A Purpose in Puerto Rico

It was a typical day at Yuquiyu II in Luquillo, PR. It was our sports camp ministry and the teenagers were playing a game of soccer with the kids. The kids were yelling and having fun, but the ball went astray and nailed a kid in the face. Not an unusual occurrence by any means, but this one time I took extra notice of the scene.

I was holding the goal so that it wouldn't blow away. The kid seemed fine and a few teenagers stopped playing to make sure he was okay. He shooed them away and seemed fine; the game continued as usual. But all of a sudden, he was beside me and handing me his jersey because he didn't want to play anymore. So I accepted it back, then continued to watch the game.

A few moments later, I looked back down and found him hugging the pole beside my leg with tears streaming down his face. I looked around, unsure of what to do. I don't speak more than a few phrases in Spanish and this child doesn't speak a lick of English. So, I just pick him up and he leans into my shoulder, hard, to hide his face. I bring him over to the bleachers and just sit with him, without a clue of what to say or even how to say whatever that is.

As I continued to hold him, I realized I don't need to say anything, that I just need to show him love by simply being there for him. It was then that I realized, this kid could have gone to anyone else, but he came to me. Why did he come to me? Did God direct him to me, for some reason? As I was thinking about this, I realized each one of us this summer is here for a reason. Every teenager has an opportunity to share God's love with the kids and the people of Luquillo. God has each one of us here for a reason and while that may not always be clear in the moment, we just have to trust that we are being used by Him.

We don't always get to see the results of our work, but we know that we are called to plant seeds, there will be another one called to the harvest. What we're called to do now, is to serve and to love these kids.

The kids of Yuquiyu II come from broken homes where they may not get much love, if any. Our job is simply to love these kids, whether it is during sports or adventure camp. My story is not unique by any means; I've been witnessing things like this week in and week out. Teenagers just playing with the kids, holding the kids and helping the kids; loving these kids until they are just completely exhausted at the end of the day.

We've been incredibly blessed by the groups that have been coming here and their willingness to love the kids, not only at Yuquiyu II but also at our two other ministry sites in Luquillo.

Our service project, beach clean up, has really taken off as well. What started out as a simple act of service, has turned into an outreach ministry. Many people will ask why teenagers are cleaning the beach; some have even volunteered to help clean the beach as well. One lady was moved to tears by the fact that people would pay money to come to Puerto Rico to clean her beach.

God's hand has been present throughout this summer, so far, and we look forward to seeing Him continue to show up.