Big Plans for the Summer...

By faith we are making some big plan for this Summer..

Pastor Scott Florida from Michigan is bringing about 15 members of his youth group to help us down here in Puerto Rico. We hope to keep them all busy doing things that will enhance the work of missions here and will give the youth group an enthusiasm for missions that can be caught by others back home.

We have in mind: Painting the church, sanding and painting the fencing and protective iron work around the church and our Bible college, visiting an orphanage, holding a "Super-Saturday" one day VBS blitz, taking them out to pass out tracts and of course, visiting a beach, eating some Puerto Rican favorite food, seeing some sights and doing some shopping in Old San Juan.

One thing I like about visitors is that it gives us an excuse to have some fun down here! We sometimes go years without visiting a beach, etc.. So it is fun for us to revisit and show others some of the neat things on our mission field.

We are looking forward to a great time of ministry this Summer.

Please pray it will be so!

(Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.)

ALMOST everybody is happy...

I will be giving final exams for the next two days. Most of the students are happy with their grades...but for the rest, well at least it's Summer, so take a break and better luck next year.

I took the twins to the Mall today, just for some family time together, so they could have a break from homeschooling.

Tina should be coming back in a week. That will make it a month she has been gone. Her absence sure has been felt in our church, the college cafeteria and in our home.

Hurry on home Honey! We all miss you.

PS. Here is a song about a man missing his wife that I like, sung by a very talented street musician:

It's Mother's Day in Puerto Rico too.

We had a good Mother's day today in our missionary church up in the mountain region. What really pleased me is that everybody did a little something and that it all came together for a great Sunday.

Our Deacons' brother, Manuel, has been attending for about 2 months now, and he surprised me by showing up with a strawberry cheese cake and a box of red roses. He said, "This is something I got for the mothers of the church today." He brought a boom box and a CD of Mothers' day songs that was actually good and was pleased when we thanked him for contributing something to make the day more special for everyone.

A college girl brought an acrostic poem that spelled "Madre" and we read it during our announcement time. Her older sister bought the gifts for me. We called on kids to come and pass them out to the mothers. A woman and her two adult daughters decorated the church. Another family brought rice, beans and turkey for a luncheon. Almost everyone got to do something. It made for a good service and a lot of good feelings.

Hannibal Smith of the old "A Team" series used to say: "I love it when a plan comes together." I agree. But it is even better when we have a day when the church members make the plans and it all works out. Today was one of those good days.


PS. My mother passed away and Tina is still in Florida with our new grand-daughter, so Mother's Day in our home today is pretty low key. I did enjoy listening some Mom's day humour: here is a video of all the advice your Mother gives you in a day condensed to 2 min. 55 seconds and sung to the "William Tell Overture"

Final Exam Week. Are We Having Fun Yet?

School: Final Exam week.

Students may think I am mean, but they leave and I have to grade all of those papers! I am REALLY looking forward to the end of this school year. Then all I have to do is church planting, evangelism, mission team coordinating, Vacation Bible School...well, at least we will have some variety, if not a vacation this summer.

Church: Mothers Day

I am planning Mother's Day for our church, but without Tina here, it is challenging. It is dangerous to send a man on a mission to buy gifts for ladies. Believing this, I delegated the gift buying to a woman in our church. We are having a small catered luncheon, so the ladies won't have to pretend they like what the men make for them. Sometimes days like these do more for our church growth than our door to door visiting, so please pray all will go well.

Planning activities like this reminds me of Pascal's Prayer: “Lord, help me to do great things as though they were little, since I do them with Your power; and little things as though they were great, since I do them in Your name.”

Family: Anniversary

It's our 26th Anniversary! BUT...Tina is not here! Come home soon! I love her so much. Besides, I can't find my other sock!

PS: We did talk on the phone. I sent her some Chocolate Covered Strawberries and we shared some videos like this one.

Warning: May contain Sunlight and Sweetness.

No Swine Flu in Puerto Rico, but...

Dear People Who Plan on Visiting Us in Puerto Rico this Year,

There are NO cases of Swine Flu here. Puerto Rico is a lot further from Mexico than most of the US.

However, don't get overconfident, please take SOME precautions. Pack some Mosquito Repellent, Sun Tan lotion and whatever you usually need.

If you forget something, don't panic. We have WalMart, Walgreens and most of the other US type stores and we use the US dollar, so you can get what you need here.

Looking Forward to Your Visit,

Pastor Steve
OverLookedFields.com

New Arrival

Our Big News

Our big news! We are grandparents!

HANNAH FAITH KENNEDY was born at 8:35am in Pensacola, FL.

She is 7 lb. 2.8 oz and has long black hair. Mother Rachel and new Grandma Tina doing fine.

This Little Light of Mine...

This frog just tried to eat a lightning bug, like he was supposed to do. He followed the light, partook and felt a nice warm glow inside. Maybe it is a deep spiritual metaphor, or maybe it just means people leave their Christmas lights out way too long!