Masontown Brethren Mission Trip to Puerto Rico
With all the severe weather conditions taking place last year, our church, Masontown Brethren, felt that God was telling us that in some way we should be helping those less fortunate than ourselves. We began praying for His guidance. Then, in September, Hurricane Harvey followed by Hurricane Maria hit, creating much destruction in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. We then felt we were being led toward a mission trip.
We had a meeting for those who were interested in going on a mission trip. Thirteen people came for the first meeting. Puerto Rico was mentioned, but some of us really did not want to go there. It was farther away and out of our comfort zone. We were not thinking of Puerto Rico. We thought maybe Florida or Texas, which also had suffered from the storm. But guess what, Puerto Rico is where the Lord was saying we needed to go.
We had several planning meetings. Ten members from our congregation went on the trip. Our average attendance on Sunday morning is 50-60, which means 20% of our congregation took the trip.
Once we decided to do a mission trip our leader contacted Ashland, who had funds which we could use to help with expenses. Leaders who had been on mission trips before put us in touch with Group International Mission Trips, who arranged everything for us.
A member of our mission group wrote a theme song “Preach With My Hands,” which we sang every Sunday in our church to prepare us and the congregation for our trip. We had themed T-shirts (2 for each of us) one to work in and one to wear on our trip home and to keep nice to wear. These were printed by two members of our congregation. Our church supported us with their love, their money, and their prayers.
We had a countdown until our day of departure, July 28, 2018. As the time came closer, we became very excited and anxious, not knowing what we would be doing, where we would be staying, or what conditions we would have. Puerto Rico was in a lot of turmoil.
Each of us chose a scripture which represented the reason we were going on the trip. We shared these at one of our planning meetings and in church the Sunday before we left. The unique thing was that each of us had a different scripture to share. We were a mixed group – 5 men and 5 women, aging from 17-77.
The day finally arrived and we were off. As our plane descended into San Juan, we saw many houses with blue roofs. As we got closer, we saw that they were blue tarps covering the destroyed roofs.
From the airport, we rented two vans to take us to Guaynabo, where we would be staying and working. We stayed at the Police Athletic League where a policeman was on duty at all times, so we felt safe. Our dorm was clean and well kept. The meals were mainly rice, beans, and pork or chicken. They were very good and nourishing.
Sunday was our first full day there. We went to church, which was a very pleasant experience. Pastor Hector was a dynamic speaker. The service was three hours, but it was full of life and the presence of the Holy Spirit. There was a lot of singing in Spanish, but the pastor preached in English. His wife and son interpreted to Spanish for their congregation. Everyone was so friendly and appreciative for us being there to help. They hugged and kissed us, and thanked us for our help.
There were 27 other volunteers there with Group International., which made 37 in our working group. We all stayed in the same compound and became very close.
Monday was our first working day to serve. We learned we would be painting the outside of houses. Every day at the job site we would form groups to do different tasks. Some painted high, needing a ladder; some painted low; some did touch up work; and some helped out in the paint/supply room, trying to keep it organized. We painted every day. There is not a lot you can say about painting. We painted dark blue, dark gray, light gray, and white.
Each day as we traveled to our work site, we had a police escort, which allowed us to stay together as a group. There were 7 vehicles carrying 37 of us. This was an experience in itself, watching the 2 police officers on motorcycles keeping the traffic out of our way.
As we worked, we had the privilege of talking with the people and witnessing to them. Of course, some understood English better than others. However, it was amazing how well we could communicate. We went to serve, but they are the ones who served us. Each day a family would invite us into their home for lunch (all 37 of us). They were all so loving and couldn’t thank us enough. We never cried and laughed so much. They even gave us small gifts. We plan to stay in touch, for they became like family. It was an experience none of us will ever forget.
Each night after dinner we had a worship service with the other 27 volunteers. This gave us time to be together and also reflect upon our day. We all shared a special Christian work ethic and fellowship with each other. Each evening several would tell of a special “God sighting” they had during the day. There was prayer and music and a devotion. We taught our theme song, “Preach With My Hands,” to the group and sang it each night. These services were inspiring and allowed us to then rest and be ready for a new day of work.
On our last night, the mayor of Guaynabo and his wife, who is a judge, came to our service. He spoke and thanked us for our help. After worship, our pastor, Rod Thomas, gave his Masontown Brethren Group T-shirt to the mayor as a gift.

As for the 10 of us from Masontown, the bonds we formed with each other are very special. These are bonds that have changed our lives forever. We worked together, laughed together, and held each other up in prayer; which made for an amazing trip.
