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.
July 26, 2008
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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