In this article they shared the following:

“Currently 8.9 million families are living in substandard housing in Mexico, which includes households that don’t have a home or their homes are built with inadequate and low quality materials [which often consist of salvage and refuse materials.]

Of this figure, half a million families are living in overcrowded housing conditions and 1.1 million are living in seriously deteriorated homes according to the Mexican National Chamber of the Industry and Development and Promotion on Housing (Canadevi).

The housing crisis remains one of Mexico’s greatest challenges according to the agency.”

For original article in Spanish go to:  http://mexicanbusinessweb.com/noticias/inversiones-inmobiliario.phtml?id=11501

If you consider that the average Mexican family consists of a mother, a father, and three children the number of people living in inadequate shelter is more than 45 million.  Then, if you take into consideration that it is very common for Mexican extended families to live together under the same roof (grandfather, grandmother, son’s family, daughter’s family) the number grows even higher.

Keeping families together is one of Amor’s primary objectives.  Keeping families together in adequate living conditions is our what keeps us building homes, day after day.  Yes, the millions of families living is abject poverty can be so overwhelming to us at times. But being a part of loving our neighbors as our selves is what calls us to action day after day.  One family at a time.  One child at a time.  Yes, one day at a time.

So, what happens when these damaged souls group up?  Most are let loose on the world, unless they are severely mentally disabled- where they “risk drifting into unemployment, poverty, and crime.”

When I was a youth one of my passions was tennis.  I loved attending professional tennis tournaments and assisting on the court as a “ball boy.”  Once I had the thrill of working on the court with the world renowned Arthur Ashe.  What a gentleman he was.  What a family man he was.  He once said, “I have always drawn strength from being close to home.”  There is something about home that provides a sense of security, of being grounded, of protection, of family.  It isn’t until we contemplate not having a home that we can really even begin understanding all the results, the benefits, and the affects of having a home.

Even Proverbs 27:8 sheds some light on the need for being connected to a home, “A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest.”  It as if a man who wanders from his home is restless and disconnected- shrinking responsibility and failing to build anything substantial and solid.  Yes, a home takes more than the foundation it is built on, the walls that surround it, and the roof that covers it. It takes a family and the values and love that are essential to turning a “house” into a “home.”

Every time I look at a house that we have built in Mexico, or South Africa, or on the Apache Reservation I wonder how many children we have kept from being sent to an orphanage or taken to an institution.  While I wish it were the case- an orphanage should be the last resort for a child.  Keeping families together and building homes, not just houses, continues to be why constructing homes is essential for showing God’s love and providing hope to those in need.

While this term has been used to refer to something which is “hard to remove oneself from”, it has long been recognized as a derogatory term for black Americans. It is something that Amor is all too familiar with. The commonly used term “tar squares” is used when building an Amor house which can best be describeD as a small black square of roofing paper with a nail running through it. It is used to hold the long sheets of tar paper on the side of an Amor house that provides the backing needed to support the wet stucco when it is applied.

Long ago it was a common thing to hear someone ask for or ask someone to make more “tar babies.” But as time passed we became well aware that this was offensive in many cultures so we specifically eliminated and requested others to eliminate the use of this phrase. Thus, “tar squares” has become the appropriately acceptable way to describe this product.

A great description of how to make a “tar square” is in our latest “House Building Manual”:

I find it quite interesting that something as insignificant as a small black square could have such offending power if described or used inappropriately. Recently when I was helping build a home at the San Carlos Apache Reservation I was reminded that the Apache are generally a very gentle culture compared to your mainstream American. They aren’t generally comfortable looking you in the eyes and their handshakes tend to be very gentle and relaxed. This is quite contrary to how I was raised to interact with people – “a strong, firm handshake and look them in the eyes, son!” Even something as simple as a hand shake or eye contact can offend someone from another culture.

Its perhaps one of the greatest challenges of short term missions. How do we serve those we have been called to or sent to help and understand their culture in a very short time, with the hope of reducing or simply not offending them – when we are doing our best to love and serve them? Its why many missionaries around the world cringe at the thought of short term [visitors] coming to serve with the very people they have served and patiently learned to understand their culture and their ways.

I would highly recommend anyone interested in this challenge to read one of my favorite books on this subject, “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. I would also recommend you visit their website at www.whenhelpinghurts.org and definitely check out the “Video and Audio Interviews with the Authors” under the “About The Book” tab.

A good reminder, if there ever was one, is to follow the words of Paul from Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

What came next has never left me after I read about it.  When Graham got home he wrote a letter to President Johnson expressing his love and assurance about the afterlife for him.  ”We are not saved because of our own accomplishments,” Graham wrote. “I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times, I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in the last moment, ‘Lord, remember me.‘”

In a Time interview with Billy Graham he once again broke it down:

“I think we all need forgiveness.  I look at my own life and my own heart, and someday I will stand before God, totally naked.  I won’t be a preacher, or whatever I’ve been.  It’ll be just before God, and I’ll need forgiveness.  I’ll need the mercy of God  and the grace of God.”

