Happy Thanksgiving to all!
How are you spending your holiday?
This year I had the privilege to go "home" to the States to visit my family (mom, dad, two of my siblings, and many extended family members) and friends. I arrived last night (Wed) and will be here, Lord willing, until Mon. morning. It has been so good to see them, to hug them and to laugh with them. Time spent with family is precious.
I am also looking forward to spending my first Christmas in PR. According to everyone in PR, the holidays there are a lot of fun. I would love to go out parrandeando (Christmas caroling--PR style), and I'm looking forward to the traditional Christmas food and festivities. In addition, E is organizing a Christmas cantata for the church I'm attending. I am looking forward to singing with them. Finally, my job has given its employees leave from work Jan. 1-6--almost a full week!
Otherwise, I would appreciate prayers for direction and wisdom as I continue to try to establish myself in PR. At this point, I am thinking I would like to get a car and a small apartment, as the Lord provides. (Since September, I have been riding to work with a few of my coworkers.) On Wednesday, before heading to the States, I was able to get my PR driver's license! Most of all, I would appreciate prayers that I would grow closer to the Lord, get to know His word and be completely submissive to His will for my life.
Some things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving...
* The opportunity to see my family
* E's hospitality
* The warm welcome I've been given to PR by the church family
* Generous and helpful coworkers
* The blessing of having a job in PR during a time of economic hardship
* The protection of the Lord
* My new PR driver's license. Yay!
* The comfort and instruction of God's word
* Eternal security through Jesus Christ
Anyway, I am thankful for all of you people in my life. Hopefully, we will see each other again.
May God bless, R
November 28, 2008
October 01, 2008
It's Fall?
Anyway, as the subject suggests, it is now fall, and yet I'm having a hard time believing so. No, I'm not trying to rub it in that I'm still enjoying warm, tropical temperatures. It is just that life goes on and I don't really stop to think much about the fact that here it still feels like summer. So, when I hear from a coworker who said it was 50 degrees where she traveled for business or see pictures of friends in sweatshirts, it suddenly dawns on me that I am in a different part of the world. The ironic thing is that boxes of garbage bags still have designs promoting their use for raking leaves--not that anyone needs that here...
Maybe fall in Puerto Rico isn't colorful leaves, brisk weather, corn mazes, apple cidar and sweatshirts, but it has its own uniqueness.
1. Political caravans: This is an election year for the PR governor and for many of the mayors of smaller municipalities. These caravans are really, really, REALLY long lines of cars that parade through expressways and side streets and usually stop traffic. According to fellow Puerto Ricans, Old San Juan will be impassable in a few weeks. The political caravans' specialties are Puerto Rican music on high volume, megaphones, girls sitting in car windows and waving flags, and car horns. I enjoy watching them and trying to figure out what political party they belong to. (The flags are different colors for different parties.)
2. Hurricane season: No, we haven't had any hurricanes, but we have had a lot of rain and storms. Actually, there was a lot of serious flooding in southern PR. One area received 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. Fortunately, the northern half of the island was spared the brunt of it, but we still had a lot of rain. In PR there are no snow days, but there are rain days. Several schools and universities canceled classes because of road flooding.
3. Club Cristoamigos!: This is the children's club on Friday nights that I'm helping with. About 45 elementary schoolers are coming to the club, and 15 teenagers are going to the teen group. Most of these are from the community. Pray that we would be able to share Christ with them and reach out to their families as well.
OK, I'm doing well. Good news is that I am now eligible for benefits at my job! Praise the Lord!
I am also driving E's car a lot so that I can get used to PR roads, traffic, etc. Probably the most eventful thing that happened to me in the car was running over a 4-foot iguana--mainly its tail, I think. The rest of it went between the wheels.
This week, E and I cracked open a coconut, and I got to eat my first fresh, unsweetened coconut! It is good. The only funny part is that we couldn't find a machete, which is the proper, easiest and fastest way to open a coconut. It took almost an hour to open the coconut with a large screwdriver and a hammer.
