Scary Picnic: Tina Lost and Found

The church I pastor church here in Puerto Rico organized a picnic Saturday. It was a bit more exciting than we had planned for.

The first surprise was that we had to cross a river in our car and then descend a very steep mud and rock road.  We were in our old '92 Previa and I was worried about getting stuck. The car groaned a bit but finally made it. The site was very rustic but beautiful. But then I noticed a cow skull wedged between some vines and a tree. I had a sense that must be a pretty remote area for a whole cow to decay and leave its head in a tree and not have it removed by anybody.

We had a great lunch, then had games, and even a movie (we had a generator, projector and a bed sheet for a screen). But then I noticed Tina was missing. She was waiting to hear if our daughter Rachel had our new grandson yet, so she went searching for good reception for her cell phone. Tina found a hill and got through, but afterwards she took the wrong path coming back down and ended up in a dry river bed. She eventually got to the river and was trying to follow it back to where we had forded it earlier.

Four of our people went out looking for her, but had no luck. I  went down a road to the river and found a gap in the barbed wire fence and decided to just shout to see if she would hear me. She heard me the first time I called, but couldn't believe it, so she waited till I called again before she answered. I walked back to our camp with a very happy wife.

We got a lot of jokes about the lost sheep and the pastor who left all the others behind to go find her. But that is just what happened! We are glad the story had a good ending!

Sunday I felt a closer bond with our people. I think it is because of the shared experiences of fun, excitement and even danger. I am happy to be in a church where our members are more than just members. They are our friends.

PS. Rachel DID have her baby! Our new grandson. Our daughter Rachel is OK but had a last min. C-section due to the baby being sideways. Baby is doing fine now. Tina will fly in today and help for about 2 weeks. Stephen Ben Kennedy weighs in at 9 lbs 11 oz, born approx. 11:45 pm cst at sacred heart hospital in Pensacola,Florida 3-25-12