Over 1 Million Americans in Mexico

As Mexicans cross the border in search of a better life, Americans are doing the same – except they are going in the opposite direction. State Department figures have confirmed that the number of Americans living in Mexico has topped 1 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Of course the SF Chronicle draws much different conclusions from this milestone than I do but it is nevertheless an important milestone. Ten years ago there were only 200,000 American ex-patriates living in Mexico. I beleive that in Guadalajara there are now at least two fully English speaking wards. There may be others popping up around the country as English speaking populations increase.

Happy Halloween!!!!

We at Care Package Express want to wish everybody a safe and fun Halloween wherever you are. Thanks to all who ordered Halloween packages for your missionaries. Most were sent with plenty of time to be delivered before the holiday. Just call or e-mail us if you need tracking information for your package.

Ragedy Ann & Andy are really my twin neice & nephew, Jade & Alex Gates, from Nashville, TN. As you can see, we grew up in a house that loved Halloween.

Oaxaca Update

This was supposed to be the week the striking teachers returned to classrooms throughout the state. The optimism may have been premature. Events of the last three days seem to indicate a downward spiral of violence instead of progression toward final resolution as most had hoped.

On Friday, three people were shot and killed. Two were protestors and one was an American journalist. Witnesses allege that they were shot by state police officers dressed in civilian clothing. The state goverment of Ulises Ruiz has not claimed responsibility for these acts and maintains that his police are not patroling in civilian clothing.

Sunday, in response to the escalating tensions and fears that the situation will not be resolved by the time he transfers power to incoming president-elect Felipe Calderon, current president Vicente Fox ordered federal troops to seize control of key areas of the city occupied by protesters since May. President Fox has promised to resolve the crisis before handing power to Calderon on December 1st. The Mexican Government has assured Church leaders that it is working towards a quick resolution of this crisis so that the city can return to normal activities.

Care Package Express has also learned that Oaxaca mission president Jesus Ortiz has temporarily relocated to a safer location outside of the city. They opted for this move due to the proximity of his residence to that of a prominent government official even though he does not reside near the effected areas.

All American Elders were transfered to remote areas of the mission back in July. Since that time, there had been 70 missionaries still working in the capitol city, all Mexican nationals. Last week, all proselyting missionaries were transfered out of the city. Most were moved to the remote areas of the mission, however, due to overcrowding in those areas, 22 Mexican elders were temporarily stationed in the nearby Puebla Mission. They did not receive a mission transfer and they will return to the Oaxaca Mission as soon as the situation in the Capitol City calms down. If the crisis drags out longer than is expected, another group of elders may be transfered to Acapulco, Guerrero. The church is NOT considering any mission transfers at this time other than the temporary re-assignments due to overcrowding.

The church has a very strong presence in Oaxaca City with four stakes, a temple and the mission offices. The new temple president and matron, Limhi & Ruth Ontiveros have just arrived in Mexico City and will be taking over duties at the Oaxaca Temple starting today or tomorrow. The temple is not in an area effected by the crisis and is still operating as usual.

Myth Alert! Use of Religious Stickers

MYTH - Your package is safer if you put religious stickers on it.

I'm sure many of you have heard this. I know this because many of you do exactly that. You put religious stickers on your packages. The theory says that by doing this the Mexican Postal workers will recognize the package contains religious goods and won't steal anything from it. There are a couple problems with this that you should know about though.

1) This is simply a myth and doesn't work. Any worker who is dishonest enough to steal a package in the first place is not going to be deterred by a sticker regardless of what is on it.

2) The practice is offensive to the postal workers it is intended to deter. They know why the stickers are on the package and they don't appreciate what it says about their character.

3) The packages you send through Care Package Express are not handled by the Mexican Postal System. They are delivered by a Mexican Commercial Carrier who provides tracking, (limited) insurance and delivery confirmation. Most packages shipped through Care Package Express are placed inside of a larger outer carton and are never seen by the workers. Just like the postal employees, any worker dishonest enough to break into one of these cartons intending to steal the contents will not be deterred by a sticker either.

4) Some of the mission presidents (possibly yours) are Mexican nationals and are very offended by this practice. At least one mission president has recently issued a plea to parents NOT to do this.

Thanks for your cooperation in this.

Peter

Bush Signs Bill Ordering Fence on Mexican Border

One of the first rules of missionary work is that all politics are off limits for discussion. Even so, this is going to be a huge deal all over Mexico. The issue has already effected business owners around the country and will continue to do so until full-immigration reform has been acheived. Your missionary will be asked about his opinion on this issue.

