Thank You, Scouter Moy!

By Anthony Lam, with contributions from Eli Chan – 180^th Pacific Coast Scout Group

Going to a country for a service project is never easy, but on this trip, we were very lucky to have support and help from Scouter Moises (Moy) Rubalcava Ceja, President of the Nayarit Province for the Scouts Association of Mexico.  Moy was instrumental in our service project in Puerto Vallarta, and his support for what we were doing showed his dedication and passion towards Scouting.  Moy promised us that our two weeks in Mexico would be one of the best time of our lives, so that we will forever cherish our memories and friendships, and share our memories with everyone we know back in Canada.  There is no doubt now that Moy is a man of his words.

When we started planning this International Service Project over a year ago, we only knew that we wanted to do a service project, but we had no idea of what we needed to do.  Fortunately, we were able to come in contact with Moy who immediately proposed the first of our two projects.  The Province of Nayarit, Mexico finally has their own dedicated Scout hall, and Moy suggested that we could help them decorate the hall to make it more welcoming and friendly for the local Scouts.  That was one of the projects that we ultimately took on, and Moy was extremely helpful every step of the way.  Without his help in coordinating, it would have been much more difficult to complete the project in the time that we had.

Prior to our arrival in Puerto Vallarta, Moy sent out information packages to all the Rovers in the Province of Nayarit to invite them to an event called Rovers Encounter – a cultural exchange event between Mexican Rovers and Canadian Rovers.  At the airport, our contingent was overwhelmed with the cheers that we got from the Mexican Rover Scouts – many of whom do not live in Puerto Vallarta and travelled great distances to meet us.  Moy’s effort resulted in one of the warmest welcomes we received as a contingent, and amongst the many bright smiles in the crowd, his was definitely the brightest!

Moy also planned many great Scouting activities and encouraged us to participate in as many as we could so that we can have first-hand experience of what Scouting life is like in Mexico. For example, Moy and other Mexican Scout leaders organized a rally for us to participate in. This rally not only allowed us to explore the downtown area of Puerto Vallarta, but also introduced us to some of the history of Puerto Vallarta, and their Scouting traditions. We know it must have been logistically difficult to plan something of that scale, and we are all very appreciative of the effort Moy put in to make the event happen.

To show their gratitude for our work done with their local Scouting community, Moy also hosted a big celebration dinner by the beach to thank us for the hard work we put in to their Scout Hall.  Being of service to others is always a great privilege for us, which is why having our host thank us with such care is truly humbling. We are so fortunate to have encountered someone like Scouter Moy on our journey.

On behalf of the 180^th Pacific Coast Scout Group and the 1^st Rivorton Rover Crew, we would like to thank Moy from the bottom of our hearts for making our time here in Puerto Vallarta such a memorable experience.  Gracias señor, y le saludamos!