Mexico ENVISION HANDBOOK ENVIRONMENT PHOTOGRAPHY Mexico: Envision Handbook 1
Mexico Contents 3 INTRODUCTION About the site Meet the team 5 GENERAL INFORMATION Team costs Intern costs Housing & food Airport & Arrival Information Visas Money Communications Health & vaccinations 8 PACKING LIST Suggested Dress Code 9 MINISTRY Site ministries Schedule 10 CULTURAL SENSITIVITY 11 CONTACT INFO 2 Mexico: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY Introduction ABOUT THE SITE As a ministry, we are committed to growing the local Mexican church here in Guadalajara, Mexico. Our job is to understand culture in order to know how the Gospel best intersects with people s lives. Our team is honored to join the work that God has already begun in this area. We work alongside the Mexican Christian & Missionary Alliance churches. One day, we hope to see Mexican missionaries sent out to all nations to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Guadalajara is a city of 5+ million people and is known as the technological capital of Mexico. Guadalajara is located in the state of Jalisco, which is in central Mexico, about 3 hours east of the Pacific Ocean. The area surrounding Guadalajara is considered the leastevangelized part of Mexico. Guadalajara is a modern large city many American things (or an equivalent item) can be found. Presently, there are 5 Alliance churches within the city of Guadalajara and a couple more outside the city, in the surrounding areas. There are 7 other C&MA missionaries serving in Guadalajara, working in church-planting and leadership development. 3 Mexico: Envision Handbook
MEET THE TEAM Site Coordinator Mindy came to Mexico in 2012, as an intern, then became a Site Associate, in 2013, and most recently, the Site Coordinator, in 2017...all of which proves that God does exceedingly more than we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). Mindy comes from the beautiful state of Washington. She previously served with the C&MA, in Germany, from 2004-2006, as a Missionary Associate. She received her Master s of Intercultural Leadership, from Crown College, in 2011 and was consecrated by the Alliance, in 2016. Mindy loves coffee any time of the day, especially accompanied with good conversation. She also loves to teach anything about Jesus and the Bible and lastly, you should know that while her most embarrassing moments happened while speaking Spanish, she enjoys the language! 4 Mexico: Envision Handbook
MINISTRY PHOTOGRAPHY General Information TEAM COSTS The general cost is $635 per individual, on the ground, in the country, for 7 days. The incountry expenses cover meals, lodging, and personal travel insurance. Airfare is excluded. INTERN COSTS The general cost is $950 per intern, on the ground, in the country, for one month. The incountry expenses cover meals, lodging, laundry, in-city transportation, and personal travel insurance. Airfare excluded. HOUSING & FOOD 2018 groups will stay at a rented hotel, AirBnB, or short-term rental home. Facility information and rooming requirements will be provided to trip leaders as early as possible. No laundry is available so please bring enough clothes for your stay. There will likely be WiFi and TV/cable, but please plan to disconnect during your stay, with the exception of leaders. We desire to bless the people in/of the rental facility. Please conduct yourself respectfully, not yelling or making too much noise, keeping and leaving a clean room each day. If staying in a hotel, please bring tip money ($2 USD/35-40 pesos per room, per day) to give staff at the end of your stay. Meals are to be determined. Some will be in the city and some may be made by nationals. We expect your group to eat all meals made by our Mexican friends, even if they are not your favorites. We try to accommodate dietary restrictions but you may need to bring or buy some of your own food. Please email the site with dietary needs for your group as soon as possible. 5 Mexico: Envision Handbook
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOGRAPHY AIRPORT & ARRIVAL INFORMATION You will need to fly in and out of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (airport code GDL). You may arrive and depart at any time. If your departure is late in the day, we may require that you be taken to the airport early, depending on our commitments for the day. A member of the Envision Mexico team will meet you at the airport to lead you to the lodging place. VISAS Tourist visas will be issued upon passing through customs in the Guadalajara airport. If the tourist visas are lost during your visit, you will need to pay approximately $25 USD for a replacement. MONEY Only pesos are accepted in Guadalajara, Mexico, so currency can be exchanged, at the airport, upon arrival. Credit cards are also widely accepted and may give you a better exchange rate. The pesos equivalent of $50 USD or less should be sufficient spending money for each person unless they plan to buy a significant amount of souvenirs or snacks. COMMUNICATIONS The rental facility will likely have WiFi available. However, we encourage people to use the week to disconnect from social media in order to not miss out on what God wants to teach them, while in Mexico. That being said, use of cell phones (listening to music and using social media) is NOT allowed at any team meeting or during any ministry time. Depending on your cell phone coverage, you might need to keep your phones in Airplane Mode even after landing in Guadalajara so that you do not receive international fees/charges. Check with your cell phone provider to determine your coverage within Mexico, prior to coming. 