Mexican Mission Trip - what to bring

T

Timblade

Joined
May 31, 2006
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I will be making a week-long missions trip near Mazatlan Mexico this summer (June) with my church. This is my first time going on a mission trip, but I have been to Mexico several times. My church makes this trip every year.

My question is this, Has anyone made this kind of trip before to Mexico? If so, what would be recommendations for things to keep with me as a trip-specific PSK? A little bit about the trip:

1. The group will most likely be primarily engaged in operating a portable food kitchen and feeding homeless and poor in the small villages near the church where we'll be staying.

2. The men on the trip are usually also used for every kind of manual labor imaginable from painting (whitewashing really), to remedial plumbing, to digging ditches.

3. Conditions will be very primitive from what I hear. Water is a premium.

4. We will be separated from our hotel all day while working at outreaches and with the local people all day. I plan on taking a small daypack with me while out. Security may not be that great, so I don't want anything super-expensive.

Right now, I'm planning on taking the following, but please let me know if I've forgotten anything, or if anyone who has experience in this kind of situation has any suggestions.

Daypack
Nalgene water bottles (2)
Bandannas (2-3)
Bible (it is a missions trip)
Notebook and pens
Hand sanitizer
Baby wipes
Insect repellant
Sun block
Mora (for food prep)
Leatherman Wave or Charge Ti (on my hip unless it causes concern to display)
Vic Huntsman (just in case, kept in pack)
FAK (for crew)
Sunglasses
Stickers and balloons for the myriads of poor and homeless children that will undoubtedly show up
Duct tape
Small sewing kit for minor repairs

Thanks for the suggestions...and sorry if this is the wrong place to post this thread. I realize this is not exactly "wilderness" survival, but I am basically looking to put a PSK together for an "out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere" trip. Couldn't figure out where else to post.

-Tim
 
I took one of these trips in November.

Take Plenty of Pepto Bismol chewables and eat them before every meal. Also Take Tylenol. And Immodium AD along to take once a day.

the pepto and the immodium will save your life..

also hit the dollar store and buy hackey sacks, toy dinosaurs, balls, yo-yos etc for the kids you will encounter. Most of these children are so desperatly poor that they have never owned a toy. You will have a blast playing with them. Also if you can find some cheap soccer balls and deflate them for the trip Soccer is a huge national sport in Mexico
 
Pepto and Immodium!! How could I have forgotten those??
They have been staples of my trips in the past.

Think I'll add some extra multivitamins too.

Thanks!
 
Water purification.

My buddy was very very careful the entite time there, and then, he ordered soup! Well, it seems they only warmed it!

Only drink bottled water, if possible.
If not possible. Boil/purify your water, and any foods made with water.
 
Be careful with what knife you take.. I lost a really nice dive knife going through customs into Mexico.. (Way down south) It seems they have a sliding scale. If they like the knife, it's illegal to bring it into the country. If they don't like the knife, it's fine to bring it.

Having lived on the border of US and Mexico for 5 years... All I can say is BE CAREFUL, and don't eat the soup or salad. (Salads are typically WASHED with the local water, and the lettuce was fetilized with the local waste.. Bad juju skippy!)

Have fun, be safe.. Bring back lot's of pictures!
 
Take safety wire, nylon string, duct tape, nails, drywall screws, any hand tools you can squeeze in,(IE) hammer pliers screwdriver. every thing in Mexico seams to need to be fixed. Usually in the middle of the night when its raining. safety wire alone will make you a hero.
 
brennan sorry. back in the day ballin wire was the fix all. most bails are now held together with twine, and most of us are not living on the farm. So, the new fix all is safety wire, available at most hardware and some auto parts. soft cheep wire useful for about a thousand things. Thinner than coat hangers. I think the last time I bought some 100' was about $5.00.
I take it camping, canoing, and especial when I'm camping in Mexico. Fixed a lot of palapas with it. If you think 550 para cord is the sh?t wait till you add some wire to your kit.
 
