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We had a wonderful and meaningful mission trip. It really left an impression on the participants—youth and adults. It opened our eyes and hearts to how important it is to serve others and we realize we probably gained more from our experience and growth than those we served.
Today we woke up to no water. We couldn’t shower or wash. It’s a stark reminder of what many people in Puerto Rico and in other parts of the world are experiencing where there’s not enough water. Although Puerto Rico seems lush, they’re experiencing a drought and many of the water pipes are so old that they’ve broken. The National Guard has had to come and hand out water to many people here. It makes us realize how much we take fresh water for granted back home. At breakfast we saw Brother Gabriel, a Capuchin monk and our host at the Centro Capuchino. Then we loaded our bags into the vans and headed to San Juan to the Episcopal Cathedral. After attending the 8 a.m. English service, we joined the church community for coffee hour and they taught Father Jon how to make ginger brew—something he looks forward to drinking every time we come to this church. It was meaningful for us to celebrate Eucharist with Episcopalians from other countries. Many of them who attend the English-speaking service are from the West Indies. There used to be 2 English language services at the Cathedral, in addition to the Spanish one. But after Hurricane Maria, so many people left the island that the English-speaking congregation has dwindled and they only have 1 service. It’s shocking how Puerto Rico is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Maria, not just in infrastructure but demographically too. Many of the younger people have left the island and most of the people we help during our service projects are alone and without family here. After church we went back into Old San Juan for a few hours before our flight home.
Today we continued our work at the Episcopal Church in Caguas. We spent the morning and early afternoon painting the sanctuary. Some of us took turns playing soccer with some youth from Puerto Rico, one of whom lived in Maryland for a few years and was back in PR for the summer. Mid-afternoon we went to another wonderful beach that also had some coral where we saw lots of fish and many small sea urchins. We went swimming, relaxed in the sun, and had cold drinks. After the beach we walked to a nearby pizza restaurant and had pizza and then got ice cream. We then drove to the Centro Capuchino where we would stay for the remainder of our trip. It was a beautiful evening and we had Compline outside before heading off for bed. Overall, it was a pretty fun day. –Thomas