Mount Olive | The Nest

Half of our group made it to Puerto Rico so far, and the other half will fly in early tomorrow morning. Even though the delays were unexpected, we know God has a plan in everything. We are excited to meet everyone with whom we will be serving this week!

We are already starting to feel united as a team as we get settled into our lodging with our matching PPM shirts. The scenery in the mountains where we are staying is beautiful - God even gifted us with a rainbow!

After an afternoon of eating pinchos and pizza, we are ready to settle in for the night. Pastor Abrahan and his wife Carmen alongside two church members prepared a delicious dinner for us tonight to welcome us to their church. We are gathering together for our first meeting as we pray for God to give us a good night's rest to start the day off strong tomorrow.

This morning we are joining Iglesia Defensores de la Fe Villas de Loiza for their Bible Study and Sunday service. Jim, Christina, Cynthia, and Melissa shared testimonies, and Pastor Braylon from Mount Olive Baptist Church preached a message. Whether in English or Spanish, we all serve the same God.

We are so excited to be serving together this week! Only God can take different groups and individuals from different states and bring them all together on one mission. We are looking forward to how He will use us.

Local Puerto Rican cooking is something we are looking forward to every day. The church members are working hard to help us feel welcome.

After lunch we are walking through the community around Pastora Ana’s church and inviting people to the health clinic that we will be running on Tuesday. Various residents are inviting us into their homes and receiving prayer.

We are always looking for ways to help. To end the afternoon we are helping Pastora and her husband clean the church and prepare it for painting tomorrow. Now to go back to the lodging and rest up for tomorrow!

This morning we are meeting Pastora Frances and Pastor Felix from Iglesia Impacto de Dios Evangelístico for the first time. After hearing an introduction about the church and community, we are preparing the sanctuary area to be painted.

The sanctuary is quickly looking brand new with a fresh coat of paint! Many hands are making the work go by fast.

Yesterday we handed out flyers in the neighborhood of Iglesia Defensores de la Fe; today we are handing out flyers in the area behind Iglesia Impacto de Dios Evangelístico! While offering people prayer, we met a pastor couple who oversee a church in another town. We were blessed to hear their testimonies and pray over them and their ministry.

We are getting ready for our ministry tomorrow evening at Iglesia Defensores de la Fe de Villas de Loiza. We are preparing crafts and other things for the kids ministry. We are also getting all the other ministries ready!

Today we are continuing to paint the sanctuary of Pastora Frances and Pastor Felix’s church. The front wall behind the altar is now turning a beautiful shade of green to contrast the white.

LaWanda is using her special skills as an artist to paint a mural behind the altar of the church. The pastor requested a dove to represent the Holy Spirit. We are looking forward to seeing the end result!

Tonight we are at Pastora Ana's church hosting a health clinic! We have stations for taking blood pressure, talking about elderly care, self breast exams, and suicide prevention. We are also having a great time doing various activities with the kids that came with their families.

This morning we are wrapping up our painting work in Loiza. The pastors are very pleased with how the mural turned out. Thank you, LaWanda!

This afternoon we are visiting homes that the pastors have identified with specific needs. It is a joy to meet each family and pray God's blessings over them.

Tomorrow we will be handing out food to people in the community at Iglesia Impacto de Dios Evangelístico! We are working on making signs that will help attract people to the church.

Tonight we are hosting our health clinic in our second partner church. Pastora Frances and Pastor Felix were very impressed by this ministry!

Pastora Frances got a last-minute call for help yesterday to hand out groceries to the community from the parking lot of their church. When we arrived this morning, there was a huge truck unloading boxes of produce, bread, and dairy products. It is a hot and sunny day, but we are willing to do what is necessary to supply what is needed for God's people.

This morning the church cooks are also working hard to prepare hot lunches for the community. We are passing out 200 plates of food!

After a busy morning we are taking some time to enjoy the beauty of God's creation at the rainforest and the beach. Our first stop - Yokahu tower!

As we head home today, we reflect on all that God has done this week. Many new relationships were built among the team and across the local community where we were serving. We can testify that God has performed a great work in and through us! We are grateful for this experience, and can't wait to see where God takes us next!