By: Billy O'Regan
Those who have been following the news lately may have seen the struggles that Puerto Rico is continuing to experience. While still trying to recover from Hurricane Maria that swept the island in 2017, Puerto Rico suffered a severe series of earthquakes starting in January 2020. I recently learned that this seismic activity on the island has persisted in the weeks since the initial earthquakes. With structures deemed unsafe to live in until engineers can examine them, countless Puerto Ricans have sought temporary shelter in schools and retreat houses, including the center where we hoped to host the first Puerto Rico TEC retreat earlier this year. The insufficient number of structural engineers to conduct inspections has slowed the pace of recovery greatly.
The journey of founding Puerto Rico TEC has been filled with many obstacles and many blessings. Although we remain hopeful that their first TEC weekend will happen in God’s time, we know that that is not going to happen on our original timeline. As people begin to reenter their own homes and continue the work of recovery and rebuilding, we must continue to support them with our prayers and gifts!
Seventeen Puerto Ricans have already traveled to experience TEC in the past few years. We have learned that they, as a community, have been putting together relief efforts and distributing supplies on the island under the name of TEC. These actions have convinced me that, despite there not being any actual retreats, Puerto Rico TEC is alive and exists as an active TEC community.
When a TEC center hosts a single retreat each year but does no follow-through nor provides a community for participants after the weekend, I worry about the health of that TEC. There, TEC is putting on retreats and exists as a program, but the spiritual movement is only partly realized. In Puerto Rico, the desire to host TEC retreats is strong, and it will happen! I was glad to hear that a priest, who is slated to serve as Puerto Rico TEC’s Spiritual Director, will be attending the next Miami TEC weekend in May. In the meantime, the community already has a sense of identity and has taken up the call to serve their neighbors. In my estimating, the TEC movement in Puerto Rico is alive, even in these days before a first TEC weekend.
Many TEC family members have prayed for and given financial gifts to support Puerto Rico TEC. Please continue to pray and give to this cause. We trust in God’s plan for TEC there and look forward to sharing news of when that first retreat does happen.