Starting the "To Africa With Amor" blog

Wow. So much has happened as we have started our endeavor to go to Africa to serve those in poverty. I felt it was time to start a blog to chronicle all that is happening in regards to this exciting mission. So, let me bring you up to speed!

Amor Ministries first became involved with South Africa two years after "apartheid" came to a close. Two year after this historical even, Gayla and I, founders of Amor, were invited to a huge missions convention under the auspices of the Laussane Convention. While at this event I had close to 20 meetings and discussions with various church, government , and NGO (non-governmental organization) representatives. We came to the conclusion that since the situation in South Africa was so political it would be best to wait a few years and revisit the idea of house building in So. Africa at a better time. Apparently the local politicians were promising people in their communities that if they voted for them they would see that their constituents would receive three-bedroom, two bath homes for free from the government as well as a free television. These politicians were making the claim that the whites had all received these thing from the government and it was now their change.

For years I prayed and talked to people about I desire to serve in Africa. One of those conversations took place with Pastor Bill Hebner from Rhyl, Wales (located in the north west corner of the United Kingdom). Bill had been bringing groups to Amor in Tijuana, Mexico for close to 15 years from Canada (Bill is born and raised Canadian, Eh?) as well as bringing groups from Wales. For several years Bill and I continued to discuss our common dream of taking teams to South Africa to build homes and churches.

This dream became a closer reality when Gayla and I took our sabbatical to the UK and spent a week with him and his family. We spoke in churches while there and participated in meetings to promote and plan his upcoming trip to Tijuana, Mexico. Key to these meetings was our planning for taking a trip to South Africa in 2008. I what I call the "upper room", we met with several members of Bill's planning team to also plan a trip to South Africa. We were also very blessed to be able to meet with Abel Govender who flew up from South Africa. We met with him to discuss our interest and plans in going to South Africa. Abel, in addition to running a orphanage in Johannesburg, is also the Secretary General of the African Pastors Forum. This forum consists of some 600 independent pastors all over Southern Africa.

What came out of our meetings in Wales was a plan to fly 15 church leaders from South Africa to Tijuana in March of 2007 to Tijuana, Mexico with some 110 members of the Wales team. This trip transpired with great success and when the South Africans returned home the next phase of planning began.

Current plans for for a pre-trip planning team to fly to South Africa in November 2007 to lay the ground work for a Wales team of over 110 to arrive in SA in March of 2008.

"To Africa with Amor" and the Wales team we go!!