Maybe fall in Puerto Rico isn't colorful leaves, brisk weather, corn mazes, apple cidar and sweatshirts, but it has its own uniqueness.
1. Political caravans: This is an election year for the PR governor and for many of the mayors of smaller municipalities. These caravans are really, really, REALLY long lines of cars that parade through expressways and side streets and usually stop traffic. According to fellow Puerto Ricans, Old San Juan will be impassable in a few weeks. The political caravans' specialties are Puerto Rican music on high volume, megaphones, girls sitting in car windows and waving flags, and car horns. I enjoy watching them and trying to figure out what political party they belong to. (The flags are different colors for different parties.)
2. Hurricane season: No, we haven't had any hurricanes, but we have had a lot of rain and storms. Actually, there was a lot of serious flooding in southern PR. One area received 24 inches of rain in 24 hours. Fortunately, the northern half of the island was spared the brunt of it, but we still had a lot of rain. In PR there are no snow days, but there are rain days. Several schools and universities canceled classes because of road flooding.
3. Club Cristoamigos!: This is the children's club on Friday nights that I'm helping with. About 45 elementary schoolers are coming to the club, and 15 teenagers are going to the teen group. Most of these are from the community. Pray that we would be able to share Christ with them and reach out to their families as well.
OK, I'm doing well. Good news is that I am now eligible for benefits at my job! Praise the Lord!
I am also driving E's car a lot so that I can get used to PR roads, traffic, etc. Probably the most eventful thing that happened to me in the car was running over a 4-foot iguana--mainly its tail, I think. The rest of it went between the wheels.
This week, E and I cracked open a coconut, and I got to eat my first fresh, unsweetened coconut! It is good. The only funny part is that we couldn't find a machete, which is the proper, easiest and fastest way to open a coconut. It took almost an hour to open the coconut with a large screwdriver and a hammer.
September 06, 2008
Thank you for your prayers
Here I am, beginning my first September in PR and learning that God is Protector and God is good.
Probably many or most of you heard of the unique experience God brought into my life the last week of August, and so I want to thank you for your prayers. On Tuesday morning, Aug. 26, I was assaulted while waiting to take a bus to work. It was early and there was no one else around. I had been taking a later bus until it started arriving late and I was getting to work late. This was my third day taking the earlier bus. To make a long story short, a young man approached me and asked if I had a phone or money to make a phone call. I said no. He started to get upset, and I was getting scared. As I turned to see if the bus was coming so that I could escape, he hit (punched?) me on the right side of my face. (I didn't actually see what he hit me with.) The next thing I remember, I was on the ground, covering my eyes and screaming at the top of my lungs. I didn´t see the assaulter again. I assume he ran when I screamed. A Christian man who owned a business across the street came running out, gave me a towel for the bleeding, sat me on the bench, and called 9-1-1. I was able to call E (the missionary). She actually arrived first and drove me to the nearest hospital. The ambulance didn´t arrive, but the police did come to the hospital. As it turned out, I had cuts above my right eyebrow and to the side of my right eye, a very swollen and red eye, and fractures under my right eye and on my cheekbone. However, I am very thankful because it could have been much, much worse. God protected me a lot. This Monday (Sep. 1), after the swelling in my eye went down, I had surgery to repair the fractures. I now have three metal plates and screws in my face (in the bone under the skin)--a topic which always leads to funny conversations about metal detectors, magnets and x-ray vision.
Anyway, I have been able to learn a lot and to see many blessings through this experience. Obviously, I am very thankful for God's protection and will definitely be more careful in the future. Other blessings have been...
...my aunt (who is Puerto Rican). She had just arrived on the island the day before the assault. God makes no mistakes in timing. She stayed with me for three days in the hospital.
...my amazing coworkers. They have donated over 90 hours of vacation time so that I could keep my pay while recovering. Several of them are also volunteering rides to work.
...my mom. She was able to fly down from the States to be with me through the surgery and immediate recovery. I have enjoyed spending time and laughing with her.
