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A m o r m i n i s t r i e s Q u A r t e r ly n e w s l e t

in this issue:

maagtda

Page 2

GpladCSpiritual Preparation

Page 4

o hzGood Stewardship

Page 5

Bd FBringing hom

to the Missio

Page 6

Mattersof theHeartS p r i n g 2 0 1 1 E d i t i o n

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In Ephesians 5, Christ uses his relationship with the Church as an

example o how a marriage relationship should workshowing

the importance o this relationship. The emphasis on this proves

that the marriage relationship is one that requires an extreme

amount o sacrice and love.

However, the amount o sacrice and love needed to make a

marriage last can sometimes be too much or couples. Perhaps

this is why the U.S. has one o the highest divorce rates in

the world with a rate o 3.4 divorces per 1000 people in 2010,

according to the Hungton Post.

As sociologist Andrew J. Cherlin observes in a landmark new

book called The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage

and the Family in America Today, what is signicant about

contemporary American amilies, compared with those o

other nations, is their combination o requent marriage,

requent divorce and the high number o short-term

co-habiting relationships. Taken together, these orces create

a great turbulence in American amily lie, a amily fux, a comingand going o partners on a scale seen nowhere else. There are

more partners in the personal lives o Americans than in the

lives o people o any other Western country. (Time Magazine

Article, Is There Hope or the American Marriage by Caitlin

Flanagan)

According to the July 2009 Time Magazine article there is no

other single orce causing as much measurable hardship and

human misery in this country as the collapse o marriage. It hurts

children, reduces mothers nancial security, and has landed

with particular devastation on those who can bear it least: the

nations underclass.

In areas that can be measured or long and short-term well being

such as drug abuse, criminal behavior, school perormance and

teen pregnancy, children rom one-parent households perorm

worse than children rom low-confict two-parent households in

every area.

The past three presidents understood this as demonstrated

by President Bill Clintons welare-to-work program which

encouraged marriage, President George W. Bushs work to

promote marriage, and President Barack Obamas remarks on

the need or men to stay with their children.

The requency and problems caused by broken marriages

should bring about a desire to change and ollow the presidents

prompting.

While some marriages may be broken and irreparable, there are

things that can be done to glue a marriage back together andpossibly make it even stronger.

The rst step to a healthy marriage is commitment. The vows

that are made at the altar sometimes lose their value 10 years

later when lie gets more complicated and the airytale wedding

seems like a lietime ago. Remembering that commitment and

recognizing that you will keep that pledge or the rest o your lie

will be the jumping point to xing a marriage. Understanding

that you have embarked upon a lielong vow may help one

understand the importance o working to make the marriage

Matters of the Heart Spring 2011

MarriageToday

How Amor MinistriesSupports MarriageOne o Amors primary goals is to help

keep amilies together. A frst step in

keeping amilies together is helping

promote strong marriages.

Marriages can be strengthened through

volunteering together. Amor encouragesyou to spend time volunteering with your

spouse, whether it is on an Amor Mission

Trip with your church, Amor Family Camp

or one o our individual opportunities, such

as an Amor X Project.

For more inormation on participating in

an Amor Mission Trip with your spouse

visit www.amor.org/trips.

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Dear Friends o Amor,

My amily moved a lot asI was growing up. As the

child o a naval ocer wehad to pack up all our things

and depart or a new home,oten in a new land, every

two or three years. Once, just ater we had movedto France, my mom broke

down and shared how hardthis was on her. As an 8 year old and the oldest boy

in the amily I elt responsible. But it was too hard orme to bear. I responded, Im not a dad!! What she

and I both needed was my dad to be there or her.

This reminded me o the importance o marriageand amily, especially or children. The picture on

my parents wall o their wedding day was a constantimage and memory o how much they loved and

cared or each other. It was also a reminder, in someway, that their marriage was a signicant bond; owhich I was a real and integral part.

In Mexico, one o the unique parts o a traditionalwedding ceremony is called the lasso, called a lazo

in Spanish. It is when the bride and the groom are bothwrapped in a long rope in a gure eight. It is symbol o

armation that their union and their commitment toalways be together side-by-side.

It is very similar as to why Amor continues to becommitted to building homes or the poor. It helpskeep amilies together. We are committed to working

side-by-side with the Church worldwide. We arecommitted to serve until death do us part and we

hope you join us in that commitment.

In Christ,

Scott Congdon

Founder and CEO

Would you like to hear more from the Founders?

