The missionaries stand in the cistern they dug for the local parish.

June 24, 2010. Tres Reyes, Mexico. This past June 4-11, Fr Jacob DuMont, LC, and a group of 6 young men from Chicago, Atlanta, and Ireland headed out for the town of Tres Reyes, Mexico for a mission at the service of the local people. Their tasks: help build a grotto for Our Lady and dig a cistern behind the local parish church.

Because of the extreme heat, the young men started their work day early. At 6:30, they had morning prayers and got to work at 7:00. After an hour of work, they stopped for breakfast and then continued working until 1:00 p.m. Specifically, their work consisted in building a mound for a statue of Our Lady; the next step will be to pour the concrete and place the statue. They also completed 10 feet long, 5 feet wide,

	One of the unwelcome guests on the mission.

and 5 feet deep cistern for what will become the parish bathroom.

After a morning of hard work, a well-earned lunch followed. The boys stayed and ate with families from the town, which also gave them an opportunity to talk about their faith and learn from the local people.

After lunch, the boys had some time for refreshment and relaxation, as the local people took them cliff diving and cave swimming in places unknown to tourists. In the evenings, they had Mass and then a night activity. Most days, they had Mass in Tres Reyes, but on a few occasions they also traveled to Nuevo Durango to have Mass together with a group of 15 young women missionaries from Chicago. Back in Tres Reyes, they had night activities in the evenings.

The trip also held a few surprises, like the three

	Missionaries enjoying a well-earned lunch.

tarantulas that the boys found around the villa where they were staying.

“They were the size of the palm of your hand,” said Huy Vu, a Mission Corps volunteer currently serving in Chicago, adding that they killed one with a shoe and another with a water bottle. “There were a lot of scorpions as well.”

On the day before the boys returned home, they visited the pyramids and ruins in Cobá and took a swim in the ocean in the coastal town of Tulum. After a late lunch in Tulum, they headed back to Tres Reyes to say goodbye to the local people and pack up for home. All in all, blisters and calluses included, it was a trip well suited to young men with a taste for adventure.