Liberty Presbyterian Church

Arrived safe and sound at Puerto Rico and Primera Iglesia Bautista Peniel! We are so excited for what’s to come and ready for what God has in store this week!

Taking a moment before Bible Study, we practice for the songs we’re going to be presenting during service while taking in the amazing nature views we didn’t get to see last night! We are in awe at our Creator’s details and praising Him with spanish songs. 

At Primera Iglesia Bautista de Peniel, we are worshipping the Lord through the songs we prepared earlier after listening to the church’s amazing music as well. It is so wonderful to see the different kinds of ways people praise God and how we all come together in harmony.

We are taking some time to do something very important: pray for others. Getting to walk inside of houses in this amazingly hospitable community and praying for everyone we meet, has been such a blessing. 

A couple of ways in which we’ve seen Jesus throughout the day is through nature and through our 6 sibling pairs in this trip. God works in many marvelous ways, whether it be through an impactful view of Puerto Rico’s fauna, or through companionship in families. We thank God for our opportunity to share these moments together. 

Taking turns in every house to pray for people’s prayer requests, we’ve been able to break out of our shells and learn that there are no wrong prayers. The pastor brought us to pray for his community and this is an opportunity we simply cannot pass by. There are so many situations in PR that we will now keep in our hearts and prayers.

We begin this week projects by prepping the inner gate of the church for a new coat of painting while another part of the team starts working with VBS! 

We begin our morning by painting the fence with Angel, which we scraped yesterday, as we continue with our projects for the week.

We have arrived at Nilda's house and the first thing we were told is that there's food! It also might even be one of the best foods we've had so far! It is so sweet for people from the community, like Nilda, to do this for us. Blessings all around!

After some amazing food, we take the time to get to know Nilda while her grandson’s girlfriend translates for us! She is such a welcoming lady with such great stories! We’re going to cherish this moment forever. Glad that God allowed us to meet them!

It is such a gift that God has allowed us to view this amazing sunset before beginning a service at Nilda’s house. Taking pictures is nothing compared to seeing God’s creation with our own eyes. He’s our favorite artist!

We are so happy to be at another service by this lovely church and in such a beautiful setting! The worship songs are new to us but we are loving every second of them. It is so great to enjoy another church’s culture!

During the service, Pastor Abrahán has given us the opportunity to share some of our testimonies whether it be of our faith story or of the time we’ve had here so far! So many of us have been able to share some words with the congregation and it has just been wonderful to see their reactions to our stories!

This morning, we’ve got the special treat that Pastor Abrahán himself is making oatmeal for us! Other than that, we’re being served delicious fruits and pastries! We are so blessed with his and the church’s hospitality.

Getting to work together like this has been one of the many blessings we’ve received during this trip. If there’s something the community has taught us, it is definitely that it takes a village. There is so much love and support in Puerto Rico, it’s eye-opening.

Last painting project of the week: the church’s bazaar wagon. Pastor Abrahán explained that anyone can donate things for the bazaar and they would then sell them or give them out, which is such an incredible idea! So sad that our projects are nearly over.

Melvin Javier’s wife, Aileen, has provided us with a cake that says Viaje Misionero, which translates to Missionary Trip! The love everyone has given us is a memory we will cherish forever. We are so grateful for this trip. 

At our last VBS, we have the opportunity to lead the arts and crafts part of the day! Today’s story was Jesus Calms The Storm and we could not pass up the chance to make boats with them! It’s been so great to serve alongside the awesome Kids Ministry team. 

We’re at El Yunque National Rainforest! Super excited for all the amazing sights, hard but worthy hikes, and beautifully created fauna. From the top of this tower, we’ve been able to appreciate so many incredible views the Lord gave Puerto Rico. 

Officially coming back down from the Mount Britton Trail hike and we’re suddenly realizing… we’ve saved 30 minutes from our schedule! We’re so grateful God allowed us to have the strength to hike so fast compared to what we were told the hiking time would be!