A week of outreach, worship, and hands-on ministry alongside Dream Center Esperanza left students stretched, strengthened, and heading home with a clearer sense of who God made them to be.
This spring, a team of Life Pacific University students traveled to Puerto Rico to partner with local ministry leaders and serve communities across the island. What they found when they got there, and what they brought back, was more than any of them quite expected.
Working alongside Dream Center Esperanza, a Foursquare ministry on the island, the team threw themselves into the work. They cleaned and helped restore a local Foursquare church, distributed around 200 bags of groceries to families in need, prayed with community members, and led a full Sunday service. By the end of the week, two people had been baptized — quiet, significant moments that said something about what the team’s presence had meant.
Students Leading, Not Just Serving
Some of the week’s most memorable moments came when students stopped waiting to be ready and simply stepped up. Caleb preached during Sunday service. Emma led worship multiple times throughout the trip. This was no small thing for a non-Spanish speaker finding her footing in an unfamiliar context. Both moments were unforced. Both reflected what became a running theme of the week: students saying yes to God even when it cost them something.
Dream Center Esperanza leaders noticed. They described it as “beautiful to watch them all say ‘yes’ to Jesus over and over again”. Not just doing ministry tasks, but genuinely discovering and using their gifts in real time.
The team’s impact stretched further than their own group as well. A visiting high school missions group was on the island at the same time, and LPU students stepped into an unexpected mentorship role, leading them through community outreach and prayer, and extending the ripple effect of the week well beyond what anyone had planned.
What Students Brought Home
The reflections students shared after returning told a consistent story. The trip stretched them. It built confidence, deepened faith, and gave them a more concrete sense of how God can work through them specifically. Not just in the abstract, but in real conversations with real people in a real place far from home. They talked about learning to adapt, to lead under pressure, to communicate across cultural difference, and to serve with genuine humility rather than performance. These are skills that will continue to shape both their personal and professional lives long after the trip ended.
“The Puerto Rico trip changed my life in so many ways. One way is how the Lord opened up my eyes to see how His Spirit moves and uses each of His children individually to pour out His love.” -Emma Caudle
“The Puerto Rico trip opened my eyes to what it really means to serve others. It changed my life and put everything in perspective for me all while allowing me to go deeper in my faith walk. I also made bonds and memories that are going to last me a lifetime.” -Mercedes Sibrian
Beyond the personal growth, students returned with a renewed and more focused sense of purpose; a clearer picture of how they want to live, serve, and lead going forward. For many, that clarity showed up not just in thinking about ministry, but in how they are approaching their career paths and everyday relationships.
An Ongoing Partnership
The week was not a one-off. Through their work with Dream Center Esperanza, LPU students contributed to ministry efforts that continue long after the team came home, supporting local outreach and the broader vision of expanding the ministry’s presence across Puerto Rico. The impact of the trip was felt not only within the team but within the community itself.
It is a reminder of what LPU has always believed: that formation does not only happen in a classroom. When students step out in faith, God works through them. And more often than not, He transforms them in the process.
