Cecilia Baptist Church

We have landed in Puerto Rico! For our first stop we are having so delicious pinchos in Piñones. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us this week! 

We have arrived to our hotel for the week! We are doing a quick orientation meeting to get to know each other, go over ways to stay healthy and talk about the plans for the week. 

This morning we are joining Iglesia Bautista de Rolling Hills for their Sunday service! It is a joy to be back in Puerto Rico worshipping and praying in English and Spanish.

We are now walking in the community surrounding Iglesia Bautista Rolling Hills. We are taking the time to pray over the neighbors and invite them over to future services. 

This morning we are starting to prepare the ground at Puerto Rico Christian School for some beautiful flowering shrubs. Vivian, the school director, is looking forward to welcoming new parents with a nice looking yard.

A few of us are putting together wooden frames for pouring cement. These cement squares will be bases for the new patio furniture that the school had donated.

Today we are also pressure washing and painting a wall in the backyard. We are helping prep this wall so the senior class can paint a mural on it. 

On Day 1 we were able to make a lot of progress! The plants are in the ground, the wall is painted, and most of the new patio furniture is pressure washed. We can't wait to continue the work tomorrow as well as meet the kids and teachers when they come for classes.

As teachers are under a lot of stress in the classroom as well as going through various personal situations, we have the opportunity to pray over them this morning in a Prayer Cafe. Many teachers stopped by for prayer, coffee, and snacks during their break.

This afternoon a few of us are painting the church sanctuary. What a great way to expand our service outside of the school and impact another community!

Today we continue to help with Bible, Music, and PE classes. There are many kids who we remember from last year!

The cement bases dried enough today to place the freshly cleaned patio furniture on top! This has been a lot of heavy lifting to accomplish this project, but so worth it.

This afternoon we are boing the after school tutoring program. We are helping kids with their math, spelling and English homework!

It has been a long day of painting today, but we were able to accomplish what Pastor David had hoped. He and his right hand Tomás are so happy with the fresh coat of paint in the church, and we are glad that we were able to help.

Today, on our final day at school, we reflected on what it means to be the light of the world during Bible class. It’s a bittersweet moment as we say goodbye to the incredible students and teachers who’ve made this journey so special. We are grateful for all the memories we’ve made.

As we leave the school today, Vivian expresses her gratitude toward us for all that we did this year and last year. God gave us the strength to not only accomplish the physical projects, but to encourage the students and teachers spiritually. We are grateful that God allowed our paths to cross.

We are ending our day at Old San Juan. We are having so much fun buying souvenirs, taking pictures, and relaxing. Our last dinner of the week is at Buns Burger Shop!

No words can express how much we will miss this beautiful island and its beautiful people as we board our plane to return home. This week has been a great reminder of God's global Church as he works in and through His people no matter the culture or language.