...the universal body of Christ. Every day I hear of someone else who was praying for me. Thank you.
...the local body of Christ in PR. So many people from church came and visited and encouraged me with prayer and from God's word.
...E. She has been wonderful--taking time to visit with my mom and me in the hospital, to help us with transportation and hospital paperwork and to be of spiritual encouragement.
...my eye. It suffered no permanent damage although it may be more sensitive to light from now on.
...a good recovery. The doctors say that everything is going well, and I will probably have minimal to no scarring once everything heals.
As for plans, it is my desire to stay in PR, and I'm sure that over the next few weeks and months there will be decisions to make regarding living and transportation arrangements (things that everyone considers while beginning adult life). I am looking forward to working with kids' club at church and possibly helping to organize a cantata for Christmas. (That would be a big challenge, but it would be fun, and people are interested.) I will also need to finish filing a police report and have some follow-up appointments for my eye (to make sure that there is no damage.) Pray also that I would draw closer to the Lord. Being in the hospital made me realize how precious the Bible is when I didn't have it for a couple of days and how many more verses I wish I had memorized.
Thank you again for your prayers.
R
Probably many or most of you heard of the unique experience God brought into my life the last week of August, and so I want to thank you for your prayers. On Tuesday morning, Aug. 26, I was assaulted while waiting to take a bus to work. It was early and there was no one else around. I had been taking a later bus until it started arriving late and I was getting to work late. This was my third day taking the earlier bus. To make a long story short, a young man approached me and asked if I had a phone or money to make a phone call. I said no. He started to get upset, and I was getting scared. As I turned to see if the bus was coming so that I could escape, he hit (punched?) me on the right side of my face. (I didn't actually see what he hit me with.) The next thing I remember, I was on the ground, covering my eyes and screaming at the top of my lungs. I didn´t see the assaulter again. I assume he ran when I screamed. A Christian man who owned a business across the street came running out, gave me a towel for the bleeding, sat me on the bench, and called 9-1-1. I was able to call E (the missionary). She actually arrived first and drove me to the nearest hospital. The ambulance didn´t arrive, but the police did come to the hospital. As it turned out, I had cuts above my right eyebrow and to the side of my right eye, a very swollen and red eye, and fractures under my right eye and on my cheekbone. However, I am very thankful because it could have been much, much worse. God protected me a lot. This Monday (Sep. 1), after the swelling in my eye went down, I had surgery to repair the fractures. I now have three metal plates and screws in my face (in the bone under the skin)--a topic which always leads to funny conversations about metal detectors, magnets and x-ray vision.
Anyway, I have been able to learn a lot and to see many blessings through this experience. Obviously, I am very thankful for God's protection and will definitely be more careful in the future. Other blessings have been...
...my aunt (who is Puerto Rican). She had just arrived on the island the day before the assault. God makes no mistakes in timing. She stayed with me for three days in the hospital.
...my amazing coworkers. They have donated over 90 hours of vacation time so that I could keep my pay while recovering. Several of them are also volunteering rides to work.
...my mom. She was able to fly down from the States to be with me through the surgery and immediate recovery. I have enjoyed spending time and laughing with her.
...the universal body of Christ. Every day I hear of someone else who was praying for me. Thank you.
...the local body of Christ in PR. So many people from church came and visited and encouraged me with prayer and from God's word.
...E. She has been wonderful--taking time to visit with my mom and me in the hospital, to help us with transportation and hospital paperwork and to be of spiritual encouragement.
...my eye. It suffered no permanent damage although it may be more sensitive to light from now on.
...a good recovery. The doctors say that everything is going well, and I will probably have minimal to no scarring once everything heals.
