September 19, 2023

Hello from Puerto Rico. I was going out to cut our grass when two men showed up to do some work on our emergency solar power plant. It was a great excuse to delay doing the lawn, at least until it cooled down. So, next on my list of "to do" jobs was this blog. Back to the emergency solar power plant; six years ago almost to the day, Hurricane Maria devastated the island. It was the worst hurricane in 70 years in PR and one of the worst the US has ever had to deal with. In the aftermath of Maria we (the whole island) were without power for four months. There was no water for two. And there was no gasoline for a LONG time so, home generators could not be used. And of course there was no telephone service as well. It was tough. Ever since, everybody stocks up on water, canned food, cash, and gasoline at this time of the year. Mary and I also added an emergency solar/electrical plant that activates automatically if the power fails for any reason. 

What has been going on at church? Attendance is up, climbing to the mid-70's. Two couples placed their membership this past week and are eager to plug in, in any way they can. The ladies were raised in our church but left after they were married. Circumstances brought them back to the church with husbands and children in tow. Another couple with a small child is also meeting regularly with us. The leadership and I have been praying for months that God would bring new people to our congregation, particularly younger adults. We will continue to pray accordingly. We certainly want the church to endure long after we have gone on to be with our Lord. 

September 3rd, we had a guest speaker, a missionary to Cuba. The speaker, although he lives in PR, has made ten trips to Cuba. One of our church members is going on the next trip set for October 16. After the presentation, we asked how we could help. We were given two options: Supply personal items or provide an offering to buy needed items and feed families ($25.00 buys a month of food for a family). Yesterday we took up an offering and the tally was around $700.00. This church is a missions-minded church. On many occasions we have supported missions trips made by our members and supported special needs in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Indonesia, to name a few. Locally, we are constantly helping people as requests for aid come our way.

 This past Friday we hosted a marriage workshop. We had a good turnout, just one short of thirty people. The speaker was excellent. He held everyone captive for at least an hour. As I sat in the back, I saw a lot of positive body language as he shared principles of successful marriages. Coming up this Sunday a guest evangelist is to speak. He spoke last year and did a great job. I am sure he will bless the congregation once again. We are praying to that end. 

 Mary and I will be traveling to the US in mid-October to speak to several congregations in Tennessee and Illinois. Fall should be at its peak. It has been years since we have seen autumn leaves and felt cool days. We look forward to it! I believe this wraps it up. Until next time…

 

Johnathan and Mary

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