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Is Our Area of Mexico Safe and What are the Risk in Travel?
Some of you might be wondering whether or not it’s safe to come to Mexico. You could be a concerned parent pondering whether or not you should
allow your son or daughter to come. Or, you might be a leader weighing whether or not you should endorse your church to come. Following is some
help and perspective on the matter from us as a family who live in Mexico as long term missionaries. Also, at the end of this page is a special section
devoted to travel and safety questions.
1. Why should my child go?
Discipleship has a price tag. Making Jesus Lord is a process which involves the sacrifice of time, and of desires or rights. Giving up rights, an
unpopular activity in our rights-conscious society, finds its ultimate expression in the Christian who forsakes all to pursue a call to missions. Doing so
involves taking a risk. As parents, we have to weigh the risks to which we expose our children.
The risks involved in a short-term mission experience are many:
Against these risks we must weigh the risk of not engaging in a short-term mission experience:
By the time your students reach their junior year of high school, you’ve made your mark as parents. A short-term mission trip can be a life-changing
experience. Encouraging them to go may be your last, best shot at helping them to understand and identify with the Great Commission.
2. When should my child go?
Is junior high too young an age for your children to go to the mission field? Some of the best projects involve junior high participants. A recent group
from Edgewater Church in Grants Pass, Oregon, is a good example. During the day they worked hard helping a needy church. In the afternoons
they led a VBS with around 100 children. By the end of the week, the group of 30 had helped a needy church and led around 40 children to Christ.
Many led vacation Bible school, and all of them shared the Gospel door-to-door and prayed with the sick and needy.
We're talking about middle schoolers—kids fresh out of elementary—naïve about many things, awkward, and vulnerable. Kids hungry for ministry. If
we're to build up the generation of radical disciples that this world needs, then we need to start with kids in junior high.
3. Is a Mission Trip Important for my child?
Given the recent surge of interest and involvement in short-term missions, you'd think that it was a new phenomenon. Actually, it is a tradition as old
as Christendom. In the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus sent not a select few, but all of His disciples out as missionaries for a short period. The disciples
tasted what life would be like once they eventually became full time missionaries. This experience became foundational to their growth as they
traveled from village to village with only God's power to guide them.
Wouldn't it be great if the process was still so simple? Advances in transportation and other technologies have brought the world to our doorstep.
Not all short-term mission experiences are alike; the choices can be bewildering. Regardless of the place we let our child go to, there's no
guarantees that nothing will happen to them. However, we do have the guarantee that missions is important and was Christ' last command. We
have the promise Christ will be with us as we go to the uttermost ends of the earth and will not allow anything to happen to us that is not within His
will. Letting your child on a short-term mission opportunity takes work, but a little effort up front can pay off in an experience which God uses to
change lives forever.
4. How should my child get ready?
Although all youth groups are given the same preparation materials, the time invested varies markedly. Inadequate preparation causes a youth
group to drift. Students have inconsistent attitudes and mixed motivations. They function as individuals rather than as a team. When it’s time to
minister, they hang back—unsure of themselves, their faith, and their skills.
In striking contrast are students whose leaders invested themselves in preparation for the mission field. They lead people to the Lord. Between
ministry times, they pray with intensity. An hour and a half of team sharing time is "too short." While praying as a group, a girl who has been holding
out on God breaks down in tears, asking the Lord to take her back.
Same students, different results. It is the investment made in a deliberate and thorough preparation process that produces desired results. These
students will never be the same. They'll impact their world for Jesus. Good mission preparation begins with recruiting a strong prayer base. It
involves learning about the poor overseas and then seeking out the poor in your own community.
Good preparation marks the cost in advance and produces faith as a result. A good sending organization will ask participants to commit to daily
quiet times of at least 30 minutes. Students should look for opportunities to minister at least once a month in their communities, putting evangelism
and service principles into action.
5. How can I help?
6. Is Our Area of Mexico Safe and What are the Risk in Travel to There?
Some of you might be wondering whether or not it’s safe to come to Mexico. You could be a concerned parent pondering whether or not you should
allow your son or daughter to come. Or, you might be a leader weighing whether or not you should endorse your church to come. Following is some
help and perspective on the matter from us as a family who live in Mexico as long term missionaries.
What are the risk of coming to Mexico?
