August 8

Good afternoon. Hot! Hot! Hot! The heat index each day is over 100 and the humidity is "por las nubes" ("sky high"). Everyone who has air conditioning is finding an excuse to stay inside. With record breaking July temperatures heating up the Atlantic, all eyes are looking east as we enter the annual danger period for hurricanes. Even two years, after "Maria", the island's infrastructure is fragile at best. We fight frequent blackouts and many roads still remain closed. Federal funds are slowly being released and not much can be done until that happens.

"Talento Escogido" (Chosen Talent)

I suppose many of you have seen the debacle concerning our ex-governor's corrupt cabinet. Over 1,200,000 people participated in a work stoppage to protest and demand his resignation. Presently, the Secretary of Justice is the new governor. Today she put a "hold" on some funds being released for electrical grid repairs until it can be verified there is no fraud involved. Unfortunately, fraud has been going on for years at many levels. Perhaps this fiasco will result in a house cleaning. We all certainly hope so.

Cooling down after church

Church news is limited this time. For years, July is a slow month for our church. So many people go on vacation and attendance drops till mid-August. Mary and I took a vacation as well. I got back from a missions trip to the Dominican Republic the end of June, after being there ten days, only to leave on vacation a week later. While we were gone our church members took their turn preaching and teaching.

Yesterday was the church's "Back to School" event; an effort to "collect" the members and renew energies after a busy summer. The duet, pictured above, presented a concert and gave an exhortation to the members. They did a beautiful job.

After the service, out on the church grounds, we quaffed 100 hot dogs and the kids enjoyed an afternoon on a water slide. Attendance was better, in the mid-eighties, but still a ways from where it should be. We expect things will get better soon. The youth are ramping up with a new leader after losing their sponsor to medical school. Youth Sunday is on the docket for September and a youth retreat in early November.

Train tunnel: A relic of the past, 1908

I continue to travel to the south side of the island, to the city of Ponce, to help plant a new church by preaching every third Sunday. Three of us take turns. On the way to Ponce, Mary and I finally located an old abandoned train tunnel which we had been looking for for several years. It was built in 1908 when sugar cane was king. There are three on the island, all built about the same time, and all on the western side of the island.

On to personal news. Mary is back to teaching at the university. Yesterday was her first full day back. I suspect she will be worn out by the end of the week. I am making plans to travel to the States for a couple of Sundays in early October. Perhaps I will be in your neighborhood.

I suppose that covers the highlights. Blessings!