A cast of characters recently joined hands to travel to the Hurricane Maria torn mountains of Puerto Rico on a mission trip. A group of 10 volunteers lead Oaklawn United Methodist Church's first-ever mission trip to help families devastated by the last September's hurricane.
The group consisted of an eclectic group of people. Some were over 60, others were in their 20s, two married couples and others were single. Vocational backgrounds include a social worker, pastor, attorney, retired National Park ranger, teacher, sales manager, project specialist for AT&T and an employment placement firm specialist. The group met most of its participants for the first time at the Little Rock Airport.
The three-fold mission was successful. A Puerto Rico state trooper had his entire home completely destroyed by the hurricane, leaving only a slab. One of the three teams spent the week tying rebar, pouring concrete and building walls to build the family a new home. As if that was not enough, his daughter suffered first- and second-degree burns heating water for a bath. She and her mother only left the hospital just days before the team completed its work for a "joyful but tearful" family and volunteer reunion.
The second team completed restoration, both inside and outside, of a family home when the roof was torn off and all of their possessions ruined in the storm.
The final team brought hope to a small village by painting a mural of Puerto Rico rising from the disaster, restoring and painting a garden area at the church camp and emblazing the symbol of the cross and flames of the United Methodist Church on camp headquarters.
The group traveled through a town that even then had less than 40 percent of it its homes with electricity. Blue FEMA tarps dot the landscape of homes from San Juan to Patillas where the group worked in the mountains. More than 5,000 people lost their lives as a result of the storm.
The United Methodist Church has donated thousands of dollars of materials and rotates weekly volunteer groups over four locations in Puerto Rico. More than 40 homes are slated for repairs in the next few months. There is much left to be done.
Religion on 06/16/2018