Finding the Right Place to Cry

The first man to come through the doors of the church had been waiting for me. He was trembling and had to sit down to speak. He shook as he told his story.

Mike was in New York visiting his daughter when he heard some bad news from Puerto Rico. His ex-wife dropped dead of a heart attack. Even though they were divorced, Mike felt she was the closest person to him after his daughters. The death came as a shock. She had not showed any symptoms and was in her early 50's.

We prayed together. Mike gave me a big hug and said he loved and respected me.  He said that the first thing he did when he came back to Puerto Rico was to come straight to the church, because he knew he could get help here.  Since we weren't there Saturday, he had waited anxiously all night for the doors to open.

When our members began arriving and the service started, I shared Mike's story and we prayed for him. After that, Mike walked to the front of the church and told his story again. He then pointed at me and said, "I love this guy" and gave me another hug in front of everyone.

Later Mike raised his hand and volunteered to paint the church for us, all by himself.

Clearly I have made a convert, but is Mike a convert to me or to Christ? I am glad we could help him through this rough time and also that he knows where to go when he needs to cry and find help. But making a convert to the missionary or even the church isn't the same as being saved by Jesus Christ.

Mike seems to be on the right path, but please pray for him, that he may find new life in Christ, who alone can save.

Hobby Evangelism?

The Bible says "go into all the world ..." in order to share Christ. Part of that world meets in little rooms or classes that are orientated around hobbies. 

A teacher once told me: "Try something new every two years. Meet new people, make new friends and explore new interests."

Instead of having a passive hobby such as television, I thought that pursuing a hobby that could lead to witnessing would be a good idea. Sometimes it works well. Sometime, not so much.

I tried Chess, (http://www.chess.com/members/view/Prelgovisk ) but chess players aren't very talkative, and it wasn't as conducive to witnessing as I had hoped. I did enjoy it though. I met some nice people and learned a lot of neat openings.

I joined the "Civil Air Patrol" as a Chaplain, and this is proving to be a more effective opportunity. I get to speak to young people and also rub shoulders with the Search and Rescue community. I also upgraded my Ham radio license to "General Class" so that I may be a person of value to people in that community. To them I am "WP4NVR."

Am I still knocking on doors? Yes. But I am also getting through some formerly closed doors by adopting a new hobby or two. I will keep you posted on how it turns out.

Motivating Our Members to Witness

About once a year we have a "Tract Day."


I order a "Sampler Pack" or assortment of gospel tracts from a couple of places and bring them to the church. During our Sunday school class,  I put the people in small groups and give each group a pile of tracts. I ask them to each read a couple and evaluate them on:

1. Clarity in communicating the Gospel

2. Was it really good, mildly interesting, OK, dull or offensive?"

3. Would it be something they would feel good about giving to someone? 

I have the groups come together and I ask a spokesperson from each group to give a quick review on their experience and share which were their favorite tracts.  I ask which ones we should order. 

Our people like the Spanish version of this one, for example.  

I say "I am going to order our favorite tracts, but I want them all passed out. Who will pass out a tract if I order them?"

I place the order, and when they come in, I make a big deal about it. 
We have a scheduled Saturday as "Tract Blitz Day." We try and have every member come and pass out tracts for about 2 hours. Then we have a lunch at the church and share our experiences of what happened. 

The following Sunday, I ask them to give testimonies and praise their efforts in evangelism. We encourage and motivate each other to do more evangelism this way. 

I find that our church is more likely to pass out tracts they have read and got exited about then they would if we just had a few that we picked and put out for them to take. It works!

Starting Something New

Our little church is going along great; we have visited, had special meetings, got college kids to help, but...is there something more or something new that we could be doing? I invited Phil Bell, a pastor friend from a town near us, to come by and talk to me about a new ministry idea for our church.

Phil began an AWANA program in his church. AWANA is a club for kids that my home church uses and I have seen work very well. Phil liked the program so much that he became the Regional Ministry Directors for AWANA for Latin America.

I interviewed him all about it and also what it was like to be a missionary. It is about a 45 min. interview. I don't have a podcast yet, but I will put the mp3 recording of it in my Dropbox folder. You may listen to it by going here.You can download the file and are welcome to listen in on our conversation.

Four people from our church came to the meeting we had about it at my house and we had a great time of orientation and training. We plan on getting everything ready, having a few practices and then officially starting the program when school starts up again, after the Three Kings' Day Holiday, around the 3rd Sunday of January.

Pray for us! If you have AWANA in your church, consider us as an AWANA missionary project that your club can get behind and help get of the ground!

