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!

No Guts, No Glory

What does it take to succeed as a missionary in Puerto Rico? I would like to say it is intellegence and skill. But mostly it is getting outside and meeting new people.

It can be pretty scary sometimes to just walk up to someone and share the gospel, especially when you anticipate a negative response. But if you don't have the guts, they won't get to glory!

I was inspired by the nerve of some street musicians, who risk (and get) ridicule, but keep at it. My favorite is Grandpa Elliot. It just goes to show you, that even an old guy can get a message across, if he has the guts to do it.

PS. Our anniversary is coming up (May 7th). Grandpa Elliot and other street musicians do a great version of "Stand by Me" a favorite song of Tina and I when we were dating.

Six countries for lunch

We don't have to go far to have a missions conference at our Bible college. Here are five of my students having a little informal fellowship. These five come from five different countries. Add a teacher from the USA and we can have a mini-missions conference every time we have coffee together!

These are just 5 of the 40 or so students we have this semester. They are great guys and give us hope for the future of missions. The future looks bright with quality students like these in our classes.

Please pray for them. They need about $500 a month for room, board, books and tuition. This is a bargain by today's standards, but still pretty steep for many of them.

From left to right:

Ricardo - St Lucia. Trilingual. Christian ed major, talented cook.
Goal: Christian business man. Hopes to have a 5 star restaurant

Dave - Born in Paraguay, raised in Nebraska. Great at personal evangelism. Mechanic also.
Goal: Missions

Bairo - Colombia. Talented preacher.
Goal: Missions

Roque - Puerto Rico. Father is a pastor and licensed psychologist.
Goal: Christian School teacher.

Irving - Born in Peru, raised in Spain.
Goal: Pastoral training AND Secondary Education. Great with Youth groups.

College Kids Having Fun

College kids are under a lot of stress, so it's nice to have some fun once in a while. We have a couple of "crazy days" during the year to help them have that fun. We had an "Animal day" and a "Super Hero" dress up day this last school year.

The kids loved it and it really boosted their morale. The French call it "Esprit de corps," but we just call it "cheering up the students." Whatever you call it, even Bible college kids need some fun once in a while! I'm glad they had a good time.

Odd Compliment

This week has been busy. It started with a funeral and sharing the Gospel with some people and ended with a field trip with my daughters. In between, I taught at our Bible College, taught some High School, and wrote a sermon. I also did the glamorous missionary work of picking beer bottles and trash out of the churches' flower bed, all the while being careful to not to encounter hypodermic needles that are found all to often on the ground.

Today, Sunday, I preached about Christ being with us in our ordinary days. After the service I went to shake hands with a church member and he said, "Hey, give me a hug. That was a great sermon!" I usually don't expect an after sermon hug, so that was a new one for me.

On the way home my wife said, "I only got 3 hours sleep last night because of a sewing project. But your sermon was so interesting, it woke me up and kept me awake all the way to the end!"

Well, if you get hugs and can keep your wife awake during your sermon, that means you had a good day. They come by once in a while. I'm sure glad they do.

Getting More Then Expected

We had a good service Sunday. Among the 31 people in the service were a couple I had been visiting for years and finally came. Not only that, they came back for the next service. When I introduced the couple to the congregation, they spoke up and said they planned on being with us on a regular basis!

There was a surprise waiting for me after the service. One of our lady members asked to speak to me after the church service. She is an older woman who cleans the church Saturdays, and recently we decided to give her some financial help. I expected her to talk to me about some financial need. Instead she gave me something.

She said, "You were with my father when he died. I found this when I was cleaning out his things. I would like you to have it." She handed me a small guitar case. Inside was a Puerto Rican Cuatro, an island instrument that is like a cross between a guitar and a mandolin.

I was stunned. I have wanted one of these unusual instruments for years, but could never afford one. And here was a woman we were helping, who in turn gave a totally unexpected gift. I went home smiling that Sunday!

Working and seeing results is great. But getting a nice surprise once in a while isn't bad either!

My Half of the Orange

In Spanish "my better half" is expressed by "Mi media naranja" or "my other half of the orange." It sounds odd, but oranges are sweet, nice looking, smell good and people squeeze them...I probably should stop here.

My "media naranja" Tina is really doing wonders at keeping things going down here in Puerto Rico. I am able to work as a church planter and teacher because she works to keep our home, cooks at our Bible college, plays piano and clarinet in the church, all while homeschooling our two daughters and taking care of me.

Wow. How does she do it? Maybe it's all that chocolate I keep in the refrigerator. Whatever it is, she is doing it and do it all well.

BUT she is going to go to Pensacola, Florida for FOUR weeks to be with our daughter Rachel when our first grand-baby arrives, about the first week of May. I am happy she can go and enjoy this time, but permit me to feel a little sorry for myself thinking of a month missing that important half.

In the meantime, we will be preparing for a visiting team of teens from Alpine Baptist Church so I will have that, Tina's return and grand baby pictures to look forward to! OK I feel better now!

