In January 2015 (Messiah College's J-Term) I will be attending a cross-cultural trip to Loreto, Mexico.

 

This course will include:

• Do a rural health fair with Mexican Medical Ministries, serving the poor who cannot get good medical and dental care. Check out: Mexican Medical Ministries

• Students in the past have planted fava beans and peas for a farmer--a huge field. THE NGO is called "Baja Living Roots" which serves the ranchero community, the poor in the mountains.

• Look at the culture of Mexico, how that differs from the culture of the United States

• Look at the implications for socioeconomic development in light of the cultural factors.

• Loreto is the “home base” & not a tourist area.—it is a fishing village with a population of 14,000 that is undergoing rapid development

• Home of the oldest Spanish mission in North America

• Loreto is also an area where there has been a significant impact by the Protestant/Evangelical church, and therefore the impact of true transformational development can be observed.

• It is also a fragile ecological region where the development initiatives by the Mexican government and the Canadian Trust for Sustainable Development have had high environmental impact.

• Students will interact with church groups

• Visit the National Park and learn from the local Eco-Allianz

• Visit sites of development initiatives.

• Service learning through the evangelical Mexican church will connect the students with the local people of Loreto, Mexico.

• Students will be camping outdoors for the duration of the course, and will be cooking meals together.