Thank You

From the standpoint of Amor's mission work, the summer has come to a close. This has been the reason I have had so much time to ride bikes and talk about riding bikes in recent weeks. Due to the fact that we work with a lot of youth groups and the general tendency for people to take time off in the summer, we run most of our trips to Mexico between May and August. We will still have a couple of rushes at certain times in the fall and spring, but the busiest part of my year as far as being in Mexico is over. This summer has been absolutely packed with new experiences, new people and growth for me.

When I made the decision to come work with Amor, I was confident that there were traits with which I had been endowed that would make me pretty good at what I would be doing. My sense of adventure, desire to serve, appreciation of people and desire to follow God's will are all assets in helping people to build homes in Mexico. What I did not expect was just how well I would fit into Amor's ministry and the development I would undergo in my already brief time here. Already, I have seen traits that I did not previously consider strengths of mine manifest themselves in my work. In the past, I have shaded toward being A-type and expected much of the people around me in working on projects. In my work with Amor, I have become more patient and accomodating, traits that are very valuable in helping laypeople quickly build a home. In addition, I have started to find great joy in teaching, witnessing and imparting what knowledge I have to those around me. In my position, this helps me not only build homes with people, but build relationships and provide encouragement as well.

While I knew that there was more to what I would be doing here than just building houses, I really believed that at the heart of things that is what I would be doing. In recent weeks, though, I have taken to saying that I am not here to build homes but rather relationships. I have grown to accept that this is at the heart of what I am here to do with Amor. In truth, the homes we build are just a physical manifestation of the love that we want to show to both those receiving homes and the participants on our trips. As a corollary, I have made it my goal to first love people and build relationships, then be concerned with the actual construction of the homes I help build. There are so many relationships that are built on the trips I take down to Mexico. Participants that come down together get to know each other better. A cultural gap is at least partially closed as participants and recipients of homes grow to love each other. Most importantly, there is an opportunity for everyone involved to see God at work, learn more about him and grow or start a relationship with him. I am in the unique position to witness and facilitate these relationships. This is a much bigger responsibility than making sure cuts are straight and walls are square. My job is to love people the best I can and allow my personality and abilities to be no more than a lens through which the people around me can see Christ. The greatest gift I have received is slowly learning what it takes to do this.

Certainly one of the reasons that I aspired to work with Amor was that I felt the experiences I would have would make me a better man. As time goes on, I am finding that my goal should not be to improve as a man, but to become less of a man. I believe that the more I let go of my ambitions, where I believe I am gifted, and my concerns, the more God is able to use me as an empty vessel to show his love. Dichotomously, this is a wholly terrifying and comforting realization. I am bouncing back and forth between feeling comfort in the swell and the fear of completely losing control of the plans I had ahead of me. In both places, though, I am in a completely foreign place, as it does not come easily for humans to let go of control and trust a higher power to guide them where they should be.

A short time ago, I was sharing the skepticism I have felt about letting go and the decisions I am making with my roommate, Drew. At 27, hitting a life reset button and starting from scratch seems very unsettling. My roommate shared a story with me that he had heard from a friend. His friend had a dream in which he was sitting at a kitchen table with God. God laid a timeline of this man's life in front of him and pointed to a particular place on it. God told him that despite the man's doubts, concerns and ambitions, he was currently exactly where he was supposed to be on his timeline. God assured him that he was neither behind or ahead on his timeline, but exactly where he needed to be. If you believe in a higher power and following his desires for you, I think this is a very strong image and encouraging message.

Drew is not the only person that has offered support and encouragement to me in the time since I decided to come work with Amor. I am so thankful for so many people that have been an encouraging presence in my life. Some have already been in my life for years, and some I have only met in recent months, but a lot of my friends and family have found ways to support the journey I am on. Whether it be helpful notes, letters, facebook messages, telephone calls, comments on my blog or monetary support, not a thing each one of you have done has gone unnoticed. In recent weeks, it has become a particularly poignant gift as I find out that more and more people are reading this blog and following along with what I am doing. I love writing and sharing, so to know that there are people out there who read this and take something out of it is overwhelming. I also love the fact that although my writings often take a decidely Christ-centered tone, there are people who don't share my beliefs but are still reading. To those people, I offer a huge thank you. Whether you all realize it or not, you have shown me Christ's love and helped me through some very challenging times with your emotional and financial support. The exciting development and joy that I feel through my work and life are very much thanks to all you have given me. When I have been down, you all have picked me up and brushed me off, and if you are feeling down now, know that you have been incredibly valuable to me and I owe much of my sanity to your support. Thanks for all you do and know that you are a part of every story I share with you here. I am certainly not doing this on my own. You guys rock!

