The team was a youth group from the town of Valdese, NC… actually, it was 2 youth groups. There were a lot of cool things about this team, but the best part of all was that they were from 2 churches, not one… yet neither Connie nor I could tell who went to what church. What a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ- one of unity!
While we have many stories from this week, there is one in particular I want to share with you now: Alicea's story.
The last day of the trip, the team spent the afternoon in Old San Juan, walking around, enjoying the beauty of the day and the country. But this wasn't an "off day"… after all… there isn't such a thing as an off day! Connie challenged them to each find someone to talk with and pray for, someone to share the love of Christ with… whether with words or without. We had water and oranges to pass out, and laughter on our faces.
We started at the government pointing and the statue of the man pointing to the right, then down the street painted yellow… past murals and graffiti, buildings of bright pink and brilliant cyan, over the cobblestones, and into a plaza. There was a small market there and an outdoor bar that hosts karaoke during the weekend. The team scattered there, looking at shops, talking with people, buying bottles of water from a nearby kiosk, taking a break from the hot sun. I looked over and saw a woman in purple walking across the plaza. She was so thin that at first I thought she was a man, just from her profile. She was older, her shoulders bent by the weight of her years.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over and greeted her in Spanish: "Good afternoon! How are you today?"
"Good," She replied with a smile. "And you?"
"I'm good! What is your name? My name is Kristina." (I go by Kristina in Latin America because it's often easier for people to remember).
"Alicea." She said.
"Alicea, I wanted to come over and tell you that God loves you. And I wanted to tell you 'God Bless you'".
"Amen", she said, her smile bigger. She said something else in Spanish that I couldn't understand, motioning to her stomach. I asked Justin, our host's son, to come over translate. She repeated her statement: "I love God and He has loved me since I was in my mother's womb."
"Amen!" I said.
The conversation didn't go far from there. I could see the team gathering, so I wished her a good day and soon, Justin and I left to join the team.
A few moments later, Connie and one of the group leaders, Crystal, came to the team with a vendor alongside them, asking that the team pray with him. We all gathered around him, and as we did, Justin came up to me: "Hey, Kristen. Can I have $2? I want to buy the lady you were talking to a tamarindo".
"Sure." I handed him $2, even though I couldn't see who he was motioning to. From my vantage point, it was a student I'd just spoken to a minute ago. I continued to pray with the team, not paying attention.
When we finished, I noticed Justin standing off to the side… next to someone wearing a purple shirt. Alicea! I hurried over, and at that moment, Destiny, Justin's sister, was standing there as well. We called Connie over so she could meet Alicea.
Alicea held up the tamarindo shaved ice, "Thank you so much for this! God provides for me every day, and through you, He has provided my dinner."
My heart dipped as I looked at the melting ice, thinking, That's not enough for dinner. One of the guys from the team heard her words and handed her an orange. Again, she thanked us joyfully. Connie asked if we could pray with her and she said yes, so we gathered around and prayed. There was a huge smile on her face.
*Above photos by Connie Rock.
I thought that was the end of the story.
Little did I know that one of the group leaders, Anna, felt like God was telling her to give Alicea her shoes. She didn't want to… after all, these were the only shoes she had with her.
Alicea left before Anna could give her the shoes.
We kept walking… down the street, to the fort, the large field where families flew kites, and then back down the cobbled streets. We passed the church with a mural of Mary off to the right, peeking in windows of over-priced shops. Turning left, we found ourselves at a small park… the one our hosts, having heard the stories of me and pigeons, where intently keen on making sure that we went to.
Needless to say, I stayed away (as a recap on the stories… I've been pooed on by pigeons twice while overseas). Instead, I stood across the street and watched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the team gather around someone, talk for a few moments, and pray. It was as they were walking away that I saw a flash of purple.
Alicea.
Forgetting about the pigeons, I ran over there. She stood holding an old, ratty pair of shoes in her hands, their soles worn all the way through. A pair of newer–definitely in better shape–shoes were on her feet. And Anna stood there, beaming.
Alicea looked at me and said, "I don't need these anymore".
As we walked away, the last time I thing I saw of Alicea was of her walking away from the trash can, having thrown her shoes away.
