January 17, 2022

Roast pig on
the grounds

Saturday we finally put away all of the Christmas decorations. Often because of Three Kings' Day (Epiphany), which falls on January 6, and then the Octavitas, which are extended Christmas celebrations with roots in Catholicism, the final "hoorah" in PR ended the 14th of January and THEN the last of the decorations came down, yes, at our place too. Christmas was delightful; very busy but delightful. With Mary substitute teaching till the 21st of December, Santa and his helper rushed to the stores, and at night, we did our part to ensure Amazon made its billions. With the supply-chain problem Santa lost his way on a few items. Humm, we haven't even missed them. 

After a fine day the 22nd of December, with the best crowd in two years, the church began the New Year with a special service January 2nd. We had scheduled a guest band to present a concert. But, due to Covid infections among the band members, they had to cancel at the last minute. So... we had an extended song service and I preached. Our worship director that day wrote a couple of Christmas carols for the occasion and one had a stanza which spoke about Mary and I. We were surprised and were delighted to be honored in the song. After the final "amen" the congregation was served a roasted pork prepared on the grounds and the church members brought in the side-dishes. The bakery supplied a cake. We planned for ninety and had seventy. Covid "ate us up"! 

Yesterday was a special day for the church. The church voted for two new deacons for a term of two years. Also, yesterday, we ordained two men as elders in the church. These are fine men who live out their faith in all ways. They have the full backing of the congregation. 

New Elders

This Wednesday we have a guest lecturer...Dr. Nereida Grafals. She will be teaching on the offices of the church for a few weeks. 

Looking on toward the end of this month and into February, the new deacons will be ordained next Sunday and a recognition of those who served for the past two years will also be done. Then, on the 30th, we will have a ministries fair; an event in which everyone signs up to participate in one or two ministries the church has planned for 2022. In past years we have had around 90% participation. We hope for the same response this year. Peeking into February, the youth have a retreat planned for the 4th through the 6th. Of course, the next Sunday, February 13, we will celebrate Friendship Day with a cake, a small token for everyone, and a special program built around love/friendship.

Covid has finally impacted PR in a major way. Over Christmas many traveled to the US and the Dom. Rep. and came back sick. Others dropped their guards and went to office parties, family celebrations, etc. resulting in the virus being scattered everywhere. We have had four church families sick. Our intention was to begin meeting inside again the second Sunday in January but the board postponed the move till this health crisis settles down. For a year and a half we have met in the front yard. Most seem to be happy with the arrangement.

That's it. Thanks for reading!

Johnathan and Mary 

Click to expand

Aguadilla Bay