By Anthony Lam

This post is the first in a series of posts we will be publishing during our International Service Project in Puerto Vallarta.



Our journey is about to start! It is a surreal feeling being at the Vancouver International Airport today knowing that we are about to embark on a two week journey to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to complete our two service projects. Excitement is buzzing around our contingent as we are only hours away from arriving in Mexico.



As a contingent, we will be working with our sister group, the 1st Rivorton Rovers (hailing all the way from New Brunswick), to renovate a new Scout Hall in Puerto Vallarta, as well as to carry out service work at Volcanes Elementary School, a school for underprivileged children in Puerto Vallarta. Our teams have worked tirelessly to plan and prepare for every detail of our service work there, and we are extremely excited to turn our plans into reality.

The years’ worth of planning it took to get to where we are now certainly came with its up and downs, but it nonetheless brought our contingent closer together than ever. To me, that is the joy and pride of each International Service Project; the camaraderie that comes with each one is an invaluable experience that words cannot describe. As a contingent, we are so fortunate to be able to have first-hand experience in this kind of team bonding.

Leading up to this departure date, there are people that we need to thank as a contingent – first and foremost, to all of our parents. Thank you for understanding why we are sometimes not home for dinner for days at a time due to the many meetings working out the details of each service project. We assure you that your understanding has not gone by unnoticed, and we are extremely appreciative of all your love and support. On a trip of this scale, we most certainly cannot forget to thank Carol Chow, our in-house “travel agent” who was instrumental in helping us secure our flights and accommodation. We recognize Carol for the sheer number of hours she has poured in to ensuring that our flights and accommodation are all in line. Finally, a huge thank you to all of our supporters who contributed to our journey in some way, shape or form – materially or spiritually! We are so grateful for your support in our initiatives abroad, and we cannot wait to return and share our stories with you.

For more information about what we will be doing in Mexico, we invite you to read our previous blog posts. It is now time for us to begin boarding and believe me when I say that you will not find a more excited group of people in the airport today! Follow our journey by visiting our blog at http://pccrovers.com/category/iproj/iproj-mexico-2014/