(Thanks everyone! And yes, I currently look like a pirate)

Adelante!

-Clint

New Perk

So my job pretty much totally rocks my face off. On a weekly basis, I get to meet people with hearts big enough that they find themselves in Mexico building homes for those less fortunate. I see homes (not just houses) built and lives changed. I work outside and sleep under the stars when I choose. Both in the field, and back home at my desk, I work and live with amazing people who are an encouragement and help me see and understand what being a servant and a follower of Jesus look like. I am learning, seeing and experiencing more than I could have anticipated. While I have gone through and sacrificed so much to be here, I have been thankful for the fact that it has seemed that my job couldn’t get any better. Until now.

As I mentioned last week, I was able to repair The Superfly (or Interrobang), thereby making it Superfly 2.0 (or Interrobang 2.0) and giving me the opportunity to explore some mountain bike trails. I heard rumor that their were some trails near the Amor camp in Mexico, which were partially confirmed by recently witnessing cars driving by camp with mountain bikes attached to them on the weekends. This weekend, I had a one day trip scheduled. This meant that we would be arriving Friday evening, working Saturday and leaving Sunday morning around ten in the morning. I have become an early riser, so I saw Sunday morning as a potential opportunity to get out and explore a little bit on Superfly 2.0 (or Interrobang 2.0). As I put Superfly 2.0 (or Interrobang 2.0) into the back of my work truck, I really thought I was just having a pipe dream. I figured that the odds were firmly against there actually being nice trails near camp. It would just be too good to be true. Although I was taking my bike down to Mexico, I fully expected to lean it up against my trailer, walk past it repeatedly throughout the weekend and ultimately leave Mexico without having ridden it. As it turned out, the following was my timeline Sunday morning:

6:00 – Wake up, ponder over why I can rarely sleep past six anymore.
6:05 – Consider going for a bike ride, decide that it would be far more rewarding to stay in bed rather than ride aimlessly around Mexico trying to find trails that are probably just a fairy tale.
6:20 – Lay in bed, stare at the ceiling, realize that I will not be falling back asleep.
6:25 – Resign myself the fact that I will be spending my morning looking for trails that I do not believe exist.
6:40 – Finish taking care of morning stuff around the trailer.
6:41 – Begin locating and assembling riding gear so that I can get going.
7:00 – Skeptically getting rolling in the direction of the fabled trails.
7:15 – As I am riding down a dirt road, I spot a red arrow with the letters MTB painted on it pointing right. Shocked and excited, I turn right.
7:20 – See some trails on a hill to the left, decide to check them out.
7:25 – Realize these particular trails go nowhere, but discover a Mexican cemetery.
7:30 – Return to the road that the red arrow had directed me down, continue riding.
7:40 – Find another red arrow labeled MTB pointing straight down the road accompanied by a barbed wired gate that is wired up over the road.
7:41 – Remove gate, pass through and replace gate, all while questioning the wisdom behind this decision.
7:48 – Approach a card table placed in the middle of the road. The lady standing behind the card table informs me the bike trails are further down the road behind her and it will cost $2. Done and done.
7:50 – Arrive at an open field with a race staging area where it appears a race is being set up for later in the day. Proceed to pinch self to make sure I am not dreaming.
7:51 – Talk to race organizer. Unfortunately the race does not begin until 10:30, after my schedule departure time, but the trails are marked and I am more than welcome to get in a ride.
7:55 – Take off on some gorgeous Mexican singletrack. Pinch self again, is this really, really real?

(Towards the beginning of the ride . . . you can see the climb snaking up in the distance.)

8:05 – Stop for a breather – perhaps I got a little too excited.
8:05-8:40 – Enjoy a five mile loop of beautiful Mexican singletrack, including tough climbs, fun descents, beautiful scenery, and technical rocky sections including what seems to be a prehistoric creek bed.

(Eight foot deep, seemingly prehistoric creek bed.)