We are willing to do some new things in the new year to have some new growth. But we need some new support and new helpers to make that happen. Please pray and plan on doing something new yourself this year. We hope that you will have a fruitful year and that you might help us have one also here on the mission field of Puerto Rico.

Don't Let Your Help Get Hijacked.

Don't Let Your Help Get Hijacked.

We see it all the time. A well meaning visitor to Puerto Rico sees a beggar and gives him aid, only to find out from us later that they just boosted the local drug trade. The sad thing is, there really are worthy poor people here on the island who could use the help, but it just gets hijacked by some hoodlum and it never makes it to the person who truly needs it. It hurts us to see church members  and Bible college students in tragic conditions while needed funds are hijacked away from unwary, but well meaning, loving people.

What to Do?

1. When you hear of a hurricane, earthquake or other tragedy  and your heart goes out to those people, ask your church if they know of a missionary or of a good church in that area. Contact those missionaries and churches and ask about the needs they have among their own people and the other needs that they see. Contribute to the afflicted through them to the people they minister to. Offering sent to relieve the poor and needy in our own churches and within reach of our own missionaries should be a priority. People who you can trust and who are local to the event are in a better position to make sure the sacrificial offerings of God's people are not sacrificed in vain.

2. Call a Bible College, Seminary, or other institution that you respect and tell them that you would like to make a donation to help pay the school bill of a worthy but struggling student, or alumni. This way the school gets the funds it needs to help others and the student gets to finish his training and begin his ministry. Funds directed in this way can help both at the same time.

Why Bother? 

You could just forget the church and give towards helping someone through McDonalds. But then there will be a photo shoot of Ronald McDonald giving a big check to some hospital and everyone saying how wonderful they are.

Some might say: "Who cares who gets the credit as long as people get the help they need?"

But I say this: "Why should some clown get the credit for your love, when our sacrificial love is designed to bring glory to God? "


Here are some suggestions of where you could start:
A Good Mission agency: Continental Baptist Missions
A Good Bible College: Puerto Rico Baptist College
Our Ministry: (This blog, go to the right hand margin, under"Support" and "Offering Plate")

Comfort food from Puerto Rico: Spanish Soup

People have been asking my wife Tina for her "Spanish Soup" recipe. I checked the copywrite laws and found that recipes can be shared, it's just the description of the product that is copy-writable.

So here is a copy of the recipe without the description.
Enjoy!

We are trying to eat a more Mediterranean diet than before and I think it is improving our health.

How Bad Do You Want that Fish?

If you want fish bad enough, you will find a way to get them. These Sri Lanka fishermen did. Shouldn't those of us who are called to be "Fishers of Men" find a way to make it happen as well?

In Puerto Rico where we serve as missionaries, we often have to wait for what seems a very long time for someone to finally accept Christ as their Savior, be baptized, join the church, become disciples and then take their place in helping our church grow. But we have learned that patience all by itself doesn't make that happen.

We find that, like the fishermen of Sri Lanka, we have to go where the "fish" are, and do everything we can do first, before we can expect our patient waiting to be productive.

What is to be done first? Go. Extend yourself. Have something to offer of value. Offer it. Patiently bring the fish in. Have a plan on what to do with it and a place prepared for it when you get one. How can all this be done? Fortunately, your Bible will tell you just how to do these very things.

We have seen a book called "The Fisherman's Bible." Fortunately for Christian fishermen, our "Fisherman's Bible" is the Bible itself! The Real Bible. I say that gives us a real advantage. Also, our fish don't stink! The longer we keep them the sweeter they get!

Jackie Evancho's Missionary Encouraging Song "I Believe"

The Uncle of Jackie Evancho, child singer, just wrote a great song that touched my heart. When Jackie sang this song for her uncle in church, I felt that she did more than just sing. I felt that she unveiled the heart and compassion of God.

The song is about having a sharing, caring heart and reaching out to troubled people with God's hope and help.

The songs lyrics are simple, profound and sweet, containing child like wishes and prayers to God for peace. But the faith of a child is held as precious in the Kingdom of God and we are to have just that kind of faith.

I praise the Lord that an older missionary like me can be encouraged to do his missionary work by this simple song, sung by a child.

I'm Getting Tired of "I Love Jesus, but Hate Religion" Talk.

I am getting tired of all that "I hate religion, but I love Jesus" talk. It sounds like people who date but never marry. They want the benefits of a relationship, but without the responsibility.

Religion is just an orderly organized way to carry out the responsibilities of a relationship with God. If you don't care to do that, do you really have a relationship?

