On Dec. 26, 2011 a group of Young Men from Maple Mountain High School, American Leadership Academy and Diamond Fork Junior High (26 people total) left for Mexico to spend their Christmas break building homes for the poor and needy. The group we went with built 5 homes that week.
They arrived in Mexico on the 27th and started to build a home for a family who had no home. The family had gone on vacation for a week, and when this family returned home, they discovered that their entire home had been stolen. Every piece of plywood and every 2x4 were gone. This family was so discouraged, and they had no means to build another home. This group pulled together and worked very hard for 12 hours every day to complete a home for this family.
The language barrier was difficult to overcome at times, but the feeling of love from all those involved was very evident. Each person grew to understand how blessed they were to live in the USA. This service project required much sacrifice from everyone involved, but each person will tell you that they gained more out of this experience than anything they had to give up.