Sunday Highlight: July 12, 2026

Matthew Hembree serves with Send Relief Puerto Rico, where he trains and equips volunteer missionaries serving across the island. Each year, he works with 2,500 to 3,000 one-week volunteers, engaging them in ministry and coaching them through opportunities to serve local Puerto Rican communities.

Many islanders have lost hope due to financial crisis, political unrest, earthquakes, and repeated hurricanes. Matthew says volunteers often return to the mainland and realize people in their own communities are also searching for hope.

“Our world longs for stability and security, but all we see is chaos,” Matthew said. “For many families in poverty and recovering from disaster, the idea of lasting hope can be so foreign it’s not really in their lexicon. However, the life-changing hope of Christ has been sufficient for thousands of years, and it is still sufficient today. 

“We believe there is a hope that no earthquake can shake, no hurricane can blow away, no pandemic can weaken, and no financial or political distress can ruin. There is hope, and that has a name—Jesus.”

Pray that volunteers in Puerto Rico will recognize the call to make disciples in their local communities. 

---