Puerto Rico 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this note finds you well! Thank you so much for supporting us on our missions trip to Puerto Rico. We wanted to take a few minutes to share some stories from our time there.
This trip was part of an on-going strategic missions partnership that has been initiated among numerous Vineyard churches to more effectively engage in world missions. In this trip, there were 12 team members that represented 3 Vineyard churches in our area. These churches have committed to this partnership for a minimum of 10 years. The goal is to send a team to Puerto Rico to minister there at least once a year. The church that we are partnering with for missions work in Puerto Rico is called Iglesia La Vina de Mayaguez (Vineyard Church of Mayaguez) pastored by Marvin and Cuchy Suarez.
For more information about this missions partnership and about the Association of Vineyard Churches, you can visit the website at the following URL: http://www.vineyardusa.org
PUERTO RICO
Here is what our time in Puerto Rico looked like.
After staying up till around 2am to finish packing, Angela and I got a few hours of sleep before waking up at 4:30am to head to the O’Hare International Airport. After checking our luggage and getting through the fun security line, we headed straight for Dunkin Donuts for some desperately needed coffee. Elliot did really well on the flight. (Elliot is seven months old and this was his sixth flight.)
We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is the capital city. We spent our first evening in Puerto Rico at the Holiday Inn Express. We woke up early in the morning and had our group devotional where we spent time worshipping and quieting our hearts before the Lord. Then we headed out to a very busy street where we began passing out candies and little cards that said, “Please receive this little token as a practical demonstration of the LOVE of GOD for YOU! Please let us know if there is any way that we can assist you in your spiritual journey.” We were surprised at how receptive everyone was to receiving these little candies and cards from us. I guess we were expecting it to be a little more like our experience here in Chicago. But the Puerto Ricans were amazingly receptive.
After a few hours of servant evangelism in San Juan, we got into our vans and headed for Mayaguez, which is a city on the other side of the island. It took us about two hours to get there. Once we arrived at Mayaguez, we settled into our motel while a group went to a supermarket to stock up on food and other necessities.
For the next two days, we spent a few hours each morning at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, reaching out to the students there. In all, the 12 of us passed out some 6,000 cards and candies. There were a few good discussions that happened during these outreach times, but we know that the real fruit of servant evangelism will take time. We simply plant the seed and pray that God will bring the fruit. One person wrote the church saying that she was one of the students at the University that received a card and candy from Angela (and Elliot). She was so moved by the experience because she has been away from the church for a very long time. She had a child out of wedlock and her shame and pride has kept her away from the church and God for many, many years. And in the midst of wondering if God would ever love her again, she received this little card from complete strangers that said that God’s love for her was unconditional. We pray that there will be many more stories like this!
The church has a Thursday night service that we attended. We were struck by their passionate worship and the strong sense of community that we felt. We were hugged and kissed by everyone we greeted. Insoo gave the sermon that evening with Pastor Marvin as the translator. The people were very receptive to the teaching and many of them came up to receive prayer after the service during the ministry time.
On Saturday we had the privilege of praying for many people who are already part of the church. We asked God for words of encouragement for them and spent time praying for each one individually. It was a very powerful time of edification and it was a blessing to be used to encourage our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters.
Sunday our team leader preached at both morning services and then Insoo and a few others went along with Marvin back to San Juan to attend the small group that has begun and will eventually become the church plant. It made for a long day, but it was exciting to be able to participate in all the different ministries of the church.
Pastor Marvin and Cuchy have a heart to plant two churches in San Juan, one Spanish speaking, and one English speaking. It looks like God is already raising up a team of people to join in this effort.
During our ‘down time’, we endured beautiful warm weather, ate fabulous Puerto Rican food, Angela got her beach fix, and Elliot experienced ‘swimming’ in the ocean for the first time. Those were some great bonuses!!
Every good trip requires a detour of some sort. And this trip was no exception. We were supposed to be on a direct flight back from Puerto Rico to get back to Chicago by 7pm. But, there was some issue with the plane so they cancelled our flight and put us on another flight that had us flying to Boston for two hours and then heading to Chicago. We landed at O’Hare at 10:45pm and got home around 11:30pm. We were quite exhausted.
When we got back to Chicago, we received a great answer to prayer—Angela was offered a part-time job at the University of Chicago’s Graduate Program of Health Administration and Policy (Try saying that fast! ) as an administrative assistant to the Director. It is everything we asked for…close to home, flexible, and part time hours WITH BENEFITS. She begins her new job the day after Easter. We’re so glad that she can spend more time at home with Elliot. Thank you, Lord!!
MORE PICTURES
We want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and your generous support that made this trip possible. We really could not have done this without your partnership! In all the ways that you’ve given of yourself to this missions effort, may the Lord bless you in return in ways that you can not even begin to dream or imagine!
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Please let us know if you have any questions about the missions trip. We would love to hear from you.