Something to think about.

God has the World in His Hands. What is in Yours?

You know that children's church song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands?"

Well, He put some of it into our hands.

It's time we did our part to reach this world for Christ.

Audio Update: The Prelgovisk's in Puerto Rico

A deacon I served with a few years ago provided me with a nice portable recorder so I could begin posting missionary activity, lessons and even Bible College classes on line.  I thought I would give it a preliminary trial here and give an audio update.

The Prelgovisk's in Puerto Rico- 21 Oct 2012

Buy Something for Yourself and Help a Missionary

Do you sometimes want to get yourself a nice present but also wish you could help a missionary or your church? Well, there is a way you can do just that and still get yourself that special something.

We have been granted permission to receive 4% of any product purchased from Amazon.com, as long as the person gets to Amazon from a link in our blog articles or from the search bar you can see on the right hand side margin of this web page.

As this Christmas season approaches, we hope that you may enjoy the fruits of your labors and find contentment in the blessings the Lord has sent your way. But while seeking to please yourself and your loved ones, please take a second to consider the missionaries far from home. If you plan on getting anything through Amazon, please do it from our web page here so we might share in a small portion of your Christmas cheer.

Proper Pride

This is Roger, a student I taught and watched grow through his years at our Bible College here in Puerto Rico. Now he is teaching others!

 The fruits of missionary work may seem small to some, but there are great blessings if you keep at it for enough time.

That is one thing I see a lot: blessing for longevity, perseverance and faithfulness.

Missionary Home Repair Help Needed

I recently found a bulge in the living room ceiling. A short time later, it burst and

soaked the arm of our sofa. Up the ladder we went to inspect our typical Puerto Rican roof. The roofs here are flat, made of cement and used as an extension of the house. We have our air-conditioning units, solar water heater and a 400 gallon water cistern sitting up there. What we don't have is good roof protection that will resist our hot sun and hurricane season climate.

We had put a lot of work and spent some money last year painting it, but the product we used just wasn't up to the job.

We had three different people come out and show us their products and give us an estimate. The last and best offer we got was for over $6,000, but after some haggling, we got it down to $5,500.

The product we settled on is the same kind of roof protection a lot of concrete stores use on their flat roofs in the USA. It is a very reflective white and looks like it will help reduce air-conditioning costs as well as seal our leaky roof. It is called "EPOX-Z." It is a mixture of two chemicals that harden into a kind of flexible plastic that adheres well to the cement. It has a 10 year guarantee, which I REALLY hope means that we won't have to spend every summer pressure washing and repainting our roof for quite a while.

We are keeping an eye on the men applying it, but desire your prayers for this project, so that the workers would deliver and apply their product as advertised.

A dry house, free of wet furniture and mildew is important to us. The expense is difficult , but it is a necessary one. If you could help us defray the cost of this missionary home repair project , we would appreciate it.

Fiery Motivation for Missions

What Fire?

Could a mariner sit idle if he heard the drowning cry?
Could a doctor sit in comfort and just let his patients die?
Could a fireman sit idle, let men burn and give no hand?
Can you sit at ease in Zion with the world around you DAMNED? 

The poem and the fiery message below are from: "Why Revival Tarries" by Leonard Ravenhill

America cannot fall - because she is already fallen! This goes for Britain, too. She cannot go into slavery - because her people are fettered at the moment in the chains of self-forged, self-chosen moral anarchy. Here are millions, diseased morally, with no longing for healing. Here are men paying for shadows at the price of their immortal souls. 

An unprecedented tidal wave of commandment-breaking, God-defying, soul-destroying iniquity sweeps the ocean of human affairs. Never before have men in the masses sold their souls to the devil at such bargain prices. "There is none. . . that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee" (Isa. 64:7). What hell-born mesmerism holds them? How does the spell bind? Who brainwashed them? Why don't they wake and stir themselves? If the Church had something vital and victorious to offer, these men who choose golf clubs by day and night clubs by night, they might be drawn from these fleshpots. 

This is an hour in need of burning hearts, bursting lips and brimming eyes! If we were a tenth as spiritual as we think we are, our streets would be filled each Sunday with throngs of believers marching to Zion - with sacks on their bodies and ashes on their shaking heads, shaking at the calamity that has brought the Church to be the unlovely, unnerved, unproductive thing that she is! 

If we wept as much in the prayer closet as devout Jews have done at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, we would now be enjoying a prevailing, purging revival! If we would return to apostolic practice - waiting upon the Lord for apostolic power - we could then go forth to apostolic possibilities! This is the hour when we are asked over and over again, "Is everybody happy?" God's purpose for us is not happiness, but HOLINESS! 

