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Oakland resident Alisha Mosher, 15, poses with some Mexican children at a mission base in Mexico, about four hours south of Ensenada on the Baja Peninsula. Mosher made the trip with Sutherlin Family Church, which decided to send two teams over Spring Break despite safety concerns over uprising in violence in parts of the country.
Traveling down the Baja Peninsula this spring break, Pastor Paul Glazner of the Sutherlin Family Church noticed a few changes over previous mission trips to Mexico.
He didn’t see the usual train of recreational vehicles full of vacationing tourists. There were more trucks and jeeps full of military personnel traveling up and down the highway instead.
And when the two Sutherlin work teams arrived at their destinations, about four hours south of Ensenada, far fewer fellow spring break missionaries had made the trip.
Glazner was aware that recent reports of erupting violence in certain parts of Mexico had left some mission teams uneasy about crossing the border. Members of the Sutherlin church had shared the same concerns, but knew that the needs of the Mexican people had not changed.
“I don’t want to say there was no possibility of danger,” said Glazner. “But we just said we feel like God’s calling us to go, and if there’s some danger involved, that’s how it always has been.”
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Mexico in February as violence involving Mexican drug cartels escalated in certain areas, particularly along the border. Reports of public shoot-outs, kidnappings and murders have left many wary.
The State Department notes that millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year, but urges visitors to be particularly cautious.
Glazner said the destinations for this year’s trip were far from the more notorious hot spots for violence. And the route they took skirted inner Tijuana, one of the cities that’s seen more violence.
The church also had encouragement from a former Sutherlin Family Church pastor, who, more than a decade ago, set up the mission base where one of the teams would be staying.
While Glazner noticed an elevated military presence, he said the teams did not encounter much out of the ordinary.
“In terms of ever feeling threatened or anything, we didn’t,” he said. “The people down there were mostly sad that the teams weren’t coming.”
The safety concerns have been enough to keep at least one Douglas County church from sending a group to Mexico this year.
Kathy Henderson, Christian education coordinator with First United Methodist Church in Roseburg, said the fears of families and congregation members led to the decision to cancel a trip planned for this summer.
The church in the past has organized trips through San Diego-based Amor Ministries, which has some projects set up in areas the State Department has raised concerns about, such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez.
The organization states on its Web site, www.amor.org, that travel alerts are common for Mexico, and that additional precautions have been set in place to ensure the safety of missionaries.
Still, Henderson said the trip didn’t seem worth the risk, and plans are in the works to travel to Washington to either assist with flood relief or visit an American Indian reservation instead.
“If the situation improves, we’ll go back,” she said. “We just didn’t think it was a good idea this year.”
Groups from the Oakland Church of Christ have previously spent spring breaks in the Tijuana area, said youth leader Kathy Young.
But this year, partially due to safety concerns, the group went to a location further east, where some friends had been building a church for several weeks.
“We felt really sure that it was going to be safe for the kids,” she said. “… All in all, our experience was extremely positive.”
Fifteen-year-old Alisha Mosher made her first trip to Mexico this year with Sutherlin Family Church. Her parents were particularly worried that she would be going without them, but decided the experience would be worthwhile.
“I felt that I needed to go,” she said, “to be able to see how other cultures are and how thankful we should be with what we have.”
Glazner said the two groups — about 50 people in all who worked on building projects and held vacation Bible school classes with children and migrant workers — were glad they went. He believes the raised level of concern about the trip served as a test of faith.
“When the cost goes up,” he said, “then you look at what’s your reason for doing this.”
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@nrtoday.com.
He didn’t see the usual train of recreational vehicles full of vacationing tourists. There were more trucks and jeeps full of military personnel traveling up and down the highway instead.
And when the two Sutherlin work teams arrived at their destinations, about four hours south of Ensenada, far fewer fellow spring break missionaries had made the trip.
Glazner was aware that recent reports of erupting violence in certain parts of Mexico had left some mission teams uneasy about crossing the border. Members of the Sutherlin church had shared the same concerns, but knew that the needs of the Mexican people had not changed.
“I don’t want to say there was no possibility of danger,” said Glazner. “But we just said we feel like God’s calling us to go, and if there’s some danger involved, that’s how it always has been.”
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for Mexico in February as violence involving Mexican drug cartels escalated in certain areas, particularly along the border. Reports of public shoot-outs, kidnappings and murders have left many wary.
The State Department notes that millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year, but urges visitors to be particularly cautious.
Glazner said the destinations for this year’s trip were far from the more notorious hot spots for violence. And the route they took skirted inner Tijuana, one of the cities that’s seen more violence.
The church also had encouragement from a former Sutherlin Family Church pastor, who, more than a decade ago, set up the mission base where one of the teams would be staying.
While Glazner noticed an elevated military presence, he said the teams did not encounter much out of the ordinary.
“In terms of ever feeling threatened or anything, we didn’t,” he said. “The people down there were mostly sad that the teams weren’t coming.”
The safety concerns have been enough to keep at least one Douglas County church from sending a group to Mexico this year.
Kathy Henderson, Christian education coordinator with First United Methodist Church in Roseburg, said the fears of families and congregation members led to the decision to cancel a trip planned for this summer.
The church in the past has organized trips through San Diego-based Amor Ministries, which has some projects set up in areas the State Department has raised concerns about, such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez.
The organization states on its Web site, www.amor.org, that travel alerts are common for Mexico, and that additional precautions have been set in place to ensure the safety of missionaries.
Still, Henderson said the trip didn’t seem worth the risk, and plans are in the works to travel to Washington to either assist with flood relief or visit an American Indian reservation instead.
“If the situation improves, we’ll go back,” she said. “We just didn’t think it was a good idea this year.”
Groups from the Oakland Church of Christ have previously spent spring breaks in the Tijuana area, said youth leader Kathy Young.
But this year, partially due to safety concerns, the group went to a location further east, where some friends had been building a church for several weeks.
“We felt really sure that it was going to be safe for the kids,” she said. “… All in all, our experience was extremely positive.”
Fifteen-year-old Alisha Mosher made her first trip to Mexico this year with Sutherlin Family Church. Her parents were particularly worried that she would be going without them, but decided the experience would be worthwhile.
“I felt that I needed to go,” she said, “to be able to see how other cultures are and how thankful we should be with what we have.”
Glazner said the two groups — about 50 people in all who worked on building projects and held vacation Bible school classes with children and migrant workers — were glad they went. He believes the raised level of concern about the trip served as a test of faith.
“When the cost goes up,” he said, “then you look at what’s your reason for doing this.”
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@nrtoday.com.
