Since we left you last, Daniel and I have packed in a lot!
On Saturday, we were able to help paint part of the CARD (Casa de Amparo y Respuesta a Desastre) House offices. Having forgotten to pack proper footwear, I protected my plantar fasciitis by wearing shoes, and I protected my shoes by wearing plastic bags over them. Daniel and I worked with our hosts, Ashley and Courtney, to paint doors in the offices. After several sweaty hours, the doors were completed and the office space is one step closer to its final design.
Saturday evening brought a time of fellowship with the Mayagüez congregation, and Daniel and I were able to partake in the weekly bonfire, dinner, and discussion time. Singing songs around the campfire made Daniel homesick for his beloved summer camp, LVR.
On Sunday, we were blessed to be able to participate in worship services at both locations. In the morning, we attended the service in Mayagüez, and quickly discovered that neither Daniel nor I are proficient enough in Spanish to quite keep up with a real service. After that, we traveled to the urban church in Ponce, where Daniel was able to participate in Sunday school (in English!) with the missionary family’s children, and I attended the adult Bible study. After that, we participated in the church service and were pleased that we were better able to keep up in Spanish the second time around. We’re still not pros, but we’re getting closer each time!
After service, the Lehman family (the missionary family living in Ponce) invited us and our hosts to their house for dinner. We were treated to a delicious Puerto Rican meal, and a power outage created some nice ambience for us. After wonderful conversation and plenty of playtime for Daniel, we headed back to our beds to prepare for what would be Daniel’s most eagerly-anticipated day of the trip: Beach Day!
Monday we spent at Playa Buye, a lovely quiet beach with calm waves and perfect shade trees lining the sand. Daniel played for hours in his new favorite location. We applied sunscreen regularly...but may have missed some spots. Coincidentally, his new nickname is Candy Cane.
After the beach, we were again hosted for dinner by another family. Cindy, the extremely talented cook, showed me how to make some ridiculously tasty Puerto Rican comfort foods. Now with full bellies we sit and reflect on the time we’ve spent here.
I suspect that even though we did a little work to help, Daniel and I were truly the ones who will come away the most blessed by this trip. Learning about the mission here, its challenges and blessings, meeting wonderfully open and inviting people, and of course, eating great food and playing on the beach, has been an experience we’ll remember fondly. Here’s hoping we use these experiences to shape the way we look at others in the future, with more empathy, compassion, and invitation than ever before.