Visit www.amor.org to receive Amors monthly

eNews from Gayla or the Simply Scott blog to

hear from Scott.

www.amor.org

Letterfrom the Foundehealthy and happywhich will eed into a happier and

healthier lie.

Showing appreciation or a spouse will help him or her not

only eel happier in the commitment, but will also help the

spouse appreciate you as well. This joint appreciation can

assist a couple to work towards keeping the commitment

o marriage. Everyone has dierent ways o expressing and

eeling appreciated or loved. Many couples use the Five

Love Languages quiz at www.5lovelanguages.com to help

determine the best way to express their love.

Learning to communicate is not only key to showing love

and appreciation, but it is also imperative to expressing

concerns, expectations, and to resolving confict within a

marriage.

Yet none o these proposed steps can happen without

spending time together. Dates together without kids or nights

in without the TV can help a couple bond, communicate and

express their love. Investing in each other on a regular basis

will help the marriage grow and last.

An activity that helps you not only spend time together,

but work as a couple or a common goal is participating

in volunteer work. Volunteering helps you recognize each

others strengths and helps you support each other through

weaknesses. It also helps put lie situations in perspective,

realizing that the problems you have may not be as big as

you realize.

Finally, what may be the most important aspects o a strong

marriage is sharing similar belies and goals. These two

things help give a marriage strong roots as well as help acouple prioritize time, money, and talents.

In a world that has become so used to accessing inormation

and entertainment with the fip o a nger, the idea o

prioritizing a lie-long commitment can seem daunting.

However, a society that shies away rom commitment is one

that never learns how to ollow through or endure rough

times or the rewards that may be waiting. This is a society

in which amilies begin to all apart and the relationships

that are meant to be the most secure become the most

unpredictable and heart-breaking, damaging both the

adults in the marriage and the amilies that surround them.

When it is realized that a marriage can have such a strongeect on a amilywhich eeds into its community, nation,

and the worldit makes sense that Jesus put such an

emphasis on this relationship. He knew that a strong

example would be needed to illustrate how much sacrice

and love should be put into it. Spouses are to each other as

Christ is to the Church. When all else ails, that relationship

is the most important relationship that humans can have on

this earth.

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4/8Matters of the Heart Spring 2011

Spiritual PreparationWhile the goal o an Amor Mission Trip is to spiritually impact

both those building and receiving homes, the preparation

needed to do that can all away when the logistical details begin

to get complicated. A good way to ensure that your group is

not only physically prepared, but also spiritually prepared or

your Amor Mission Trip is to set aside a weekend or spiritualpreparation. Bruce Jones, a group leader rom Oregon, has

been bringing groups o approximately 300 on Amor Mission

Trips since 1995. With that many participants, Bruce is an

expert logistician. To help make sure spiritual preparation

remains the priority, Bruce takes his group on a work and

spiritual enrichment retreat every year a ew months beore

their Amor Mission Trip. He says it is a very good midway

point to get people excited about the trip. For Bruces

group, the trip gets everyone trained and makes sure all those

participating are aware o what is going on. On the retrea

they work hard at building community and ocus on spiritua

disciplines such as quiet times and prayer. Bruce eels that the

preparation time is so important that all o his more than 300

participants attend it! He says that he would encourage evergroup to set aside time or something similar. So while the res

o the year may seem taken over by trip planning, that spiritua

retreat is a time to make the important spiritual preparations

a priority.

P.S. For more help with curriculum

during retreats or throughout the

year visit www.amor.org/energize.

Group LeaderCorner

Dont have a group to go on a trip with? Join X Project, a mission trip or

individuals! Dont worry about coming on your own, the X Project will pair youup with ellow participants to serve.

1-Day Trip: July 16, 20113-Day Trips: August 5-7, 2011 November 11-13, 2011

To register, visit www.amor.org/xproject.Questions? Call Mission Services at 619.662.1200 ext. 143.

X PROJECT

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Good StewardshipOn the Horizon

www.amor.org

With greater attention being paid to the accountability

practices o charities and non-prots alike, Amor Ministrieswould like to inorm you about our philosophy o good

stewardship. Did you know, or example, that Amor

Ministries is a member o the Evangelical Council or

Financial Accountability (ECFA)?