As for plans, it is my desire to stay in PR, and I'm sure that over the next few weeks and months there will be decisions to make regarding living and transportation arrangements (things that everyone considers while beginning adult life). I am looking forward to working with kids' club at church and possibly helping to organize a cantata for Christmas. (That would be a big challenge, but it would be fun, and people are interested.) I will also need to finish filing a police report and have some follow-up appointments for my eye (to make sure that there is no damage.) Pray also that I would draw closer to the Lord. Being in the hospital made me realize how precious the Bible is when I didn't have it for a couple of days and how many more verses I wish I had memorized.
Thank you again for your prayers.
R
August 09, 2008
Asì es la Vida/ Such is the Life
Thousand-member serenade of frogs through the night, roosters crowing in the morning
Buses, early mornings, cars, squealing brakes, tapones (traffic jams), sirens
Merengue, salsa, bomba, American pop music
People selling candy, little children in school uniforms, old ladies with flowered dresses, women and girls with jewelry, jeans, high heels, and bangle bracelets (I've started wearing jeans all the time too!)
Colorful houses, cobblestone streets, fountains, Old San Juan
Barbed wire, barred windows, graffiti, litter, urban ghettos, suburban communities
Crystal-clear beaches, rainforest, mountains, desert, metropolis, Puerto Rico
Rice and beans, mangos, fast food, fried plantains, ice cream, cultures
Shopping malls, fruit and vegetable stands, street vendors, piña colada, souvenirs, family restaurants
Kisses on cheeks, How are you's, May God bless you's, Greetings to ..., Friends
History, Modernity, Africa, Americas, Spain
Anyway, these are all everyday things here. I am enjoying life here and getting more involved in my new church. Lord willing, I hope to be able to help with Sunday School, kids' club, and the praise team!
P.S. I got a job! Thank you for praying. I started working this week, and I enjoy it.
Buses, early mornings, cars, squealing brakes, tapones (traffic jams), sirens
Merengue, salsa, bomba, American pop music
People selling candy, little children in school uniforms, old ladies with flowered dresses, women and girls with jewelry, jeans, high heels, and bangle bracelets (I've started wearing jeans all the time too!)
Colorful houses, cobblestone streets, fountains, Old San Juan
Barbed wire, barred windows, graffiti, litter, urban ghettos, suburban communities
Crystal-clear beaches, rainforest, mountains, desert, metropolis, Puerto Rico
Rice and beans, mangos, fast food, fried plantains, ice cream, cultures
Shopping malls, fruit and vegetable stands, street vendors, piña colada, souvenirs, family restaurants
Kisses on cheeks, How are you's, May God bless you's, Greetings to ..., Friends
History, Modernity, Africa, Americas, Spain
Anyway, these are all everyday things here. I am enjoying life here and getting more involved in my new church. Lord willing, I hope to be able to help with Sunday School, kids' club, and the praise team!
P.S. I got a job! Thank you for praying. I started working this week, and I enjoy it.
July 26, 2008
Màs Aventuras
I am doing well here in Puerto Rico. I can hardly believe that three weeks have gone by since I came. This will be my fourth Sunday at CECu.
Just as an update on what I have been doing . . . The past three weeks I have spent most of the time at a camp on the peak of mountain. There was a lot of need for people to help, and I felt that that was where the Lord wanted me to be. I learned the proper hygienic, commercial way to wash dishes by hand. Plus, I enjoyed getting to know and serving with people from my new church and all over Puerto Rico. This past week was for young people (ages 16-25), so I got to attend as a participant, rather than a worker!
I also wanted to thank you for your prayers concerning a job here in PR and ask you to pray concerning a specific opportunity. This Monday at 11:00am, I have an interview. May God´s will be done. A praise is that the Lord provided a way for me to come down from camp this past Wednesday and Thursday in order to take a pre-interview test.
OK, as the subject of the e-mail says, I will go on to list some more experiences/ adventures.
1. Apagones (power outages): daily part of life here in PR. In other words, make sure your alarm clock has batteries, or use a cell phone.
2. Pizza de plátano: Pizza Hut has competition. This is cheese, pepperoni, and sauce on top of a fried plantain crust.
3. Tropical downpours: can occur at any moment and leave just as quickly or stay all day. They are kind of fun if you like to get wet. (I do.)
