How it began

The first step… this is it! Actually, it began months ago. Stumbling into our first Puerto Rico meeting ten minutes late because I botched our meeting location. Oh well, who cares what they say about first impressions. Learning bunches of new names? Alright, I got this. It quickly becomes more than a name. It’s a face, It’s a story. It’s a brother or sister. This is life. Where the rubber meets the road and stuff gets real, we need each other, even when we don’t realize it. We love, sacrifice and serve. We find something new. Talking through plans and arrangements calms nerves, but it doesn’t prepare you for God’s divine doings. Only He readies your heart and steadies your gaze. Only the creator of time works outside and independent of it completely. When we are pliable, He molds and makes.

Thursday afternoon, our SAU Cougar’s bus arrives at Detroit Metro Airport on time. This is nearly the only destination that fit inside our pretty, perfect schedule. The weather held us over in Detroit, then ultimately overnight at JFK in New York. God’s mercy and provision crept closer and closer with the passing of each delayed minute. We met strangers as we traveled, perhaps people that longed for a glimpse of the kingdom. Ray, a Delta gate operator from Brooklyn graciously accommodated us airport stragglers as we created a makeshift shelter of lounge chairs to sleep in. Complementary meal vouchers brightened everyone’s spirits. Finally, no night spent at a gigantic airport would be complete without a thorough exploratory mission throughout its innermost nooks and crannies. The Lord works through all things, all to the glory of His name. As I lay down on the cement floor of gate 11 surrounded by my brothers and sisters, covered in a paper-thin blanket… florescent lights blinding and TV blaring, I felt something. It was something real. I am wholly loved. I am completely cared for. I am blessed beyond what I deserve. -Caleb : )