6 Mexico: Envision Handbook
HEALTH & VACCINATIONS Guadalajara is 5000 ft in elevation. Therefore, shortness of breath and drier skin may be noticed over the course of the week. You are encouraged to bring chapstick and lotion to help. In our experience, the most common thing that affects people is dehydration. So bring a water bottle and drink up! We will have clean drinking water readily available for you at the rental facility as well as at the ministry site. Please check out https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/mexico to determine what vaccinations are needed, prior to coming! COLLAGE 1 COLLAGE 2 7 Mexico: Envision Handbook
Packing List Clothes: ncluding one nice outfit for church. Clean jeans are acceptable with a nice button-up shirt and/or blouse. Tennis shoes or walking shoes Flip flops or sandals Swimsuit and beach towel (there may or may not be a swimming pool available) Shower towel Toiletries Sunscreen Sunglasses Hat Sweatshirt Prescription meds Camera Water bottle Rain Jacket/Umbrella (for June- August) Bible, journal, pen SUGGESTED DRESS CODE Mexicans like to dress nice and look good. They tend to dress more conservative than your average American. Please leave your construction (unless we have communicated that you will be a part of a work project) and missions trip clothes at home. Bring and wear your every-day clothes (excluding sleeveless shirts).the only thing your clothes will experience is a little dirt. NO tank tops of any kind, at ANY TIME. Your shoulders need to be covered AT ALL TIMES during your time in Mexico. Knee-length shorts ONLY. Pants, capris, and long skirts (past the knee) are preferred. Shorts that are not knee-length will not be permitted. ONE-PIECE or TANKINI swim suits only, for females. Leggings are NOT allowed, in lieu of pants, outside the lodging facility. 8 Mexico: Envision Handbook
Ministry The biggest issue Mexico faces is that many of its people live without the saving knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Catholicism is the unofficial religion of Mexico, with almost 90 percent identifying with the Roman Catholic religion and 2% of local population is Evangelical. Many are only culturally religious, lacking a personal faith. Our goal is to meet the tangible needs that are going unmet in our area in order to show the love and grace of Christ and ultimately to welcome the lost into a right relationship with God. We also desire for each individual, whether a group member or intern, to learn about God s calling on their life to live intentional missional lives, wherever they might be. We believe that the Great Commission is a call to missions every Christ-follower has already been given. So the question we want to wrestle with is how does each person live out this commission, on a day-to-day basis? We desire to actively and intentionally mentor and disciple people, for however long they are serving with Envision Mexico. 9 Mexico: Envision Handbook
Schedule TEAMS Saturday Sunday Monday-Friday Saturday Arrival AM: Breakfast, chores, church, PM: Lunch, ministry, dinner AM: Prayer, breakfast, chores, team time. PM: Lunch, ministry activities, dinner, ministry Departure INTERNS While groups are present, interns will help the Envision Mexico staff with hosting and leading them. When groups are not around, there will be discipleship and service opportunities. The schedule and opportunities will be varied, dependent on time of year, length of stay, language proficiency, skills/talents, etc. 10 Mexico: Envision Handbook
Cultural Sensitivity Due to Mexico s size and it s proximity to the States, there are many stereotypes of what Mexico and Mexicans are and are not. We ask that each person who comes would suspend judgment, not label differences as good/bad or right/wrong, and that each person would exercise caution of their actions and words during their time in Mexico. During your time, we will discuss cultural differences in hopes that you return to the USA with a greater understanding of and desire to pray for Mexico and her people. 11 Mexico: Envision Handbook
Contact Info EMAIL: MEXICO@WEAREENVISION.COM WEBSITE: WWW.WEAREENVISION.COM/MEXICO 12 Mexico: Envision Handbook