We headed out the door as it began to rain. It began to pour. Alexandra, Julian and I walked 30 minutes through town in the pouring rain. We finally found Jose and met his family. As we headed down in the mud, we laughed. We prayed the whole way. As we walked along, Jose told us we had to go up this little mountain. It was a mountain of mud. Jose pulled us all to the top and we washed our bodies in the sewage street water. Laughing about life as we bathed in some of the dirtiest water I have seen. We looked at each other. “We are really missionaries!!!” We walked for a couple more miles through some of the roughest slums of San Juan. Barrio Nuevo. The forgotten neighborhood. Many people stared and yelled at us. We were told that we were the first Americans to come there. As the sun began to set we received a mixture of smiles and frowns as we walked deeper into the neighborhood with our new friend.
We arrived with a warm welcome and no rain. Church. We looked around and found an area with a tree and a bunch of mud and rocks. They busted out the plastic chairs. Some people sat in the mud, some in chairs, and some stood. We started praying and singing and a ton of people gathered around as the rain began again. Then Jose called me up to preach. I did not expect that at all!!! Haha. As I walked to the makeshift podium, I prayed hard. God tell me what you want to say to them. God gave me the words and I preached. I poured it all out and they were captivated. I sat down and Jose called Julian to preach. I walked up to translate as I told God I had nothing left. God gave me the strength. Julian preached it!!!…and then Alexandra preached it!!!! ….and everyone was captivated. It was amazing. We poured out God’s heart for these people. These people are so valuable and loved. Children of God. As we left, we sang with the kids. Joy and love surrounded the forgotten barrio. No longer forgotten. We walked away in the pitch black. Light surrounded us. God was there. “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light.”-Ephesians 5:8
