January 25

What a great year 2012 was! It ended on a high note and January 2013 continues to shower blessings. All throughout December the attendance hovered around one-hundred and even climbed to one-hundred and thirty-seven. Then the first Sunday of January we had one-hundred and eighteen for church.

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In review, last year saw two-hundred and eighteen first-time visitors. Several new families started to make the church their church home. Others moved away to the States or to other parts of the island. I am always amazed at the constant turnover from year-to-year. Of those who visited, some were added to the Body of Christ. Others have yet to make a decision. We had some wonderful attendances throughout the year to the point that we had to put up overflow chairs down the center aisle of the auditorium.  

In June, our church Missions Ministry made its fifth trip to the Dominican Republic. Eight of us teamed up with a mission team from the Farragut Christian Church, Knoxville TN. We taught, gave gifts, preached, painted, cleaned and tried to bless as many people as we could. Here, locally, the Benevolence Ministry blessed four existing institutions with teaching, gifts and needed items used in their work. From the church budget MANY people were helped out. Life is hard for so many here. The real Puerto Rico is not the tourist destination as seen on TV. It is a tough place to live with high prices and low wages. We also hosted five mission teams from KY who made a major impact on the lives of many with their work projects.

Looking into 2013, our church once again hosted the annual youth retreat. What started out to be a retreat for only our kids expanded to include five churches with a total of fifty-two campers and staff. The word out is that it was the best youth retreat EVER.

Next month is the island-wide women’s retreat as well as Children’s Day, always a favorite in the church calendar. We believe this year will be a banner year and are excited to see what He will do among us.

Until next time...

Johnathan and Mary