8:45 – Meet some Americans who have come down to Mexico from San Diego to race, and make some connections (one of them was even from Baltimore, small world). Talk to race organizers, find out about more races and trails in the area.
8:50 – Take off for camp, reluctantly, but knowing that I would be cutting it close to take another lap and make it back to camp by ten.
8:51-9:05 – Ride back to camp while literally getting passed by dozens of vehicles going in the opposite direction. This was clearly a big race.
9:05 – Arrive back at camp to find my group is nearly packed and ready to go, they want to leave a half hour early. Sweet!
9:35 – Leave camp, grab an ice cold Mexican Coke on my way over the border. For those of you that don’t know, Mexican Coke is sweetened with natural cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup, making it roughly 10,000 times more delicious than American Coke. Great Success!

Overall, I consider this to be a very, very, very successful morning. I am blown away by how many gifts I have received through my decision to come work with Amor. Honestly, having nice trails near camp is minute in comparison to so many of the other things that are taking place in my life. That said, I have made the biggest sacrifice of my life as a part of being here. As a result, every time I am affirmed or find something that just seems like a gift tailored specifically for me, I can’t help but feel encouraged by the very intentional design of so much that is happening. Enjoying my favorite hobby in Mexico just seemed surreal. Feeling the fun and envigoration of riding some nice trails can really take so much off my mind, if only momentarily. It allows me to get lost in the marvel of creation all around me and the amazing construction inside our bodies in my own way. It stuns me the types of things we have been designed to do and the doors our abilities open for exploration of creation. There were even some parts of this trail that were green and tree covered, giving me the brief, wonderful feeling of being back home in the rolling hills of Virginia. Although I consider so much of what I do a gift, it is still to great to get some outlets in the form of hobbies and fellowship. Additionally, I am so happy that yet another integral part of what makes me the person I am has found a niche in my new home. Even with all the sacrifice and trials that have come along over the recent months, encouragement seems unceasing.

(More beautiful views of the area surrounding the trail.)

Adelante!

-Clint

Superfly 2.0

I have to admit, I have a little something to be excited about today. My mountain bike, The Superfly (or Interrobang, as it is known in some circles), was damaged during my drive to California, as was documented in this blog some time ago. I had more pressing financial matters in recent times than fixing a bike. So, there it sat in my room, unrideable, until now. Several parts have arrived in the mail in recent weeks, and the last one I needed came late last week just as I was about to leave for some time in Mexico.

Is that a pink crankset? Why yes it is, isn't it pretty?

Yes, it was hard to leave knowing that everything I needed was just waiting to be assembled, but I had a job to do. Once I got down to Mexico, I got completely enveloped in the group I worked with, and I had an amazing time with them. Until I was on my way back, I had nearly forgotten what was waiting for me. As soon as I hit the border, though, I knew what my plans for the rest of the day were. Not withstanding any sort of disaster, I was going to get this bike built up to be rideable again. Done with work (once I had filed some paperwork), I headed straight home to figure out what tools I would need to rebuild my bike. Some were tools that I already had, including my seldom used but awesome work stand, but some needed to be purchased. Thanks to some wonderful people from Warrenton who sent me here with a parting gift, I had some credit at a local bike shop.

Thanks to everyone that chipped in for my gift card, the tools it paid for helped me to put my bike back together!

I used the remaining credit I had to buy the tools I still needed to fix my bike. Luckily, the guys at Cal Coast Bicycles are super friendly and were more than willing to help this novice bike mechanic understand what tools and skills were required for the job. Leaving the shop, I was still a little nervous about what I might mess up (Back on the east coast, Haymarket Bicycles took care of my every need, so I never had to maintain my bikes myself), but I felt fairly confident I had everything I needed. Looking at the half disassembled Superfly and the parts I had in front of me, I pulled out my newfound tools and confidence and went to work. Often during the process, I wondered if I was going in the right direction, but everything seemed to be coming together well. Very quickly, I decided that this awesome bike with it’s beautiful new parts deserved a little cleaning up as well. Even though I was anxious to get everything together, I took the time to do a little extra cleaning to make things just right. Yeah, it took a little extra time, but it was worth it to see an extra shiny finished product.

Here's a shot of the new, improved, pinkified Superfly 2.0. The new black wheels make it more stealthy which just makes the awesome pink crankset pop even more.

