Hi my name is Richard. This is the name of the man who was my ministry contact during our stay in Puerto Rico. When we arrived in Vega Baja on January 16th our group of 20 split into two ministry sites. When the group I was in first arrived at the little church in Levittown, we saw how worn down this one-roomed church had become. It was once full of members and vivacious but now the ceiling and walls are peeling, wood bubbling from moisture, the roof leaking, benches broken, and most of all the membership is small and unmotivated. Richard met us at the church and was so grateful to have us as we piled out of the van. We hadn’t even started work!
A sweet and concerned member of the church, Richard took care of us every day by making sure we had water, weren’t working too hard and had everything we needed. Richard stuggles with fibromyalgia and is in constant pain. He is on Social Security and his wife Arelis works at the University. He crochets and made us scrunchies and headbands. He made me a multicolored headband. Richard’s passion for his church body and desire to grow his church is inspiring.
We tore down a stage, demolished a concrete platform, spayed and scraped the ceiling, peeled paint off walls and painted. It was renewed. As I was removing nails and sledge-hammering concrete, the Lord revealed to me how He was using us to build up His church body. Here we were, 10 people from all over the United States with at least 10 churches sending us. We aren’t just 10 individuals demolishing and rebuilding this church. We are representing the collective Body of Christ throughout the world building eachother up. Thank you for being part of the encouragment re-building of this small church in Levittown.
We had the opportunity to run the service on that Sunday and I co-lead worship with a teammate. We were so overwhellmed by the gratitude and love of this small, 20 member church. Their heart of Jesus and desire to grow is encouraging and I trust that the Lord will continue to grow their small gathering.
I will always remember Richard’s sweet, funny, quirky, caring, grateful and joyful personality. That church has a place in my heart.
(I am sorry pictures are not loading this time. I posted some on facebook!)
