Will it hit?

Hurricane to close for comfort! Tomorrow Frances is supposed to pass 75 miles to the North of us. But just a little variation and we could get the full force of its 125-155 mile an hour winds! Our college students have been studying so hard they were surprised to learn how close it is coming. I will have to cancel visitation Tuesday night and spend all day preparing the house for a possible hit.

Rejoice Radio

Rejoice Radio

This is a great radio station. It is from Pensacola Christian College.

Creating something new!

I just got a new program! Today I downloaded the 30 day trial version of Dreamweaver MX 2004, a Web page creation program. I hope to use it to create a good website to promote missions among the overlooked Spanish Speaking people in the US. For a preview of the unfinished site, go to: OverlookedFields.net

Two Hurricanes Miss but More on the Way

Sometimes we feel like the front pin in a bowling ally. We see the hurricanes come full blast at us and often veer off and miss us at the last moment. Even when we are missed it creates a good deal of stress. We need to prepare for the near misses just as well as for the direct hits. Your prayers for our safety are important! Hurricane season peaks in mid-September, but lasts until November.

I have gone to the trouble of getting a FCC Amateur Radio License so I can call for help during disasters, but lack a radio (My FCC designations is: Technition Plus, KA7URH). They are rather expensive ($400-2000) and since we have other priorities, we have not been shopping for one. My hope is that we could borrow or be offered a used radio by some Christian ham radio operator. If you know of anyone that could help us, please pass on our request. They can even come and help me set it up!

Things are Looking-Up!

The connection between our Bible College ministry and our Church Planting ministry has become a great blessing to our church and to the students involved. Our Bible College has started and I am training two of the students at our church: a Peruvian named Tulio and a student from Spain named Adrian. They spend the week-ends at our home, visit with me Saturday and help with the Youth Group on Sunday. They are a blessing to our church and we hope the training they receive here will be a blessing to them as they enter the ministry.

Tulio is from Peru and worked with us last year. He spent the summer helping his father start a church in North Carolina, where his family has immigrated. Adrian is from southern Spain. His father was born in Spain, but raised in Australia. His dad moved to California, married and then went on to Spain as a missionary. Adrian was born and raised in Spain, but has come to our Bible college in Puerto Rico to prepare himself for the ministry. We are glad they came!

Happy Birthday to Bethany! Bethany and Rachel left home for Pensacola Christian College this summer. They are both working on campus in the Abeka Book Distribution center. Today Bethany is 19! This is her first Birthday away from home. We are happy they are in a good place, but miss them very much. 

Meningitis Outbreak Reaches 320 Cases.

Meningitis Outbreak reaches 320 Cases.
The meningitis outbreak is still going strong. The towns on all four sides of our town have cases, but so far we have been spared. People are fearful, but the outbreak has produced some good side effects. The schools are actually being required to have working bathrooms, soap and water. This is a big step forward here. I hope the new practice will outlast the meningitis outbreak.

How did a CANADIAN get into my class !?

I met my new students Monday and I am very pleased. I have students from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, San Salvador, California, Nebraska and one Canadian. Our lone Canadian is the daughter of refugees who fled Nicaragua during the Cuban aided communist warfare of the 1980's. She was born in Costa Rica and when she was 3 months old her parents immigrated to Canada.

It is odd to think that I have a student in my class because of what Fidel Castro decided to do during the Reagan administration. I can see that there is a grand design in the universe more powerful than Fidel. I am glad that the Lord has brought His own plans into action by leading so many quality young people to prepare themselves for the work of missions and church planting at Puerto Rico Baptist College.

(The student in the photo is Rosalin, a girl from the Dominican Republic. She immigrated with her parents to South Carolina. Even though Rosalin was working as a successful salesperson at a computer store there, she decided to come to our Bible College here in Puerto Rico and prepare herself to become a Christian School teacher. This photo is from our summer camp where she was a great help caring for the younger campers.)
 

Helping Hands Ministry

Helping Hands Ministry
Here are some free Sunday School lessons in English and Spanish.

The last two hurricanes missed us. But now we worry when they miss us and head up towards Pensacola, FL where Bethany and Rachel are at Pensacola Christian College. We are watching the weather reports much more often now during hurricane season!
 

Ants in our Pants!

Ants in Our Pants!

Last night my deacon and I visited the apartment of a lady who came to our church recently. We were not seated long when I noticed Luis shaking his pants leg. Soon he was standing up and shaking both his legs. The woman we were visiting said, "I am sorry, the whole apartment complex here is infested with biting ants. How about if we move the table?" So we got up and moved the kitchen table about ten feet and continued our bible study. But not before I had to do a little leg shaking myself. Luis said he hoped we would not have to do a dance to get rid of the ants. He said he was out of practice after being a Baptist for so many years. I am glad to hear that!

