Bless all the hard workers who came on this trip. God Bless you all!

Dan Irving

By now the Amor South Africa teams from Chico EV Free Church and SS Simon and Jude Cathedral are either at the airport in Johannesburg or in-flight heading back home at last. This will be the final blog post on this trip while the team is actually still in South Africa. The Chico EV Free team had a long day on Friday having completed their final work day (#5), checked into the Sunnyside Park Hotel, and attended a special dinner celebration at Sunnyside Park Hotel. The photos below show some of the completed homes they put their hearts into building this past week. What a fantastic testimony of how God’s children can share His love around the world!! Well done good and faithful servants!!

South Africa sunrise on the last day of work.

It’s oh so cold here in South Africa but we were charged to work on our last day of our “labor of love”.

A finished housed. Home sweet home.

More roof work.

Its time for to celebrate our work of service with the famous group photo.

Forrest Fowler, of Amor Ministries…..he’s our hero!!!