Puerto Rico Mission: November 16 newsletter

Hi everyone. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We bought a turkey the other day. With inflation, the regular price now is $2.99+ a pound. Last year it was 99 lb. 😁😁. I am sure you have seen big price jumps as well. In spite of a year crazy inflation, we certainly have a very long list of things to be thankful for. I am sure you agree. We do hope your Thanksgiving holiday is delightful.

In the last month, since our last letter of Oct 11, I had the privilege of baptizing two people; a young woman age 26, and a gentleman age 80. According to some statistic I read long ago, the probability of baptizing an 80 year old man is about 1 in 1,000,000! His wife had been praying for years! Mary and I had been praying for him since January. Our impossibilities are God's opportunities.

Since October of 2021 I can count eleven new people who make our church their place of worship. Just last Sunday a couple came back for a second straight Sunday. Also, a retired couple visited us. Walked in of their own accord. I found out they live just right up the street from our church building. His last words were, "We are coming back." It would seem our attendance should be almost back to pre-Covid numbers...low 80s, but not so. We still hang between 50-60 most Sundays. We still have to deal with people moving away to other towns on the island and to the US....and some becoming disinterested. Wow, have times changed since I was a boy/young man. The "world's" allure is a never-ending battle. Most churches seem to face similar challenges. As I consider these battles all churches face, a hymn comes to mind. "Onward Christian Soldiers". So onward we march. We plant and water but God gives the increase.

We just finished with the Samaritan's Purse project. Our church, together with the employees of a pharmacy where my daughter-in-law works, filled 83 boxes. We are proud of that number! We also have been collecting used eye-glasses to be given away in a missions trip this summer by Santos Torres, a former member of the church and now the pastor at a church plant in the city of Ponce, PR. Our church is always eager and willing to help others.

A couple of weeks ago was "Pastors Day". The four pastor/elders of the congregation were honored by the congregation with special songs, gifts, deacons speaking of the elders and then a light lunch on the church grounds. It was a delightful occasion.

Samaritan's Purse

Quite a bit of my time has been organizing ourselves to help people who suffered loss in Hurricane Fiona this past September. The losses on the island ascended to 7.0 billion dollars. Most of the losses were a couple of hours from where we live so we have not seen most of the Hurricane's aftermath. Nevertheless, through contacts in those areas, we have been able to help several families who lost so much. We have bought washers, stoves, furniture and building materials. One of the Christian churches also received some help to replace a roof. These funds being used are, in part, from a grant from International Disaster Emergency Service. We also received a unexpected gift from a church in FL where a dear friend from high school days ministers.

Looking ahead; this Sunday the church celebrates Thanksgiving. It is an annual event for our congregation. Also, two weeks from now we will hold a ministries fair, a presentation of how people can be involved in the church and community. We had set this program aside for two years because of the pandemic crisis. Although considerable caution is still practiced in so many businesses, people are slowly taking off their masks and "venturing out" so to speak. It has been quite an ordeal here in PR

Well, I believe I have touched on the major events this past month. Blessings to you all! I have placed a few extra photos below.

Johnathan and Mary Reece

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