Puerto Rico Mission: December 22, 2021

Christmas is upon us. First things first, Merry Christmas! This will be the last blog of the year. Thanks for following along in 2021. In this blog I will bring you up to date from just before Thanksgiving.

Our church, as a tradition, always celebrates Thanksgiving the Sunday before the actual date. This year to mark the occasion we invited a band to present a concert of Christmas music. Perhaps it seems early to you, but in the culture here, Christmas, even before Thanksgiving, is already being given a long gaze by many. By then, Christmas lights decorate many homes. So, a concert was a perfect way to mark the holiday season. Of course after the service we enjoyed turkey and some side dishes that would perhaps be unlike what you would eat at Thanksgiving; rice and pigeon peas, diced potatoes, "pasteles" (somewhat like tamales but made of green bananas and local spices. Dessert consisted of a type of coconut custard called "tembleque". The attendance was in the low eighties. With the Covid mess we normally don't see that good of an attendance.

Throughout the month of November I/we preached on the theme of giving thanks. Moving into December I began a series of messages related to Christ's first advent. Then, last Sunday, we celebrated Christmas as a congregation. Once again we had a guest band present a concert. They did a wonderful job. And, like at Thanksgiving, we had a church dinner to celebrate Christmas. This time it was roast pork and some customary side dishes. The attendance, shown to the side, was the best in two years; one-hundred and five. As the picture reveals we still meet outside. Presently we hope to finally return indoors the second Sunday in January... if the Omicron variant doesn't overtake the island. New restrictions are being put in place by the government. The rules here are much more stringent than in the mainland USA.

Traditional "pava" hats on
two "historic/hysteric" imports

Peeking two weeks ahead, the finale of the holidays is scheduled for the first Sunday in January. That day, once again we will have special music. Also, we will roast a pig on the church grounds and have a visit from the "Three Kings" with candy in their gift bags for everyone. It should be a great day.

On a personal note: Mary substituted as a Bible teacher for a private school in town. Years back Mary was the principal of the school. What was to be a few days evolved into 2 and a 1/2 months! The teacher had trouble with her pregnancy so Mary filled in till Christmas break. Christmas will be celebrated here in Aguadilla with our older son and his family and our daughter-in-law's family. Like in most every home, too much food, and more gifts than necessary will be the course for the day. Occasional excesses in limited measure are pretty nice aren't they! 😊

Until next time. God bless you!

Johnathan and Mary

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Photos of the Aguadilla area. Some taken by me and others by unlisted photographers. Double click to expand.