April 27, 2015

Pantomime ministry for Missions Day

Good morning. There are several good things to share beginning with the celebration of the church's second International Day of Missions, held April 19. This year our focus was El Salvador and Haiti. The speaker was Jaffet Pérez, one of the ministers in Puerto Rico. He does some missionary work in those two countries. We had a good attendance of one-hundred and nine.

Speaker for Int. Day of Missions

I want to make you aware that the Aguadilla congregation, from your perspective, is a mission church. However, from the church members' and our perspective, it is a missionary sending church. Although we concentrate a healthy portion of the church budget on helping people/institutions in Puerto Rico, we do focus on missions off-island. The church has made five mission trips to the Dominican Republic to teach seminars, hold health clinics, preach, do VBS's, teach in schools, paint, clean, give gifts to children, etc.

Santos Torres ministering in the DR

Furthermore we support those who go. Santos Torres is a case in point. Santos, one of the leaders in the church here, along with three others from another church in the area, over the Easter week, made a trip to the southwest corner of the Dominican Republic to preach and teach. Our church, along with several other churches and individuals, helped supply resources to bless approximately five-hundred children in seven churches.

On to other things: At the end of the service April 19, I had the privilege to baptize a gentleman who had been attending our church for several years. I married him and his mate the week before and then helped him obey the Lord via Christian baptism.

Youth leaders and campers

Yesterday, our youth and three adults (a total of twenty...the best attendance ever) came back from their annual youth retreat in the mountains. This year the focus was on exalting Christ as Lord in their hearts. One of our young adults that works as a youth leader gave his first message ever. I could not be prouder of him.

I stayed at the church in Aguadilla to ensure the service went well although my talents were needed more as a musician than that of a preacher. Julio Irizarry, a brother that has been meeting with us for several months, who has pastoral experience, delivered the message. Santos, whom I mentioned earlier, was supply preaching in one of the churches on the island without a pastor. So, this past weekend our church members were scattered across the island trying to advance the Kingdom. Such things give me great satisfaction.

That's it!  God bless you. I will write again after Mothers' Day.

Johnathan and Mary