Of course, it would have taken me awhile even if I had not done the extra cleaning. Ultimately, the process was simple, but I took my time to make sure that I did everything right. Sure enough, when I was done, everything worked well. Although I am a novice bike mechanic, I don’t think I managed to make any huge mistakes. Red doesn’t go very well with pink, but I knew that full well when I ordered my awesome new crankset, so that doesn’t count as a mistake. Although I am clearly clashing with my colors, I don’t care, because I frankly love pink and all of the appropriate parts seem to be spinning smoothly. Hardly moments after the bike was put together, I was on it in an alley behind my apartment, giving it a test ride. Happy with the way it rode (apart from some shifting adjustments I will master as time goes on), I parked it in my living room. As it sat there, I got to appreciate the fact that I actually did a little bit of work on my bike myself. Plus, I knew I would get to ride it soon. Part of my excitement certainly came from the fact that I haven’t hit the trails in over three months. Yearly, it seems that I switch between being a roadie and a mountain biker. Bursting with pride over my newly rehauled rig, I came to the conclusion that this year I am a mountain biker. I have had a tough time finding the kind of roads I like in the San Diego area, so this works out just great. Really, I am hoping that I can find some great trails to explore so that I can take advantage of my new setup and stay fit. The fact that I have my mountain bike back seems to open up a lot of opportunities. Hopefully, I will find the sweet trails that I’m looking for and I can spend some good time on them. Darn near two months ago, I even heard there are some trails near our camp in Mexico. Already, I am dreaming that I am going to find some nice singletrack on both sides of the border. You know, I’m going to take the newly improved Superfly 2.0 (or Interrobang 2.0, if you prefer it) for a ride right now!

Adelante!

-Clint

Mazel Mazel!

It has been a long time without a legitimate post concerning what and how I am doing at my new home and in my new role with Amor. I still continue to love what I do and learn something new everyday. Despite all that I have to share, the stories will have to wait a little bit longer (If I can still remember them).

Instead, I have something incredibly exciting to share with my twelve readers (half of which already have the news). I'm getting a little sister!

Today, my brother Jason and his girlfriend Caitlin were engaged to be married. Jason and Caitlin are an awesome couple that I have had the pleasure of observing over the past couple of years. When they initially started dating, Jason had a different excitement about her than I had seen in him before. This was a great indicator for how their relationship would go, but an even better one was actually getting to spend time with Caitlin. She is an amazing, accomodating person who is both a blast and easy to be around. In our loud, sometimes abrasive family, she has carved out a very important place where she is able to both deal with and support not just Jason, but everyone else. She is a caring individual who is truly a joy to be around.

From early on, it was easy to tell that Jason and Caitlin cared a lot about each other and had the potential for a lasting relationship. This past year, the strength of their bond became even more apparent as they went through an galvanizing time of growth together. Last summer, Jason and Caitlin decided to intern together at an organization called CHAT (Church Hill Activities and Tutoring) for the length of one year. CHAT is an organization that serves inner city Richmond children with the opportunity to get involved in a quality education, participate in productive activities, earn a degree and learn about God. Everytime I had the pleasure of talking to Jason and Caitlin throughout their year, they had new, exciting and sometimes difficult stories to share.

What became exceedingly clear was that their experience together, although challenging, was only making them happier and more unified. This has reinforced to me the importance of God and service in our lives. I am feeling many positive changes in my life as I go through my internship with Amor, and I know that that this can certainly be applied to a couple as well. Jason and Caitlin are an amazing example of what Christ can do for us if we keep him at the center of our lives and relationships. As I look at how happy and excited they are going forward, I can only feel more encouraged about the decisions I am currently making in my life.

I want to thank Jason and Caitlin for being amazing people and having a positive influence in my life. I am so excited to see what God holds in the future for the two of you as your love, zeal for life and compassion are joined together for a long and fruitful time together. I hope you guys have an amazing day it continues for the rest of your lives!

Mazel Tov!

