It’s not just the Assemblies of God either; the Church of God has also been enriched by its Puerto Rican people, who on the island organise themselves as the “Mission Board.” Many have come to the continental U.S., where they have been a part of my local church and my classes at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, both geotechnical and my Fluid Mechanics Laboratory class. We are the better for them.
One of the best stories about these people came from a friend who, before she and her husband moved to Tennessee, taught high school in central Florida. Florida public schools can be tough; one day the leader of the Puerto Rican gang at school came to her, a nice Christian woman, and said, without any prompting, “You’re Puerto Rican. We’ll protect you.” And they did! As anyone on the mission field will tell you, you never know whom God will send into your life to help you!
One thing I reminded every Soil Mechanics class of every semester was that Puerto Ricans are Americans and of the process that got them here, which you can see in my post The Raising of the Maine, Cellular Cofferdams, Why Puerto Rico is Part of the U.S., and Why Puerto Ricans are Americans. With some of the disgusting rhetoric floating around these days, it’s something that bears repeating.
Positive Infinity 