Ripple

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
- The Grateful Dead

Amor has a really unique way of deciding what kind of work it does to assist the Mexican people. Years ago, the organization saw a need to have local people involved in the decision making for what we do. This has helped avoid the classic problem that occurs when a foreign entity comes intending to assist a people but really ends up forcing it's own agenda and culture on the people it is trying to help. As a result, a group we refer to as the Mexican Pastors Board was formed. The Mexican Pastors Board is a team of local pastors that live, work and conduct their ministry in the areas of Mexico where we are involved. Everything we do, including building homes, distributing water filters and giving other aid, is directed by the pastors. They meet and decide who is in most desperate need of a home and where our assistance is needed most. Ultimately, we carry out their vision for local communities. I love this way of doing things. It is a beautifully designed way for our ministry to work. Because I find it to be the most effective way to carry out our ministry, I never anticipated one challenge this selection process presents.

Most of the time, when I take a group to a site to build a home, we find a small ramshackle building, gutted out truck or some other minimal shelter in which the family has been living, but this is not always the case. Occasionally, we will come across a larger, more solid structure, sometimes one that appears to meet the family's needs. This inevitably leads to questions from our participants that have come to build. "Why did you choose this family for a home?," "What's wrong with the house they are living in?," and "Why do they need another house?" are some of the main questions I have to answer. Initially, I was entirely unprepared to field these inquiries, but the first emotion I felt was anger. While I saw the same scene as the participants and sometimes had the same questions, I was blown away that people could come from a place of such abundance and make quick judgments on the needs in Mexico. It was also frustrating because I didn't feel like I had a great answer. I didn't yet know about the Mexican pastors' role in 0ur ministry and even I wondered how we sometimes selected the people who would receive aid. Gradually, I grew to understand and react better. I realized that people were leaving their comfort zone to come down to help Mexican families and wanted to feel like they were making a significant difference. I also learned more about how the Mexican pastors worked within our ministry. I felt I was prepared to handle these tough questions.

My new strategy was to pass the buck. When asked why we were building a home for a particular family, I responded by putting the responsibility on our pastors. If groups seemed unhappy because they felt the need was not desperate enough where they were working, I simply told them we didn't pick who got the homes. I informed them that it was the local pastors who identified needs, we simply came to help where they directed us. I also assured them that the pastors had a better understanding of the needs in the area than we could ever have and that they put us where we should be. Sometimes people responded well to this, but sometimes they didn't. When the visible evidence in front of them led to the conclusion that there might not be a strong need, assurance that the pastors knew what they were doing sometimes wasn't enough.

As the summer went on, I learned a lot through studying and observing the people I worked with and the communities I worked in. I began to see that it wasn't just the families we were building for that were being affected. Neighbors and passersby saw what we were doing and were intrigued by a bunch of funny looking and strangely acting gringos that were building homes by hand. Participants forged bonds with each other, the people for which we were building homes and Christ. Cultural barriers were broken down. It began to realize that the decision making process for what we did didn't start with our Mexican Pastors' board. The work we do is divinely inspired and has far reaching implications in the hearts, minds and souls of everyone we come in contact with. This really hit home for me when Howie, a long time field specialist and former monk who works for Amor, was in the field with me one day. While sharing with one of my groups, he mentioned the Nicene Creed, a creed I had recited many times while consistently attending Catholic Church over a year or two. The Nicene Creed starts with the following lines:

I believe in God the Father
Maker of heaven and earth
Of all that is seen and unseen

Although I had said these words a hundred times, I never fully considered the ramifications of the third line until Howie was sharing with us. This doesn't just refer to a spiritual realm that is around us. It refers to all the tangible things that happen that we can not see as a result of what we do. There is an unseen portion to all of our lives that is in reality much larger than the part we do get to witness As I type these words I wonder about the eyes that will see them and the minds that will consider them. Whether you build a house, write a blog, prepare taxes, brew coffee at Starbucks (Ryan Bros. is better) or simply hold a door for someone on the way into the post office, you are making an impact. When you think about all of the people you affect through subtle interactions and gestures, it is easy to know that the "seen" portion of your life is just a grain of sand in comparison to the beach that is the "unseen." Now my answer to why we build a house where we do has gotten simple. Because God wants it there and the affect it will have goes far beyond anything we can observe.

(Our lives are powerful, flowing rivers, with many streams and tributaries that branch out and cause growth and change in the environment around them.)

Whether or not you have professed the Nicene Creed or subscribe to Christian faith, the truth of the unseen in our lives is inescapable. We are presented with opportunities to influence the understanding, countenance and emotions of others nearly every waking moment. The responsibility of using these opportunities to affect positive change is staggering. Do you consider this truth in everything you do? I don't. I often allow my selfish goals and emotions to determine the way I live rather than considering the great unseen and the fact that the story of my life is infinitely larger than the narrative I observe. I want the testament of my life to be one that inspires love and hope despite my broken, human state. Living for others with this knowledge and responsibility is intimidating, but I know that the strength to do it does not come from me, it simply dwells in me.

Let it be known
There is a fountain
That was not made
By the hands of man.

Adelante!

-Clint