In Cancun for the holidays

ALPINE, Utah — Five families who spent their holiday season on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula learned that the famous Cancun resort area has another, more rewarding side.

Instead of hitting the beach, they mixed cement and laid block from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Instead of coming in from the day cool and refreshed, they returned dirty, sweaty and exhausted.

Instead of returning to a luxury hotel, they slept on tile floors.

The past holiday season was no holiday for the Buck and Carol Mendenhall, Steve and Allissa Orrock, Rick and Cindy Rasmussen, Angie and Dave Miller and Dave and Vickie Pendleton families — a total of 28 people — of Alpine, Highland and American Fork, Utah.

And that was just what they wanted. Parents and children traveled to Mexico Dec. 22- Jan. 2 as a missionary preparation and cultural learning experience. In so doing, in coordination with two local bishops, they distributed about a ton of clothing to those who had less. They also built homes of concrete block for two families.

One of the organizers and participants, Buck Mendenhall, explained that parents and children spent nearly a year preparing, and they donated their Christmas money to the project.

"Not once was there a complaint," he said. "The kids completely loved it. We were very pleased with the way it turned out."

Planning for the project included Spanish lessons by Brother Mendenhall and his wife, Carol. Cultural differences were taken into account. And rather than organize every detail, several plans were formulated so that if one didn't work, the next might.

"We had five great families who were able to roll with the punches and we ended up with plans D and E instead of A, B or C," said Brother Mendenhall.

First, when they arrived at the Peten and Kulkulcan wards of the Cancun Mexico Kabah Stake in Mexico's Quintana Roo state, they arranged to distribute the clothing. Local bishops Miguel Vazquez of the Kukulcan Ward and Josue Valentin Quiroz of the Peten Ward invited various families to come and accept clothing.

Speaking from Quintana Roo, Bishop Quiroz said the family in his ward who received the home had previously lived in very poor housing and had few resources to improve. They were very pleased with the help. He said the visiting youth worked hard and got along well with their friends in the local ward, and enjoyed the food that was purchased locally.

"It was a good project, and it came out well," he said.

"For those kids, it was a chance to see the whole, big picture," said Brother Mendenhall. He said when one of the mothers picking up clothing for her children had tears of gratitude in her eyes, it made an impact on the youth from Utah.

"They saw the spirit of giving and it was deeply embedded into their minds."

Two newly baptized families, one from each ward, were selected to receive concrete block homes in place of what they had. The youth worked with the missionaries who had taught the families and attended a baptismal service.

When the building started, all the families wore blue T-shirts with a Spanish slogan referring to the Book of Mormon's stripling warriors. Each lived out of a duffel bag with his or her belongings. "We didn't take any food. We ate with the locals," he said. "The kids ate chorizo tacos and chicharrone tacos. They had full exposure to the culture and full exposure to the people."

A local contractor was hired as the project supervisor on making Mexican cement. "We learned from the best — the Mayans who have hundreds of years of experience," said Brother Mendenhall. The supervisor directed the work and "we didn't try to wing it on anything."

"This was not a service-slash-vacation, it was a service project," he emphasized. "The kids were covered with sweat and dirt." The goal was to show that "a mission is work, and if you can't work, you are going to fail."

They purchased and hauled cement and sand and lime and mixed it on the street with shovels. They carried the cement in buckets to the footings and to the roof. They built scaffolding and made walls with the block, and over them made concrete roofs. Members of the receiving families also worked on the project.

He said that as the work progressed, youth were given responsibilities, such as being sent to town with local currency to purchase food and supplies.

When the work was done, the families gathered for a farewell and a testimony meeting.

"It was the best part," said Brother Mendenhall. "Everyone left with a firsthand experience of the true meaning of Christmas."

E-mail to: jhart@desnews.com

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