June 1, 2020

Services outdoors

Good afternoon on this beautiful day of June 1st. We are now at the two and a half months mark of dealing with COVID 19. The government is slowly opening up Puerto Rico. Churches, since May 24, have been able to meet. Until then, NO ONE was allowed to even be off their property on Sundays except for emergencies.  Quarantine and required face masks with stiff fines for violations has been strictly enforced in PR. The result is we have had a lower percentage of infections and deaths than most States. It is impressive considering the island is densely populated; not unlike a large US city. Back to the story line--most churches waited until yesterday to have their first service, and few have yet to meet. Every church is different with its unique set of challenges. We met yesterday.

Mary checking temperatures a 
"must" to attend services. 

Since until June 15 we are only allowed a crowd of 25% of the church building's capacity seating, our church opted for having its start-up service outside, on the church grounds. We have plenty of space so social distancing was not a limiting issue. We did change the hour to 9:00 AM to reduce the risk of rain and to limit sun exposure. It turned out well. The attendance was about half of our usual 75-90 Sunday head count, but it was expected. Energy was high and it was all we could do to not hug and kiss each other. Since we do not know to what extent this virus will continue, we also bought an FM radio transmitter so people can come to the church property and listen to the service while remaining in their cars if they so wish. That system should be up and running by mid to late-June. We are unsure how long we will meet outside. The circumstances will dictate. Of course, we will listen to the wishes of the church members and act accordingly.

I looked at the church calendar yesterday. It is in shambles 😕, like everywhere I suppose. Five major events were canceled in March-May. However, "this too  shall pass" and then we will move forward again.

Also, our church continues to follow the plan of dividing the congregation in to nine groups of five or six families. Each Saturday all families are called and given any announcements as well as synchronized scriptures to read. The call is concluded with a prayer. During the week we have a couple of groups (women and youth) using ZOOM and we record the Sunday message and put it, as well as a devotional thought, written by our church members, on Facebook.  The interest has been surprisingly good.

With the church unable to meet, we have also decided to do some maintenance on the building with a fresh coat of paint and we cleared fence rows/property lines as well. It has provided a job for a couple of men with ties to the church who have been unemployed because of the virus.

An unexpected blessing has been the participation with a local food bank in distributing food to hundreds of people. Twenty-five thousand additional family units have applied to the government for food stamps. It reflects the high unemployment (around 37%) crisis we are facing in PR. The pandemic has taken its toll on our economy just like in the US. Four times we have been able to give food to church members and people in need. It is a high point in our day when we can bless people unexpectedly.

I might add a few have given us cash gifts to help those hit hard by rampant unemployment. Many thanks to those people!

Orchid from my yard.

Mary is in her last month of work. She officially has her last day on June 30th. However, grades were turned in as of last week, so now she is just waiting. I am so proud of my dear wife. She is a trouper and has pulled her weight for years to make our personal budget balance. She has my highest praise and thanks!

Until next time, to God be the glory and thanks for His provision and above all, His presence regardless of the circumstances that swirl around us. Blessings to all!


Johnathan and Mary Reece