Past Expeditions
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Tequisquiapan - APR 2011 |
Ensenada - JUL 2007 Bermejillo - JUN 2007 Bermejillo - OCT 2006 Monterrey - OCT 2006 Casas Grandes - JUN 2006 Monterrey - NOV 2005 Bermejillo - AUG 2005 Zihuatanejo - APR 2005 Bermejillo - APR 2005 Monterrey - AUG 2004 Bermejillo - MAR 2004 Bermejillo - AUG 2003 Bermejillo - MAR 2003 Bermejillo - OCT 2002 Monterrey - AUG 2002 |
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Tequisquiapan, October 2010 
The people of Veracruz are a loving people who want to help each other better their lives but lack the resources, not the desire, to do this. FFHE provided the supplies and willing, able people from Utah to help. With these things, the people were more than willing to be there and help with the work. There were many times during the week when there were so many people there to help that we found ourselves visiting families and learning from the locals easier, more effective ways to get the job done. A highlight of my week is always the afternoon meal — not only are we given great authentic food, but it is a wonderful time to relax and enjoy the company of the people we are serving with. Our meal is prepared for us by the people who we are serving. This is a great way for them to feel like they are also serving and both end up gaining from the experience. It is amazing to work side by side with a man or woman mixing cement on the dirt and then sit down next to them in the air-conditioned church room and share a wonderful meal of traditional picadas and horchata! Anything is bearable when you can follow it up with a great meal. This trip we were able to plan and participate in a family health conference. A committee made up of people living in Veracruz and Utah prepared a conference with such topics as diabetes, heart conditions, influenza, and safe food-handling to name a few. The topics were taught by local doctors, participants from Utah, and other Veracruz locals. This was a first and we learned a lot about what to do in the future. In the end, everyone who attended the conference appreciated what was planned and provided. This is definitely something we want to continue. On Sunday, we went with different church leaders to visit people in their own homes. Each group was able to go to at least two different families homes and spend a little time getting to know them. This was a wonderful experience. It was raining so hard, but the people were so loving and accepting and welcomed us into their homes. This was an amazing trip and many wonderful relationships were built, not only between Utah and Veracruz, but also between individuals. We are all trying to do the best that we can, and maybe in the process make it a little easier on someone else. Another fantastic expedition to Veracruz! Veracruz, July 2009 July of 2009 welcomed our second group to the beautiful tropical land of Veracruz: the few, the proud, the brave.
Veracruz, June 2009
 In June, 2009, our very first group of 47 braved the humid heat of Veracruz, Mexico. This group consisted of families and friends, some with extensive medical backgrounds, from Utah, Idaho, California, and Chihuahua, Mexico. We even had the Vallejo family of nine along with us, all the way from little Jacob to Grandpa Bill. The heat couldn’t stop us from achieving what we set out to accomplish. We divided our group into four to offer much needed medical clinics for the community, to provide four families with cement floors, and to assist in replacing a roof for an elderly widow. We also repainted playground equipment, played with the children, and helped update a doctor’s clinic at a local orphanage. On Saturday, we did escape the heat for a day of white water rafting and ziplining or at the ancient ruins of the Totonacs nearby. One of the highlights of our week, was giving out donated newborn kits, gathered and prepared by one of the participants, at an education class for expecting mothers. We also gave out donated hygiene kits, prepared by another participant, in numerous places, including at a first aid skills workshop for the community, taught by all of the participants. But even with all the giving, we still came home with more than we could ever possibly give. The memories, the examples of gratitude, patience and charity, and the renewed hope that comes through service made every ache, and every drop of sweat in the humid heat worth it.
Ensenada, August 2008
 Our August, 2008 group that went to Ensenada, Mexico consisted of families and friends from Utah, Arizona and Alberta, Canada. We all met in San Diego and departed together in a caravan to Ensenada (La Misión), Mexico.