Wings of Tin

My feet are lead
My wings are tin
And I'm stuck on the roof tryin to fly again
But conditions are good and my will is right
So I'll spread my wings wide and take flight

I'm draggin my toes through the clouds as I go
Footprints I'm leaving in white
But I'm spelling your name
With the drops of the rain
High above your small house tonight
High above your small house tonight

Shadows, air and dust make the heart of man
The soul is weightless like the wind in the palm of you hand

Still my feet are lead
My wings are tin
And I'm up on the roof tryin to fly again
But conditions are good and my will is right
So I'll spread my wings wide and take flight
See me spread my wings wide and take flight

I will spread my wings wide and take flight

-Mike Barnet

Camp, Family

First, I have to apologize to everyone for taking such a long time out. For those of you that have been frequently checking up at my urging, I know it is unfair to expect to keep your attention when I am not putting up many updates. With that said, here's one to keep you going.

Last week, I had the opportunity to work as a field specialist for Mexico Family Camp. This is the group that I have come with to Mexico year after year. Essentially, the leaders that started Mexico Family Camp organize a trip each year with a large number of people, and then plan their trip with Amor. Since this is the group I have always come on Amor trips with, the week afforded me the opportunity to see many old friends and even a few members of my family. After spending a few weeks away from home and getting acclimated, it was a really great opportunity to just be comfortable with some people that I know well.

My time with Family Camp started as the advanced crew came in to get everything set up for the participants who would be following. This group included many friends that I have gotten to know over the years, including the Mathis family who were the impetus for the creation of camp. Dean and Amy Mathis are a wonderful couple who have raised awesome boys. Dean is a guy who emanates love for the people around him while still maintaining his manhood. I am very grateful for having been given the opportunity to get to know him. If I had not witnessed Amor through the lens of his outreach and what has been created at Mexico Family Camp, I may not have been struck so strongly by what Amor does over the years. I am thankful for the impression that has been left on me by the Mathises and MFC, because as time goes on, I am more and more convinced that Amor is exactly where God wants me this year.

After being with Amor for a month and learning about being a field specialist and everything that goes on in Mexico, it was interesting being on the other side of the fence at Family Camp. I was very humbled by the pride in me that many of the family campers displayed. At camp the prior year, I had spent a lot of time in thought and prayer considering what the next step in my life might be. During that week I began to feel very convicted about coming to work with Amor. I shared this feeling with other campers at the time. I was told many times of how encouraging it was to watch someone like me follow through on such a decision despite the sacrifices that were required in my life. The truth is, I have had to make sacrifices, but I feel a lot happier making sacrifices and being in God's will than I felt before. If the fact that I am here now serves as a motivation or encouragement to the people around me, all I can say is thank you and I am immensely grateful for where I am.

As the week went on, I had a lot of great times with everyone around me, even though I bossed people around a little more than in past years. Honestly, so many of the campers have been on past Amor trips that they didn't need much guidance. This worked out really well for me. Since the different sites didn't need all that much help, I was able to spend more time on the site which had my family, including my Father, brother Tyler and cousin Lauren. It was great that I got to spend Father's Day with my Dad. So good, in fact, that I made him a Mexico-style, homemade card. I also enjoyed bonding with Lauren and Tyler, it's great to have longstanding relationships strengthened through mutual experiences and emotions. Saying goodbye to everyone was tough as always. I have joked that when I am in Mexico I have to experience the last day of summer camp once a week, and the truth is that is exactly what happens. Family camp was tougher in some respects and easier in some respects given that I had so many preexisting relationships.

Following camp, I got some much needed days off. I had been in the field with very little respite for nearly three weeks. Although I absolutely love it in Mexico, working in the field is an exhausting lifestyle and time off is much appreciated. What made this recent break even better, though, was having Tyler around. He decided to stay in San Diego with me for five days after camp. We hung out, went to the aquarium, spent time with our local family and mostly just "enjoyed" the gloomy June San Diego Weather. It was absolutely awesome having Tyler around, although we didn't do anything terribly exciting, it was great to connect with him and get to know better the man he is becoming.

The past few weeks have been great and I feel energized going into the next week, which I will be spending in Mexico. Light a firecracker and enjoy a beverage in my stead, as I will be in Mexico for the 4th. Thanks for tuning in, it's always great to share.

Adelante,

Clint

First Two Trips

Sorry I have been away for awhile. I've been tired. There is no other excuse except that. I can't peg exactly what's been going on with me. It just seems that when I am not doing something with Amor I just want to lay around and sleep as much as possible. And sometimes read. But mostly lay around and sleep. My bikes are sitting around getting dusty and I hear that San Diego is beautiful this time of year, but I would have very little idea. I'm hoping that I might get an infusion of energy in the near future.

