Anderson University

We made it! We all are so excited for what God has planned for us this week. Keep following our journals!

This morning after breakfast, we visited Old San Juan since our host partner holds church service at night. We got to taste mofongo, drink Puerto Rican coffee, and take in the sites. We had so much fun and are loving it here already! 

Last night we went to our host partner church, Iglesia Impacto Evangelistico, to attend our first church service there. We loved the dynamic worship and some of us even picked up an instrument to join in with the worship band.

Pastor Felix also preached a great message about finding our identity in Christ and growing closer in our relationship with him. He told us that God ultimately cares about our heart and He wants to know us more. It was a powerful time of ministry and we are really excited about how God is going to move throughout this week. 

We also got a chance to sing a few popular worship songs from our church back home, and we shared some really powerful testimonies. 

Today we did some hard and rewarding work! We went to the church we are partnering with and cleaned the backyard. After that, we went to the house of a disabled man  and helped him cleaning his room. That was a lot of work, but seeing everyone helping and united is such a blessing. Then, we had some ice cream from a local store, and it was delicious! Finally, we eneded our day by having a beautiful worship time and reflected on what we experienced today.

Here we are at Georgetti's enjoying a surprise from our PPM staff! 

This morning we visited an elderly home in Loiza. We got a chance to introduce ourselves, sing a worship song,  and we also participated Puerto Rican worship songs in return. 

After a delicious traditional Puerto Rican meal, we separated into 2 groups. One team worked on yard work for a community member, and the other group went prayer walking. We prayed for people along the way and for the community. 

After some flex time, we traveled back to church for prayer service. We worshipped, prayed for church members, and listened to a great message given by an evangelist/missionary. After church, the members treated us to Piña Coladas and pastelitos. 

We had fun with kids today! First, we went to a Day Care Center. We had the opportunity to spend time with kids from 2 to 5 years old. We played fun games and enjoyed each other's company. Then, we went to an Elementary School where we played sports with kids and other fun games. It was a blessing spending time with kids today. They were very happy and so were we. 

This morning we went to Barrio Obrero, a multicultural community in San Juan, to serve with Pastora Nilka from Iglesia Metodista San Pablo. We helped her clean some areas of the church, organize donations, and serve a community meal to the homeless and those affected by the hurricanes last year. 

We also got a chance to hear her story and how she came to Barrio Obrero, as well as the history behind this community. We were in awe of how God has supplied for the needs in this community, as well as how God used Pastora to speak to our hearts about our purpose in life. 

After lunch, we headed over to Playa Escambron to enjoy some beach time. 

Last night we had an incredible team meeting. God really showed up through a powerful devotional, worship, affirmations, and prayer for each other at the end. We will never be the same. Now, it is time to take back what God taught us in Puerto Rico to our community and be the light.