The month of July has been pretty hectic in San Juan. A few weeks ago we welcomed our second team of the year, a small team of four from North Carolina and Ohio. Life feels a bit more normal when we are able to serve with teams again. Two of the group members, a doctor and a nurse, worked in the clinic and the other two worked construction around the guesthouse. When we have small groups, it gives me more opportunities to get to know each group member. During the week, we also tried new recipes. My favorite was a Key Lime Pie that Jeff and I made. It was delicious!

With the guesthouse sitting empty for so long, we inspected the guesthouse rooms for repairs that needed to be done. A few weeks ago, Jason and I walked through the rooms and made a detailed list of things that needed to be repaired. It has been fun crossing off different tasks. On Monday, Kamanda and I worked on cleaning the pantry, bathroom, and dryer room. In doing this, we were able to make a list of needs for the guesthouse. It feels good to walk into those rooms and see organized selves.

Over the weekend I attended the wedding of Alejandro and Hannah Bowes Alcantara, two of my closest friends here in San Juan. It was fun celebrating their big day with them. A friend and I made the bridal party breakfast before the wedding and delivered it to the hotel where they were staying. I enjoyed cooking for a big group again!

On Tuesday I went with our staff to a Covid Relief Visit to a nearby community. I have talked about these days before, but during these visits, we share information about how to stop the spread of Covid. In doing this we can share the gospel. If we see a family in need of food, we also have food bags prepared of rice, beans, noodles, paco fish, oil, and sugar to gift. These trips are so humbling. One family said after giving them food that they now had rice to eat for lunch. I am thankful that God allowed us to gift this family just what they needed that day.

This weekend I will attend another wedding, and I am looking forward to that. I hope to make it to the beach for a few days before heading home on August 17th. I will be spending three weeks stateside. I am excited to spend time with family and friends, see my dog Rio, and celebrate one of my best friends getting married. I am a groomsman in the wedding.

Our next team arrives in mid-September, so in the meantime, I will continue checking things off the list of guesthouse projects.

Prayer Requests:

Travel back to the states
Health and safety
Safety traveling in the states