***NEW INFORMATION OF U.S.A./Mexico Border Crossing***

***CRITICAL INFORMATION – March 10, 2010

Based on information from the US and Mexican Officials and local Baptist Mission Leaders now IS NOT THE TIME for a Mexico Mission Trip. Violence in the Mexican State of Tamilipas has reached critical levels; even in the small towns like Mier, Camargo and Miguel Aleman. This unfortunate situation has placed anyone in or around the State of Tamilipas in danger. Please take these warnings very seriously. We are praying that the violence ends soon. Please pray for everyone effected by this violence.

Mission trips to the US side of the border are safe and your help is greatly needed in our area. Light Construction jobs (painting, repairs, construction of storage buildings, roof replacements, etc) at Baptist churches, ministry activities (as revival, VBS, surveys, outreach, etc.) and home repair for low income people remain high priority projects for our area.

Please contact me if you are interested in any of these ministries.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

PASSPORTS NOW REQUIRED

NOW all Western Hemisphere travel, including land, sea and air require a passport for border crossing. This means that all mission team members will be required to have a valid passport or border crossing card in order to enter the United States of America from Mexico, Canada or any foreign nation. Passport applications and information are available at most U.S. Post Office locations in medium and larger cities.

****Information on vehicles driven into Mexico ****

Most U.S. vehicle insurance companies WILL NOT cover your vehicles in a foreign country. The laws in Mexico are VERY DIFFERENT from those we are used to. Traffic violations and accidents are major problems if you are not fully insured and prepared to deal with them. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that all mission groups, teams and individual obtain Mexico insurance from a reliable company. One of the local insurance companies with a decent reputation is Sanborn’s Insurance and they have an office in McAllen, TX. A Google search for “Mexico Insurance” returned about 186,000 returns; so there are a BUNCH of people selling Mexico Insurance. FBC Rio Grande City does not endorse, support or recommend any insurance firm over another, we list Sanborn’s because of their location and a few good reports we have heard about their service. Each group or individual is responsible to do their own research and make their choice based on their findings. (enough of the disclaimer stuff – you do the work and decide what you want to do)

Mission Opportunities

First Baptist Church is strategically located on the Texas-Mexico border in Rio Grande City, Texas. Rio Grande City has an international bridge to the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico near the cities of Camargo, Cadillo and Camalas.

There are mission opportunities on the American side of the border helping small churches, repairing flood damaged homes, repairing homes for poor/indigent people, outreach for local churches, VBS or Backyard Bible Club, and many, many other ministry opportunities.

First Baptist Church has housed church mission teams for many years. Our Velma Bass Fellowship Hall is equipped with a full kitchen, showers for men and women, air conditioning and a TV/Sound System. Our Youth Building has been remodeled and does include a full bath with shower. Servants coming on a mission trip would need to bring their own air mattress, sleeping bag or cot. Teams bring their own food, drinks and cooking equipment.

Because of the generosity of our mission teams we are able to open our facilities to mission teams on a love offering basis. We ask that you do consider our utility costs and facility maintenance needs as you budget your mission trip.

Rio Grande City is very hot and dry during the summer. Temperatures are often over 110 degrees and rainfall is extremely rare. The population of the Texas side of the border is very poor; Starr County is one of the three poorest counties in America. The people on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande River live on even less than we do. There is much need on both sides of the border and mission teams are welcomed and appreciated.

While First Baptist Church usually provides only housing for mission teams we may be able to place you in contact with churches on either side of the border you may want to partner with in missions and ministry.

Please call Pastor Bob at 956-487-2438 to discuss your mission team needs.

First Baptist Church has adopted a set of policies concerning the use of our facilities by other ministries, non-profits or community service groups. CLICK HERE to view a copy of these policies.

	2010 Schedule These dates can change quickly so check back often!
December 20^th2009 – January 3^rd, 2010	Days Blocked Out
February 14^th – 26th	Days Blocked Out
March 14^th – 20^th	Days Blocked Out	RGCCISD Spring Break
April 11^th – 15^th	Days Blocked Out	Spring Revival
Saturday April 10^th	Day Blocked Out
Saturday April 24^th	Day Blocked Out
June 13^th – 17^th	Days Blocked Out	Vacation Bible School
June 27^th – July 14^th	Days Blocked Out

All other dates are open and available to host your mission team!