In the airport in Charlotte:
Having just arrived in San Juan:
Our fearless leaders, the sister team of Amy and Natalie, met us at the airport and helped us retrieve our rental cars. Amy and Natalie are from Colorado, but grew up in Mexico where their parents were missionaries. They are both college students and are the ONLY TWO people running this program in Puerto Rico! Brave women.
We were the first group to arrive so we had some extra time. We braved the Puerto Rican roadways and headed into Old San Juan for a late lunch at Moreno's Spot. "Moreno" is Spanish for "black," and refers to the skin color of the owner. Our waiter, however, explained that it is not a racial term, only descriptive.
Here are some shots from Old San Juan:
One guy on the street had a pet iguana and let us pet him (her?):
After lunch, we made our way to the retreat center in Cayey. It is, in my opinion, the best set-up we've had for a mission trip in a long time: actual beds (no sleeping on the floor), showers on site (no 10-minute drive away), and plenty of "hang out space." The real kicker, and perhaps the most significant source of culture shock so far is that you don't flush your toilet paper in PR; you throw it in the trash (flushing it causes all sorts of problems). So far, I have yet to hear any complaints from our youth, but we'll each serve on bathroom duty (aka empty-out-the-bathroom-trash-cans) at least once this week.
Here's our home for the week:
Nothing fancy, and no a/c, but a place to rest our heads, which, after a 5AM start to the day is starting to sound pretty good.
Check back in tomorrow for more...
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