December 8, 2020

Aguadilla town square

Good afternoon. Hope all is well with you. Mary and I are getting ready for Christmas around the house. There are just a few things left to decorate. Life has been pretty busy for us and we decorate little at a time as time permits. Mary has been supervising our granddaughter as she, like so many children, studies online from home. Mary has been spending her days, while supervising, getting ready for our granddaughter's fifteenth birthday party, a big deal in Puerto Rico. I don't know how many cross-stitched items she has done; party favors for many attending the event this coming summer. 

Mary and I were involved in a wreck a couple of weeks ago. We are mending with not too much more than a few strained muscles and a messed-up car. Eventually it will all get sorted out.

Downtown Aguadilla: Where we live

On to other things. We have again been blessed to be able to share groceries and personal items with twenty-five families in the church.  The items are donated by a food bank. After Mary and I have taken these items to the church members, I often have asked her, "What was the best moment in your day?" Always she replies, "Being able to bless people with these items that have been donated." I too like it for it provides us an opportunity to visit the church members at their homes, although we keep our distance because of the virus threat. So far no one in our church has been infected.  

Crowd on the lawn and in cars

At church we continue to take all precautions to limit the risk of infection. Since we are in PR we continue to meet outdoors on the church grounds. It requires a few to come early to put up the chairs, sound equipment, tables, etc. We now have been doing this seven months. As we all know, it will go on for some time to come. Attendance continues to hover around the 50%-60% of our normal church attendance. I suppose that is not too bad. I have heard the national average is around 30% to 35%.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we had a big crowd, the best we have had this year. We had a guest band present the program and that was followed up with a take-home Thanksgiving dinner. 

Thanksgiving: Invited musicians

Christmas is around the corner. There are special programs planned for the last two weeks of the year and the first week of the new year. So much of what we normally plan in the year has had to be suspended.  Perhaps this pandemic will blow over by mid-year and we can get back on schedule. Meanwhile "patience/perseverance" are the call-words. 

Mary and I send you Christmas greetings. Thanks for your interest in this ministry.

Johnathan and Mary

 

Crashboat: A favorite place to swim in town