Gratefully,
Insoo, Angela, and Elliot
We hope this note finds you well! Thank you so much for supporting us on our missions trip to Puerto Rico. We wanted to take a few minutes to share some stories from our time there.
This trip was part of an on-going strategic missions partnership that has been initiated among numerous Vineyard churches to more effectively engage in world missions. In this trip, there were 12 team members that represented 3 Vineyard churches in our area. These churches have committed to this partnership for a minimum of 10 years. The goal is to send a team to Puerto Rico to minister there at least once a year. The church that we are partnering with for missions work in Puerto Rico is called Iglesia La Vina de Mayaguez (Vineyard Church of Mayaguez) pastored by Marvin and Cuchy Suarez.
For more information about this missions partnership and about the Association of Vineyard Churches, you can visit the website at the following URL: http://www.vineyardusa.org
PUERTO RICO
Here is what our time in Puerto Rico looked like.
After staying up till around 2am to finish packing, Angela and I got a few hours of sleep before waking up at 4:30am to head to the O’Hare International Airport. After checking our luggage and getting through the fun security line, we headed straight for Dunkin Donuts for some desperately needed coffee. Elliot did really well on the flight. (Elliot is seven months old and this was his sixth flight.)
We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is the capital city. We spent our first evening in Puerto Rico at the Holiday Inn Express. We woke up early in the morning and had our group devotional where we spent time worshipping and quieting our hearts before the Lord. Then we headed out to a very busy street where we began passing out candies and little cards that said, “Please receive this little token as a practical demonstration of the LOVE of GOD for YOU! Please let us know if there is any way that we can assist you in your spiritual journey.” We were surprised at how receptive everyone was to receiving these little candies and cards from us. I guess we were expecting it to be a little more like our experience here in Chicago. But the Puerto Ricans were amazingly receptive.
After a few hours of servant evangelism in San Juan, we got into our vans and headed for Mayaguez, which is a city on the other side of the island. It took us about two hours to get there. Once we arrived at Mayaguez, we settled into our motel while a group went to a supermarket to stock up on food and other necessities.
For the next two days, we spent a few hours each morning at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, reaching out to the students there. In all, the 12 of us passed out some 6,000 cards and candies. There were a few good discussions that happened during these outreach times, but we know that the real fruit of servant evangelism will take time. We simply plant the seed and pray that God will bring the fruit. One person wrote the church saying that she was one of the students at the University that received a card and candy from Angela (and Elliot). She was so moved by the experience because she has been away from the church for a very long time. She had a child out of wedlock and her shame and pride has kept her away from the church and God for many, many years. And in the midst of wondering if God would ever love her again, she received this little card from complete strangers that said that God’s love for her was unconditional. We pray that there will be many more stories like this!
The church has a Thursday night service that we attended. We were struck by their passionate worship and the strong sense of community that we felt. We were hugged and kissed by everyone we greeted. Insoo gave the sermon that evening with Pastor Marvin as the translator. The people were very receptive to the teaching and many of them came up to receive prayer after the service during the ministry time.
On Saturday we had the privilege of praying for many people who are already part of the church. We asked God for words of encouragement for them and spent time praying for each one individually. It was a very powerful time of edification and it was a blessing to be used to encourage our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters.
Sunday our team leader preached at both morning services and then Insoo and a few others went along with Marvin back to San Juan to attend the small group that has begun and will eventually become the church plant. It made for a long day, but it was exciting to be able to participate in all the different ministries of the church.
Pastor Marvin and Cuchy have a heart to plant two churches in San Juan, one Spanish speaking, and one English speaking. It looks like God is already raising up a team of people to join in this effort.
During our ‘down time’, we endured beautiful warm weather, ate fabulous Puerto Rican food, Angela got her beach fix, and Elliot experienced ‘swimming’ in the ocean for the first time. Those were some great bonuses!!
Every good trip requires a detour of some sort. And this trip was no exception. We were supposed to be on a direct flight back from Puerto Rico to get back to Chicago by 7pm. But, there was some issue with the plane so they cancelled our flight and put us on another flight that had us flying to Boston for two hours and then heading to Chicago. We landed at O’Hare at 10:45pm and got home around 11:30pm. We were quite exhausted.
When we got back to Chicago, we received a great answer to prayer—Angela was offered a part-time job at the University of Chicago’s Graduate Program of Health Administration and Policy (Try saying that fast! ) as an administrative assistant to the Director. It is everything we asked for…close to home, flexible, and part time hours WITH BENEFITS. She begins her new job the day after Easter. We’re so glad that she can spend more time at home with Elliot. Thank you, Lord!!
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| Puerto Rico Missions Trip 2007 |
MORE PICTURES
We want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and your generous support that made this trip possible. We really could not have done this without your partnership! In all the ways that you’ve given of yourself to this missions effort, may the Lord bless you in return in ways that you can not even begin to dream or imagine!
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26)
Please let us know if you have any questions about the missions trip. We would love to hear from you.
Gratefully,
Insoo, Angela, and Elliot
posted by Insoo Kim at
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