Serving, Soaring, and Growing Together

Update from Puerto Rico!
Monday was Mission Day — and from the very first moment, our group arrived joyful and ready to give their best for others. With hearts full of purpose, the LHSA mission trip crew dove headfirst into a full day of hands-on service in the community.

The morning was filled with the kind of work that matters — cleaning the community center, raking leaves, helping in the kitchen, tidying the store, and organizing the small market. The highlight of the service day came when the group loaded up hot lunches and delivered them personally to members of the community. In return, the community fed our students a wonderful meal and sent them off with an abundance of blessings.

After their morning of service, the group headed up into the mountains to Toro Verde for an afternoon of adventure. Carson, Zaida, Roman, and Travis took to the skies as our fearless flying crew — conquering not one, not two, but seven ziplines through the lush Puerto Rican canopy. Meanwhile, Brasen, Nick, Colleen, and Kat explored the trails as our ground crew, touring the forested paths by golf cart.

After their adventures in the mountains, the group settled in for a well-earned dinner at La Sombra restaurant, sharing a family-style plate of arroz con longaniza, beans, and sweet plantains. Simple, delicious, and enjoyed together — the perfect ending to an extraordinary day.  Or so they thought. Back at the house, Nick, Travis, Roman, Zaida, and Colleen found a second wind for a few rounds of basketball with a local 10-year-old named Caleb. Wearing chanclas and giving our students an unofficial basketball clinic, Caleb was — by all accounts — absolutely unbelievable.

To close the evening, Zaida led the group in devotion and posed a beautiful question: What have you learned about each other that you didn't know before? What followed was one of those quiet, meaningful moments that only happens when people choose to truly see one another. The group reflected on how much depth people hold when we take the time to genuinely learn about them.

That is the gift of a mission trip. It is not just what you give — it is who you become in the giving.
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"We started as classmates and we are growing as a family. The Holy Spirit is blessing us with love, understanding, respect, and kindness for one another." — Mrs. Santory