The good news is that the woman has made a profession of faith and wants to be baptized. So, in spite of ants in our pants, the Lord still brought glory to himself!

New Church Building Needed!

We are renting a church building that is a nice place, but has some problems. We have very little parking and this is limiting our growth. We hope to buy a piece of land with a house on it and remodel it into a church. We are doing the evangelism, but our visitation is hindered because of the difficulty new people have trying to find parking.

We would appreciate any help you could give us. We need about twenty thousand for a down payment or about $180 thousand for a cash purchase. We are paying $500 a month rent that we would prefer to use in ministry or improving our own church building. If you can take a part in making this happen, please let us know. Email us at: Prelgovisk@Yahoo.com

Bible College Attendance Breaks a Record!

We are thrilled that Fifty students are planning to come to Puerto Rico Baptist College this year! We have 43 students registered for the fall semester and expect another eight after Christmas. Some of our Mexican students are having trouble with their visas but most of them have been cleared to attend. The school is getting crowded! We hope, that with your help, we can build a second floor on the men's dorm soon.

A note of praise: The neighbors sold their property and removed the chain link fence, leaving our school without one. We estimated the cost of a new fence would be about three thousand. We have $1,500 for this, but need help for the remainder. Today at lunch Dr. Casillas, the Puerto Rican college president, opened a letter and hollered "Hallelujah!" right in my ear. He showed us a $1,000 check that came to help us get our fence! What is even more thrilling is that it came from a Puerto Rican church here on our island! I love it when the mission churches graduate, turn around and help the work of missions!

Saint Day Party in Comerio

Patron Saint Festival
This week Comerio celebrates the fiesta of "El Santo Cristo de la Salud" (The Holy Christ of Health). We all walked into town to see it.

Each town in Puerto Rico celebrates patron saint festivals (fiestas patronales) in honor of their saint. The day represents when the first Catholic church was founded in each town. They believe that when the birthday of a Saint is celebrated, that Saint is honored and grants special grace to those celebrating. Our town had a beauty contest, a parade and a display of all the new police vehicles, followed by a prayer. But the biggest activity I saw going on was the carrying of beer cans.

I have a hard time understanding how a saint is honored when he is prayed to Sunday, followed by a week of beer drinking and partying in his name. I know of another fiesta, a better party. I know that our Father in heaven is holy and desires His children to be like Him and rejoices when a sinner repents. Then even the angels party! That is the one I want to go to!

Visitation and an Appendicitis

We were surprised Sunday when one of our faithful teenagers went to the hospital. He was suffering from appendicitis symptoms. I went to visit my deacon Monday night and both of us then went to the hospital to see him. We found his bed empty and returned to the parking lot. I was a little worried about the situation because this same family lost two members within the last year. We were happy to find them in the parking lot just getting ready to return home. The young man really did have an appendicitis and underwent surgery. The entire family of eight were sitting in their mini van eating pizza. We stopped by and joined the celebration!

Afterward we visited two more homes. One visit was to a large family who used to come a lot. We were able to present a good bible study in their home last night and it was well received by the eight people who live there. One of the family is a 22 year old college girl that was saved and baptized in our church about two years ago. We have prayed and visited this family a lot. We hope they will return to us soon. 

Outbreak Worsens. Preaching to Encourage

Meningitis outbreak worsens. I was worried today when the teenager who takes our offering was sick. His entire family of six went to the hospital. It appears to be an appendicitis type of ailment. Everybody is on edge because of the meningitis outbreak. There are 118 cases to date with 500 expected. I think three have died so far. One was an 11 year old boy. School was scheduled for Aug. 4th, but now may be delayed until the disease outbreak is under control.

I preached a sermon on Psalms 91 about security, danger and courage. I was encouraged by a line I read from the new Jeanette Windle book "Firestorm", "Safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of God." Thanks, Jeanette, we needed that today. And thank you, God, for Psalms 91! 

Toad trauma!

Invasion of the Toads! OK, I know it sound like we are always talking about animal invasions, but it has been one of those weeks where we are getting a lot of strange visitors! This poisonous Cane Toad is sharing cat food with our cat. The cat isn't too happy about it, but it's a pretty big toad! That's a piece of cat food on its head. If a dog or cat bites it, they often die afterwards. They are so big that it discourages our pets from bothering them!

Cane Toads are heavy-built and weigh an average of up to 4 lbs and measure from 4-9 in. They can live for 10 years. We aren't sure if we should get rid of it or name it. I suggested "Toady" but Tina seems resistant to the idea.

Cane Toads were brought to Puerto Rico to eat bugs that were damaging the sugar cane harvest. They eat almost anything, such as small lizards, frogs, birds, fish, mice, bees, worms, beetles and even younger Cane Toads. They are also known to steal food from dogs and cats like ours if their food dishes are left outside.