Reverse Robbery: We FIND money IN the offering plate!

I was waiting to preach Sunday morning when I noticed our song leader was unhappy. He found a letter in the offering plate from someone who stopped going to our church about 6 months ago. No one knew how it got there.

Apparently The ex-church member had a key to our church that he never returned and just let himself in, leaving a letter where we would find it during the service. The idea that someone had access to the building upset a few of our members.

After the service, the song leader and I opened the letter in private and were surprised. Inside were two money orders for $200! We had forgotten but, over a year ago during a time of need, our church had lent the individual $400 to repair his refrigerator and for some other needs he had.

He decided to pay us back, the note said, because he had just been robbed at gunpoint by someone and had to testify against them in court. It seems this convinced that he didn't want to owe God's church anything, so he made the effort to paid off his debt as fast as he could.

When I got in the car to drive home, Tina was talking about changing the church lock and was still upset about the "break in," and asked what nasty thing the gentlemen said to us in the letter.

I said, "Well, he just gave us $400!"

Tina exclaimed, "Well, if that's how it's going to be, let's make sure he keeps that key!"

Harvest Time Limited

We preach, teach, visit and call. Each week that passes I have at least four scheduled opportunities to share the gospel: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Sometimes the best sharing comes outside that schedule.

It takes time, shoe leather, a tank of gas and commitment. We have made the commitment and ordered our days to win souls for Christ. If you could help get one tank of gas a month, that would help us. Small gifts given every month add up and makes it possible for us to do this work.

What is our motivation? We love people and know something that they don't that will help them. So do you, if you are a Christian.

There's a storm coming. Help us get the harvest in before its too late.

A Modest Proposal

As much fun as it is for us to come to the USA, buy a used car and travel around the country on a very tight budge, there may be a better way for you to see what we have been doing.

(We really do like visiting you. It's those times on the road between visits that wear us down. Seeing you back home in the USA lifts us back up again.)

Come visit us!

Yes, instead of buying a time share or going on a "secular" vacation, consider visiting a missionary, seeing the work, and maybe even participating in it.

They say enthusiasm is better "caught than taught." Come down and catch some! Then take it back and YOU can tell the churches what you have seen.

Or read our reports and share them with your church. We try and publish a report at least every month. If you could pick one Sunday a month to share our praises and prayer requests, we would appreciate it.

I hope we can see you here someday. I hope also that we may visit you. Either way, we can be a blessing to each other. I hope you will be blessed. We have been blessed by your prayers and support.

Than You!

A Surprise Phone Call and a Gift from a Kind Stranger

Did you ever get a gift from someone you never met before? I just did!

A few weeks ago, I shared an opportunity I have. I got a radio license from the FCC (WP4NVR) but I did not have a radio to go with it. I could participate in the SAR (Search and Rescue) Community if I had one. But since they are very expensive for my budget, I could not just go get one on my own. I put out an appeal to see what would happen.

I got a phone call about a week ago from someone I never met and did not know:  Hermino Rios, a Puerto Rican living in New Jersey.

Hermino Rios; "Pastor, Do you still need a radio?"

Me; "Yes. Who is this?"
Hermino Rios; "I used to live in the center of Puerto Rico, in Jayuya. I felt led of the Lord to send you a radio. Maybe I will send a power supply and tuner also."

Me; "Wow! You are going to send me your radio?"

Hermino Rios; "No! I am buying one, a Kenwood TS680S, and sending it to you. I lived in Puerto Rico over 30 years ago. I bought the radio for your needs and will send it next week."

Well, I was amazed. These radios are NOT cheap. Plus, someone I never met read my blog and was moved to help us here in Puerto Rico. Even more impressive is that he took the time and effort to go out and purchase what I needed and then called to offer his assistence to guide me through the steps in using it.

Dear Brother Hermino Rios, who I have never met...THANK YOU! I hope that we can get an antenna and get on the air soon and put your sacrifice of love to good use by reaching the Puerto Rican people for Christ.

How a Radio Can Open a Door for a Missionary

Lost children, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis get a lot of attention, and there is a team of volunteers that band together to help rescue people in these calamities. These volunteers are great people and willing to help others but they could use some help themselves. I have an opportunity to rub shoulders with these people through volunteer work with the Civil Air Patrol as a chaplain and also as a HAM radio operator.

