For about 20 years, Creekside has partnered with the Iglesia Bíblica Fundamental del Ejido Cuernavaca, a church based in Mexicali, Mexico. Pastor Andres and his wife Hilda oversee the church. Up until 2020, a group of teens and adults from Creekside would go to Mexicali every year, under the leadership of Brad Bowers and the umbrella of Azusa Pacific University. They led a Vacation Bible Study for children in the area, fellowshipped with the local church, and served in various capacities.

After a few years off, we are starting up this outreach again and planning a 2025 trip to Mexicali from March 29th-April 5th. This is an excellent opportunity for youth and adults from Creekside and the community to serve others, share God's Word and the hope of the gospel, broaden their view of the church, and build relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ both in our community and globally.

Schedule

We will drive down to Southern California the afternoon of Friday, March 29th, stay overnight at either Azusa Pacific or a motel, arrive in Mexicali on Saturday the 30th, spend the next 5 days in Mexico (3/30 through 4/3), leave Mexicali on Frida, April 4th and then stay one night at a motel north of LA on our way back to San Leandro. 

Lodging

In the past years, we have stayed with Azusa Pacific’s group in tents near the church. However, Azusa no longer runs an outreach in Mexicali and although there is a new independent outreach, they unfortunately won’t be there at the same time we are. Because we do not have the covering of APU and a security team, we plan on staying at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Mexicali, where a few of the leaders stayed last April during a short visit. Since we are familiar with this hotel's accommodations (primarily food and security) this is where we plan on staying.

intinerary

While in Mexicali, we want to focus our time on how we can benefit the Iglesia Bíblica, so we ask Pastor Andres, Hilda, and other church leadership how we can best support them and their ministry in the community. We also want to remain flexible and open to however God may lead us. Based on conversations we've had with Pastor Andres, his wife Hilda, and youth leaders at the church, we have a tentative itinerary for while we are there.

We will start the day with breakfast and a morning meeting in the hotel and then meet with Pastor Andres and Hilda. We’ll do home visits during which we’ll provide food supplies from the church pantry and pray with people in the community. In the afternoon, we’ll meet at the nearby park for VBS and teach a Bible study for local children, perform skits, sing songs, and lead crafts and games. The adult leaders will plan these activities as we prepare for the trip and the youth will lead them. All of these activities will relate to the day's Bible study lesson and the children's crafts are a memento of the lesson that they can keep. During this time, some of the adult leaders from our team will meet with the men and women of the local church and lead a Bible study with them. After the park, we often eat lunch and fellowship at the church or at church member's homes.  

We will also attend church service while we are down there and have at least one fellowship night at the church. On the fellowship night, there will be a men's group, a women's group, a teen/young adult group, and a children's group. There will be time for people to share testimonies in the groups, and often, the youth from our team play games with the youth from the Mexican church. It is a wonderful time for fellowship between the youth and their Christian brothers and sisters in Mexicali.

In years past, we have also done acts of service for the community, such as buying food for the church's food pantry, building rooms and offices for the church, planting trees in the neighborhood, providing shoes and other items for a church-led shoe donation ministry, and meeting with local elders at a nursing facility. There will likely be similar activities that will take place this year, but we will see what happens as the Lord sees fit.

At the end of each day, we gather as a team and discuss the highlights and challenges of the day and what we've seen God doing, and then we pray together. We will also have time each day to gather for prayer, small group Bible study and reflection.

Cost

The cost is $450 per person plus an additional $100 of spending money (on your person).

The total cost per individual is based on the current hotel reservations (6 nights), donations to the church in Mexicali for the food they will provide us, and one night in a motel on the way back. We also ask that each individual bring $100 of spending money for food (mainly for dinners) and other things they may want to buy while there. Since this is the first time we haven't been under APU Mexicali Outreach with this trip, the cost is not fixed like in years past. We are still working on logistics, which we plan to sort out once we know how many people want to go. The cost is subject to change if we find a more feasible hotel option. We wanted to make a reservation so that we could give an estimate.

Impact

The trip's leaders can attest to how God has worked through this trip over the years in their lives, the lives of others who have gone on the trip, and the lives of those in Mexicali. The fellowship among the team has been a blessing in our lives and it is a great opportunity for all attendees to build friendships and experience fellowship in the church while serving. It is also a joy to travel to a different country and still find the home of fellowship with God's people. 

If you have any questions, please email us. If you're interested in going, please complete this form.