A Strong Finish

Today was our final full day in Puerto Rico, and tonight's post comes to you from our Director of Youth Ministry, Alex.

He writes:

"Today we finished our work projects. We finished our scraping, painting, and roofing, and we said our goodbyes to our residents. Each of our work groups was fed a delicious, authentic Puerto Rican meal by our homeowners. Preparing a meal and dining with us was a special way for our residents to say thank you to us. I hope they know that we are thankful to have shared this week with them. 

My work crew stopped by Pastor Emily's house this morning to help out since we were ahead of schedule. (By the way, call Marshall, CJ, Matthew, Tyler, or Jacob whenever you need to hire some hard workers around the house--these youth were in my crew and they are workhorses!). I ended up painting alongside Domingo, a family member of the resident who lives in this house. We conversed in simple Spanish phrases about his living in Philadelphia and New Jersey for a couple of years, about basketball (he was sad the Cavaliers lost the NBA Finals), about my family ancestry, and about how he doesn't like to be called Dominicano even though he was born in the Dominican Republic, because people sometimes use that term as a racial epithet towards him. When it was time to go I told him "God bless you" in Spanish, and he told me the same. When I said "Adios," he told me in Spanish "That is one word too many."  I felt the same way. 

Usually on the last night of a mission trip I am ready to get home, worn out from a busy week of work, worship, and fun. This week is different. I am ready to get home to Erin and Evelyn, of course, but I not quite ready to say "Adios" to this mission trip.

This week has energized me more than any other youth mission week I've experienced. This energy is born from a combination of serving on a beautiful island in God's creation, going to worksites where we really got to know our residents despite a language barrier, being aided by helpful city workers in our tasks, seeing kindness and helpfulness in virtually all of the Puerto Ricans we encountered, and a working alongside a group of mature and adventurous St. Mark's youth who made this week fun and easy for Pastor Emily, Brandi, Susan, and myself.  

Each day they wanted to see the island after our work was done. We went to a swimming hole two days, to visit the town center in Cayey on another day, and to a beach on the southern part of the island today.  These were beautiful places to share with wonderful people. 

Just a few minutes ago our youth celebrated Avery's 15th birthday. Some of our youth walked to a bakery next to the retreat center earlier today and bought a cake and candles for Avery. This act shows how our youth are growing together, caring for one another, and celebrating one another.  

I would like to say thank you to everyone reading who helped make this trip possible. Our parents bore the brunt of the cost of this trip, and our congregation was very generous at our fundraisers. Thank you for your financial giving and for your prayers on our behalf."

See you tomorrow!