Above photo: City scene in Ponce, by Johanna Heidorn
Story by Missionary Pastor James Neuendorf, who serves in Ponce, Puerto Rico with his wife, Deaconess Christel.
August came and went in what seemed like the blink of an eye. We finished up our final hurricane prep as well as a few of our on-going summer projects. We received a new executive order that forced us in Ponce to go back to online services (we couldn’t meet the capacity requirements). So we are now working on possibly going to multiple services to allow us the opportunity to hold Sunday services. School has started but the kids in the public schools are still waiting on their laptops and getting situated with online learning. For the kids in Ponce, this is the first time they have been back in school since Christmas (apart from a couple of weeks in February) as many schools were deemed unsafe to occupy after the earthquakes.
The intensity of the ongoing earthquakes has diminished enough though, to begin the process of repairing our church building in Ponce!
Photo credit: Johanna Heidorn
As a team, we are blessed to be able to review and assess all the connections we have made over the time of quarantine and figure out to proceed in following up. It’s definitely a challenge navigating the executive orders, the needs of the community, and what we can actually provide as a team.
Through it all, God has a plan, He has orchestrated all of these events, and will continue to guide us in His ways.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. It really means so much to us.
A plate of Mollejas de Pollo
Little by little, we have been able to make visits. This last month we were given a plate of Mollejas de Pollo at one of our visits. One of many hard things with COVID is not being able to be in fellowship as much with people. This was a special day and was a huge boost of “animo” (motivation) that this time too shall pass.
Missionary Pastor James and Deaconess Christel Neuendorf