4. Poisonous coquí (tree frog): For those who know coquís, is there such a type of coquí? All I know is that my right hand was raw and pealing all day after picking one up. Do not worry. I am perfectly fine. Lots of lotion worked great.
5. Hammock bridge: Envision the movies--a rope and plank bridge within the tropical mountains. A man in the mountains built one in order to bring the scrap food from camp to his home to feed the pigs.
6. Serenade: The maintenance crew gave the girls a beautiful serenade yesterday about midnight. They brought their guitars, their percussion instruments and even a whistle.
7. Tin roofs and the deafening sound of rain during a tropical rainshower. I love it.
Take care. God bless. Thank you again for your prayers.
Just as an update on what I have been doing . . . The past three weeks I have spent most of the time at a camp on the peak of mountain. There was a lot of need for people to help, and I felt that that was where the Lord wanted me to be. I learned the proper hygienic, commercial way to wash dishes by hand. Plus, I enjoyed getting to know and serving with people from my new church and all over Puerto Rico. This past week was for young people (ages 16-25), so I got to attend as a participant, rather than a worker!
I also wanted to thank you for your prayers concerning a job here in PR and ask you to pray concerning a specific opportunity. This Monday at 11:00am, I have an interview. May God´s will be done. A praise is that the Lord provided a way for me to come down from camp this past Wednesday and Thursday in order to take a pre-interview test.
OK, as the subject of the e-mail says, I will go on to list some more experiences/ adventures.
1. Apagones (power outages): daily part of life here in PR. In other words, make sure your alarm clock has batteries, or use a cell phone.
2. Pizza de plátano: Pizza Hut has competition. This is cheese, pepperoni, and sauce on top of a fried plantain crust.
3. Tropical downpours: can occur at any moment and leave just as quickly or stay all day. They are kind of fun if you like to get wet. (I do.)
4. Poisonous coquí (tree frog): For those who know coquís, is there such a type of coquí? All I know is that my right hand was raw and pealing all day after picking one up. Do not worry. I am perfectly fine. Lots of lotion worked great.
5. Hammock bridge: Envision the movies--a rope and plank bridge within the tropical mountains. A man in the mountains built one in order to bring the scrap food from camp to his home to feed the pigs.
6. Serenade: The maintenance crew gave the girls a beautiful serenade yesterday about midnight. They brought their guitars, their percussion instruments and even a whistle.
7. Tin roofs and the deafening sound of rain during a tropical rainshower. I love it.
Take care. God bless. Thank you again for your prayers.
July 10, 2008
Las Aventuras de R
Here I am writing from Puerto Rico. On Saturday, July 5, I took a plane from NY to IL to St. Thomas Island and finally to Puerto Rico! Thank the Lord, there were no problems, and all my luggage arrived safely. Since this e-mail is about adventures, I will highlight some of the adventures or new experiences I have had since moving to PR.
1. Arriving in the airport. With all my luggage (3 suitcase and a computer), I could hardly get out of the baggage claim let alone cross the street to meet E, the lady who was picking me up. So...I asked a maletero (men or boys with luggage carts who offer assistance for a fee) to help me with my luggage. Ok, maybe this wasn't so adventurous, but it was new for me.
2. Getting "thrown" into a swimming pool. It was a lot of fun. (This was at a birthday party I was invited to just one hour after I arrived.)
3. Singing Spanish praise and worship music with the believers. They have the coolest instruments to accompany the songs: rain stick, accordion, guitar, keyboard, cajón, and maybe something else. It makes me want to buy myself a wooden recorder and join in with them!
4. Meeting old friends and the believers at my new church, CECu. I got to stand up and be presented and welcomed warmly by everyone and then go around and give everyone a kiss on the cheek. All the older ladies greeted me with Dios te bendiga (God bless you.). I also enjoyed seeing friends that I had met at camp many years ago. There are a lot of young adults my age, so I am looking forward to seeing them again.
