Wood Marilyn 1980 PuertoRico

•5?

May 1980

Dear Friends in Christ,

April 2, 1980, was the first anniversary of my arrival in PuertoRico. The time has really gone by fast. I realize I have been negligent in not writing very often, and I hope to do better throughout the rest of this year. Since my last letter was received shortly before Christmas, I'll begin there.

Many of our teachers went home for Christmas, but I chose tostay here, as did some of the teachers at Levittown. So on Christmas Eve, I invited them over to my place for a get together. Weopened our presents from home, decorated Christmas cookies that were

later given to the neighbors, and watched "White Christmas" on TV. Believe itsome of them had never seen it before. On Christmas Day we all went to York'straditional turkey dinner.

One of the interesting customs here at Christmas is the "paranda" or "asalto." A groupof people will get together and go "caroling" Puerto Rican style. The songs that are sunghave a Latin beat and are usually accompanied by bongo drums. The "asalto" will take placeduring the middle of the night. The person who is visited by his friends in this way isexpected to feed them before sending them on their way. He may even join them as theycontinue their singing. It's quite an Interesting experience to hear an "asalto" at twoor three in the morning!

We had a three-week break for Christmas, and then school began again on January lAth.In addition to my secretarial.duties, I am now te^ch1ng jius ic to the children in firstthrough sixth grades. This was an area that was n6t"*emphasized too much in the past because the school did not have a qualified music teacher. However, my degree from Ozarkis a Bachelor of Theology degree with a major in music, and I decided it was about time Iput it to use. I meet with each class twice a week. It is quite an experience, and I'mlearning too, along with the children.

The first of March four of the students from the school in Levittown were baptized.We were able to witness this event because they used the baptistry at our church building.(The church building in Levittown doesn't have one.) We were glad to take part In thisservice and so happy to see some of the work that we are doing in the schools bearingfruit. Also, the service was a witness to some in the congregation. For, one. man it was •V \the first baptism by immersion that he had ever seen! He grew up in the Catholic Church,\and although three of his daughters have been baptized, he did not see that event becausejyhe wasn't interested in the church at the time.

week of March saw the end of the third nine weeks. We teachers went on a

much needed break. We were gone two days and nights. It was really greatfrom the hustle and bustle of the city, the heavy traffic, radio, TV, andI think we all came back refreshed and ready to go to work again,the middle of March was the regional spelling bee. I was the school co-

accompanied our school champion to this bee. Although she didn't place

or not,

for the

The second

retreat for a

to get awaytelephone.

Also, inordinator, so Iin the top six,again.

The last ful 1

week, a half-daythe co-ordinator

The theme

she did well. She's only in fifth grade, so she will be able to compete

week of March we had Spjj.itj^^^^EmpJiasis Week at the school. During thisis spent each day in BibTe^study, chapel, and related activities. I wasfor this, too. The material we used was the Standard VBS material foris "Jesus, I Believe in You." Everyone was really pleased wi th it, and

the kids really learned a lot. They're spending more time on scripture memorization now,too. We also used the song books that Standard has to go with the VBS material. The kidslove the songs. It's not unusual to hear them singing the songs any time they have somefree time. In fact, during music class they would rather sing these songs than spendtime doing anything else. We pray that all the activities of that week have helped allof the kids to really realize what it means to say "Jesus, I Believe in You.

On March 29 the churches of the island got together for a singspiration on theBoquer5n Beach. Boqueron is located on the southwest corner of the island on the Caribbean. It is really beautiful there. We had time to go swimming and visit with eachother before the singspirat ion got under way. The speaker for the occasion was NilsJuarez, a young man from Levittown (originally from Cuba). He wasdoctor, but decided to go into the ministry instead. Right now heat Lincoln Christian Seminary and plans to come back to the islandgraduates.

The week bjefgre Easter school was dismissed, on April 2 - A we hadthe church

mi ss i onarycepted the Lord as his Savior that week, one woman did come forward to express her desire to know more about becoming a Christian. She is the mother of the girl who waskilled in the automobile accident last November. (I wrote about that in my last newsletter.) The preacher and the school director are having Bible studies with her, and wepray that she soon will accept the Lord. Please continue to pray for her. Her name is

M-i ^dg. Bra,Cjej:a.""faster Sunday morning a woman who has been attending the church for the last three

years came forward and made her confession of faith. She was baptized the followingSunday. What rejoicing! There are several attending the services regularly who arevery close to making their decisions to accept Christ. We ask that you continue to

studying to become ais in graduate schoolto work when he

a revival here at

in Caparra Terrace. Our evangelist wascAlbertp_Gonzalez, a Mexican who is ain the Dominican Republic. The attendance was good, and although no one ac-

keep them in your prayers.My Sunday.. School class continues to grow.- It has doubled since I started teaching.

Last quarter we had lessons on what to do to become a Christian, different aspects ofprayer, and the sovereignty of God. This quarter we are starting a series of lessons onletting God guide us and trusting Him.

I'm looking forward to my parents coming down oerXt.month and spending a we^ with me.1 hope to be able to show them aro'und the island — especially in the areaSwhere we dohave churches.

Also, Marianna Taylor, the jote.rn who lived with me last summer, will be returningthe end of May to help us again this summer. She and I will be working together incamps and VBS's throughout the island during June and July. In fact, as the schedulelooks now, we have only one free week left. If possible, we hope to go to the DominicanRepublic that week to see some of the mission work that is being done there.

