Wow, what a day it has been! My group, also known as Group Agua De Coco (Team 2), started out the day finishing some roofing, installing some metal beams, removing some tile from the outside patio/ porch area & cleaning out a hole from the same area. There was also some down time so I took the opportunity to go speak to the homeowner, and of course play with his 3 puppies. I asked him about Hurricane Maria and how it affected him and was almost brought to tears. He said the hurricane ripped his roof completely off, some of his furniture flew away, and his home was slightly flooded. His mother lives downstairs, so he went to get her & brought her upstairs. The street was flooded up to his chest, the downstairs area was flooded up the knees, and they spent 2 weeks living upstairs with no roof. People had to bring them food and water, but they had no electricity. He said the hurricane itself wasn’t bad, it was the days after that seemed to be the worst. He said the water from the mountains met the water from the ocean, they collided, and basically ricocheted off of each other and sent waves of water into the communities and houses around the island. Throughout my conversation with Louis, I seemed to be the emotional one, not him. He had a smile on his face, a positive mindset, and a hope so strong, not even a gigantic hurricane could shake. It was in that moment that I knew I was in the right place at the right time. It wasn’t that I was serving him, it was that he was serving me! He is truly an inspiration to me and I am so blessed that I had the pleasure of working on his home this week. After my touching conversation with Louis and my puppy play date, it was time to say goodbye. Since we are flying home today, we had to leave the site at noon to make sure we caught our flight & got some last minute sightseeing in. Although I was excited to go sightseeing, the goodbye was a bit hard for me. I had the pleasure of working with some of the most patient people I have ever encountered. The foreman and his assistants were such wonderful people and truly had the spirit of the Lord in their hearts. Throughout the week, our group was able to create bonds and share laughs while we served the Lord. Saying goodbye to them was undoubtedly the hardest thing I had to do on this trip. We shed some tears, took some pictures, and jammed ourselves back into the car and ate our lunches on the way to our sightseeing destination. Our group chose to go to Old San Juan & explore the area. I had done some previous research on some touristy things to do & one that really caught my eye was the umbrella street. Originally, the governor’s wife wanted something artistic to go outside of the house so people would come see the governor’s house. The “rooftop” now has umbrellas covering it, which you can see in some of the pictures. It was absolutely breathtaking & SO DOPE. After taking our pictures under the umbrellas & buying some souvenirs, our group decided to venture to another location..BEN & JERRY’S. We couldn’t find a parking spot, so a few of us got out, ordered for the others who so graciously stayed in the car, and headed back to the church with ice cream in hand. Once we got back to the church, it was kind of a chaotic time because we were all trying not to smell terribly and finish our last minute packing. I personally took a baby wipe bath and added some extra layers of deodorant and changed out of my smelly clothes. Since we have so many people and a lot of luggage, it is no surprise that all of us could not fit in the van. A couple of us went to drop off the rented cars at the rental car place, while the others headed to the airport. Once we got to the airport and met back up, we went through TSA, quite smoothly might I add, and met some of the ABSOLUTE BEST TSA people ever. They were so sweet & generous and were just a nice “goodbye.” We made it to our gate and split up to go eat. We boarded our plane and headed to Orlando. The flight wasn’t too bad, considering there was no one in the middle seat between Josh and I, and I slept. Now here I am, summing up my day while I wait for my plane to Atlanta. This trip has been one of a lifetime and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have learned so much about Puerto Rico, my teammates, and myself. It has been such a rewarding experience and I cannot believe it has already come to an end. Until next time, Puerto Rico...
Korie Burgess
The entire team of 15 is at Umbrella Street, a street leading to the govenor’s mansion that has many pink umbrellas hanging above
Korie Burgess proudly holds her Ben and Jerry’s, a treat she has been waiting for all week
An excited Team 2/ Agua de Coco smiles under a palm tree as they finish up the week’s work
Korie Burgess from Team 2/ Agua de Coco is cuddling up to puppies after a day’s work
This is the beautiful artwork that can be seen from the ground in umbrella street!!
This is the view from our plane ride on the way back to Orlando (where our layover is) from Puerto Rico!