Beyond the Classroom: PCA Students' Transformative Mission in Puerto Rico

In this episode of Mondays with Mike, three PCA juniors—Alex Child, Brooke Leger, and Riley Tuttle—join the host to reflect on a winter-break missions trip to Puerto Rico. They describe serving local communities, participating in Spanish-language worship, and building cross-cultural relationships that challenged and expanded their understanding of faith and service. Topics include the power of worship (Alex recalls a moving Spanish service), bold acts of compassion (Brooke and a friend praying for and giving a bracelet to a woman they met), and witnessing young leadership and vulnerability (an underclassman, Aris, leading a powerful reflection). The students discuss practical challenges too: language barriers, navigating fast Puerto Rican Spanish, moments of illness and recovery, and the awkward—but growth-filled—conversations that followed when they pushed past comfort zones. Key takeaways focus on spiritual growth and everyday application: the trip deepened the students’ sense of mission, made faith more personal and bold, and showed how receiving joy from others can be as impactful as giving it. The conversation highlights how classroom learning (like Spanish study) meets real-world practice and how encounters with real needs shape character, empathy, and leadership. Listeners will hear honest stories of vulnerability—losing confidence, finding rest, and discovering new courage to speak, pray, and serve—and be invited to carry the lessons home. The episode closes with two family conversation prompts: share an experience that changed how you see other people, and reflect on how faith shapes your response to people in need.