I was invited to become the chaplain in charge of the Civil Air Patrol in Puerto Rico recently and am following up on that open door to see what opportunities that position might give us in reaching our community for Christ. My main job would be to give devotionals to teenagers interested in flying, preparing for a future with the Air Force or engaging in SAR (Search and Rescue).

I also was able to pass an exam by the FCC to qualify for a General Class amateur radio licence. With my license, WP4NVR, I can participate in search and rescue, and emergency relief. I could also be seen as a person of value by the leaders of the community we are trying to reach.

Do we need to do these things to build a church here in Puerto Rico? No. We can keep visiting door to door, and we will continue to do that. But many people are not on the other side of those doors. They are off somewhere doing activities. If we could participate in those community activities we would meet people we would never have met during our regular visitation.

Will we do it? I am willing to walk through these doors. I do need the equipment though.

I hope to get a good portable radio like the Yaesu FT-857D Amateur Radio Transceiver so I can set up a portable radio station during emergency drills and get to know the men and women of the emergency response group in our area. The radio runs for around just under a  thousand, but with a good power supply, portable antenna system, etc., it will be more like $1,500.

There are many opportunities and ways to reach people. I would like to try this one. If you agree and could help us do it, please lend us a hand. We have the preparation and the will to do this. Please help us with the means to make it happen.

Helping a missionary help their children.

My daughters Sarah and Kristin are to begin their second year at Pensacola Christian College in a few weeks and, besides their tuition, they need some materials that are hard for us to supply.

Sarah is scheduled to take a photography course and is looking for a camera she can learn photography on and one that we can afford to give her. Some one recommended we should get the Nikon 3200 as a basic entry camera, but the price is close to $700.00, which may be a bargain, but beyond our means to provide. We have lots of experience getting by on a tight budget and could get a very cheap camera, but we do want to provide a good enough camera that will allow her to get a full value from her time in the class. Another model might do, but we don't know what it is and again, will have difficulty providing it.

Kristin is taking writing classes and has asked for us to get her "Microsoft Office 2010: Student Edition" for her classes. I have a copy, but will have to uninstall it on my computer so she can have my copy. I hope Microsoft can figure out I did this so she can use it without any trouble.

Our married daughter Rachel has 4 children now, but her husband Max is not working full time yet and their car broke down, needing major repair work. They would like to get a better used car, but hauling around a family of 6 requires a bigger car and a bigger expense.

Please pray for us. It is hard seeing that our kids need things that we are unable to provide. Our hearts go out to our children. If they are meant to struggle, we can accept that. But if you can help them by prayer, or by helping us provide the things they need, please do so. We would greatly appreciate it.

Hurricane Issac : We celebrate your passing

Issac is an example of the best kind of Hurricane: One that comes close enough to cancel school and work and fills the cisterns with water, but stays just that perfect distance away to where it doesn't cause any damage.

Yes, even though it didn't hit, it is disruptive. But it does give us a chance to catch up on other projects and do some long over due maintenance.

How could we be so lucky? Well, I don't think it's luck. I think someone prayed for us and the prayer was answered.

Thank you someone. Please keep praying for us.

Sign up for our "new" newsletter

I sent out a printed prayer letter by US mail for my friends that like reading a "real" letter, rather than following our blog, and that is fine by us. BUT I did receive a suggestion and an actual phone call from one of our supporters with this suggestion:

"I love your blog, but I don't  remember to check it often. Would you please send me summary of your posts once a month or so in the form of an email newsletter? That way I will see it and not forget to read it."

Well, what a great idea! If you feel the same way then please subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.You will start getting our updates as we put them out, about once a month.

Please share our news and prayer requests with others. We believe that your prayers, united with the prayers of others, make a difference in our life and work here on the mission field.

Viral Nerve Attack (warning: gross picture)

I thought I was coming down with the Dengue fever, because I have had that tropical disease and the symptoms were initially the same. But then something didn't happen. I expected a fever to set in but nothing like that happened. I thought I must have a mild case of it and would recover quickly.

No such luck.

The itching became worse and broke into extremely painful fiery red sores on my right side. I went to the doctor and he said that I had "Shingles," a painful infection of the nerve cells by the same virus (Herpes Zoster) that causes Chicken Pox. It lies dormant and for unknown reasons reactivates and causes havoc from inside the nerve cells.

I was given an antiviral pill to take 3x a day, a pain pill to take 2x a day and some sleeping pills. Managing the medications, the pain and trying to get all our work done lately has been a challenge. I am thankful for Tina's good attitude and loving care during this time. Please for our family, our health and our ministry.