September 7, 2024
When Children’s Director JoAnn Mann and her colleagues, most embarking on their first international mission trip, signed up with Send Relief to serve in Puerto Rico, they had no idea that the experience would forge deep connections not only with the family they were meant to assist but also with each other.
The most recent team to serve in Puerto Rico under Send Relief included ten adults and one youth from Graffiti 2 Baptist Church in New York City. Coincidentally, the majority of adults who served attend church together and are employees of Graffiti 2’s ministry center.
“While we may see each other, we don’t often have time to sit and talk deeply about our lives because we are busy investing in our participants,” said Mann, who has worked for Graffiti 2’s Ministry Center for eight years.
“This mission trip allowed us special time to invest within our team, and I want to create more spaces for that.”
The team, several of whom have family from Puerto Rico, found it special to return home to serve. A specific task awaited them: finishing the construction of a home for a Puerto Rican woman — a year-long project that involved several churches under Send Relief to complete.
The woman and her son had been living in a dilapidated home on land owned by her mother. Back-to-back natural disasters left her and her son in unsafe conditions. Rebuilding her home meant a safe haven for the woman and her toddler.
“There is still long-standing damage from the natural disasters, dating back to Hurricane Maria,” Mann said. “It is not as simple as filing an insurance claim and then getting your home fixed like one might think. This is long-term impact for many families.”
Through this mission project, Send Relief extended a lifeline to the woman through the talents of some and the stretching of others.
“We read about the body of Christ having different parts and serving as one,” Mann said, describing how she saw God work within her team.
“Seeing how God gave people with gifts in construction this opportunity to truly shine for Him, while those not so gifted, like myself, were challenged, taught me the significance in honoring the Lord even when not in my element. He has the master blueprint. My job is to simply obey.”
JoAnn wasn’t the only team member whose faith grew while in Puerto Rico. Throughout the seven days, team members were able to strengthen deeper connections with each other and build relationships with the Send Relief Puerto Rico team. These contacts led to two individuals dedicating their lives to the Lord and accepting Christ as their Savior.
Mann explained that previous mission trips she participated in were about going out into the community and casting a wide net. Still, this trip allowed them to cast a very deep net instead, permitting more time to spread the gospel to both the community and one another.
“During and after COVID, things became grab and go, with ‘don’t come near me’ expectations,” Mann said. “We’ve learned to be more intentional, to talk with someone, to stop, sit and eat with them, to hear their story, and build a relationship with them, much like our Stop and Care initiative in New York. This trip was so appropriate for our team.”
Before departing Puerto Rico, the team witnessed the woman's positive reaction to her completed home, prayed with her, and spoke love and encouragement over her life.
Mann also noted how special it was to see how much the Send Relief missionaries serving in Puerto Rico truly love the people they serve and walk alongside them.
Mann’s main prayer is that even in leaving Puerto Rico, she and the team will continue to be sensitive to opportunities to serve and share the gospel outside of a mission trip.
