Puerto Rico Trip Reflection
The below segment I actually wrote on day two of my time in Puerto Rico. It's been a draft for weeks. Obviously I found myself with less "free time" than I expected after night one. I will wrap up my thoughts on our ministry in Puerto Rico after the 'day 2' post I share below:
Day 2:
Today our team arrived. We spent the morning doing some final preparations. Mostly just getting over the church where we're staying (University Methodist Church) and getting settled in on campus. The fit is perfect. The ladies have A/C in their rooms! The guys have plenty of space but no A/C. There's a large fellowship hall our team is able to use for some meals and for team meetings and common space, it's working well.
I found it again strange today. I almost feel like i'm simply a team member, although I'm a PPM staff member during the week and people are kind of looking to me for answers and guidance. While I am providing as much leadership as possible, I am finding myself simply guiding them to where they'll find the most accurate answers, haha- Kevin and his Puerto Rican staff. We went to the Calvary Baptist Church (our partner church for the week) and went out and visited homes in which we'll be working during the week. My team walked to a lady named Jackie's home. She's the youth leader at the church and has a family of about 6 living in a fairly small townhome. I can't imagine it has more than three bedrooms, even though I didn't go upstairs. We chatted with her, got to know her and her family a little, were offered some killer good iced tea (special recipe of Ricky- her husband), and we prayed for them and for the work we'll do in helping her with some painting. We went back to Calvary and had some great food and time hanging out with pastor Hirman and his wife (Janice?).
I observed our team meeting tonight as Kevin led. I did share some about the layout of the facilities and spoke into things a little, but again I was mostly an observer. My major thought thus far, even though i'm less than a full day into this mission trip is this- being in the shoes of a participant or even an assistant trip leader is a very rewarding, relaxing, and fun experience. The burden of responsibility is not squarely on my shoulders, as it typically is with most mission trips i've been a part of. I'm able to listen, learn, converse, and soak in the culture. The rest of the week should be great. Tonight we're finished and the team is heading to bed, as most of them have been traveling since 3am. Goodnight world!
Thoughts on PPM Puerto Rico:
As I shared with our PPM staff in an email today, there's some special ministry happening in Puerto Rico. As I reflect on my time on the island in early June a few things really stand out.
We have some awesome ministry partners on the island. I was able to meet three Puerto Rican pastors during my time there: Pastor Jesus, Pastor Sanchez and Pastor Miguel. They were all not only hospitable, but passionate about ministry and desiring friendships and partnerships in line with PPM's heart. Pastor Sanchez, who we partnered with during my trip, was active and with our team all week, while also balancing some counseling sessions. A highlight of my week was seeing him sit down with a mother of a boy from his church during our children's ministry and talk and pray with her for over an hour, giving her parenting advice and spritual guidance.
Our staff has heart. Specifically during my trip, we had a large number of staff members. That's because our partner church actually 'sent' us three volunteer translators who essentially acted as PPM staff leaders in making the week a huge success. Eduardo, Keren, and Alejandra were awesome in that respect and I think have become even more involved with PPM leadership since our trip. The other staff member (Jose) was phenomenal. His character and personality were a huge highlight for me, and his love for the Lord and for serving others is evident. I love our staff in Puerto Rico, that's for sure!
It feels international! Everyone has heard recently about Puerto Rico's financial and economic issues. I was surprised at how international it really feels to spend time there. There's this strange balance between feeling like being in a developing country and the ability to get or buy anything instantly at a local Walgreens or Walmart (at least where we were in San Juan). But the infrastructure, the language, the climate, the culture... Yes, Puerto Rico is a US territory, but to me, and to most visitors, it's a whole new country.
I was really blessed to spend time in Puerto Rico. If you want to learn more about our ministry there, I'd love to introduce you to our ministry director overseeing our work on the island.
Below are a couple snapshots from my trip.
Day 2:
Today our team arrived. We spent the morning doing some final preparations. Mostly just getting over the church where we're staying (University Methodist Church) and getting settled in on campus. The fit is perfect. The ladies have A/C in their rooms! The guys have plenty of space but no A/C. There's a large fellowship hall our team is able to use for some meals and for team meetings and common space, it's working well.
I found it again strange today. I almost feel like i'm simply a team member, although I'm a PPM staff member during the week and people are kind of looking to me for answers and guidance. While I am providing as much leadership as possible, I am finding myself simply guiding them to where they'll find the most accurate answers, haha- Kevin and his Puerto Rican staff. We went to the Calvary Baptist Church (our partner church for the week) and went out and visited homes in which we'll be working during the week. My team walked to a lady named Jackie's home. She's the youth leader at the church and has a family of about 6 living in a fairly small townhome. I can't imagine it has more than three bedrooms, even though I didn't go upstairs. We chatted with her, got to know her and her family a little, were offered some killer good iced tea (special recipe of Ricky- her husband), and we prayed for them and for the work we'll do in helping her with some painting. We went back to Calvary and had some great food and time hanging out with pastor Hirman and his wife (Janice?).
I observed our team meeting tonight as Kevin led. I did share some about the layout of the facilities and spoke into things a little, but again I was mostly an observer. My major thought thus far, even though i'm less than a full day into this mission trip is this- being in the shoes of a participant or even an assistant trip leader is a very rewarding, relaxing, and fun experience. The burden of responsibility is not squarely on my shoulders, as it typically is with most mission trips i've been a part of. I'm able to listen, learn, converse, and soak in the culture. The rest of the week should be great. Tonight we're finished and the team is heading to bed, as most of them have been traveling since 3am. Goodnight world!
Thoughts on PPM Puerto Rico:
As I shared with our PPM staff in an email today, there's some special ministry happening in Puerto Rico. As I reflect on my time on the island in early June a few things really stand out.
We have some awesome ministry partners on the island. I was able to meet three Puerto Rican pastors during my time there: Pastor Jesus, Pastor Sanchez and Pastor Miguel. They were all not only hospitable, but passionate about ministry and desiring friendships and partnerships in line with PPM's heart. Pastor Sanchez, who we partnered with during my trip, was active and with our team all week, while also balancing some counseling sessions. A highlight of my week was seeing him sit down with a mother of a boy from his church during our children's ministry and talk and pray with her for over an hour, giving her parenting advice and spritual guidance.
Our staff has heart. Specifically during my trip, we had a large number of staff members. That's because our partner church actually 'sent' us three volunteer translators who essentially acted as PPM staff leaders in making the week a huge success. Eduardo, Keren, and Alejandra were awesome in that respect and I think have become even more involved with PPM leadership since our trip. The other staff member (Jose) was phenomenal. His character and personality were a huge highlight for me, and his love for the Lord and for serving others is evident. I love our staff in Puerto Rico, that's for sure!
It feels international! Everyone has heard recently about Puerto Rico's financial and economic issues. I was surprised at how international it really feels to spend time there. There's this strange balance between feeling like being in a developing country and the ability to get or buy anything instantly at a local Walgreens or Walmart (at least where we were in San Juan). But the infrastructure, the language, the climate, the culture... Yes, Puerto Rico is a US territory, but to me, and to most visitors, it's a whole new country.
I was really blessed to spend time in Puerto Rico. If you want to learn more about our ministry there, I'd love to introduce you to our ministry director overseeing our work on the island.
Below are a couple snapshots from my trip.
Below: Fort at San Cristobal in San Juan
Below: Me and Jose, one of our awesome staff in Puerto Rico
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