Fun Day, and What's so Fun about it.

We took some young people to a "Fun Day" and tried out a new game called "Defend the Castle." The fun part of the day for me was this: I taught some of the teachers that are now teaching these kids. Now they are teaching me something new. What fun!

I explain about the game at about the 3 minute mark on the video clip.

When the Past Catches Up to You and It's Good!

My classroom full of young people getting a great message from a "young" person I helped to train at Puerto Rico Baptist College. Good memories from the past and a great ministry opening up before our eyes in the present make us exited and full of hope for the future.

30 years Married, 20 years Missionaries

 Tina and I discovered, early in our married life, the joy of giving to others. We have given the last 20 years in service as missionaries to Puerto Rico. We are very happy on our "mission field" but to us, it has become "home."

People think it is a life of sacrifice, and so it is. But it is just that kind of life that is worth living, and also give the greatest satisfaction.

Being married for 30 ears is worth a celebration too. We are trying to think of a good way to celebrate. But our problem is, we are already happy doing what we are doing and can't think of anything more fun to do. A trip to a tropical island and a nice sandy beach? We live on one and can go for free. A nice hotel and a big meal out? We don't like spending money on hotels and Tina likes her own cooking better.

 So what to do? Maybe we will get the house a new piece of furniture that we can both enjoy. Better yet, if we can afford it, maybe we could fly the Twins down here for their one week vacation from the college work program in Pensacola.

 The best way to celebrate is to share the fun with others. Please do yourself a favor and give of yourself to support the work of missions. When you do that, you will feel what we feel, and that is something worth celebrating.

One-Way Tickets To Florida: Puerto Ricans Escape Island Woes

I knew it was true before I heard it was true.

In visiting door to door, talking to people in the street or trying to make medical appointments, this phrase kept popping up: "They just moved to Orlando..."

It is so significant now that NPR radio just made a four part special just on this one topic.

It is affecting our ministry. But not just negatively, as I feared.

It is true that a significant part of what I would call prospective members for our church have moved or are planning a move to the States. While some have moved to Texas, New York and Connecticut,  the vast majority of them are relocating on the I-4 corridor,  a strip of central Florida that extends from Tampa to Orlando on continues on a bit towards Daytona Beach.

At first I was unhappy to lose some good prospects and some good mature Christians as well.  But I am happy that our work here has meant that a number of these immigrants are now good Christian people and will join churches of like faith and practice and help them grow.

This opens up the way for a new kind of ministry: Referring Puerto Ricans to good churches in the States and helping churches in the States minister to the incoming Puerto Ricans (and other Spanish speaking peoples).

Giving back is a lot of fun. We have been blessed  in receiving help, now we get to experience giving help to some good churches and helping those who have helped us.

Please pray for our ministry here. We need your help. We still have a lot of Puerto Ricans to reach before they move to the USA mainland, and we would like as many of them as possible to arrive saved, baptized, discipled and ready to serve the Lord in some good churches.

A Quick Quote from Ken Lynch at Our Pastor's Fellowship

A picnic table surrounded by a couple of missionaries and one evangelist can be a pretty fun place to be. It is also an intellectually stimulating and a spiritually uplifting place to be, given the great people who gathered there today. 

Evangelist Ken Lynch shared a quote with us during our Pastor's Fellowship on the mission field of Puerto Rico that got me thinking. Here is a short clip of it. The iPod video is a bit shaky, but it will give you a sense of the fun we had together.

Evangelist Ken Lynch Plays the Violin for Us

Evangelist Ken Lynch came to Puerto Rico to help a missionary friend of mine with an evangelistic campaign.  They both came to our Pastor's Fellowship today. Ken gave the devotions and we were treated to an impromptue violin concert in the carport where we had our pot luck dinner.

I recorded one of the songs on my Ipod and posted it here to give you a sample of the blessings we had. It is hard being away from "home" (the USA) but that makes visits like this all the sweeter.Thank you Ken Lynch for being a blessing to us this week.

An Open Letter of Thanks for a Special Gift

Dear Friends at Grace Baptist Church,

We heard from our home office at Continental Baptist Missions that a special gift of $50 came in from Grace Baptist Church, Paso Robles, CA. Please pass our thanks on to the church and to whoever designated it toward our work here in Puerto Rico.

It is true our family has needs. It is also true that our greater family, our brothers and sisters in Christ, are providing what we need to survive and thrive out here on the mission field.

May God Bless and Prosper You All Accordingly,

Steve and Tina Prelgovisk
URB SIERRA BAYAMON | 33-15 CALLE 31 | BAYAMON, PR 00961-4365 USA

PS. Our mission agency has posted a new "Financial Support Declaration" document online that can be printed out and mailed in for those who wish to make a official written declaration of support. Phone and email contact information is available on the CBM web site for those who wish to declare a gift through those means.

Thank you to those who are helping "Hold the Rope!"