What I Am Doing When I Am Actually Doing Something

I have been learning a lot and having a wonderful time with Amor. My schedule for the past couple of weeks has been that I spend some time in the office and have a couple days off during the work week, while I head down to Mexico to assist in leading trips Saturday-Monday. The office time has been great as I have participated in continuing orientation and prepared for my time in the field. I have really enjoyed orientation. My previous position felt very project oriented and did not include a tremendous amount of collaboration and relationship building. While I constantly had to process numbers and regulations, I was not feeling intellectually stimulated from a social standpoint. Orientation with Amor has done a lot to tap into a part of my brain that I really appreciate but felt was going largely unused for a period of time. We have done quite a bit of studying on personality types, interaction and how to relate to other individuals. It's been a lot of fun and I am very appreciative that I have had an opportunity to experience this type of learning.

First Two Trips

Each of the last two weekends, I have gone down to Mexico as an Amor field specialist to assist groups in building homes. During my first week, I was shadowing another field specialist as we worked with a group of about 13 people. The group was very interesting in that they are frequent mission trip participants. They knew what they were doing and were a lot of fun to spend time with, as they shared stories about past trips with Amor and a recent trip in response to the earthquakes in Haiti. It is the groups' responsibilities to feed field specialists while we are in the field, so it was great to find out there were some wonderful cooks in our group as well. The full-time field specialist I was shadowing is my roommate, Drew. Having such a self-sufficient group gave Drew the opportunity to pull me aside for some teaching moments, which I felt was very helpful at this stage of my development with Amor. In addition, having such a small group and only one work site gave us the opportunity to be very hands on and get to know the people we were working with. Overall, I felt that working with this type of group was a great way to get me started.

Week two was a whole different ball game. Myself, another intern and a full-time field specialist were responsible for a group of roughly 240 working across 14 sites. I spent much of each day driving between the six sites for which I was responsible, doling out encouragement and advice wherever I could. Having so much more going on was an exciting challenge and it definitely added a new dynamic to the learning I was doing for my new role. As I drove around from site to site, I could not help but think that the eight or nine years I spent waiting tables helped prepare me for the multitasking and attention needed to juggle all the balls I had in the air. It's also interesting learning how to support my sites but not become a group member myself. Prior to this past month, my only experience with Amor was participating in trips to build homes. Overseeing and looking after groups is a different challenge and I have had to resist the temptation to be too hands 0n. This week was also more eventful as there were a of couple incidents on my sites (everyone was okay) and I had another mishap of my own. That's right, my streak of boneheaded slips has continued into Mexico. I was making some deliveries to sites and in my haste forgot to put my tailgate up. Later, I was backing up to turn around in a road. I judged that I had about 2-3 feet to back up before hitting a post as I turned around. Unfortunately, with my tailgate down, I did not have 2-3 feet. Much to my disappointment, I put a sizable dent in the top of my tailgate. Fortunately, everyone at Amor was extremely gracious about my mistake, apart from suggesting that my radio handle in Mexico be "tailgate." I feel like I am hitting my stride from a relationship level and I am learning a lot on the job, but I am feeling a little bit disconcerted about the effects of my absent-mindedness over the past month. I don't know if I'm still adjusting here and just learning a lot, but I'm really hoping this is a stage that comes to a merciful end quickly. Although I feel like everything else is going well, thoughts and prayers that I can forget this stuff and break my streak would definitely be appreciated.

I'm still crazy excited about everything that God is doing in my life through Amor. I have incredible moments of joy, humility and thankfulness every day that I am in Mexico. I will try to share these moments better as time goes on. I will need to do a better job of chronicling my time down there both with words and pictures. As I hit my groove, I am sure I will figure out how to fit all the puzzle pieces of my life together, with this blog and some other things that have been neglecting included. I am also very impressed with the wisdom and structure Amor employs when bringing new members into the fold. I am thankful every day for their training and care both in and out of the work place.

Tomorrow I am heading down for a 20 day stint in the field. I will have internet access from time to time, but will be very much insulated by Mexico. Thanks to everybody so far for your interest and support. If you've got any questions about me or Amor, please let me know in the comments section and I will get to them at my next opportunity.

Adelante!

-Clint