Please pray for Rachel's delivery, expenses, Tina's trip, and the expanding ministry here in the months ahead.

Tina Cornered by Charging Iguana!

My wife Tina was in the kitchen at the college preparing a meal while the students were in chapel. A good sized iguana lizard, about 4 feet long, chose that moment to wander onto our small Bible college campus. When chapel was over, the students headed to the cafeteria for lunch and scared the iguana. It ran into the kitchen, straight towards Tina, cornering her by the sink.

Terrified, she ran out of the kitchen screaming. She had to run toward the charging iguana, to reach the only exit. The students came in and some tried to catch it. The iguana scrambled behind the stove and up onto the pots and pans shelf, rattling and banging them around as it tried to hide itself.

The surprises were not over yet! Some of our tough looking guys were standing on chairs. One of my female students came in calmly and got a sports jacket from someone and headed over to the kitchen. This girl is about 5 feet even, if that. She is so quiet that after a semester teaching her, I am not sure what her voice sounds like. This same girl threw the coat over this hideous, sharp clawed, spiney-backed, whip-tailed thing and carried it outside like it was nothing!

You know, you think you know about people, but you just never know!

Well, everybody had a good laugh and Tina got back into the kitchen and we got the kids fed. We considered adding Iguana to the menu (Puerto Ricans have been known to barbeque the tails) but Tina said we had had enough iguana for one day and had to draw the line somewhere!

A Preacher gets on a bus...

A friend sent me this story. It tells a great truth about being successful in working for Christ:

===
A preacher from out-of-state went to a church in Houston, Texas to begin a new ministry. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.'

Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change.'

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?'

'Yes" he replied.

'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'
=

I think this is a scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! It makes me fear that personal failings will hurt our work as missionaries.

On the other hand, there is a great flip-side. When we pass tests like this, allowing God to change us, God may work through us to bring about change in others, their communities and their churches.

The story suggests there is a "Win-Win" strategy for evangelism. It might be summed up in a slogan like: Building Better Churches by Becoming Better Christians.

Let's try it and see if it works!

The Non-Suicide Surprise

I was preaching Sunday and saw a man lingering around the front door of the church with a big smile on his face. I recognized him as Mike, a man who I had helped 3 years ago when he was struggling and in danger of committing suicide. I had invited Mike to church, he promised he would someday, but never did.

I motioned for him to enter and he came in. Mike said, "Pastor, Today I am keeping my promise." I stopped my sermon and introduced Mike to the church. After the service, we had a time of food and fellowship and spoke to Mike. He had a church bible under his arm and said, "The Bible really is interesting, isn't it? I would like to learn more about it." I knew Mike was raised in New York and could read in English better, so I took him aside and gave him an English bible and a mini-course on how and were to start reading.

Mike left the church Sunday with a bible tucked under his arm and a big smile on his face. It was encouraging to see the visitation we did three years ago made for positive and surprising results so many years down the road. It encouraged me to see our efforts in the past were not wasted, but continue working changes in the lives of others while we were unawares. It also makes us hopeful that other good things are on their way right now!

That smile Mike has on his face was contagious. I saw that it spread around our church. I still have mine!

Big Change in 2009?

I found a great picture of a totally destroyed Dog Training Video Program that had been given as Christmas present to a dog owner whose dog obviously needs it. It made me wonder if the dog said to himself, "I am NOT going to be trained! No! No changes for me this year!"

I hope we deal with change better than that. We might have to. We saw a sign, literally, a sign, that may mean a change for us this year.

Last Sunday, a lady in our church said, Hey! Look! There is a "For Sale" sign on the church!

I went out and looked. I saw a sign on the left front corner and then saw another on the top right corner. We learned that the owner had some reverses and hopes to sell soon.I prayed for a sign from the Lord regarding our church this year. I got two!

We talked about this with our church members and the conversations more or less said one or the other of the following:

A. Better to jump than be pushed. Let's find a place and leave when we can instead of when we have to. Who is going to come to a church that has a "For Sale" sign on it!

B. We have a good deal here. They might not ever sell this place. And if they do, we can save money till then and have enough to get a better place.

Please pray with us. We see the wisdom of moving but the banks want a 20% down payment for property down here in Puerto Rico and our church has eight thousand in the bank. We would need twenty thousand for a down payment on a moderate home we might be able to make into Church later. There is a great ex-tavern that we would love to get, but it is $500K. It seems way out of our reach.

We have faith, but Jesus said that a builder should also make sure there is enough to finish the job before he starts. (Luke 14:28). We will keep checking to see how much help comes in. Maybe help is on the way right now.

So...Change or stay the same? We may have to graciously deal with a big change this year, ready or not. We hope we will found ready.

Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Family time

One hard part of being a missionary is being far away from family. Our newly married daughters, Bethany and Rachel cheered us up a lot by bringing their new husbands, brothers Abe and Max Kennedy to spend Christmas and part of the New Year with us down here in Puerto Rico.

