Latrice's Resignation

It's difficult for me to write this. I've been coordinating the Independencia trips for about 3 years. When I took on the job, I did it knowing that I did not really have the gifts the job required. For the most part, I'm not known for my organizational skills, and I tend to procrastinate at times, always leading to getting myself into hot water. Having recently gone from part time work to full time, it's been difficult to find the necessary time in the last two weeks prior to each trip to get everything done. I've been very blessed to have gotten so much loving support from the Independencia leadership team, especially from Hugh Robinson and Thom Nitta. Without their caring support, I would not have made it for even one year, much less three years. They are two remarkable Christian brothers and I love them both dearly. My decision to resign did not come easily, nor was it a decision made without much soul searching and prayer. If it weren't for the last issue that I'm going to share with you, I probably would have continued to be heavily involved in this ministry. Alan and I believe in what is being done on these trips for these Mexican brothers and sisters. The ministry has so much potential with more of the right people involved. I've been praying for the Lord to send someone to fill my position that has a passion for ministry and reaching others for Christ. I pray that he or she will have a burning drive to grow the ministry to its full potential. I will continue to pray for all aspects and all of you who will continue after I have gone.
As some of you know, I have a medical condition that causes me to have chronic pain in my back, left hip and leg. I take heavy duty medication on a daily basis to enable me to continue to do those things that I must do, such as work. The Mexico trips are very hard for me. The combination of being on my feet the entire day and the long and rough bus ride, it takes 2-3 days for my pain to return to baseline. There have been times when I have been unable to work the following Monday because of extreme pain. It has gotten worse as I have gotten older, and has reached the point where I cannot continue to make the trips.
Alan and I love all of you very much. Working with all the different people we have met through the years has been a great experience. I hope all of you will continue to go down to Independencia. There is a job that God has for everyone of you to do in that village. Alan and I will continue to pray for the ministry and to support it in other ways. We will definitely miss the trips and the many friends we've made along the way.
At some point in time, there will be a posting to let you know who to contact regarding future trip registration, with the next planned trip occuring in March.
I asked all of you to accept my explanation for leaving as I have laid it out. I know from past experiences, that people sometimes think that there is more to a person's departure from ministry than the reasons given. I asked you not to indulge in theses kinds of ruminations. It is as I have told you, and there is no relational conflict, no difference of opinion or hard feelings involved in my decision to resign. I have nothing but good things to say about everyone I have worked with in these last three years, and I will miss everyone of you. Take care and God bless. Latrice (and Alan)

Independencia GPS maps

I've always had a hard time finding our Independencia clinic on a map. Thanks to my GPS unit, that will no longer be a problem. We now have a map on the lower right side of the Peacetrip blog page. FYI, the GPS coordinates for the clinic are:
latitude 31.61289155
longiture -115.88957322

For those with Google Earth installed, ( free download ) you can view our trip as if you were on a helicopter, plane, or satellite. Here's the KMZ file; open it AFTER you've installed Google Earth. If you're zoomed in enough, you'll see our trip highlighted as a magenta colored line. Spin your mouse wheel to zoom, drag the mouse around to move around the map. Move the compass to spin and tilt your perspective. You can also search for major cities and landmarks, and it will fly you around the world in 80 seconds. Very, very cool program.

Ready! Set! Go!!! to Independencia 1/19

I hope all of you took my advice and subscribed to the blog so that you get this. Everything is set. If any of you have a couple or 2,3,4... of medium suitcases that you could bring with you to the church, that would be great. We might have somethings that will raise less suspicion at the border if they're in suitcases or duffles. If we don't use them, you can leave them locked in your car, and of course, they'll be coming back with us, only empty. Try to get at least a little sleep and we'll see you at 3am. Latrice

Date corrections on latest trip instructions

Obviously, we had some "date issues" in the latest posting about the trip. So there is no confusion (no more than there already is), the trip date in Sat. Jan. 19th (not the 23rd). I hope to see all of you there and ready to serve. Take care. Latrice

January 19th Trip Information

Where to meet:

On the 19th, please be at Ministry Office 2 lot at Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, by 3:15AM for loading; the bus will leave promptly at 3:45AM. Use the main Saddleback Parkway entrance and make the first left. The charter bus will be there waiting for you. Your cars will be secure as long as you lock the doors. We will be returning to the lot sometime between 10PM and 12AM barring anything unforeseen.