Rehydration solution, TP, powered Gatorade, cheap little sewing kits for give aways
 
iodine worked well for me when i lived there, dont use ice as it may be contaminated, if you cant get iodine tablets here or you run out, go to the pharmacia and ask for tinctura de yodo which is iodine ticture, you can add this to your drinking water if you need to. better yet take some with you. dont eat anything that is not boiled broiled or peeled. you still may get sick, but this will limit your exposure. travelers diarrhea is the medical term for montezumas revenge you can do a search about this but the pepto tablets and other advice you have gotten is on the money. make sure you take immodium for more than one person, you may need to save a friend. i would both filter and chemically treat the water for your group, hepatitis is always around and most filters wont remove this. i have had all the nasty bugs, avoid them if at all possible. take a 5 gal water cube to carry your water for the day. if you have to use tap water treat and let it sit an hour before using, better yet treat the night before you go out let it work all night. link for chemical treatment with different iodine solutions:

iodine forwater purification

you can drink the beer and the soda pop but wipe the top of the bottle off before opening. wash your hands and use hand sanitizer religiously. no raw seafood, no food stands, only fruit that you have peeled yourself, some folks soak their fruit in iodine water before peeling. as for security, i use the 3 dollar machete method, buy one when you get there, give it to a friend when you leave. man with machete gets a lot of respect. you will need your file on your leatherman to sharpen it.

have fun,
alex
 
Seriously use the pepto. Multiple Haiti trips have taught me this. Eat them at least morning and evening. They help coat the gi tract and make it a little harder for those pesky bugs to stick. ok not sure that is how it really works but seriously it does work.
How does a rainbow work?
How does the posi-trac on a plymouth work?
IT JUST DOES!
 
Water purification.

My buddy was very very careful the entite time there, and then, he ordered soup! Well, it seems they only warmed it!

Only drink bottled water, if possible.
If not possible. Boil/purify your water, and any foods made with water.
Click to expand...
+INFINITY

I drank untouched Mexican water once. I ended up with some diarrhia and an upset stomach as a result:o

Even if the locals drink the stuff without problem, which is true in some areas, there is a very real possibility (probability) that drinking the stuff could (probably will/ is very likely too) make you sick.
 
Everybody has already seemed to cover the essentials. I did a mission trip down to build a house in Tecate Mexico about 8 years ago. It was an awesome experience and the organisation that hosted us took care of most of the essentials so I didn't have to worry about packing much individually. The blade I carried was a shrade beast. It was pretty solid and expendible. It ended up being our primary cutter for the tar paper. Gifts for the children are a great idea. Good luck to you and God bless.

-Lindey
 
Immodium, Tylenol (or pain killer/anti pyretic of your choice) and i usually bring cough drops as it relly sucks having a cough while traveling,

Benadryl (which helps me with insomnia too)

A LARGE tube of neosporin in the first aid kit.


common sense and situational awareness. In some parts of mexico americans are bulseyes for criminals, be aware of your surroundings at all times.

An LED Mini Mag. First off its a great light with agood bright beam thats good on batteries and its a good improvised weapon that you can take pretty much anywhere without raising an eyebrow.
 
I realize you're not asking for this kind of advice, but I'm going to give it anyway.

Before you go, I think you should ask yourself why you feel the need to exploit people's desperate poverty in order to propagate your religion. The whole purpose of your 'mission' is to trick, con and/or bribe people into giving up their inherited religion in favor of your own religion.

If you were seeking to convert people honestly, you would be approaching people who are in satisfactory material circumstances and who have the opportunity to evaluate your ideas on their merits. Instead you are simply taking advantage of people's poverty and desperation for your own ends.
 
jh205 said:
I realize you're not asking for this kind of advice, but I'm going to give it anyway.

Before you go, I think you should ask yourself why you feel the need to exploit people's desperate poverty in order to propagate your religion. The whole purpose of your 'mission' is to trick, con and/or bribe people into giving up their inherited religion in favor of your own religion.

If you were seeking to convert people honestly, you would be approaching people who are in satisfactory material circumstances and who have the opportunity to evaluate your ideas on their merits. Instead you are simply taking advantage of people's poverty and desperation for your own ends.
Click to expand...
jh,

Thanks for the advice. However, I think you might have a somewhat different idea of what a missions trip is compared to mine. I could respond to several parts of your post individually, but I don't think this is the place. I don't know if this line of discussion is in line with what this forum is for, but I'd love to have an in-depth discussion with you about it if you like. Send me an e-mail off-line if you wish. I'd be very happy to talk about my reasons for going on a trip like this, just not on this particular forum.

That being said, any more suggestions relevant to my original post would still be greatly appreciated by everyone. Thanks!
 
It is hot there, so light clothing is a good idea. I went on a trip during High School, and I wore lightweight surgical scrub pants. Cheap, and practically disposable.
 
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