This planning guide is designed to help you prepare for your mission trip to Mexico. We hope and pray that this will be a special time of growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ as well as broadening your awareness of world needs. Each country has its own ideas of right and wrong, what’s real, what’s beautiful, etc. People live out their culture through many different avenues: their family structure, their holidays, their music, their religion, their government just for starts. God was very creative when He created humankind! The Mexican people have very logical reasons for doing things the way they do. As opposed to judging their ways, we should learn from them. Each culture has its strengths and weaknesses, and learning about another culture can give us tremendous insight into our own. This is the beauty of coming to Mexico. It is an opportunity not only to help others but to know another way of life.

Group Leader(s)

Each group should have a leader/spokesperson. This might be the person with whom all communications and financial arrangement are made or might be the person "in charge" during the trip. The responsibilities of this person will include: Advance payments to purchase building materials, buy food and secure bus transportation. Air travel arrangements including reservations and payment. Scheduling travel dates and coordinating those dates with Mano Amiga. Distributing health forms, permission slips and release forms to your travelers. Collecting properly filled out health forms, permission slips and release forms and bringing them with. Payment of all advance expenses when needed. Having sufficient cash to cover in-county expenses. Converting sufficient dollars to pesos at the airport. Obtaining a medical person, a music person and a spiritual leader for their group. Bringing a first aid kit. Other requirements & responsibilities may be added as necessary.

Our Expectations

We expect everyone to become a part of the group and join in all group activities. We expect that you will work to your best ability at the job site, in the kitchen and around the camp. We expect you to be helpful, friendly and cheerful. Our work and our behavior will set the standards by which future Mano Amiga groups will be welcomed into these towns and villages.

In addition, no alcoholic beverages are permitted at our Camp in Chuburná. Drinking anytime or anywhere in the villages is discouraged. Teenagers under the age of 18 who drink, use illegal drugs or any other serious infraction will be sent home at their parent's expense. If necessary, the youngster will be acompanied by an adult (also at the parent's expense).

Health Information

Shots are not required for traveling into Mexico: however, some are recommended:

1. Everyone should receive a Hepatitis A shot. This can be done at any time. A second shot about 6 months after the first will give you long-term protection. Hepatitis B vaccine should also be given.

2. DT (Diphtheria, tetanus) update every 10 years.

3. MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) If you are under 33 years of age, and have not had the disease or the vaccine twice, you will need to be updated.

PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL PHYSICIAN

4. Personal prescriptions should be brought in duplicate, in original containers. One should be packed in your checked luggage and the others should be packed in your carryon: this keeps you covered if one of your bags becomes lost.

5. Basic helpful hints: No tap water! You can’t drink the water, brush your teeth with the water, you can’t even open your mouth when taking a shower. However, lots of pure, bottled water is supplied at the camp and widely available elsewhere. Fruits can be eaten as long as they have a peeling that can be removed, i.e., bananas, orange, etc. There are some stray dogs that wander around the areas where we will be. Do not touch or pet the dogs or puppies, as all of them have fleas. This warning applies to cats and kittens as well.

6. Every participant should fill out the health form, and the group’s medical person should carry copies along for reference.

7. Anti-Maleria medications are not necessary at the time of year we are usually in the Yucatán. However, some blood donation centers in the USA will not accept blood from a traveler who has been in the interior of the Yucatán within the past 6 months. Check with your local blood bank before traveling if you anticipate donating blood upon your return.

8. Sunscreen. Plan on using strong sun screen early and often. The Yucatán is in the Tropics and you can burn very easily. Pay particular attention to your nose and your ears. And wear a hat. Sun poisoning, sunstroke and sun burn are all realy possibilities here and the symptoms come on fast, almost without warning.

These cautions are for information only and should not discourage you from going on this Mission trip.

Identification

A passport and a Mexican Tourist Card: Every person traveling in Mexico must carry a Mexican Tourist Card or FM-T (you will receive this form along with Mexican customs declaration forms on your flight into Mexico) and proper proof of US citizenship...that means a passport. As of December 31, 2006, a valid passport will be necessary to reenter the United States from either Mexico or Canada. Application forms & requirements for a passport can usually obtained from your local town hall, large post office or at the county Court House. Since 9/11 entrance into the USA is somewhat slower due to the extra security and extra scrutiny. A valid passport speeds thing up for you upon your return. Allow sufficient time before departure to obtain a passport especially this year with the change in the law. If you are not a US citizen, , you should bring your valid passport and check early with a Mexican Consulate to determine if you need a visa to enter Mexico and with the INS to determine what is required to reenter the US.

