Safety with Amor

Recently news stories about personal safety in Mexico have made the headlines and may be a source of concern for parents and leaders of future trip participants planning to stay and work in Mexico.

We want you to know that Amor Ministries has always been proactive about safety matters.

For the past 29 years, Amor Ministries has worked hard to provide the best security and safety for all individuals involved in our ministry. Amor Ministries considers the safety of our groups and team members its first priority. Everything we do regarding security and safety is preventative and proactive.

Amor has built a strong presence in Mexico over these past 29 years through excellent relations with the local government, the police and the communities we serve. Because of these relationships we are equipped to deal with any and all safety issues that might arise.

Amor Ministries preventative security measures include:

• Amor works hard to coordinate with the governmental agencies in Mexico in order to make an international mission trip safe and smooth.
• Amor has communication plans in place with local police as to when and where our groups are working resulting in increased police patrols in the areas Amor works in.
• Amor Team Members, along with the Mexican police and fire department, are constantly monitoring the safety of Amor groups.
• Amor requires groups to stop working during the day to ensure that there is enough time for them to return to camp before sundown. We recommend that the groups remain in camp overnight and that all travel be limited between camp and the worksite. Reported areas of violence are avoided, as they would be in any American city or urban area.
• Amor groups are led into the community by an Amor Team Member with Amor Field Specialists available around the clock in case of an emergency.
• Amor is warmly welcomed into the community. The Mexican communities we work in know our vehicles because we have built homes in the area before. Our local Mexican Pastors pay close attention to what is going on in their own neighborhoods, and notify us when they feel that we should avoid a particular area.
• Amor’s campgrounds are gated and patrolled with camp caretakers. We have camp identification tags for each car traveling into Mexico and only allow vehicles with these tags into our camps.
• Amor Groups have the capacity to be reached via radio or mobile phone if there is an emergency. We maintain a 24 hour emergency line at Amor’s office should anyone need to get a hold of a group for extreme emergencies.
• Amor has a border evacuation plan in place at all times should the need arise to leave the field quickly. This evacuation plan also includes medical emergencies. (Please see the attached document.)

We are more convinced than ever that there is work to do in the communities of Mexico and that God still desires us to serve there. We continue to have faith in God to direct our steps into the areas in which we serve. We ask that you continue to pray for the families living in Mexico who are struggling without hope.