2022 Mexico Missions trip
This is the PLANNING PAGE for a 2022 Missions trip to Mexico (Puerto Penasco). Madison Church of Christ (Brooklyn, IA) is going for sure. We would LOVE for our friends to come with us.
Details
2-TRACK TRIP
(Track-1) Students driving down and back in vans, sleeping in Churches - cheap (madison will be taking jr. high and high school age)
May 31st - June 9th if driving in convoy or riding down together in a van
(Track-2) Adults can fly into and out of Phoenix where we will meet them and take everyone across the border
June 1 - June 6 if flying (assuming they don’t go explore AZ any on either side of that)
Adults could also convoy with us on the drive and book motels instead of sleeping in Churches with us if they wish
Adults can also come with the youth as sponsors
families with young children can come on track-2, 1 Mission does not charge for young children who come with their parents
Daily Itinerary
Tuesday, May 31 - Madison Church departs Church and arrives at Countryside Christian Church (Kearney, NE) to eat supper and sleep
Wednesday, June 1 - drive from Kearney to Gallup NM
Thursday, June 2 - drive to Phoenix, switch vans (if renting), Drive to Puerto Penasco, Mexico (we’ll stop at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the way there)
Friday, June 3 - workday #1
Saturday, June 4 - workday #2
Sunday, June 5 - worship at 1mission before work starts, then workday #3 - end the day at the beach (Gulf of California)
Monday, June 6 - Drive from Puerto Penasco to Slide Rock State Park, AZ, then on to Mather Campground on the south rim of the Grand Canyon
Tuesday, June 7 - Grand Canyon day, South Kaibab trail (to Ooh Aah Point and even Cedar Ridge if you’re ambitious) and Desert View Watchtower
Wednesday, June 8 - drive to Glenwood Springs, CO (with a quick stop at Monument Valley in Utah to take pictures)
Thurday, June 9 - drive home
People who have expressed some interest in going that I’m inviting to view this page
FCC Ankeny
Countryside CC Kearney, NE
Indianola CoC
Rockwell City CoC
some others who I plan on making a pitch to -
do you guys know of any churches that would be interested in coming along with us??
Some Details
Cost
the 1Mission cost-per-person is $240 (it has been - they have not released their 2022 program details yet - I think it will stay the same)
transportation
i have in mind to let each church’s group handle and figure their own transportation costs - doesn’t mean we have to travel separately, i’d love to make our students and adults switch around vans to meet others - but if you already have vans then the only transportation cost you’ll have to worry about is gas.
Madison Church rents vans for this trip - there is a really good van-rental business in omaha that we use to get to phoenix and back. we use a separate rental company (A-1 vans) in Phoenix to rent vans and trailers that we can take across the border
if you’ve got less than a van full that’s okay, we can team up and split costs for rentals, or a group like mine could pay per seat on a van you own, it would be one of the great things about taking this trip together with other sister churches
other costs
meals - we’ll have some meals while we’re traveling that the students & sponsors will be responsible for paying for where they’ll have three or four fast-food options, but also some meals where we use program $ to buy (pizza, sandwiches, grand canyon campground food etc.)
Mexico vehicle insurance, regardless of whether you own or rent your van, you will need to purchase Mexico vehicle insurance for the trip
vehicle entry fee to grand canyon national park
Madison Church’s trip
our costs may seem a little high because we rent vehicles, but I expect our groups pre-fundraising costs to be $650 per track-1 attendee, and $400 per track-2 attendee (track 2 attendees pay for their own airfare and hotel for the night of June 1st in Phoenix)
1Mission - Work - Basecamp
1Mission is a great organization that does a whole range of community work for God’s Kingdom in Puerto Penasco in addition to building houses. The families that we will build for have volunteered hundreds of hours in 1Mission’s community projects to be eligible for a new house. here is their website. I’ve taken 2 groups down with 1Mission, they have been fantastic to us. When you get there you will really have a sense for how committed 1Mission’s staff are to the great commission and to serving their community.
1Mission provides all of the tools and supplies we will need for construction.
in Mexico we will sleep at 1Mission’s “Basecamp” which is a compound a few miles north of Puerto Penasco they have big bunkhouses for both boys and girls, and you could also stay in a tent if you wish. They sometimes host 300 people on their basecamp at a time, but our trip is late in their building season so it will not be that crowded. The last time we were there this time of year with 1Mission, there was one other group of 20 students there with us.
the bunkhouses and Basecamp have warm showers and plumbing, they are very comfortable
Basecamp has a pool!
the food at basecamp is… Mexican food! it is AWESOME - they have staff that oversees food prep and many volunteers who are logging hours for a new house who prepare the food. it is SO GOOD! We have never had any trouble with getting ill from eating anything at 1Mission. We did have trouble with our previous trip (adults) because we ate at a restaurant in the “old market” (beach tourism strip) and everyone who had the shrimp (about half of us) came down with montezuma’s revenge. (I won’t make that mistake again)
1Mission has a foreman who meets with you at the compound each morning and drives out with you to the jobsite, remains with you through the day, and drives back to the compound with you when you’re done working. The foreman are usually bilingual (to varying degrees :-))
Recreation
On Thursday, June 2nd, the day that we cross the border into Mexico, we’ll plan to stop at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Huge cacti, beautiful landscape, all in a 1-mile loop trail. This stop is dependent on the time we’re making after phoenix, as we will do our very best to arrive at 1Mission Basecamp before sundown to avoid nighttime traveling in Mexico
On Sunday, June 5th, the last day of construction, we’ll stop at the public beach which is at the resort-area of Puerto Penasco for a little ocean swimming as long as daylight allows. There are some trinket shops here which is the closest we’ll get to a “market” The picture that you see here is our 2018 group arriving at this beach.
On Monday, June 6th (after we cross the border that morning) we’ll spend the afternoon into early evening at Slide Rock State Park in Sedona, AZ. This is a really fun swimming spot where the river forms a natural waterslide that is quite long. there are cliff jumping opportunities there. The highest cliff to jump from is 25-feet. if you watch the video of our 2018 trip below you can see us taking the plunge
We’ll arrive to Mather Campground on the south rim of the grand canyon on the evening of June 6th, spend the day exploring there on June 7th, and depart from there on the morning of June 8th. i have already reserved several adjacent group campsites there (they open for reservation a year in advance and sell out in hours/days - so we can bring up to 10 vehicles and 80 people. We’ll stay in tents that we’ll have to bring with us in our trailers. rec plans include hiking the south kaibab trail (into the canyon - many switchbacks) to Ooh Aah point - which basically anyone can do, and give the option to continue on to cedar ridge which is a little more of a test of one’s fitness , and maybe Desert View Watchtower for Sundown.
Travel
routes are pictured below
Madison doesn’t have a van so we rent. I rent from “Omaha rent-a-van.” I can’t take their vehicles into Mexico. so I have to park that van at a church in Phoenix and rent a different from A-1 Van Rental to take across the border. we usually rent a luggage trailer to pull behind the van
if there are adults flying into Phoenix that want to do slide rock and the grand canyon with track-1, we can hold onto that (those) A-1 rental van(s), and the track-2 adults can take them up to Sedona and the Grand Canyon with us and then drive it back to Phoenix to fly out on Wednesday the 8th.
Outbound trip
return trip