What an incredible first day in Puerto Rico!
I mean amazing!! I feel like Rapunzel in Tangled when she finally escapes the tower and is free!
I just feel so alive sitting on the bus we just loaded after getting off the plane with all of these people (I barely know) embarking on this unique journey together. It makes me so much more excited for the year to come, when at first I was very hesitant and doubtful if this was the right thing for me. But being here in Puerto Rico, which I’m aware I may be in the honeymoon stage, but this is beautiful! And this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
After we step off the plane on to the land of Puerto Rico for the first time, we collect our huge backpacks and daypacks. Then, we load a bus: three teams and no squad leaders. It’s just us now having to trust that the Lord will get us to the right place. The driver terrifies me, because he constantly looks back to talk to us more than he does the road. But he is very nice! My eyeballs are on overload as im taking in all of my surroundings. Which is not really too different. Puerto Rico is like Hawaii meets Mexico.
Driving down the highway along the island my mind wants to stay alert and awake, but my eyelids are winning as they fight to get some rest.
I awake as the bus pulls into Rooms to Go and a random guy walks on the bus. His name is Danny Bobe. He is our contact for Puerto Rico. Note: He told us later that he wanted the bus driver to pick him up, because he was excited to meet us! We never really saw him much, but he helped us get in touch with ministries to work at and provided buses that held about ten even though there were really twenty of us. And at the end of the month when he drove us to the airport, he bestowed each one of us the pleasure of having his album that he had recorded. A Spanish worship old school rap album. And let me tell you that the girls of Bolivia loved it when we used one of the songs to dance to for el noche de talentos-the talent show. Note over. Back to it.
So we pick this stranger up and he introduces himself as Danny. He shares a little bit of his heart with us and challenges us to think the way that Jesus thinks and to see things the way Jesus does. He recites a story from Luke about when Peter cuts off a guys ear which Jesus told him not too. Peter didn’t think and see things the way The Lord did. He also said something about forget the intelligence or was it don’t worry about whatever intelligence you may have of Christ but focus instead on the way He sees things. It was a good message. Overall, he challenged us to see through the Lords eyes. A good reminder.
We were on our way to our host town. (Which, incidentally, changed at the last minute, because our original host that we had planned to help out with was not able to accommodate us for some reason. It wasn’t a problem though, because we ended up at Jesamir. Which is exactly the place the Lord wanted us to go.) On our way to our new host, we stopped at a view of the island that Danny wanted to show us. It was an incredible view of la playa-beach. We took lots of pictures and we got back on the bus. Within a few minutes, we were on the beach! Danny didn’t want to just show us a view, but the real thing too! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! The water was warm and the perfect temperature. The sand was the perfect grain. The waves were perfect and the sound even more perfect. I just wanted to have my quiet times every morning here with the sound of the waves meeting the shore forcefully. I also wanted to pose on a rock and pretend to be a mermaid, but that didn’t happen.
We all loaded back on the bus and we finally arrived at Jesamir. Which is where we would be staying for a week.
It was an incredible first day. The start of everything. And I knew that this was exactly where the Lord wanted me. I prayed that the Lord’s presence would go with me, because I knew I could not do this journey alone, and that I wanted Him to guide me, to lead me, to teach me. There were no more doubts in my mind. Now, I just wanted to know why. Why the Lord had called me on this trip? What was His purpose and plan? I don’t have an answer just yet, but all in God’s time.
Despite all the beauty of Puerto Rico I had seen today, overall, what inspired me the most was Danny. His passion and his relationship with Christ was contagious, and I wanted to catch it.
Until the next adventure,
Teej