Its very easy to get so busy with all the activities and responsibilities of life that we often forget that it was God who brought us into this world, and it will be He who accepts us into the next.  With all our frailties, all our mistakes, and all our imperfections. Try, as hard as we may, to accomplish great things, we just aren’t perfect.  We need God’s grace.

It reminds me of a typical Amor home that has been built by volunteers, with little or no skilled labor.  The house isn’t perfect when its done- the concrete slab cracks a little as it dries, the walls may not be perfectly straight, the door may not fit just right.  Yet, when the home is done it is received with great joy and appreciation by a very needy family.  The slight imperfections and the irregularities are simply forgiven and overlooked.  Its the thought that counted, its the love and the “heart” that the family who receives the home recalls.  We know that we tried our best to build this home and in spite of it all, we still need the grace of this family…and we will always need “the mercy of God and the grace of God!”

Humphrey Birkenstock, CEO, Rainbow FM 90.7: Scott, the news out of Haiti this week has been very alarming again?

Scott Congdon, CEO, Amor Ministries: Yes, Humphrey, both in Haiti and in the US. Health official are now saying Haiti’s cholera outbreak could kill 10,000 people. They are also predicting that they could have around 200,000 cases of infection in Haiti over the next six to 12 months.

Humphrey: How many have died so far in Haiti from cholera?

Scott: Haiti’s health ministry said that 1,200 people have now died since cholera was first detected in the nation in late October. The number of people infected also grew to over 72,000.

Humphrey: And you have a report that cholera has now reached the US from Haiti.

Scott: Yes, Humphrey. Florida officials have confirmed that a woman who recently visited relatives in Haiti has tested positive for cholera in Florida. Two other cases are still being tested.

Humphrey, Cholera is considered a great hitchhiker. It travels by contaminated water, food or on individuals who may be not even have symptoms or are just developing symptoms. Officials have stated that there’s virtually no chance the Haiti outbreak could spread to Florida or the US via travelers, and no airline passengers were at risk. Cholera is transmitted almost exclusively by water and food contaminated by the feces of infected people, which would be almost impossible with modern U.S. water systems.

Humphrey: On another note, Scott, you have some interesting news on the King James version of the bible? Most young American’s have never heard of the King James version?

Scott: Yes, Humphrey, I started to feel a little old when I researched this story. According to a new survey out last week, 51 per cent of those under 35 have never heard of the King James Bible. Awareness was far greater among those over 55, with 28 per cent saying they had never heard of it. I guess that’s good for you and me Humphrey, since we are both under 55, right?

Humphrey: Way under 55! I’m even amazed that only 72 per cent of people have heard of the King James Bible at that age and older.

Scott: That is surprising considering it has been praised by some as the most beautiful book ever written and is set to celebrate its 400th anniversary next year, but many young people have never even heard of it. I find it hard to imagine that so many under-35s have never heard of the King James Bible despite being one of the biggest selling books in history.
A spokesman for the King James Trust was quoted as saying: “There has been a dramatic drop in knowledge in a generation. Yet this is a work which was far more influential than Shakespeare in the development and spread of English.”

Humphrey: And President Obama got hit in the mouth this past weekend?

Scott: Yes, Humphrey, Obama got “smash mouthed” as they call it here in the US during a friendly family basketball game on Friday. Twelve stitches on his lip after he took a elbow to his mouth and he was back out on the court on Sunday. Sources say that Obama is know as being a tough and aggressive basketball player, hmmm…….just like in government!

Humphrey: And on your last report you have a story about a have a very familiar song to most of us, “Amazing Grace.”

Scott: Humphrey, after more than 200 years, ‘Amazing Grace’ is still a fixture across spiritual and secular culture here in the US and in South Africa I imagine.

Amazing Grace” has been recorded more than 6,600 times. “It may be the most recorded song on the planet,” according to Jerry Bailey at Broadcast Music Inc.

Humphrey: When was the song first published?

Scott: It was first published in 1779, written by John Newton, an English poet and clergyman who died in 1807. Newton, as a young man, deserted the English Navy, was recaptured and punished and actually became involved in slave trading. He later had a religious awakening during a storm at sea before becoming a prolific hymn composer.

Humphrey: In 1990 it was even sung at a 12-hour rock concert that took place in London, England. It was a benefit for Nelson Mandela, thanking him for his years of sacrifice in South Africa. Dozens of big stars performed. “Amazing Grace” was sung by opera star Jessye Norman as the closing number. Despite the length of the performance and the late hour, the crowd was strongly affected and obviously felt a common experience as they joined in.

Scott: The song has had quite an international use. It was even performed in English and Chinese by a children’s chorus at a worship service in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, with President George W. Bush attending.

Humphrey: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
“That saved a wretch like me.
“I once was lost but now am found.
“Was blind, but now I see.”

Got to the link below for a great African rendition of “Amazing Grace” by Louis Mhlanga:

http://www.africastories.org/amazing-grace/louis-mhlanga