Some of you might be wondering whether or not it’s safe to come to Mexico. You could be a concerned parent pondering whether or not you should
allow your son or daughter to come. Or, you might be a leader weighing whether or not you should endorse your church to come. Following is some
help and perspective on the matter from us as a family who live in Mexico as long term missionaries. Also, at the end of this page is a special section
devoted to travel and safety questions.
1. Why should my child go?
Discipleship has a price tag. Making Jesus Lord is a process which involves the sacrifice of time, and of desires or rights. Giving up rights, an
unpopular activity in our rights-conscious society, finds its ultimate expression in the Christian who forsakes all to pursue a call to missions. Doing so
involves taking a risk. As parents, we have to weigh the risks to which we expose our children.
The risks involved in a short-term mission experience are many:
- The risk of a possible mishap while traveling
- The risk of being rejected while sharing your faith
- The risk of being vulnerable with your team
- The risk of contracting an illness or having an accident
- The risk of being unprepared to deal with culture shock
Against these risks we must weigh the risk of not engaging in a short-term mission experience:
- Students will grow up with a narrow, self-centered worldview.
- No one will share Christ with the lost.
- Students will inherit a lukewarm Christianity.
- Materialism will never be challenged.
- Students will live their lives as takers, not givers.
By the time your students reach their junior year of high school, you’ve made your mark as parents. A short-term mission trip can be a life-changing
experience. Encouraging them to go may be your last, best shot at helping them to understand and identify with the Great Commission.
2. When should my child go?
Is junior high too young an age for your children to go to the mission field? Some of the best projects involve junior high participants. A recent group
from Edgewater Church in Grants Pass, Oregon, is a good example. During the day they worked hard helping a needy church. In the afternoons
they led a VBS with around 100 children. By the end of the week, the group of 30 had helped a needy church and led around 40 children to Christ.
Many led vacation Bible school, and all of them shared the Gospel door-to-door and prayed with the sick and needy.
We're talking about middle schoolers—kids fresh out of elementary—naïve about many things, awkward, and vulnerable. Kids hungry for ministry. If
we're to build up the generation of radical disciples that this world needs, then we need to start with kids in junior high.
3. Is a Mission Trip Important for my child?
Given the recent surge of interest and involvement in short-term missions, you'd think that it was a new phenomenon. Actually, it is a tradition as old
as Christendom. In the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus sent not a select few, but all of His disciples out as missionaries for a short period. The disciples
tasted what life would be like once they eventually became full time missionaries. This experience became foundational to their growth as they
traveled from village to village with only God's power to guide them.
Wouldn't it be great if the process was still so simple? Advances in transportation and other technologies have brought the world to our doorstep.
Not all short-term mission experiences are alike; the choices can be bewildering. Regardless of the place we let our child go to, there's no
guarantees that nothing will happen to them. However, we do have the guarantee that missions is important and was Christ' last command. We
have the promise Christ will be with us as we go to the uttermost ends of the earth and will not allow anything to happen to us that is not within His
will. Letting your child on a short-term mission opportunity takes work, but a little effort up front can pay off in an experience which God uses to
change lives forever.
4. How should my child get ready?
Although all youth groups are given the same preparation materials, the time invested varies markedly. Inadequate preparation causes a youth
group to drift. Students have inconsistent attitudes and mixed motivations. They function as individuals rather than as a team. When it’s time to
minister, they hang back—unsure of themselves, their faith, and their skills.
In striking contrast are students whose leaders invested themselves in preparation for the mission field. They lead people to the Lord. Between
ministry times, they pray with intensity. An hour and a half of team sharing time is "too short." While praying as a group, a girl who has been holding
out on God breaks down in tears, asking the Lord to take her back.
Same students, different results. It is the investment made in a deliberate and thorough preparation process that produces desired results. These
students will never be the same. They'll impact their world for Jesus. Good mission preparation begins with recruiting a strong prayer base. It
involves learning about the poor overseas and then seeking out the poor in your own community.
Good preparation marks the cost in advance and produces faith as a result. A good sending organization will ask participants to commit to daily
quiet times of at least 30 minutes. Students should look for opportunities to minister at least once a month in their communities, putting evangelism
and service principles into action.
5. How can I help?
- You can encourage – The leaders work very hard to be available and to lead with excellence. Encouraging the staff can be one of the most
productive ways for you to contribute to the well being of your student.
