September 20, 2019

Expected during Dorian

Hello from Aguadilla, PR. I thought I would write a line or two and let you know we are well and happy in spite of hurricane and storm scares.  All of us watched in horror as Dorian tore apart some of the Bahamas. It reminded us of Hurricane Maria's destruction two years ago... to the day. So much damage was seen but not as severe as in the Bahamas where the construction evidently is not as solid as in PR. As for us and Dorian,  the storm was marching right toward PR and was projected to exit PR right through Aguadilla, where we live. However, perhaps as you know, it veered north at the last hour and went near St. Thomas. The first picture you see is what we had expected, and the second one is what we actually saw the evening the storm passed by. Although of course we desire no harm for anyone, we are grateful that we were spared. We have about a month to go before the danger drops considerably. This time of year we keep a month of canned food and water on hand, as well as solar and battery powered lights and generators within reach.

The night Dorian passed by us

Our attendance is finally picking up after languishing for several months. Vacations are coming to an end and people are settling into the "back-to-school" mode. Several visitors sprinkle the congregation most Sundays. It is encouraging.

In many ways our congregation is like all congregations everywhere. People struggle with life's issues; a variety of relational struggles, sickness/death, and joblessness, fears and anxieties, etc.. Someone said the Bible is always up to date because human nature never changes. So whether one is in PR or wherever, in many ways, life and thus ministry is the same. The language and culture certainly vary but the needs of the human soul remain constant.

Without going into lengthy details about ministry and the church here, we always have several ways in which people can plug in if they wish; woman's prayer group, women's society, youth group, Jr. church, benevolence, missions, music ministry, greeters/ushers, church building/grounds maintenance, Bible study mid-week, visitation, community outreach, and so forth and so on. It is a biblical concept based on Ephesians 4 as well as a few other passages.

Our Community Outreach ministry is going to be working this Saturday cleaning up a house for an elderly woman. We hope to have a group of 5-7 work for a few hours. We will let you know how it went.

Another way our church ministers is through gifts of generosity to those in need. It is not uncommon to see a third to even half of the monthly offerings used to help people in crisis. Just this morning I sent a check for $500.00 to IDES to help them assist the people in the Bahamas. I should add that IDES was very kind to our island after Hurricane María. Earlier this month the church also gave $500.00 to a church member who's child is mentally and physically challenged. The child had to have an emergency colostomy and then additional surgery.

The youth are in charge of the worship service the 29th of this month. They will handle the entire program. Our youth leader felt compelled to resign because of advanced medical studies and we were fortunate to have another young man of our congregation take on the task. I am delighted with him; a young man of high values and a clear head.

Well, I suppose I should stop. Thanks for reading the blog.