Launch-
It all started with an alarming sound coming from the side of the couch the morning of launch. Falling asleep on the couch wasn’t in my list of things to do that morning but, was the least bit surprising, as I was already exhausted from the days before. Pre-Launch training was of the most strenuous experience I’ve ever encountered only because I knew very shortly after I was embarking on a journey soon to change my life forever. Seeing all my friends was an amazing experience as we were all very much looking forward to seeing eachother. Lots of hugs and excitement filled the place as we all gathered in the lobby of the hotel. My hotel room was better than I ever imagined. 2queen sized beds, a little kitchen, a living room and 2 flat screen TVs. I feel like they were buttering us up a little bit! During our stay at the Hotel we had some very important classes to take before we could launch onto the field. Some of them were on Health and safety tips, The Log, Healthy community living, the desire to grow and change, presence of God, positive attitude, high courage, high consideration, high preference, high honor. I’m so grateful for these trainings because its helped me take the focus of of me and place it on others to ultimately make launch an exciting and encouraging experience for all of us.
January 9th 2013 2:30am
Launch has finally arrived, we are flying out of the country to meet Puerto Rico in less than 3 hours. My mind was racing as I got my last few things together. My pack felt heavy but the idea of shedding one more thing made me want to cry, so I sucked it up and made my way down to the lobby where my team was meeting. Most of us were so tired from packing the night before we hardly slept. Through the grogginess we all still had a very positive energy about us. As we were loading our packs into the shuttle heading to the airport, the thought crossed my mind, THIS IS IT… This is really it, the moment I have been waiting for. Nine months have finally passed and my dreams are finally coming true. A tear welled up in my eye and marked a turning point. For the first time I was finally realizing was in the perfect will of God and I felt complete.
San Juan
The plain finally skidded to a stop as we arrived into San Juan. As 45 of us breathed deep the humid air an overall applause filled the plain. Walking into the little airport was a bit nerve wrecking because I wasn’t sure what to expect. Many thoughts filled my mind as we gathered and waited for further instruction. One of which was the fact that I had to go pee. Sabrina asked to be my potty buddy and I eagerly accepted. In this country you’re not supposed to FLUSH YOUR T.P. so you can only imagine the stench from the bathroom. Finally we were ready to go embark on this journey… and boy was it a journey.
Mayguez
After about 6 hours of unnecessary travel, a stop at a beautiful beach, a weird stone Indian head, a very interesting Walmart we finally came to a stop at a “puma” gas station. We waited for another hour for some random car to arrive to take us back into this neighborhood and there we thought we would reside. At this point we all thought we were in a town called Arricibo. Over the river and through the woods we went to finally arrive at Pastor Rubans Home. He had a spare house complete with bunk beds to hold 20 of us. The next morning we found out that our contact in Arricbibo canceled on us at the last minute and we were now in Mayguez. We have no ministry contact, and we had no form of transportation. In my eyes this was such a blessing because our team finally started to bond and we met some really neat people who became our friends and got to get involved in the community and learn some traditional things about Puerto Rico. We saw how the celebrate Christmas and also went to a neat Christion church on our first Sunday there. Over all the Lord knew we needed rest and a tight bond before we could enter effectively into ministry. Our last night in Mayguez Pastor Ruben invited us to a church service. When we arrived there was only one other man as well as the pastor his wife and her mother. We all gathered around as the pastor asked Bri to translate. He began in tears as he was experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. I felt it as well as he began to tell us why he invited us there. “This church you are now sitting in was my Father in Law’s legacy. When he passed 2 months ago the church divided and left. God has brought you all here to this place to show me his will for the church. You’re such an encouragement and a blessing to our family. You have answered His call and opened up doors for the future and the ones to come after you’re gone. The lord wanted to use this time, this place, and myself to prune you like the Olives on the olive tree and squeeze you together to make olive oil. You need many olives to make olive oil and he needed such a time as this to make that happen.” I just love how the Lord works, here we are thinking were going to jump head long into ministry the day we got here yet the Lord had other plans. He used Local people to minister to us and fill up our vessels so that we would be ready for the week to come. God is good.
-Thank you so much for all your support and patients. I love you guys. MORE Blogs to come about week 2 in Vega Baja! Please be praying for our contacts as there church is falling apart and we are doing all that we can to salvage it. It’s amazing to see what the lord will bring into your life to teach you about himself. We are still just in the midst of this project of demolition and reconstruction, I don’t feel quite ready to share the full story as it’s still evolving but ill share some pictures so you can see the progress of Breaking Down walls and building a solid foundation. This Sunday will be our first serves in the church so pray that we all have our hearts in the right place so that nothing will be in the Lords way as the message is given. If you feel like Giving money to continue my Journey here on the World Race please click the support me tab on the left hand side of my blog! God is so good and I can’t wait to see how Vega Baja Impacts my life ad yours!
