This summer I went to Puerto Rico to lead a couple small youth trips, but as I lead others, God did more in me that I had expected. I have to preface this by saying that before this trip came along I had been getting burned out with ministry, church, missions, etc.  I had been serving with a church here in Matamoros, and all the responsibility had drained me spiritually. So as I went to Puerto Rico I went excited about the opportunity but in need of the Lord's refreshing touch.

The number of days the first group had allotted for ministry was less than normal because at the end of the trip we were all part of the youth conference that our host church, Centro Cristiano de Restauración, was presenting. As we worshiped each day I realized that I had forgotten how beautiful it is be in the Lord's presence, to worship Him with all my heart. It had been a while since I had enjoyed "church" or had much of a desire to be there. The conference offered sessions for leaders apart from the youth, and God used these times to heal some of the calloused areas on my heart.

I have so much more I could say, and I hope to share more in future blogs, but for now I want to sum it all up by saying that Puerto Rico, and this summer as a whole, has been as been a time for me to learn how to fall in love with the Lord all over again. It has been a time of learning to place relationship with Him before ministry, before acts of service, before everything. For now my prayer for myself and for all of you is that we may continue to fall more in love with our Lord and allow love for our neighbor to flow from that.  Thank you for all your prayers!  God bless!