The practicality of building a border fence is debatable and it's effects can't fully be known until they play out. However, I do see a couple of potential benefits. First, Mexican fathers will be more inclined to stay with their families instead of abandoning them for months at a time or even longer. The cumulative effects of an entire population of missing fathers cannot be overstated. By encouraging them to stay home, families will be strengthened, church wards and branches will be strengthened and entire cummunities will be strengthened. They would also be forced to find suitable employment near their home towns. A surplus of qualified labor would hopefully benefit local economies throughout Mexico.

That doesn't mean there won't be consequences of this action though. Some are already portending grave labor shortages in the agricultural industry while others fret over strained trade relations with our southern neighbor. This isn't a political blog, but this is of great interest to me as I hope it is for you. Feel free to sound off.

Links:

NY Times coverage of the bill signing

Response from The US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Labor shortage article from The Seattle Times

We'll see how this plays out when and if they get around to building the fence.

Update 10/27/06 12:40pm:

I think I called this one. US-Mexico Relations Take a Turn for the Worse Yesterday . It will be interesting to see how this effects missionary work. If anybody hears first hand accounts, please pass them on.

Next Departure - Friday November 3, 2006

Remember, all packages must be received on or before Thursday, November 2 in order to make this cut-off.

Residents Evacuated From Resort Town of Cabo San Lucas

More than 1,000 evacuated from Mexico's Los Cabos ahead of tropical storm

October 25, 2006

This is probably a non-story since the storm is slowing down quite a bit. I don't think there are any missionaries stationed in Los Cabos since they're mostly resort towns, but I'm still trying to reach the Tijuana Mission Office to confirm that. I think the real story will be the flooding in Sinaloa once the storm makes landfall.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico – More than 1,000 residents of the twin resorts of Los
Cabos were being evacuated to shelters ahead of Tropical Storm Paul, which was
weakening as it headed toward the tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
The storm was expected to slip just south of Los Cabos early Wednesday
before plunging into mainland Mexico around the state of Sinaloa early Thursday,
unleashing rain that could cause dangerous flooding. Victims of the storm
included a Baja California fisherman who died after slipping off sea-battered
rocks and an American who was swept out to sea and feared drowned.

Even though it's weakening, they're still evacuating the resorts and low-lying areas. The storm is currently rated a Cat 1 and has potential to drop up to 10 inches of rain. President Vazquez of the Culiacan, Sinaloa Mission and his AP's have been in contact with all missionaries in their mission and advised them to take necessary precautions. These include: stocking up on food and water ahead of the storm, remaining inside their apartments during the storm, locating the nearest higher ground and safest escape routes. All missionaries are instructed to communicate with the mission office immediatelly if there is any apparent flooding in their area.

The storm is scheduled to make landfall today around 5:00pm. Care Package Express will be in contact with the mission office throughout the day today and tomorrow and will report with any updates.

Peter Hightower

***Update 10/25/06 2:30 pm
I just discovered that Los Cabos is actually in the Culiacan Mission, NOT the Tijuana Mission. There are apparently elders stationed there but I have not been able to confirm if they were evacuated. I suspect not else it would have been easier to confirm.

***Update 10/26/06 10:30am
Just spoke with Elder Hamilton from the mission office who confirmed that everything went as well as could be expected during the storm. All missionaries are safe and accounted for. There was no major flooding to be reported and all services are available.

Mexico Breaks Record for Simultaneous Chess Games

Read Full Story

"Mexico set a new record for simultaneous chess games on Sunday when 13,446 players faced off at the same time in a vast Spanish colonial square at the heart of the former Aztec empire, Mexico City officials said."

Americans find it hard to beleive how popular chess is in Mexico, mostly since we don't enjoy the same affinty for the game. For any chess enthusiast, this really would have been a sight to behold. If your missionary is into chess, or even if he only wants to learn, we have a great board that you can send to him from our website. (pictured below) click to order (item is listed under "Other Items")

MexPress News Wiki

Ok, I'm not sure what the potential of this site is, but I was hoping it could be a repository of information from missionaries all over Mexico. Ideally to be used by parents whose kids are now serving in that area to get a better idea of what conditions are like there. Not sure if it will go anywhere, but here's hoping anyway. Here's the site if you want to check out at least the FAQ's:

http://mexpressnews.pbwiki.com/

First Post - My Picture

Here I am. Just starting this blog. I think it's time we started having some fun.