Bill and Phyllis Miller and Cara and Frank Ulrich served together in Puerto Rico for six weeks this winter. They were the first SOOPers to serve in Puerto Rico in decades. We are so excited and grateful to renew our ties to this lovely location and its even lovelier people. Bill Miller noted, "The kindness and friendship that we experienced from the local people certainly reflected God’s love.
This became more and more evident as time went on, and we became better acquainted…. One Saturday one of the teachers [at Academia Menonita Betania] and her family invited us to spend the day on a small uninhabited island off the south coast called Cayas Cabezazos where we relaxed, swam, and picnicked and became better acquainted. This was one of several such experiences. Read on for more reflections from the Millers SOOP assignment in Puerto Rico.
Hector Colón and his family, who reside and work on the Betania school campus, made our six weeks volunteering there so enjoyable. None of the four spoke much English, and our Spanish was very limited, so it was a time of much gesturing to get the message across to each other. It was more than just a meeting. We were always greeted with the traditional hug, kiss and smile.
Hector Colón, Hector’s daughter, Natalia
Martinez, Phyllis Miller, Cara Ulrich, and Bill Miller.
One day, they brought us six eggs from their flock; other times, it was a bunch of bananas, part of a big winter squash, or a big bowl of chicken soup after they had killed one of their chickens. We have become family friends.
Hector preparing a meal. Chicken soup for the
SOOPers!
My [Phyllis] assignment was to assist the kindergarten teacher at Betania Mennonite School using my English to help the children gain some knowledge of the language. It was difficult, though, to get their attention and have them follow what I was saying. Teaching them "Ring around the Rosie" with its motions was a hit from day one, and a great way to draw them into the moment. Another pleasant learning for them was singing these words each morning: "Good morning to the flowers, good morning to the sun, good morning to the boys and girls, good morning everyone." I hope they are still singing it!
Bill and Phyllis assisting in the classroom at
Betania.
Preschool chef day at Betania.
We enjoyed doing activities on the weekends with some of the teachers at Betania. Mrs. Vazquez took us to their family farm where we enjoyed walking on the mountainside looking at their mango, banana, papaya and avocado trees. The extended family shared their time with us as we all participated in preparing, cooking and eating an unusual meal of potatoes, yucca, plantain, cassava and pork. The good mixed fruit dish included bananas and papaya from their farm. One meal wasn’t enough; they prepared and served another one of rice and beans, roasted chicken, salad, and Valentine cake before they took us back to our temporary Puerto Rican home that night.
The first job I and fellow SOOP worker Frank Ulrich had was to enter information from the school records into a database using Excel. The purpose was to get the information about school alumni into a format that could be used to reestablish contact with former students. In the process, we learned something about the history of the school, and were interested to discover students and families whom we knew that had attended the school. The job itself did not provide much contact with students or faculty; however, we had frequent opportunities to converse with them in English or our limited Spanish as we walked to and from our house to the computer room or during breaks. Some curious students timidly stuck their heads into the room and greeted us with Buenos dias, wondering what these two gray-haired men were doing. After entering the data for 1,854 students, we spent several days cleaning and painting some classroom doors and frames.
Frank Ulrich painting classroom doors.
Bill Miller painting classroom doors.
Saying our good-byes to Academia Menonita Betania. Alex Gonzalez Labrador, board member at Betania, Phyllis Miller, Cara and Frank Ulrich, Hector Colón and his step-daughter Amarilis Vazquez. (Bill Miller, not shown, is behind the camera.)
