At the far opposite end of the universe from the ego and agenda in Rincon is the Ciudad de Salvaćion.
This is the Western Puerto Rican version of a mega-church. Their main chapel/auditorium normally seats 2,000. When it is not being used for hurricane relief.
The people in this church take their mission seriously. Their mission is not evangelizing or proselytizing their mission is helping people..(Are you listening Joel Osteen?)
In the wake of Hurricane Irma they set up part of their campus to house nearly 200 refugees from other islands. They bought - with church funds - cots, bedding, toiletries, towels and flipflops for every person. They already have an on-going clothing drive so everyone would have clothes to wear. They had food supplies so their cafeteria could feed the masses.
Many of the refugees they expected were people with disabilities and their caretakers. It was decided that the crossings from the other islands were too dangerous for them so the refugees never arrived here. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, they already had many resources in place.
In the first days after the hurricane, before any relief agencies were even on the island, the congregation actively searched for people in need and took help to them. They didn't say, "we have it, come get it." They took it!
They opened their cafeteria and began serving hot meals every day to anyone who showed up.
The Food Bank of Puerto Rico is in San Juan. The food bank contacted the church about being their distributor on the west side of the island. Yes, of course, with one request. Church volunteers would do all the work - sorting, packing, delivering - but they wanted to remain anonymous. They didn't wank any confusion of identities. Now, with the same request for anonymity, they are also the distributor $1 million in aid Ricky Martin sent to the island.
As relief supplies arrived at the church, they ran out of room to store and sort them. So, they moved the chairs out of half of their main chapel to create storage and packing room. They stacked pallets of food and supplies on the floor and on the stage, driving muddy trucks and forklifts across the carpet to get there. (Are you listening, Joel Osteen and all the other "ministers" of mainland mega-churches?)
They are only doing hot meals in their cafeteria three days a week now because they've turned the cafeteria into a food packing assembly area Henry Ford would be proud of.
In one day volunteers assembled and delivered 5,000 bags of food.
Meanwhile, other volunteers go out looking, searching for people who need assistance. For example, acting on a suggestion from a volunteer, they found a small community of 80 families tucked away in a forgotten, almost unknown corner of Isabela. This are was completely blocked in and isolated for several days by downed trees, wires and poles. Volunteers from the church walked, climbed scrambled over the debris to reach this small community. Maria had virtually destroyed it. The residents had nothing.
The volunteers walked back out, went back to the church and told the kitchen volunteers to stop what they were doing. They needed hot meals for 80 families, to go, ASAP. Then the volunteers drove back to the area, hiked through the debris again, and delivered the meals.
While people were eating, volunteers wrote down everyone's name and clothing sizes. The next day those same volunteers returned, again making their way over an through the trees, wires, poles, and debris, with clothing and food bags for everyone. They brought tarps for makeshift roofs over damaged and destroyed houses.
Other volunteers at the church created a department store-like set-up for clothing donations. Every donated piece that comes in is washed, sometimes by hand, and then hung up on racks. Clothes are arranged by gender and size, women's, men's, and children's. People can browse and take what they need.
Elaine asked one of the church officials which they needed most, supplies or money. Hector said money. Right then they were just about out of fuel for the generator to keep the operation running. She asked him if people should specify if donations were for relief for the church. Hector kind of smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. It's all for relief. The church is operating in the red. Everything coming in, regardless of where, is going to relief."
Talk about a church putting it's money - and it's true Christian values! - where it's mouth is! (Are you listening, Joel Osteen?)
Every one who heard this story has said the same thing, asked the same question: Can these people take over relief efforts for the island? Get rid of FEMA, the army, the Red Cross, and the Puerto Rican government. Let these people run it!
In the course of the conversation with Hector Elaine told him about Calorcito P'al Corazon, her non-profit that delivers blankets to hospitals, and about the therapeutic riding program. He was very interested in both. As they talked about the riding program, Hector said, "That's the kind of help a child with autism needs. They don't need a sermon from us."
My respect for these people grows and grows With many organizations, especially "faith-based," help comes with a huge helping of agenda. You gotta listen to the sermon to get the soup. Not so at Ciudad de Salvaćion. They put people ahead of any evangelistic agenda. I like that.
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