First Congregational Church of Boulder Mission Trip 2019

The Last Day of Work!  Last blog post, courtesy of Emily, Siena, and Aidan. On the last day, we had a half day of work in the morning, and then were treated to a fun afternoon of free time at the beach and pool. It was exciting and rewarding to see some of the projects near completion and reach important milestones. With that said, it was a very hard and emotional day leaving the community we had been working in all week.  For the group working on the shed and temporary house for Rafael, it was sentimental to leave as we saw him with tears in his eyes as we left. This kicked off the reality of needing to say goodbye to all the amazing friends and people we have met on this trip. For the group working on the grout for Barbara, it was a more upbeat day, as it was exciting to finish tiling most of the house. In the afternoon, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at the beach, swinging in hammocks, swimming, and playing frisbee.  We were all preparing for an emotional evening s

Hey, Guys. This is Zach, Evie, and Camille. Today’s theme was crashing and indeed, we crashed. It was hot and it was tiring, but we were also really productive. At the site of Raphael’s house, Zach helped put a window in, and straightened out nails to recycle and use again. This first house is a temporary one for Raphael to live in while the permanent structured is constructed. Camille worked with others to finish the majority of the walls of a shed and successfully hammered in a nail without losing any fingers.   Down the road at Barbara’s house, Evie laid sod in the side yard and put grout in the tile on the floor of the main room. Evie’s group also saw two huge iguanas eating mangos in the backyard. They’re great to look at, but their nails and tails we learned from stories our leader Hector told us are dangerous.   Everyone, at all three building sites took a break just before 11 am to buy doughnuts out of the back of Jesus’ car.   Have you ever tried a guava cheese doughnut?

Another day of work — We finally finished digging holes for the temporary shed and home for Rafael and his wife.  9 posts in concrete were set last evening and today and we got to start cutting wood and building the frame.  One window even set in. Justin and Stefan were disappointed to arrive at their site and learn that some of their previous days work had to be taken down and redone. However, they quickly embraced the idea that the work they are doing isn’t about them or accomplishing what they want to — but more about being a good sport and helping out with whatever needs to be done. Side note — Stefan, Justin and Matt went to a local grocery store with some chaperones to buy groceries for the boys’ apartment and left with 8 dozen eggs. They have accepted a challenge set by no one in particular to each eat a dozen eggs a day for the rest of the week. So far so good; another egg run was made, adding 6 more cartons of eggs to replace their 2 days of nonstop egg cooking.

Matthew 5:1-2 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak and taught them. ¡Esta Bien! We’re here with another youth group; they’re from Kent Ohio. Things started slowly, but now we’re all friends.  We’ve played card games (BS - Bible Study 😀) and worked together at the work sites today. Speaking of work sites, this was our first day working to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Maria. Tasks included:  Digging holes, pouring concrete, laying tiles, picking up trash, and cutting grass for a local fisherman. We met Raphael and his wife, and helped build a temporary shed for the family.  We’ve tried to converse with locals in Spanish with some success.  Did we mention that it was hot an humid?  Really hot and humid? There was a massive rainstorm just as we finished - good timing.   Matthew left after lunch today to get back to Bethany and Leo.  We already miss him, but happy that he’ll

FINALLY!!!   Our lost bags finally showed up and all is well in First Congregational land.  There was a great sigh of relief and smiles all around.  As you can tell from the photo, our kids are really happy.  See the before and after photos. We are sure you are wondering if this is actually a “work trip” given another day at the beach.  But, tomorrow our service portion of the trip begins in earnest.  We start the day on the job site at 8 and work until 4.   Our kids are actually quite ready to begin this part.  Another day at the beach was fun, but we are ready to get our hands dirty and repair houses. This morning we bussed to Trinity Presbyterian Church in downtown San Juan.  It is an English speaking church and we watched a new pastor being installed, heard a sermon based on a passage in Leviticus and participated in communion.  Unlike our church where communion is open to all, this church required all to have been baptised.  It created a great discussion with our kids

Isaiah 43: 18-19  Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.  Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland.  Today we took the time to appreciate the natural beauty of Puerto Rico, worked to resolve the issue of our missing luggage, and  settled into the place where we’ll be staying for the week.  We woke up this morning in a beautiful hotel with views of the ocean. Then, we spent a while walking and sat down to a delicious breakfast. We returned to the hotel, packed up our bags, and prepared to go to the housing provided by the organization. At the house, we were excited to see that there was a pool, so we spent a while there and then headed to the beach.  H

  Ruth 1:16 Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people are my people. Your God is my God.  We have safely made it to San Juan, Puerto Rico! We spent the entirety of our day in airports and in planes. As soon as we landed in Philadelphia to board our flight to PR, we noticed a great diversity in languages spoken and of types of people-Announcements made over the loudspeaker were in both English and Spanish. We passed the time during our layover by playing cards, chatting and eating a variety of snacks (thanks, Matthew!)  Once we boarded the plane, we experienced over an hour of just sitting on the runway. Keep in mind the youth had no electronics to keep themselves entertained. The adults were very impressed by their positive attitudes and ability to occupy themselves while we were waiting.  We have discovered that we have 2 fluent Spanish speakers in our group which will certainly come in handy this week!  We were very

We have been blessed with the opportunity to bring 30 pairs of hands to serve the community of Dorado, Puerto Rico. 8 of these pairs of helping hands belong to First Congregational adults who are eager to lead, guide and learn from the 22 youth going on the trip.  Larry Dansky: My name is Larry Dansky, and I am thrilled to be able to join our First Cong youth on this mission trip to Puerto Rico. I retired as a rural family physician and moved to Colorado 6 years ago to be closer to family, particularly the two most beautiful grandchildren around. My wife (Kathy) and I joined First Cong 5 years ago. I have served the church as a member of the Board of Spiritual Life and have just completed a year as the church moderator. In addition to spending as much time as possible with my grandchildren, I enjoy hiking and volunteering in the community. I’ve been on youth mission trips as a youth leader at my previous church, and traveled to Haiti and Ethiopia on medical mission trips