Puerto Rico Journal

May 12, 2019.
Day Two. Mothers’ Day.

We officially got up around seven, however many of us had been awake for hours due to our early bedtime and the unfamiliarity of the many animal sounds surrounding us during the night. The camp kitchen staff had prepared a sandwich breakfast (served with small cups of café con leche – very welcome and strong). After a period of relaxing, we drove to a small United Methodist Church served by a young pastor. He had connections to the Indianapolis area, having worked for Roche diagnostics. He also had impeccable English, of course! The service included a lot of music and a mother-daughter team served as liturgists. All of the mothers attending the service were honored, including those in our group. We also received communion, as did all but the very youngest members of the church.

After church, we boarded the van and headed for Ponce – the second largest city in Puerto Rico. We toured the town square, saw some interesting architecture, including a mosque. The streets were quiet, we assumed this was due to our visit on Mothers Day. After a drink and a plantain appetizer, we board our van and a very brave driver (Stacy) tacked the roads after dark. At dusk – we stopped at Walmart and picked up the tools our group would donate to the building efforts of the mission. The parking lot was huge, and an armed guard sat in an elevated shelter surveying it. Besides the tools, several of our group bought pillows, a welcome addition to the thin bunk mattresses. We’d need a good night’s sleep, as Monday would be our first official work day.