Founded in 1979 by evangelical leaders such as the

Reverend Billy Graham, the ECFA is an accreditation

agency dedicated to helping Christian ministries earn the

publics trust through adherence to seven standards that

convey God-honoring ethical practices.1 ECFA Members

must adhere to the seven aorementioned standards

along with an accompanyingannual review as well as

submit to a nancial audit

by an independent Certied

Public Accountant. When

completed, members are

approved by the ECFAs

Board o Directors, given the ocial seal o approval and are

consequently considered trustworthy and accountable.

Because Amor values the importance o transparency,

Amor Ministries has been an approved ECFA member or

the past 18 years. In act, nancial data about our Ministrysuch as Amors annual expenses and revenue can be

ound directly on the ECFA Web site at www.ecfa.org and

is updated each year.

Add to all this, Amors general philosophy and desire to

help the greatest number o amilies move towards

greater sel-reliance. As such, Amor Ministries is

continually seeking to honor each donors generosity anduse donations in the most eective way possible. Thats

why donations support the entire Amor Mission and the

mission o Amors Pastors serving on the Ministry Planning

Boards or each region and country. Although Amor does

not always use its limited resources to ully track individual

items rom donation-to-distribution-to-specic amilies,

you can be sure that the Ministry will use contributions

where they can do the most good by combining gits within

that git category to help transorm entire communities.

In unding programs like Project Hope, or example,

each Pastor receives apre-determined allotment o

the program items such as

bibles, based on the needs

o his or her community. This

model o ministry encourages

the local Pastors to remain

vigilant about the unique and varied circumstances o the

peoples within their communities. In the coming months,

Amor will be sharing more inormation on the various ways

donors can give and more specically, how contributions

to programs are allotted.For more inormation about a specic program or to make

a donation, please contact Melissa Salazar, director o

Ministry Relations at 619.662.1200 x.129.

1Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, Evangelical Council

for Financial Accountability, www.ecfa.org.

Amor is hosting a 5K Fun Run/Walk in San Diego on September 24th to raise unds and awareness or our Ministry inMexico, South Arica, and the United States.

The day will start with a un run/walk and end with a Padres Baseball game. More details will be on our website soon, butuntil then, invite all o your riends and amily to join in on the un run/walk and baseball game on September 24, 2011!Visit www.amor.org or more inormation.

Because Amor values the

importance of transparency, Amor

Ministries has been an approved

ECFA member for the past 18 years.

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Bringing Hometo the Mission FieldAmor hopes that each participant that

comes on an Amor Mission Trip will beso impacted by their trip that they let

the mission experience permeate their

lie back home. What sometimes isnt

seen, however, is how much lie back

home eects the experience in the eld.

A structural engineer, like Mark Sarkisian

o San Anselmo, Caliornia would likely

bring a large piece o lie at home to an

Amor Mission Trip.

Mark P. Sarkisian is the Director o Seismic

and Structural Engineering or Skidmore,

Owings & Merrill LLP in San Francisco.His career has ocused on innovative

structural engineering solutions or

building projects. He has worked on

more than 75 major building projects

around the world including: the United

States Embassy in Beijing; the NBC

Tower in Chicago; The Cathedral o Christ

the Light in Oakland; Jin Mao Tower in

Shanghai (the seventh tallest building

in the world); and the Al-Hamra Tower

in Kuwait, according to www.SOM.com.

On top o all this work, Mark works with a

group o leaders to plan an Amor MissionTrip to Baja Caliornia, Mexico every

summer or more than 60 participants

rom Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church

in San Anselmo.

Mark became a member o Sleepy

Hollow Presbyterian Church in 2001, a

church that has been participating in

Amor Mission Trips since 1997. He was

intrigued by the trip because o what

he had heard o the experience and

then was pushed to participate when his

oldest daughter decided to go. Ater

a ew years, he ended up planning and

leading the trips.

Considering their knowledge o building,

many engineers may nd it dicult to

come to Mexico and build a simple

11 x 22 structure with a bunch o high

school kids, but Mark says he welcomes

the experience. He explains that the

principles o building are the same in

that no matter how simple the build

is, through discussion you can show

people how to take a drawing and createsomething tangible. You use the same

avenue o communication to move an

idea to a structure.

