After a week and a half at our ministry site, I feel like I’m finally getting into the swing of things here in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Things have been busy here, and I am now realizing I need to break this time up into separate blog posts. It may seem like I have left out parts, but I will have the rest coming soon.
It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago my team was on our flight to San Juan to start our race. My team, Hijas del Rey (translated: Daughters of the King), is teamed up with another team, Crisco Unico, for the month in Ponce on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. In total, there are ten women and only three men, so our original housing location was determined to be unsafe for us to stay a night or two before our flight down.
Our new location is a youth/retreat camp located right on the beach a few miles outside of Ponce. We have all felt so blessed to be able to stay in this beautiful location. Not only do we have this housing opportunity, we also couldn’t start our ministry for four days once we arrived. Our ministry site is closed on the weekends and Monday was the Puerto Rican holiday Eugenio Maria de Hostos’ Day. The first two days were full of rest and exploration of the camp and ocean. Early Sunday morning, our location host, John, took us on a hike up a small mountain and we placed our teams’ flag up with the Puerto Rican flag. We also saw double rainbows and had a devotional time while basking in the view around us.
John then took us to his church in the barrio of Ponce where we loved interacting with the congregation. My team member, Kay gave a little of her testimony and Kate was able to practice her Spanish by translating.
Monday was full of fun adventures at Playa Santa where we went snorkeling at a white sand beach (in contrast to the black sand beach where we are living) and climbed trees to jump in to the water and a rope to swing on.
While it all sounds like fun and games, what this really did was set the atmosphere and the groundwork for my team. The bonding and the freedom we experienced in the first four days together is going to be instrumental in the next 11 months of our journey. Being able to relax and for an introvert like me to have time to come out of my shell has really been a blessing. I feel like I have known these women forever, and yet am still learning new things about them every day — and it’s only been two weeks!
Tuesday we were able to start working at our ministry location, Centro Deambulante Cristo Pobre, which is a service for homeless people. The main service they provide is breakfast and lunch for their clients. They also provide clean showers use and clean clothes for them to exchange for what they had been wearing. The first few days, I spent my time upstairs helping them sort through the boxes of donations they had just received over Christmas. Friday of that week, I decided I was ready to stay downstairs once we arrived. The Center is open between breakfast (which usually ends about 9 AM) and lunch (begins at 11 AM) and we are there to just spend time with the clients there. Some speak English, some do not. I kept close to my other team mates for the first day just to get my feet wet.
We help get the lunch plated and then serve them at their seat. About half of those eating lunch are there at 11, and the rest trickle in over the next hour. Once it looks like the attendance has slowed, we are invited to eat. And eat we do. It is always a more than delicious meal and if we don’t finish our plates, it’s because it’s just way too much food. We don’t get any more or less than the clients at the Center. It’s a blessing to know that they are being taken care of physically. We are hoping to meet their spiritual needs during our time here, but we realize our time is limited as this will be our last week at Cristo Pobre.
Today, we are going to bring in over 100 cookies that we baked for everyone, and we’re going to give them a chance to accept Jesus. We have already talked to a few of them at the Center and have been praying with them, but this will be an opportunity for them to start their relationship with Christ. Friday we will be bringing supplies to wash their feet.
Please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will move in their hearts and that they will pray with us. Also that we will be able to adequately portray the act of washing their feet, and be able to show Christ’s love for them. Our biggest prayer is that those who are at the Center and already know the Lord begin to disciple others at the Center. We know that our work here has not been fruitless, but our goal is to see it multiply.
Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity to be here with these people. Your continued prayers are what is sustaining me and my team. I am about $600 away from being fully funded for the entire trip. That’s something I can barely fathom. Thank you so much for your obedience towards the Kingdom.
