So, Puerto Rico is a special place to me because it’s my heritage – my Opa is from there. And there’s something so warm and welcoming about Latin culture in general – whether it’s Guatemala, Costa Rica, or somewhere else, I always feel like I’m coming home. But there’s something super cool about being able to serve God in the land where my Opa grew up.
So I decided to split these blogs into two parts – ministry/relationship and fun… not because the two are exclusive, but because I didn’t want them to rival Tolstoy’s length! And I have some cool stories to share…
#1: Softball
On our first day in Puerto Rico, my co-leaders and I drove around to our ministry sites and met our hosts. At the last location in Loiza, we went to a community center with an indoor basketball court and an outdoor field where a group of young men were playing softball.
My co-leader, Dayna, was like, “I want to hit the ball!” And they actually paused the game for her. Then, Danae, another co-leader, ran up to try. And I’m watching them, thinking, “I asked God to let me play softball in 2015, and I’m putting a team together – Danae is on it! There is no way I’m not going to bat too!”
So I stepped up, hit the first pitch – a solid base hit. What a great feeling – it’s been 10+ years, but some things you just don’t forget! What a gift!
#2: The Bioluminescent Bay
Two nights before the team came, 3 of my co-leaders and I drove to Fajardo, where one of the world’s 5 bioluminescent bays is found. Basically, there are microscopic organisms in the water that glow at night. I’d never heard of it before, but it sounded like a neat adventure. We called most of the afternoon trying to get on a kayaking tour, but all were full. Finally, we just decided to go and see if spots would open up.
What we got was better – a boat tour of the bay, under the stars, through a mangrove forest, and into a lagoon where, I’m not kidding, the water LIT UP whenever anything moved through it. We were given poles to move through the water and when we did, blue light followed. Then we got to the lagoon and the tour guide said, “Go ahead… make it rain.”
Reaching in, Danae and I started whooshing water as far as we could… the night light up from below. It was a cloudless, moonless night and I didn’t know where to look – at the stars or the water! The night was breathtaking, and when fish shot past, it was like watching fireflies underwater. Or being in Avatar.
Oh, and my hands glowed. As soon as I reached in, tiny sparkles stuck to my hands and arms. I had a shirt wrapped around my wrist like a bandana, and the sparkles covered the entire fabric. It was so cool.
The next day, Danae said something that really made me think – about how the love of Christ is like that bioluminescence. Because the plankton get that way from floating in the sun all day and when the sun goes down, everything is dark – until there is movement. Something has to brush up against it; something has to move. She said that’s the thing about the love of Christ, that it’s there and waiting to be shared. And that once there’s movement, once it brushes up against anything, it spreads. It increases, until the situation or relationship is seen in the light of his love.
The love of Christ literally lights up this world.
So amongst us leaders, we jokingly reminded each other all week to “spread the bioluminescence”. That became my goal for the week – just to love. In decisions, conversations, leading debriefs, or whatever else… I just tried to do it all in love. I wasn’t perfect in it and have much to learn, but I felt like it made me a better leader.
The youth leader of one of my groups, Kelly, had a similar picture she shared, this one about the “bee trailer” at the church that we cleaned. This trailer smelled horrible and was a mess. Covered in dead bees, but also covered in honey. At one point, one of our male leaders just had his hand inside the wall, not knowing what he would touch, and when he pulled it out, it dripped in honey.
The abundance of that honey literally got everywhere. It was in the walls, on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling, on the chairs and tables… and all over us. Anyone who came near the bee trailer got “honeyed” (thankfully, no bee allergies on my team!) and that too is so much like the love of Christ – how it permeates everything.
#3: Seeing My Roots
Well, PR is an island in the Caribbean… and it is so beautiful. There were moments of driving by beaches and stopping for 20 minutes to take pictures, and one afternoon where my Project Director, Robin told me to take time to be with God at the beach after ministry. I didn’t actually get in the ocean until the last day… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The teams had an off day on Friday, and most had already planned their activities. My co-leaders and I decided to take a road trip to Cabo Rojo on the West Coast. It was the first time I’ve ever done a cross-country road trip, but it was extra special because I think that’s the town my grandfather is from.
We left San Juan for Camp Caribe, a location where most of our teams actually serve in Puerto Rico. The camp was full this week, which is why we were in San Juan to begin with. But Dennis, my co-leader, had led 2 trips previously to Camp Caribe, and it was on the way, so we decided to go.
It was great to see a place where so many teams serve. Since I write about mission trips on our website, being able to see it firsthand and to have pictures is always great. It was also great to meet the head of the camp and get a better idea of their ministry.
From there we turned left and headed to a pink hole-in-the-wall-but-most-incredible-EVER fruit frappe stand that Dennis had been talking about all week (picture above – he was really, really excited). It was even better than he described… and mine even had peaches!
Swinging right, we kept on, through Ponce and into Cabo Rojo, where I called my grandparents. We saw the red salt flats, then headed to the highest building we could see – the lighthouse.
By then it was almost 1pm on a brilliantly clear and bright day. Simply put – it was HOT. And walking up, we thought we were walking up to a beach. Then we climbed the lighthouse and realized we were on 200 ft cliffs!
It might have been the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
Being afraid of heights, I stayed well away from all edges, making up middle names whenever my friends got too close to the edge, “Danae Marie! Danae Michelle! Danae Allison! Get away from there!” (she couldn’t hear me). But then at one point I found myself jogging along the path in the excitement to get the perfect shot.
*First photo by Dayna Bickham
From there we headed into town, where our goals were to find food and a beach. We did one better – we found food on the beach. Two hours later, we headed east back towards San Juan and almost ran out of gas in the mountains.
It was a day of laughter and delight, adventure, stories, a great playlist, and peaches – all in a land that means so much to me. Definitely something I’ll never forget.
It seems like once every year there’s at least one adventure God gives me where I am absolutely flabbergasted by the beauty and abundance He has created. So far for 2015, this was that day for me. I am so, so thankful.
Now for India!
So, I’m back, recovering from lack of sleep, catching up on work, and preparing for India! The official dates I’ll be gone are July 29-August 13. We’ll be in India until August 9, and then in Nepal Aug 9-13. While I’m still disappointed to not be able to go to Asha House, I’m am so excited to return to this land that I love! And I’m excited about learning more about the ministry God has given us!
And I have great news – the additional support I needed to cover the flight and the ground costs came in! Praise God! Thank y’all so much for all that you’ve done!!
Please pray for us as we go – for safety in travel and for an ever-listening ear to God’s voice as he leads us in ministry. I can’t wait to see the stories he’s writing both in India and in Nepal! I’ll see y’all when I get back!
