Buenos Dias,
Remember yesterday when the team’s flight was delayed? Well…. Let me share how we spent our extra few hours in Charlotte, the photos alone should give you a clear indication.
Here we are with Bishop Ortiz, his son Louis and daughter in law Sara. What a great opportunity to meet and get to know the Bishop and his family.
We also had the chance to enjoy the rocking chairs at the Charlotte airport, while getting to know each other and listening to a prodigy of 12 years old as he played on the nearby piano.
And finally several of us colored, yes that is right, we colored these beautiful inspirational cards. We hope to use these to bless others.
Upon arrival in San Juan our partners determined that it was best for us to stay at one of their local churches in Carolina (near San Juan) and head to the Samuel Culpeper Methodist Church in Hatillo the following morning. This provided us with extra downtime upon our arrival for which we used to get local food and rest.
Here is a photo of several of us enjoying our 1st local meal. The friendly atmosphere was everywhere and was evident as we walked to the restaurant. A local pastor and his wife noticed that we were not from the island and stopped and welcomed us.
This morning our team woke up and was served breakfast by a lovely host at the church we had spent the night at. We had homeade taquitos and fresh bananas (both delicious!) We then attended church at La Iglesia Metodista de Samuel Culpeper. The worship was wonderful and the sermon was inspiring, whether the Spanish was over our heads or not. We all felt very welcomed by the church, as we received love, hugs and kisses, and gift bags from the members. After church, we had a meeting with Pastor David, and others, to talk about plans for the week.
After eating lunch at Jady’s house (Jady is a member of the church), we took a jaunt to an incredible playa, or beach, in Arecibo, “La Poza del Obispo” (Bishop’s Pool) in Arecibo, also known as the lighthouse beach, you will notice the lighthouse on the far left side of the photo (which was home to two pelicans)! We ended the day with yummy dinner cooked by Jady’s mom Carmen, and were joined by Nicole, our translator.
Clearly the team is having a fabulous time, perhaps one day you will also answer the call to serve in Puerto Rico, and see first hand the beauty of the people and the island.
At the end of the day, we reflected on the graciousness of the Puerto Rican’s we had met, and how we could try and reciprocate that kind of graciousness throughout the trip. This is a mighty task, but we’ll aim for this tomorrow!
Stay tuned for more about our experience, and as always “Que DIOS te bendiga” (May GOD bless you)!
Kelly and Michelle