Thursday was one of the harder days only because it was our last day serving and we built so many great relationships throughout the week. We started our day off with a breakfast made from our chaperones and a prayer before we went to the elderly home one last time. When we got there, the staff had already set up games for us to play with them. Vince is seen passing an egg to one of the good men from the home.

After a while they got tired of playing the games with us and insisted on just watching us play games. Maybe I (Landon) could have given them a break but hey, Mr. Fox was pretty hungry.

After we left the nursing facility, we took a short visit to the Spiritan Headquarters in Puerto Rico, Sanctuario del Espiritu Santo, and learned some amazing history of the first Spiritians with Fr. Jonas and Fr. Plato.

The last day with the younger group of girls was probably the most impactful to us as we all shared our love and appreciation with each other through a pizza party and fun activities. It was very heartwarming to hear the girls express their feelings towards us as we shared a meal before we had to say goodbye. We left satisfied feeling we gave them the best versions of ourselves.

We ended our day at the beach to watch the sunset which was a very beautiful and relaxing way to end the busy week. After a few hours, we made our way back home where we finished the pizza and other leftovers we had from earlier. It had been a long week serving those in the community, but we were left fulfilled by relationships we had formed by the end of Thursday.

Wednesday was a wonderful day. We started our morning with breakfast and prayer before we headed to serve the elderly community.

While with the elderly we served them through presence and worship. We’ve learned this week that just being in a space with people can change everything. So, we were able to be with them and at the same time worship God through song and scripture. Many of them were touched and expressed great enjoyment and gratitude.

After worshiping with the elderly we traveled to La Placita de Guisin where we visited Lin-Manuel Miranda’s family shop. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a composer, actor, and writer known for creating Hamilton, as well as many other works.

Elisha and Lydia are huge Hamilton fans so this was something worth while for them. During our time there we also met Lin’s aunt, and had a small info sesh on the Miranda galleria that they are refurbishing, which is supposed to be reopened in May! We also got to see inside their Puerto Rican hall of fame where they showed off all of their famous athletes, musicians, etc. which is where we got to see our very own Roberto Clemente from the Pittsburgh Pirates shown off.

After our time there, we headed to a boy’s home for young men between the ages of 18-21. These young men all have endured unfortunate situations of various kinds. We went willing to do what Jesus would want us to do. Being the hands and feet of Jesus was transformational for the young men and us. We taught about self-esteem. Many of them engaged in the lesson and it was impactful for us all. We got to share scripture, life experiences, and worship with them. It was powerful and transformational. After the lesson and worship, we enjoyed our time with them through basketball and other activities.

Leaving them we left hopeful and grateful for all that God did.

After all was done we drove back home and Olivia and Lydia started to make an all American dinner; burger and fries!

    ⁃    Zyan and Lydia

Our second day of service was a highlight of the trip. We started out at the elderly home painting their railing.

We had pork chops for lunch and talked with the people living at the home.

Next we had a break and visited Mar Bella beach, a beach where we met wild dogs and climbed rocks overlooking the ocean.

We then went to a women’s home where we did a lesson on self esteem. The lesson included experience sharing, journal reflections, and music.

We also had time to talk with the girls individually and to play basketball and volleyball.

After serving during the day, we went back to the beach for a night swim and time alone with God. We finished the night off with a late dinner at midnight.

Yesterday no alarms went off: a great start to the morning lol. We quickly grabbed breakfast sandwiches and eggs and headed to our first service stop of the day at Vegamar Hagar where we colored, sang songs, and shared conversations with the elderly.

The host provided a delicious lunch for us and ate together. After lunch we had free time where we created our own playground amongst the trees and vines.

After we left our first service spot, we had some free time to stop by the Dorado beach.

After the beach, we headed to our second service spot which was called Sweet Home Youth Facility. We hung out with 13-16 year old girls playing basketball, volleyball, drawing, and helping with homework.

After we finished service we decided to get ice cream at Baskin Robins. We had a big group reflection with the organizers of the mission experience.

Tonight we cooked tacos, listened to music and made friendship bracelets together. Our final reflection today included a walk with partners around the home.