Personal items: The following items are suggested:

• Small backpack – for personal items: camera, sunscreen, chapstick, travel pillow
• Layer your clothing – Temps can vary from 40 to 90 degrees in the same day. Light jacket and comfortable tennis shoes recommended…it gets dirty out there.
• photo ID is required to cross back over into the States. Passports will be required for future trips to ANY other country, even Canada and Mexico, beginning Jan 23^rd, 2008.

Food:

• Breakfast – snacks, pastries and drinks will be provided on the bus ride
• Lunch – chicken stew, beans, rice and tortillas are served to us by the local townsfolk. Bring your own lunch (use a personal sized ice chest) if you have special dietary needs.
• Dinner – Bring a few dollars for McDonalds on the way back at the border. We will also take up an optional collection to tip the bus driver; usually $2-3 per person.
• Snacks and drinks will be stocked on the bus.

Medications:

Bring only what you will need for the day, in the original packaging (unpackaged drugs may look suspicious at customs)

• Car sickness: If you’re susceptible to car sickness, bring Dramamine or Meclizine; part of our journey goes through mountain roads.
• Stomach: Pepto-bismol (Bismuth Sulfate) tablets and Immodium (Loperamide) tablets
• Allergies: Some may have reaction to the dust and pollens down there.

Things to do:

All of you need to email me with what area you would like to work in, or if there’s something specific you'd like to do. If you're not sure what you would like to do, and you're willing to work wherever the need is, I'll assign you to an area where we're short handed.

• Children's team: 6-8 people to assist the kids with arts/crafts and games, face painting, balloons, etc.
• Medical clinic: 6-8 nurses for locating charts, triaging patients and checking vitals and blood sugars as needed, helping our docs and assisting patients in finding where they need to go next.
• Dental clinic: dentists, assistants and hygienists, and some volunteers for sterilizing.
• Interpreters: at least four Spanish interpreters each in dental and medical areas. At least two people who speak Spanish to assist in the pharmacy and one or two interpreters for the optometrist's clinic. Yes, that’s 12 interpreters needed per trip!
• Home Improvement: There are usually property improvement projects if you happen to be good with your hands.

To quote Pastor Rick, "It's not about you.” It’s all about serving the people of this small town. Please don't go down with expectations as to how you think things will go, but stay open to what the Lord has for you to experience. You won't be disappointed.

I am having great difficulty getting emails to everyone, due to spam blocking software. Adding my email address to your address book would help a lot. Please go to peacetrip.org and subscribe to our announcements there.

I look forward to seeing all of you on the 23^rd. Invite others, and beat some bushes and turn over some rocks to help us find enough interpreters to do the clinic smoothly and adequately.

January Make-up Trip to Independencia

Let's try this again! The make up trip for the Dec. 8th trip that was cancelled, is Sat., Jan. 19th. I'm in the process of contacting all of you who signed up in Dec., to see if you're still available to go on this new date. We will be taking the Christmas boxes down with us, so it will be Christmas in January. Please read this, if you read nothing else: the passport requirement to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico by land, has been delayed until January 31, 2008. What this means, is that if you have a drivers' license, or a photo ID card along with a birth certificate, you will be able to go down with us on the 19th, even without a passport. Take this for the gift it is, and apply for a passport today! Get back to me ASAP if you plan on going down on the 19th. Depending on how many empty seats are available, we'll open up a brief registration for people who were not originally signed up to go. My cell is up and functional (714)307-5620, so leave me a message, and if you're leaving a phone number, please don't forget your pre-fix and speak slowly, as it's not that hard to confuse me in my old age. Hope to hear from all of you soon. Please encourage everyone you know to sign onto this blog, so they will also benefit from theses postings regarding the Mexico trips. God bless and happy New Year! Latrice