Mark has had to come up with some

complicated ideas to create such

incredible structures. One particularly

noteworthy idea came when he was part o

a team that had to engineer a building to

replace the St. Francis de Sales Cathedra

in Oakland which was destroyed by the

Loma Prieta Earthquake that shook the

San Francisco Bay area in 1989. Markhelped build the Cathedral o Christ the

Light, which would replace the St. Francis

de Sales Cathedral, made out o wood

and glass and near both the San Andreas

and Hayward ault lines. Mark knew tha

this would be an incredibly complicated

building due to its location in Caliornia

Using his education in engineering, Mark

was able to build a seemingly delicate

but sturdy building that would be able to

withstand an earthquake largely because

Matters of the Heart Spring 2011

Beyond the Field

Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church on their most recent Amor Mission Trip

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7/8www.amor.org

the building was designed to rest on seismic isolation

bearings. These stainless steel riction pendulum

bearings allow the building to move gently even in

violent earthquakes by separating the motion o the

ground rom the building.

As a structural engineer, Mark has to think about the

eects that gravity, wind and earthquakes will have

on a building. While building in Mexico, Mark may

not have to worry about glass buildings built on ault

lines, but Mark does enjoy explaining the principles

o engineering to his students while on his AmorMission Trip.

Mark eels that the Amor Mission Trip is ar more

than just building a home. A great preparation takes

place or a comprehensive experience where students

understand the value o helping those less ortunate

and interacting with some amazing amilies. He eels

that the most important part o the trip is watching the

transormation o the land and guiding the students

with the idea that they can accomplish great things in

a short time.

Mark continues to serve with Amor with the goal

to inspire both the participants building and those

receiving a home.

*For more information on Marks work on the Cathedralof Christ the Light visit http://www3.lehigh.edu/engineering/resolvevol2/philosophy_design.html.

If you have a story about how the Amor Mission Triphas transformed your life, your career, or your family,we want to hear more! Submit your stories and hearother Amor Mission Trip stories, visitwww.amor.org/

myamorstory.

Amor Family Camp is a week o camping, serving, and

growing together. Families rom all over the world meetin San Diego to travel together across the border to serve

in Mexico, while also including amily riendly activities.

Amor Family Camp oers the traditional Amor Mission

Trip experience with the unique opportunity to serve

side-by-side with your amily. You may choose or you

and your house to serve the Lord, but realistically, how

many opportunities do we have in society or in the

church to serve together as

a amily?

Bring your amily!

Amor Family Camp:June 18 25, 2011

Register online at www.

amor.org/trips.

Questions?

Call Mission Services at

619-662-1200 ext.6.

Next year, Amor is oering a new opportunity in

South AricaA Father & Son Mission Trip! This

Amor Mission Trip is going to be an impactul time

or athers and sons, as they come together to serve,

bond, learn, stretch, and love.

Father & Son Mission Trip: July 2012

Amor will also be oering a trip or women o all ages

to come together rom all over the world as Women

o Strength and return home

even stronger.

Women of Strength:

July 2012

Go to www.amor.org

or more inormation.

Amor Family Camp -Join us today!Tijuana, Mexico

Join us in South Africa!

Book Your 2011 AmorMission Trip Today

In 2011, Amor is serving in the ollowing

locations:

Tecate, Mexico ................... Spring only

Rosarito, Mexico ............... Summer only

Tijuana, Mexico .................. Year-round

Puerto Peasco, Mexico .... Year-round

San Carlos, Arizona ............ Year-round

Register online at www.amor.org/trips.

Questions? Call Mission Services at

619.662.1200 ext. 6.

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1664 Precision Park LaneSan Diego, CA 92173

619.662.1200

www.amor.org

NON-PROFIT OR

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDOXNARD, CA

PERMIT NO. 121

We Welcome Your Feedback!I you have story suggestions or

photos to contribute, please email

our editor Erin Illingworth at

eillingworth@amor.org or submit at

www.amor.org/myamorstory.

Calendar ofEvents

X Project Mission Tripstjaa, mxcA mission trip or individuals

1-Day Trips: July 16, 20113-Day Trips:

August 5-7, 2011November 11-13, 2011

Register online atwww.amor.org/trips/xproject or contact

Mission Services at 619.662.1200 ext. 6.

Save the DateLion Chase 5K Fun Run/Walksa Dg, CA

September 24, 2011

Check our website soonor more inormation.

South Africa Mission TripsDa, s Afca

July 2012

Father & Son Mission TripWomen o Strength Mission TripIndividual Mission TripGroup Mission Trip

Visit www.amor.org or call 619.662.1200ext. 121 or more inormation.

Family CampA mission trip or amilies

June 18 - 25, 2011

For more inormation visitwww.amor.org/trips/family or contact Mission Services at619.662.1200 ext. 135.