Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

Our team's flight got cancelled on Saturday due to the airspace in PR being closed because of the situation in Venezuela. We didn't know if our team was able to make the trip at all but God has been good and it has worked out. We are praying for our team that is coming today at 10:35 pm.

We arrived at 10:30 at night and then got to the hotel at midnight. We are tired but glad we made it and can't wait to see what God has for us this week!

It's the first day of our trip and we are at our host church ready to start the week. We are having our orientation meeting and getting ready to serve.

On Saturday we are having a huge event where the three kings will bring gifts for the kids. We are expecting between 400 to 500 people. Our team is helping to pack bags filled with candy.

We are working together to get the candy bags ready.

We're also helping to pitch the tents so that on Saturday we're ready for the big activity.

After morning preparations, we take a small break, before lunch

After arriving at Residencial Jardines del oriente, we are receiving the kids with a prayer, songs & praise.

During our VBS, the kids are making bracelets and having a lot of fun!

We are also playing different sports with the kids like soccer, football and basketball.

As we finish the day, we are joining the Church's softball team, for a friendly game before closing out the night.

Today we have a great recreation planned with Sea Ventures. We will be going out to the East Coast on a boat to snorkel, seeing the coral reefs and then heading to a beach area to hang out. We are excited to experience God's beautiful creation.

We are out at sea with Sea Ventures, we made a brief stop at a small island for a rest at the beach.

Today is the big day!! We are here at the church for their big day outreach celebration of the Three Kings Day. We are setting the plan and assigning the stations where each student will be working on. We are excited for the celebrations.

Some of our students are assigned to the face paint station where kids can get their face painted.

The church also brought farm animals for kids to pet and get pony rides.

As part of the festivities, the church also brought many musical groups that are here singing folk music that praises the Lord. We are having an amazing time!

After the three kings arrived on a helicopter, we are helping them distribute the gifts for the kids. We are so excited to bring joy to this kids and through the gifts also bring the word of God.

On Thursday we had kids ministry where we impacted around 10 kids. Today during the three kings big day outreach, the same kids brought gifts to the missionaries that they made friends with. It is always a joy to give and our team is feeling that love.

After a wonderful day of ministry at the church with the three kings Day Outreach, we are now getting dinner at Wendy's. In Puerto Rico, the frosties are a little different and we are tasting some delicious Nutella and coquito frosties. Buen provecho!

Today we are joining the congregation of Iglesia Sendero de la Cruz Humacao in their worship service. Today’s message is on praising even in the dark nights. (Psalms 30:5, 11-12)

After an amazing lunch we are taking the opportunity to pray over pastor Tulio and his family as they head out on their trip. We pray the God renews their strength so that they may continue serving and leading their congregation.

We are enjoying our time in Old San Juan this afternoon. We are having so much fun shopping for souvenirs and trying the local restaurants!

Today is our final day of our mission trip and we are set to be working at Lizette's house. She came to the church because she has an appointment for her leg and she cannot be with us in the house but she wanted to see us before we went to her home to work. So we are taking time to pray for her and her leg.

We are now at Lizette's house and it's a really big house! There are 12 students and two teachers and we're all busy between weed whacking, pressure washing, leaf blowing, raking, and pulling weeds out. It is humbling and very rewarding to be able to use our hands and feet to be of service for the community and to show the love of Christ in a very real way.

We are visiting El Yunque Rainforest! We are enjoying the view from the Yokahú tower, visiting Baño Grande, and enjoying the waterfall at Juan Diego Creek.

We are closing out our week by having our final team meeting at the pool! We are taking the time to reflect on our week and affirm one another.