It's been a good day.

Hola from Puerto Rico!

Today was another AWESOME day spent in a beautiful land with wonderful people. This morning we awoke to a filling breakfast of oatmeal, cornmeal ("maize"), and grilled cheese! We were scheduled to head off to church in the "barrio" but we had a little down time. We changed into some nice clothes that consisted of jean shorts and cute skirts, while a few of us scattered the beaches to have some devotional time. At some point, a dead fish has found it's way onto the seashore, which gathered a lot of attention from the local littles, Logan, J.J., and Angie. (Logan is Jon's six-year-old son, and J.J. and Angie are his niece and nephew.) Needless to say, my camera was snagged by the boys and I had to delete a lot of dead fish pictures.

Then we all crammed into the van and Jim drove us to the barrio, when we met John Cox and his wife. The pastor of this little church. We gathered outside and played soccer and basketball with the locals as they came in for the service. Of course, Logan and J.J. were there too. It was such a wonderful time! Despite out language barriers, we were able to communicate with them and hang out. As the service began, we each had to say our names and announce what we were studying. We sang songs in Spanish, but the whole service was translated into English as well. It was an amazing experience. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

This is where the craziness begins.

After church, the twelve of us, Jim, Paul, Jon, and the group that arrived last night from South Carolina drove maybe a half an hour inland, up beautiful rainforest covered mountains via twisted "two-lane" (they weren't really two lane though...) roads to a swimming hole...with cliffs.

We descended through the rainforest, crossed perilous cliffs and rocks and jumped into a pool of water beneath a waterfall to swim across to the other side where the local's were jumping off of two cliffs into the cold water below. Following Jon up the side of the cliff, Jeremy and I crawled on rocks and through the vines and leaves to come to a thirty foot drop. Jeremy went first, but I wasn't far behind him. One guy behind me said, "once you're in the air, it's all over." I said, "Go big or go home," and jumped off the cliff! (Mom, I'm alive. Don't worry.)

The falling sensation was frightening and addicting at the same time! The thrill of falling and being able to breathe again before hitting the water was a rush! After I watched everyone else jump, I went up again. A couple friends from our group landed...well...not in the most recommended fashion, while Macho-Man Morris took at least 20 minutes to get the gumption to jump.(He was one of the few that landed with a loud "splat!" that made every one worried that he wasn't going to resurface.) We continued to hike up the mouth of the river to find another waterfall where we could take a little five foot jump. We swam in the Puerto Rican Rainforest for quite some time.After we finished romping in the rainforest, we hit up a local restaurant, Starlite where we were treated by Carrie and Anna (and our supporters!) to dish after dish of local food! Some of the things we got to eat were: fried plantians (Kind of like bananas), malta (A drink that tastes horrible...just ask Jeremy), and octopus (no explanation necessary.)! Everyone who sat around me FORCED me to eat it. I didn't want too..but, hey. I can scratch it off my fake bucket list and tell everyone back at home that I ate octopus. (Hear that one, pa?)

We crammed back in the van and laughed all the way back to camp. I sat behind Jon. In between conversations, he kept saying over and over again, "What a good day. God is so good." And at this point in the trip, I can't help but agree with Jon. From playing with J.J. and Logan, to worshiping in Spanish, to jumping off cliffs and chocking down octopus, I know without a doubt that I am absolutely blessed to be here.

Everyone at home, continue to pray for us as we start our week of labor at Campamento del Caribe tomorrow. I've been in this beautiful place only a few days, but nothing will replace the people, the laughs, the beauty in creation, and the experiences I will take back from this trip. .

We are SO BLESSED, and we can't wait to return the blessing; starting tomorrow.

It's been a very good day. John 13: 14-15

Peace and joy,

Sarah Kipfmiller :)

P.S. You can leave comments on these blogs. We read them aloud every night and they are encouraging...the team wanted me to tell you guys. :)