The story of Amor
When Amor Ministries began in 1980, many of the poorest families in Mexico were sending their children away to orphanages because they could not provide for them. Orphanages were filling up with children whose parents loved them but lacked the resources to take care of their general needs. Amor’s Founders, Scott & Gayla Congdon, decided to offer an alternative; provide adequate housing to keep families together. Today, Amor continues our mission to share the love of Jesus with families by meeting tangible needs that help keep them together.
Partner with the local church
We partner with a local community of pastors in Mexico, called the Ministry Planning Board. The pastors will nominate a family and present them to the board to decide on them receiving a home. The pastors live and work in the communities we build in so they know the need better than we ever could. Groups that come to serve alongside us building homes will serve either in the Baja California area (Tijuana) or Puerto Peñasco (across the Arizona border). After the home is built, the pastor is there to follow up with the family and continue a relationship with them.
What to Expect on an Amor Trip
At the Worksite
- An expert from Amor will be with you on site to guide the building process.
- It’s easy to think that the house is the most important part of the trip, but we are really here to love and serve people. Take time to talk to the family (even if you don’t know Spanish!), play with kids, or invite people to join in the work!
- Discover that you can make a big impact in a few days!
At Amor’s Camp
- La Cocina, our catering service run by locals, can provide your group with meals for the weekend. They cook their own recipes and take care of meals, snacks, coffee, water, and Gatorade.
- Camp caretakers watch the people and things at camp 24/7. Amor staff members will be with the group both at camp and at the worksite.
- The experience at camp is very similar to how the families live – pit toilets (a port-a-potty over a hole in the ground) and bucket and/or solar showers.
- Each night, your group has time to share about the day around your campfire and even hear from leaders in the community.
Impact Trip
Our Impact Trip is our all-inclusive trip perfect for your group of 15 adults or more. Impact Trips are 3-days/2-nights, and you can pick your own dates. We provide the tents at our secure campground, all the building materials and tools, a pre-laid concrete slab, and water and authentic Mexican meals for 3 work days. An expert from Amor will also be with you on site to guide the building process.
When you join us on a trip, you’re not only partnering with Amor, but also with the local church and community. An Impact trip creates an average of 14 jobs for the local community – it creates jobs for the cooks in La Cocina, for the local workers that pour your concrete slab, and even for those that set up your tents at our campground.
Classic Amor Trip
For groups that want more flexibility in customizing their trip, we offer our Classic Amor Trip. You can come for up to 5 days and select from our add-on options to create the perfect trip for your group on any dates you’d like. Options include having the cement slab poured for you by local labor, renting tools from Amor that will be waiting at your worksite, having one meal or all of your meals provided for you by our La Cocina program or our partner Baja Cooks (Camping Pros), have one of our pastors speak to your group about their community, and more.
The Amor 3 Day Trip
If you don’t want to plan your own trip, you can join us on one of our Amor 3 Day Trips! We offer trips on set dates nearly every month throughout the year. Over 3 days you’ll get to meet new people, interact with local community leaders, eat authentic Mexican cuisine, and build a home alongside a family in need. Once you meet us in San Diego, we will provide all transportation to, throughout, and from Mexico. Tents are provided at our secure campground, authentic meals are made through our food service program La Cocina, and all the tools and materials you need will be waiting for you at the worksite – just bring your passport and belongings.