- You can give – Frequently, you may hear about needs on the field related to your student’s ministry. When coordinated with the base director
and home office, gifts to meet these needs are ordinarily welcomed.
- You can go – We have an open door. We're sure your student's Youth Group would love to have an adult sponsor. You are welcome
accompany and see for yourself the ministry with which your child is involved.
- You can pray – Prayer is a constant and a given. Stay in touch through the trip updates and with your student to know how to pray.
6. Is Our Area of Mexico Safe and What are the Risk in Travel to There?
Some of you might be wondering whether or not it’s safe to come to Mexico. You could be a concerned parent pondering whether or not you should
allow your son or daughter to come. Or, you might be a leader weighing whether or not you should endorse your church to come. Following is some
help and perspective on the matter from us as a family who live in Mexico as long term missionaries.
What are the risk of coming to Mexico?
- First of all, our area of ministry is in a rural, agricultural setting with no problems whatsoever. We are not in a large city, but a farming valley
made up of smaller communities. - Your church group will be staying in a very safe, fenced in Mission Base where we as missionaries live. Your mission team will be well taken
care of. - The issues in Mexico are over 800 miles away from our area.
- When comparing the murder rate per 100,000 in the larger cities in the U.S., you might be surprised to know what they are verses the larger
cities of Mexico. New Orleans is highest with around 60 murders per 100,000, and the average, per other larger cities, is around 30 per
100,000. The border city of Tijuana (which you don’t drive through when coming to our area, but use a bypass freeway to go around it) is 13
per 100,000. - Most of the incidents mentioned in the media are isolated and mainly take place at night in questionable areas. The newest U.S. Travel
Update for Mexico says to use caution when going to Red Light Districts. It also recommends going to recognized tourist areas. Other than
that, it is not telling folks to stay away from Mexico, but to just use reasonable caution. - If you enter Mexico south of San Diego, you’ll be using a toll freeway on your drive down. Everyday there are between 5,000 - 10,000 cars
that use this freeway. That means that in the past year there have been almost 2,000,000 vehicles use this freeway with no incidents
whatsoever. We use this freeway all the time and feel very safe. And once again, this toll road bypasses Tijuana so there’s really nothing to
worry about. As with all travel in Mexico, it is best to travel during the day as livestock and etc. can be on the roads. - If you would rather enter Mexico east of San Diego via Tecate you can do so. The highway is #3 and connects in Ensenada. Tecate is a small
border town and the road is quiet and peaceful. - Mexico is very concerned about its tourism and is patrolling all its highways with additional police and soldiers to ensure maximum safety. The
area is also patrolled by Green Angels who help tourist whose vehicles might break down and keep watch as well. - It's also pertinent to say that some of the media attention has been made a little sensational (as the media tends to do) and blown out of
proportion. A good case could be put together from things that happen in Southern California that it's not safe to travel there as well. We are
all accustomed to small risk in life and coming to our area of Mexico is not any huge risk. We also serve a big God who has our days
numbered as well and we’re not going to die one minute earlier or later than He has determined for us if we’re in His will. There’s no safer
place than to be in His will doing His work! - We’ve been hosting mission teams for 13 years (well over 250 total mission teams hosted) and have had no issues whatsoever. We are on
schedule to host another 30 teams this year and foresee no problems whatsoever. - We are long term missionaries who are in our 13 year living here. You will be well taken care of by us. If we thought your lives were in any way
in danger, or things were even remotely out of hand, we’d let you know. - We can also provide references of recent team leaders who have currently been here if you’d like to talk with someone other than us.
- Someone from our ministry will be with your team at all times and act as your host.
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| Short Term Mission Trip Opportunities to Mexico! We are Long Term We are Long Term Mission Teams in Missionaries who use Short fulfilling the Great Commission! Page loading, please wait! |
| Go Missions to Mexico Inter-Denominational Ministry |
| Fees Per Person-7 Day Trip Adults-Youth $225 Children (6-12) $200 Pre-School (0-5) Free Fees Include: Lodging, building materials & tools for work projects, VBS Program, media & ministry equip., coordination of ministries, and our on site assistance! |
| We are Long Term Missionaries who use Short Term Mission Teams in fulfilling the Great Commission! We host: Youth Teams, Family Teams, Adult Teams & Church Teams. All with any kind of work & ministry emphasis desired! |