This week God has changed my life in many ways. Throughout evangelism work and team time, he has taught me not only how to talk to him, but also how to listen to him. Through the stories of people we’ve met, I’ve grown in understanding and love for the lives of others.
Before this trip, I took a lot of things for granted and thought of them as simple things: hot water, air conditioning, loving friends and family… While we weren’t in a particularly impoverished area, we were still in a place without many typical comforts. I realized exactly how blessed I am at home. I was extremely touched by the lives of everyone in Puerto Rico. Some were broken and desperately needed our prayer, and some were just grateful we took time out of our day to talk to them.
On our last day of evangelism, we had to go inside a mall to pray since it was raining hard outside. We met a woman who was very excited for us to pry for her. She talked with us for a long time. She said she had a son and a daughter that had both died. The son died in a war and the daughter died from a sickness. She showed us pictures of her grandchildren but it sounded like they didn’t come visit very often. After we prayed for her, she thanked us and said that she liked coming to the mall because she gets lonely. I could feel the pain inside her.
God has given me an amazing opportunity to see the lives of others in a culture that is not my own. I’m so incredibly thankful for this experience and will be forever changed by the things God has shown me the past weeks. I’m more than excited to see what else God has to show me.
