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Thursday, October 12, 2017

Puerto Rico Crisis & Seeing God's Work



Its been three weeks since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Three weeks later much of Puerto Rico is without electricity, very little water and food. The death toll is now reported to have risen to 45. For the past three weeks I have had a hard time focusing and have felt anxious, helpless and unmotivated. During this time, God has shown me and my family his work and I feel moved to share it with you all.

My parents were born and raised in Puerto Rico and both came to the United States after high school. My mother is from Juana Diaz and my father is from Caguas. Many of our family members still reside in the island including my last living grandparent, Aunts and cousins. It toke almost a week to hear any news from my mother's side of the family. Our family quickly received news that my Aunt on my father's side, who suffers from lung failure ran out of her last oxygen tank and was currently using a portable rechargeable tank. We quickly began looking for assistance in PR for help. My baby sister tried to contact FEMA, the PR government, the Red Cross etc and every strand of hope turned into a dead end. We all grew desperate and anxious on how to help my Aunt. 

This is when through dark times and suffering God shines his light. In order to articulate my story let  me break it down. A couple of years ago my baby sister started to attend a Calvary Chapel Church back in my hometown where she married her husband who is their pastor's brother. That church years ago helped start the Calvary Chapel in Guaynabo Puerto Rico. My mother received word of a new Calvary Chapel location near her home. One weekend that I was visiting my mother asked me to accompany her to visit this church. She instantly felt home there. Pastor Crespo was from Puerto Rico and his son in law, Jason Dennett was the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Puerto Rico. It just so happens that Pastor Dennett was the pastor that married Antero and I in Puerto Rico! To connect the bond even further I connected with Pastor Crespo daughter, who resides in Puerto Rico via social media and we quickly grew a friendship. We all found our connection wild but none of us could have ever imagined what God had in store for us!!

After many failed attempts with finding help for my Aunt, my mother asked her pastor's family if they could by any chance help my Aunt in her situation. A oxygen tank was hard to come by but a generator could at least help in her situation. A few days went by it just seemed that more obstacles were happening and the island was still in devastation. However the Crespo family reassured us that they were working on getting my Aunt her needs and that they wouldn't forget about her. 

Last week I received a message from Pastor Crespo's daughter that the church was able to find a generator for my Aunt and a volunteer was going on Monday to deliver it to her along with water and food. The next day we received a photo of my Aunt with the woman who delivered it to her along with a photo of the generator. I immediately feel to my knees in worship. I sobbed and cried out to God giving thanks and praise. In this moment I realized that this was God's plan all along. I started to go back and realize that all these dots connected for this reason. If none of these dots connected I don't know how we would have gotten that generator to my Aunt. God put these pieces together years ago masterfully to develop friendship and connect us all together. Every piece played a key role to the blessing that my Aunt received. My Aunt didn't know this church or any of these Samaritans but because we knew them and developed a friendship with each connected party it all tied together. 
This blessing is beyond my comprehension. I know that God works in mysterious and beautiful ways but I haven't personally seen it until this moment. I did not want to miss this blessing and miss out on the opportunity to praise God and give him all the glory. I also wanted to share this testimony with you all! 

My family and I were beginning to grow weary and I was consumed with watching and looking for social media posts that were devastating and heart breaking. I grew angry with government and frustrated with feeling powerless. I forgot to trust God and like he always does he gracefully reminds us all that he is sovereign and faithful. He shined a light so bright that I needed shades! It is amazing. 
So I share this testimony in hopes that it creates a ripple effect. I pray that my story brings you hope in your dark moments. The enemy challenges us with obstacles and heartbreak but I put this bible passage as my screensaver to remind me of this: "God can restore what is broken and change it into something amazing. All you need is FAITH" Joel 2:25

Im here for you guys and and pray that this post brings you hope in your life....

Puerto Rico se Levantara!



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