at 10/20/09 1:07AM
Anna, the dog (Copper) and I flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico on Oct. 12th, and were met by Tol Burk at the airport. We have been here a week, now, and are enjoying every minute of it. We have worshiped with the English-speaking brethren at Caparra Terrace twice, and with the Spanish-speaking brethren once (they do not have a mid-week service). We also went to Moca last Thursday and worshiped with them at their mid-week service. So far, I have preached in English once, taught Bible class in English once, and led singing at the Spanish service. Tol has left for Chile, however, and that means that I'll be teaching class in Spanish this Sunday. I'm in the process of translating the class, and of praying it goes well!
We have spent most of the week taking care of all the things necessary to settling in. We bought a car today, decided on an apartment last week, and are working on insurance (car and health) and getting our belongings out of port. Our crate has arrived, and so it should be delivered sometime this week, which means we should be moved in by the end of the week. That's exciting, though we won't actually live there for another week and a half - with Tol being gone, we will stay at his house to house-sit and take care of his five dogs (3 adults, two puppies), and parrot.
The church in Moca is having a gospel meeting at the end of this week, and Anna and I plan to go help them hand out flyers tomorrow, as well as to attend at least one of the services. Moca is about 75 miles (two and a half hours) from where we are in the Metro area of San Juan, so we won't be able to make it every night - especially with our things being moved in at the end of the week. We are going to do as much as we can to help them in their efforts, though. They have just moved into a rented building that is in an excellent location, so we pray the Lord will help them use that to awaken people to the fact that they are there and that they have the truth.
Thanks to all for your prayers for us and the brethren.
Pictures will be up as soon as I figure out (again) how to do such things.
at 10/20/09 12:02AM
Anna, the dog (Copper) and I flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico on Oct. 12th, and were met by Tol Burk at the airport. We have been here a week, now, and are enjoying every minute of it. We have worshiped with the English-speaking brethren at Caparra Terrace twice, and with the Spanish-speaking brethren once (they do not have a mid-week service). We also went to Moca last Thursday and worshiped with them at their mid-week service. So far, I have preached in English once, taught Bible class in English once, and led singing at the Spanish service. Tol has left for Chile, however, and that means that I'll be teaching class in Spanish this Sunday. I'm in the process of translating the class, and of praying it goes well!
We have spent most of the week taking care of all the things necessary to settling in. We bought a car today, decided on an apartment last week, and are working on insurance (car and health) and getting our belongings out of port. Our crate has arrived, and so it should be delivered sometime this week, which means we should be moved in by the end of the week. That's exciting, though we won't actually live there for another week and a half - with Tol being gone, we will stay at his house to house-sit and take care of his five dogs (3 adults, two puppies), and parrot.
The church in Moca is having a gospel meeting at the end of this week, and Anna and I plan to go help them hand out flyers tomorrow, as well as to attend at least one of the services. Moca is about 75 miles (two and a half hours) from where we are in the Metro area of San Juan, so we won't be able to make it every night - especially with our things being moved in at the end of the week. We are going to do as much as we can to help them in their efforts, though. They have just moved into a rented building that is in an excellent location, so we pray the Lord will help them use that to awaken people to the fact that they are there and that they have the truth.
Thanks to all for your prayers for us and the brethren.
Pictures will be up as soon as I figure out (again) how to do such things.
at 09/15/09 7:53PM
Anna and I are glad to announce that we've finalized our moving plans. The moving company will arrive October 1 and 2 to pack and move our belongings to port. We will fly from Atlanta to San Juan on October 12, and our things should arrive within a week of us being there, but they will have to stay in port to be checked by customs for a couple of weeks. We will have little time to find a place to live, but we think we have a good idea already where we want to move.
We are still in need of financial support - we have enough to make the move, obviously, but still need some in order to do more than survive, so if anyone has leads on where we might look, please let me know. Even one time support will help at this point. My email address is holtzter(at)gmail(dot)com.
Thanks to you all for your interest, and after we arrive, look for more regular posts here.
at 06/29/09 4:41PM
*
As I mentioned in the last post, a lot is happening with the church in Moca. The latest news is troubling and exciting at the same time. One of the liberal preachers near Moca has done some "deep study" and come to the conclusion that baptism is not necessary for salvation, and that women can preach and publicly lead in the church's worship.
The troubling part of that news is two-fold: first, that this man is teaching more error than he was previously, and second, that he has the potential to impact faithful brethren with these doctrines. Pentecostalism is a big influence in Puerto Rico, and the idea of women taking on larger roles is generally appealing. It is our prayer that none of the brethren who have a Pentecostal background will be swayed by this man. Please join us in that prayer.
The exciting part of that news is that many of the members of the church where this man preaches are deeply troubled about what he is teaching. This has provided Ed Rangel an opportunity to debate him, and the debates went well. This man had no scriptures to support either of his positions, and the first night of the debates he spent an hour and a half essentially rambling about things not even related to his topic. Ed got up, and in 30 minutes strongly refuted his teaching. The second night of the debates, Ed had the majority of the time, and he again dismantled the man's positions. The result of the debates is yet to be fully seen, but several in the liberal church have expressed their concern at what he is teaching, and some have expressed interest in studying further about these matters. It is our hope that several from the liberal church will not only reaffirm their belief in the truth on these matters, but will also see the error of institutionalism and the social gospel, and will join the church in Moca.
As always, thank you for your interest and your prayers.
at 02/20/09 11:37PM
(Carlos and Ramona are seated on the right hand side of the picture. Ed Rangel is seated in front of the vehicle.)
The church at Moca is the newest congregation on the island, and it is located on the Northwest side of the island near the town of Aguadilla (2 1/2 hours from San Juan). They meet at the house of Carlos and Ramona Moscoso, and currently have seven members.
The church began about five months ago after Tol Burk and Ed Rangel were contacted by Carlos and Ramona for a Bible study. The Moscosos were attending a liberal congregation in Aguadilla, and from the first study they packed in a huge crowd of visitors - some from the liberal church, and a few from varying denominations.
As the liberal preacher became aware that Tol and Ed were teaching against institutionalism, he demanded a public debate. Tol and Ed tried to delay the debate a bit, fearing that it might scare off some of the prospects they had, but one night the liberal preacher came to the study ready to debate no matter what. He directly called Tol and Ed false teachers in front of several of the members, but when they later asked why, he lied and denied calling them that - in front of the very ones who had heard him say it. He also was unable to answer the arguments that Tol and Ed made against institutions and the social gospel. His attitude and inability to scripturally defend his positions caused Ramona to inform him that she would not be going back to Aguadilla to church, and from that time on, they have been meeting at their home to worship.
At the beginning, Ed would drive 2 1/2 hours to Moca each Sunday night to preach for them, and have Bible study (that, after preaching in the morning in San Juan). Tol would make the trip every other week, and do some teaching as well. It became quickly apparent, however, that one of them was going to need to move out there to take advantage of all the opportunities. Visitors were showing up at most of the services, and they were coming from the liberal church as well as the community. As of January of this year, Ed moved to Moca, and has seen great success as the Lord has given the increase. Three people have been baptized since he arrived, and he has studies with two other non-Christians at this time. He is also studying with each member of the church there individually one time per week.
The church is small there, but they have an amazing potential for growth. Keep them in your prayers as they work for the Lord.
Umm, I think the op's of the old guide are working on making a new one. I haven't looked at it in a while but if you look under "groups" and go to "find groups" then you might be able to find something. I'm still trying to figure things out myself.
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