5. Having a lizard fall on me while I was sleeping. The missionary, E, and I went up to CCVV (a Christian camp in the mountains) for two days. There I volunteered washing dishes and cleaning. I also slept in a cabin. It is not unusual to see lizards inside the cabin, climbing the walls, but it was definitely a surprise to wake up to one falling and crawling on top of me!
6. Spending time with E. I love her so much! She has so graciously opened her home to me and has been so helpful. I would appreciate prayers that I could be of help to her as well and that our fellowship would be sweet.
7. Getting sick. No, it wasn't some tropical disease. It was just a head cold. Actually, I probably caught it in the States. However, it wasn't pleasant. E called a doctor from church, he prescribed some medicine, and I am doing quite well now.
8. Going shopping on my own! Now this is an adventure! I learned to take the guagüita (mini-bus or 15 passenger van) from E's home to the plaza in Trujillo Alto (about 2 miles away). Once I arrived at the plaza, one lady asked me if I was lost (since I obviously don't look like the typical Puerto Rican). I said, "No, I just came to the plaza." After that, I went shopping at K-mart and requested information about opening an account at Banco Popular. Anyway, this was a big step in my learning to get around Puerto Rico and eventually take public transportation to work.
I love you all. Thank you to those who are praying for me and this big move. I would appreciate prayers for wisdom, for good relationships with people here, for the ability to be a blessing in the church and to E, and for a good job and transportation. May the Lord's will be done.
1. Arriving in the airport. With all my luggage (3 suitcase and a computer), I could hardly get out of the baggage claim let alone cross the street to meet E, the lady who was picking me up. So...I asked a maletero (men or boys with luggage carts who offer assistance for a fee) to help me with my luggage. Ok, maybe this wasn't so adventurous, but it was new for me.
2. Getting "thrown" into a swimming pool. It was a lot of fun. (This was at a birthday party I was invited to just one hour after I arrived.)
3. Singing Spanish praise and worship music with the believers. They have the coolest instruments to accompany the songs: rain stick, accordion, guitar, keyboard, cajón, and maybe something else. It makes me want to buy myself a wooden recorder and join in with them!
4. Meeting old friends and the believers at my new church, CECu. I got to stand up and be presented and welcomed warmly by everyone and then go around and give everyone a kiss on the cheek. All the older ladies greeted me with Dios te bendiga (God bless you.). I also enjoyed seeing friends that I had met at camp many years ago. There are a lot of young adults my age, so I am looking forward to seeing them again.
5. Having a lizard fall on me while I was sleeping. The missionary, E, and I went up to CCVV (a Christian camp in the mountains) for two days. There I volunteered washing dishes and cleaning. I also slept in a cabin. It is not unusual to see lizards inside the cabin, climbing the walls, but it was definitely a surprise to wake up to one falling and crawling on top of me!
6. Spending time with E. I love her so much! She has so graciously opened her home to me and has been so helpful. I would appreciate prayers that I could be of help to her as well and that our fellowship would be sweet.
7. Getting sick. No, it wasn't some tropical disease. It was just a head cold. Actually, I probably caught it in the States. However, it wasn't pleasant. E called a doctor from church, he prescribed some medicine, and I am doing quite well now.
8. Going shopping on my own! Now this is an adventure! I learned to take the guagüita (mini-bus or 15 passenger van) from E's home to the plaza in Trujillo Alto (about 2 miles away). Once I arrived at the plaza, one lady asked me if I was lost (since I obviously don't look like the typical Puerto Rican). I said, "No, I just came to the plaza." After that, I went shopping at K-mart and requested information about opening an account at Banco Popular. Anyway, this was a big step in my learning to get around Puerto Rico and eventually take public transportation to work.
I love you all. Thank you to those who are praying for me and this big move. I would appreciate prayers for wisdom, for good relationships with people here, for the ability to be a blessing in the church and to E, and for a good job and transportation. May the Lord's will be done.
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