By Aidan Heafy ’25
RAMSEY, NJ – Over Winter Break, I had the opportunity to travel to Puerto Rico with many of my classmates on the Senior Mission Trip. Through the work we did for the locals of the island, the fun we had exploring the inner streets of Old San Juan, and the time we spent together, the experience we had was a once in a lifetime one.
Though this wasn’t my first mission trip with Bosco, it was, for all of us, the farthest we had ever been away from home for an extended period of time. That distance became both literally and culturally apparent as we got off our plane and hopped on the road to drive to our destination deep in the mountains of Puerto Rico.
Our chaperones, Coach Tank, Ms. Hampson, and Father Abe drove us from the airport in San Juan to a Salesian Retreat Center located in the small town of Aibonito. As we drove in the backseat of our vans, which would become very familiar to us over the course of the week, we were able to observe some of the island’s natural beauty right away. In addition to the temperature, being about 65 degrees warmer than New Jersey at the time, the mountains, trees, and skies of the island were what popped out to us right away. After about two hours, we parked at our destination and settled into our homes for the next week.
We arrived late on Saturday, and so the first real day we had was Sunday, which was dedicated to recreation before we started our service on that Monday. We traveled to a beach on one of the shores of the island, where we swam, ate authentic Puerto Rican food, and played beach volleyball. Afterwards, we headed out to a restaurant in the hills outside of the city of Lares, where we had a type of whole, roasted pig called lechon, which was very popular pretty much everywhere we went.
Sunday was the first chance for us to bond through fun experiences. Many of us, who had not been familiar with each other at all prior to the trip, got the chance to meet and interact with each other. The next day was our first chance to bond through hard work when our service began.
Monday was the first of four service days on the mission trip. We spent 2 days at each work site; Monday and Tuesday were spent restoring and painting one house, and Thursday and Friday were spent doing something very similar, but at another property. This was unusual for me, as all of the previous mission trips I had been on in places like Tampa and New Orleans had us going to 1 or more new work sites every day. I became fond of this strategy, though, when I realized it allowed me to revisit and improve upon the hard work I had put into the house the day before. The first house we went to had been left in disarray over time. It had been set on fire, leaving soot on the walls for us to scrape off, among other issues. Both days at this house were hard, and very physically demanding. The sun was hot, and the painting and scraping required constant effort along with tippy-toeing to reach the ceiling or squatting down to reach the edges of the wall and floor. It was a difficult task, but no one ever complained about doing it. We had our fun through the jokes we made and teams we formed to finish the work more efficiently, and though it was tiring, we all left appreciative and proud of what we had done.
After we finished the first two days of work, we took Wednesday off to travel to Old San Juan, a part of San Juan filled with history and densely packed streets. Before that, however, we started the morning by visiting a sister Salesian school. We toured their facilities where we were welcomed by the students, some of whom we played volleyball and basketball against (where they may or may not have embarrassed us in front of their entire student body).
We left afterwards for the city. When we first arrived in Old San Juan, we went to the Catedral Basilica Metropolitana de San Juan Bautista, which is the main cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Juan. After examining its relics and art we left for the main event of our day, which was a visit to El Morro, a fortress on one of the tips of the island. Its walls and scenic views were a sight to behold, and it gave us an overlook of the water that it bordered. It was the prettiest thing I saw all week.
We enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant after we left the fortress. The attractions and atmosphere of the city were like nothing I had seen before, and I went to bed that night sad that I couldn’t go back, and at the same time, excited for another opportunity to serve the community.
Thursday and Friday were spent painting another home that was in very bad condition. The man who owned it was evidently in need of our help, as we found throughout our time there (to protect his privacy I can’t give any more details than that). We did much of the same type of work; we painted, power washed, cleaned, hosed, and scraped the walls of the house while cleaning up the perimeter for garbage and just generally making it look nicer. It was, at times, a tumultuous two days, but the work was rewarding, and we left satisfied that we had helped a man who desperately needed a break in his life.
When it was time to go, none of us really knew how to summarize our experience, or even begin to process it. We stayed up way too late on Friday night talking about each other and what positive things we had noticed during the week. Saturday was just a travel day, but it was still an emotional goodbye to all the people and places we had encountered throughout our trip.
Overall, it was a very profound experience for me in so many ways. The work we did was so important for the people in need down on the island, and the good times we had doing it will always be remembered in my heart. It changed my mindset on a lot of different things, both in my personal and work lives. So much happened that I find it hard to reflect fully on what the week meant to me, but in short, it was something that, if you are ever lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience something similar to it, you should jump on it immediately and without hesitation. It was truly one of the most special weeks of my life.