We went to church together, then took the ferry to Old San Juan and later hiked in the rain forest, but mostly we played board games, ate Christmas cookies, watched old movies, ate more Christmas cookies, opened presents and played with them (we made a video of our dog Cookie with a new camera) , and then had some more Christmas cookies.

The kids have flown back to Pensacola, Florida and we are now eating Grapefruit, but it was fun while it lasted!

Sometimes the Old Way is the Best Way.

Remember the Radio Flyer little red wagon? It was simple, sturdy and fun. The new model appears comfortable but looks as much fun as dragging around an Igloo plastic picnic cooler. I think "modernizing" it just defeats the purpose of a little red wagon: Simple Fun that Lasts a Long Time.

This new model is called the Cloud 9. It has an MP3 player and speaker system, for your child. When he gets tired of that, he can strap himself in to one of the two bucket seats using a five-point racing harness. At his fingertips will be a digital display panel, complete with temperature readouts, odometer and speedometer. Got a Juicy Juice Sippy cup handy? No worries. The Cloud 9 has cup holders too!

But after spending about a thousand dollars, is your kid really better off or more in tune with the outdoors? A wagon that is this expensive probably will never be allowed to leave the side walk or yard. So, if the purpose of a wagon is getting your kid to play outside and like it, that very purpose is defeated by the modern version of the same product.

The same thing happens in church work. As a missionary, we have seen a lot of so called "modern methods" for doing the work of evangelism and church planting, which in reality are methods that avoid doing the core work of missions.

We find there is nothing that beats knocking on a door, asking to come in and reading the Word of God in a person's home. Sometimes the old way is really the best way to get the job done. Besides, it's really more fun that way once you get started!

Please pray as we do it the old way. It is not the easy or most comfortable way, but it is really the only way to fulfill the central purpose of missionary: Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a message that has the power to change a persons life and destiny. There is no better way!

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth

Umm! Roast Guinea Pig!

Mission trips: We give as well as receive!

Here are a few pictures I got from some of my students, Nancy and Marta, who went to Peru and helped a pastor in the Lima area.

We like it when churches and individuals come on down and give us a hand on the mission field. Now we are passing on that idea: our students at Puerto Rico Baptist College take some of their vacation time to help in missions around the world.

These students helped a church in Peru and had some fun too. They built a snowman out of bricks and got to see a Peruvian treat: Roast Guinea Pigs!

Well, these trips are very educational!

Merry Christmas, Sad Christmas

Our Merry Christmas: My newly married daughters and their husbands arrived in Puerto Rico at 2:30 AM Sunday morning. It made for a long Sunday, but we are enjoying some great family time: good food, dumb jokes, old movies and good conversations. They will be with us for two weeks.

Sad Christmas: "Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them."

One of my college students was flying home for Christmas and was stopped by immigration and taken to jail. It seems that he is a Mexican that has been in the USA since he was three, but that his papers were not in order. They took him from the airport and put him in jail, where he was dressed in an orange suit and handcuffs.

It was a real shock to all of us. He has studied with us for 3 ½ years and is only a semester away from graduation and becoming a Christian School teacher. He is definitely not in the same class as a "border crasher" or the kind of intentional illegal that the government tries to catch. He is just the opposite: a responsible and productive student who loves the Lord and helps others. We are praying and working to get him the help he needs to get out of jail and back to preparing for that productive future he was workings towards.

We give thanks for our blessing, and invite you to rejoice with us. But we also ask you to please remember and pray for this student and his sad situation this Christmas.

Things Missionaries Miss The Most

I visited Community Baptist Church of Bradenton, Florida for a missions conference this last week. Pastor Wayne Golson and people were just great! I found I miss some things in the USA. One is just hearing the Star-Spangled Banner sung, like the "Cactus Cuties" did so well at this basketball game.

I left Florida and returned to the work of missions here in Puerto Rico. I love the work and the people here, but it did cost me something to leave the USA.

The bumper stickers say, "Love it or Leave it" But what if you DO love it but MUST leave it? It is hard to do! But the Lord left a better place than the USA when he came at Christmas to do his Fathers perfect will. I guess you can't have a better example to follow than that!

How to Be Happy and Support a Missionary at the Same Time

People stay home from church and watch TV, but I just found this article in the NY TIMES that states being in church will make you happier!

"Happy People Watch Less TV, Study Shows

By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: November 19, 2008

"Researchers at the University of Maryland found the one activity unhappy people do more than happy people is watch TV. The New York Times reports:

"We looked at 8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in, and for each one, the people who did the activities more — visiting others, going to church, all those things — were more happy,” Dr. [John] Robinson said. “TV was the one activity that showed a negative relationship. Unhappy people did it more, and happy people did it less.”
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I think a good application of this would be to: Cancel your Cable TV, Go to church and Use the money you save to support a missionary!

Too hard? How about...Your missionary giving should be at LEAST as much as much as you spend on cable TV and video rentals. Still too hard? Well, nobody said being happy was going to be easy!