Permission Forms

The airline may not permit a minor (under the age of 18) to board an international flight unless accompanied by both parents. This is not just a decision by the airline. It is the law in Mexico. Each child traveling without both parents will need a notarized permission slip, signed by both parents, expressly granting permission for the child to leave the country. If only one parent is with the child, the permission slip will still be necessary granting the permission of the parent not traveling with the child. The permission slip downloadable below is NOT sufficient for these purposes.

Health Forms & Release Forms

Health forms & release forms may be viewed as a .pdf file at: view health & release forms. These are sample forms and should be copied and revised as necessary with appropriate names, dates, etc.

US & Mexican Customs Inspections

You will have to go through Mexican Customs, so don’t bring anything you should not (ask if unsure) and you will go through US Customs on return...same warning. This is serious stuff and attempting to smuggle contraband substances or materials can result in confiscation, fines and/or prison.

What to bring

We may go through a variety of climates, warm or hot days to warm or cool nights but here are some tips as to what you should include. Travelers in December and in Feburary might experience a "norte", a cold, damp wind that blows across the Gulf from Texas. Sleepingbags, sweatrers, windbreakers, sweats and long pants feel mighty good if the "norte" arrives in the evening or at night!

This is not a complete packing list; you will have to adjust it to your own situation. We recommend that you buddy up with one or two others so that everybody doesn’t bring extra duct tape or a clothes line, etc. In previous years, we brought lots of “disposable” clothing to Chuburná...when anything got dirty, we just put it in a bag in the corner and left it for local missionaries to gather up after we left; the clothing was then laundered and distributed to the needy. DO NOT BRING EXPENSIVE JEWELRY, WATCHES, CAMERAS, ETC. WALKMEN AND SIMILAR “HEADPHONE” DEVICES ARE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED! WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO TALK WITH THE LOCAL INHABITANTS AND WITH YOUR FELLOW MISSION WORKERS AND GET TO KNOW THEM BETTER.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE PROHIBITED
AT THE CAMP IN CHUBURNÁ.

Accommodations

Accommodations in Chuburná are pretty basic. No hot water, just cold/cool showers unless it has been a very sunny day. Indoor toilets, but bring your own paper, don't put the paper in the potty...it will clog up the system and you will then use buckets instead of toilets. You sleep in hammocks (they are supplied), but you can bring a folding cot if necessary. No individual/small group rooms...all hammocks are hung dormitory style. You will sleep in the appropriate “boy” or “girl” dorm. No electrical outlets for hairdryers, shavers, radios etc. No stores to purchase things you forgot. You have to move your own luggage, so pack as light as possible. Even roller-wheeled luggage doesn't move through the sand well. Tropical climate, but nights can get downright chilly! The hotel in Isla Mujeres (probably 2 nights if it is in your group's travel plans) might be a near-luxury one or a very basic “hostel”-type one...it all depends on how many we are and what kind of accommodations we can get.

Note: some of the work is physically demanding; it wouldn’t hurt to try to get into shape starting NOW. Besides, if you’re in shape, you’ll look a lot better in a bikini.

Reading Suggested

The Yucatan is very different from the rest of Mexico. Most of the people you will encounter in the villages are pure Mayan. In the interior of the Yucatán, many people still speak Yucatec Mayan as their primary language. With the addition of an electric light or two, a small television and a bicycle, the people live much as they did 1200 years ago. We will have the opportunity to visit at least one ruin and see Mayan stone construction work that is awesome to behold...especially after spending a few days doing construction work ourselves. We will also have a short visit to Mérida, the capital of the state of Yucatán, an old colonial city, with a cathedral dating back to the 1500’s. There are numerous guidebooks available for the Yucatán Peninsula at Amazon and at the library. Your trip will be enhanced if you have some advance knowledge of the history and culture of the area. Your trip will be even more enhanced if you learn a little Spanish beforehand.

Deposits and Reservations

Please contact Tom Thiets for further information.