To the Puerto Rico Team

I am so proud of you for making this trip a priority in your life!  You’ve worked hard to raise the money.  You’ve stepped out on faith and signed up to fly in an airplane for the first time, to live in a different culture for a week, to work hard, to sweat lots, and to serve God with all of who you are.

And now it’s time to go.  DO NOT WASTE this opportunity.  Do not waste it by having a bad attitude, by being a slacker, by complaining about the heat or the food, by thinking about home instead of being present in Puerto Rico.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  And pray for us (the West Virginia team), too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.  Pray that we may proclaim it clearly, as we should.  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:2-6

You are a great team.  Be a unified team.  “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)  I hope each of you sees God on this trip.  I hope you see God in the people of Puerto Rico, in the other World Changers, in your PCC teammates, and in yourself.  If you want to see God, then live in peace with one another and live holy lives. 

You are a great team, and you are part of a larger team.  You are part of PCC.  Your Pastor to Students, your small group leaders, your fellow PCC students in West Virginia this week, your church staff, your parents, and your church’s prayer team are praying for you.  You are surrounded by the prayers of people who love and believe in you, and who love and believe in your God:

Therefore, since you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for you.  Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Dream big about what God is doing and will do in Puerto Rico.

Dream big about what God is doing and will do in the PCC Puerto Rico team.

Dream big about what God is doing and will do in you.

Pray hard.

Pray the promises of God.  “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

Pray to God, holding onto Him and wrestling with Him until He blesses you.  Fight for it—all night long if you must. 

Pray for God to change your identity, making you the man or woman He created you to be.

Pray for God to change how you see His world and His children.

I wish I could be with you this week.  I look forward to hearing lots of stories, seeing lots of photos, and greeting changed people upon your return.

I'm proud of you. 

Love,