We were able to divide our group and time between projects at the orphanage, a young family trying to start on their own, the small medical clinic in the town of La Misión and two construction projects with families in Ensenada. During the week that we were there we were able to haul bucket upon bucket of sand and gravel, mix cement the "Mexican way," builds cinder-block walls and give an older lady and another family hope in their lives. To think that people from such divers places would come and work in cement and the hot summer sun brought them to tears. Yet, we as the visitors, gained much more than we could ever give. We were able to teach first aid and give out many donated first aid kits, get our hands dirty with cement, dirt and paint, lose very badly to the orphanage's own soccer team, learn to dance and even fly. On Friday we were joined by a large group from a cruise who came to work with us for a day. They provided a great amount of energy and expertise. Thank you to the group from Morris Murdoch Guided Tours. It was great to work with you if only for one day! Torreón, April, 2008
Day 1: Arrive and settle in with our host families. Day 2: General Conference at the church. In the evening we presented a Stake fireside focused on the Blessings of Music, since Music is a universal language this went over well. Day 3: Started work on the house for the Sanchez family (our BIG project). Foundation laid and ground prepped. We also prepped the floor of another home. In the evening we enjoyed family home evening with the members of the Stake. Day 4: Continued work on the Sanchez home – built those walls up. Laid the concrete floor at the second house. Spent the evening teaching classes at the Ward including classes in Dance, English, Arts and Crafts, and Outdoor Sports. The members of the Stake then taught us a traditional dance from the state of Durango. Day 5: Continued work on the Sanchez home and prepped the floors of 2 other houses. Again spent the evening teaching classes at the Ward including Dance, Drumming, Conducting Music, Arts and Crafts, Magic Tricks, and Outdoor Sports. We received further instruction in the Durango dance. Day 6: Finished up work on the Sanchez house. Finished the floors on the 2 other houses. We taught more classes in the evening. We received more dance instruction. Day 7: Visited the Sanchez house one last time and completed the final touches. We distributed donated church clothing to the Bishops and Stake Presidency to be taken to their home wards. A group visited the local Hospital to distribute much needed baby items. This group included a 15-year old boy who distributed more than 70 newborn kits directly to the new mothers as his Eagle Project. In the evening we had a Stake farewell celebration. There was a display of talents by our group and the members of the Stake. We performed the dance they taught us during the week. We were able to say our goodbyes to everyone, which was difficult to do. The work was strenuous but the rewards were rapturous. Although we can record the events of the week, it is impossible to record all the feelings and emotions that the events of the week produced. We cannot convey the bond of brotherhood that we felt with the members of the Stake. We discovered that the pure love of Christ and the joy it brings grows through service. These expeditions create the opportunity for mutual service, for not only did we serve, but we were also served as our host families housed, fed and entertained us. The number of ways these expeditions change lives is incalculable and we feel fortunate to have had the experience.
Ensenada, July 2007
Our July 2007 Ensenada, Mexico expedition was made up of people from three states and many families, but the core of our expedition was the Lamoureux Family from Highland, Utah. Jim and Margo brought their 4 youngest children on a “family vacation” and invited the rest of us to join them. Many of the group had never met before, but by the time we came home we were fast friends having been brought together in a common purpose. We were able to help two families create homes to move their young families into. All of our talents, enthusiasm and willingness to serve was what was needed. We were joined in Mexico by the family and friends of those we went to serve. We were able to demolish one home, clear the debris, grade the ground for a new home and pour the foundation for what was literally the dream home of Braulio Torres and his family. His dream home would be a better version of the home made of wood crates that we had just torn down—because it was literally falling down. Our second project was quite different. The young Hernandez family were trying to finish their home, which was an addition on top of her parent’s home. In a weeks time we were able to hang drywall, tape, mud, sand, mud, sand, and then mud and sand once more. Hanging drywall is not a common form of construction in Mexico and it just so happened that two of the men in our group had considerable professional experience in that area. Together with many willing hands, we finished the project by the time we left. We also had the opportunity to spend the day at the Rancho El Faro Orphanage for girls in the San Antonio Valley near Ensenada. The Stoddard family from Ohio met us there for the day. We spent the day painting and interacting with the girls there. They taught us to dance and we taught them beading and other games. It was a wonderful experience. Bermejillo, 2007
In June 2007, a vivacious group of 20 young adults ventured into Bermejillo, Durango, Mexico.
Zihuatanejo, April 2005With a majority of the participants having a background in teaching, our focus was on teaching courses to the communities, and increasing education in the region. We also added in our share of cement work and even managed to have some fun while we were there. Some of the things we did were:
As the week came to an end, we even had a chance to go out to the mountains to a suspension bridge. We walked hundreds of feet above a ravine on the suspension bridge and into the gold and silver mine. We explored the mine and made it from one side of the mountain to the other.
Monterrey, October 2006
We ran into many struggles that threatened to slow us down, but the group adapted and refused to give up. It made the trip that much more memorable and rewarding. At weeks end we even had a day to go out to the county and visit Horse Tail Falls (Cola de Caballo). The day ended with a large feast provided by our friends and a spirited game of American Football. 
In April of 2005 an enthusiastic group of 15 team members set off for the Pacific costal town of Zihuatanejo in southern Mexico.
We knew that we were taking quite a few projects upon ourselves, however, at week's completion we had finished all we had set out to do. We even had time for a neighborhood basketball game, outings to the beach, a little snorkeling, surfing and energizing mid-day siestas!
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