Swimming in Shark Infested Waters?

Circumstances are causing me to think of the relationship between the grace of God and the free will of men - in particular the fact that our security is based in and on God, but that fact does not provide us with a license to swim in shark-infested waters (relying on God to keep us safe). (Thank you, Dr. Ueckert, for presenting me with such an apt analogy.)

My church is scheduled to send a bunch of us on a short-term missions trip to Juarez, Mexico next month. The measurable goal of the trip is to build a house for a needy family in Juarez. A mission called "Casas por Cristo" (www.casasporcristo.org) coordinates, plans, & advises and we buy the materials and provide the labor. We have done this every summer for the last several. (I have been twice in the last 5 years.)

This summer, we have become aware that the level of violence in Juarez (& other Mexican border towns) is rapidly rising as various drug cartels fight with each other and the Mexican police for control of the border / control of the drug trade. Innocent people have been caught in the crossfire.

God did not call us to a life of ease, safety, security. But neither did he create us with intelligence merely so that we could build more funner video games (for our kids to play).

So, this year, if we go to Juarez we will learn more than how to build a house. We will see more than how blessed we are to live in the US of A in contrast to a poor country. We will also see the hand of God providing us with security. Not that he hasn't always, but the contrast will be more readily observable.

My conundrum is how to decide if Juarez in the summer of 2008 really is "shark-infested water" or is it an opportunity to see the hand of God providing our security in a more obvious way. In short, should I go & encourage others to go? Or should I stay home where I understand the dangers better.

I am reminded of the ancient Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times!".