_A11 of the VBS's and wmps wi 11 be conducted in Spanish, so I'll soon start preparingmy lessons for them, so that the kids will know wfiaf'l'm saying. My Spanish has improved since I've been here and I'm using it more and more every day, but 1 have a longway to go yet to really be fluent in it.

L,as£-.year my average monthly support was not quite $^6^.00. But since my last newsletter, it has beehTricreasing". I just continue to thank t^' Lord for the way He continues to provide; I thank my supporters for the financial support they continue to give;and 1 thank all of you for your prayers on my behalf. Believe me, they are needed, andI do appreciate them and can tell you have been praying for me.

One thing most missionaries don't seem to get enough is persona] mail^from the folks"back home". There are so many of you that I would love to hear from, so the next timeyou have a spare minute, why not write me, or some other, missionary that you may knovsL,a short note. It would really make our day. Once again, my address is:

GPO Box 29^6San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936

A 15^ stamp is all you need to send a first-class letter to Puerto Rico.For those of you who want to send financial support, please send it to me at the

following address:

c/o Eastside Christian Church

7755 PhoenixEl Paso, TX 79915

Thank you again for all your help and prayers on my behalf. May God continue tobless and guide each one of you.

In Christ,

MARILYN WOOD

SPANISH-AMERICAN EVANGELISM

3135 FORNEY LANEEL PASO, TEXAS 79935

Research DepartmentMissions Services Association ^ ^Box 177

Kempton, Indiana 46049 M

Marilyn Wood

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

EL PASO, TEXASPERMIT NO. 2295

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

-*5

Fall 1980

Dear Friends in Christ, •

It doesn't seem possible that school has started, >but as the saying goes, "Time Marches on." And we'realready into our fourth week of school.

When I last wrote, the 1979~80 school year was justabout to end. I had plans to work in several VacationBible Schools and camps and was looking forward to myfolks coming for a week's visit. —

On May l^th they arrived. I was able to take sometime off from school, and so we rented a car and drove around the island intwo days. We visited with some of the missionaries in the different areas andalso saw several sights of interest such as the Phosphorescent Bay and theRain Forest.

The first two weeks of June I was the musl^dlrector and progcam coordinatorfor the Vacation -Bible School held here at the Iglesia de Cristo in Caparra Terrace. We had an average attendance of 80.c.h.i 1dren each day, and this year, as wastrue last year, all the teachers except one were Puerto Ricans.

As soon as VBS was over, we had our Junior Day, Camp at Goat Island. This yearIt was conducted entirely In Spanish. Our theme was "Great Men of Faith". I taughta class about Abraham — four times each day. We taught 35 to kO children eachday.

Fol lowing Cciay camp there was a weektb prepare for the Senior Camp at Montedel Estadoih the southwest corner of the Island. Because of a mix-up in thereservations at the camp site, we were able to have camp from Sunday evening toWednesday afternoon only; however, we madethebest of the situation and did whatwe could to teach those young people in the few days we had. I can honestly sayI have never been in a camp where the young people were so cooperative and sowilling to learn. Can you imagine 35 teen-agers groaning when the whistle blowsto begin a new activity? No, they weren't playing -- they were memorizing scrip-ture and didn't want to quit. So they were gi_ven five more minutes and then wenton to another activity.

Many of the young people who went to camp from Caparra are not Christians,but they continue to come to Sunday School and church and study God's Word. Andthe young people have formed their own youth group. It has really been great tosee our Christian young people grow In the knowledge of the Lord this summer.

After senior camp I had a week to prepare for two Vacation Bible Schools inYauco. For me the week there was the highlight of the summer. Yauco Is where wehave our newest work. In fact, most of the members of the church there have beenbaptized since February, I98O. Jesus (Chuy) and Jane Ramfrez are the missionariesworking there.

One of the Vacation Bible Schools was held at their house (where the churchmeets). The other one was held in a public housing project. This was the firsttime that a VBS had been held there -- in either the church or the public housingarea — so It was quite a new experience for all of us. The average attendancein both schools was 25. I taught a class of 2nd and 6th graders in both schools.Our theme was the "Parables of Jesus". It was a challenge to teach children whohad little or no background in scripture or church. The majority of them hadnever been to church. The Ramfrez's feel that there were some good contacts madefor the church during this week and have been doing some follow-up work since theVBS.

A Puerto Rican friend and sister in Christ, Bruni Ortiz, went with me andalso taught classes in both schools. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to going back there again next year.

Immediately following the week in Yauco,we had the annual Caribbean Missions.Cjinic here in Caparra Terrace and Levittown. This year missionaries came fromBarbados, Guyana, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, as well as from here and theUnited States. Once again we had a great time of sharing with each other and edifying one another In the Lord. Every year the clinic has been held here; however,rtext year we do plan to meet in Bqm In i can Repub lie.

SchqoJ[ started.j^gust IJjh. ^We have., aljnost 27.0 students enrolled. I'm teaching riuTsTc and doing the secretarial work again. Our school principal, Rick York, vand his family are leaving for a nine-months' furlough. When they return, th'ey" )/will be mpvmg to San German, a town on '1tRe'"sduth side of the island, to beginnew.,Wpck. The ®j,ss ipnaries here have a desire and are working toward the goal ofstarting 10 new churches in the next ten years.

-A

It

Th^iiew school principal Is Kathy Rosa;,-^'daughter of Gordon and Vivian Thompson,'who started the work here on the Island backin the 1950's. Kathy and her familyrecently returned to the Island after several years In the States. She has a degreeIn Education Administration and has experience as a school principal. We're reallyglad to have her working with us.

All of us teachers have a d.eep desire to see the Lord's kingdom furthered hereon this earth, especially here In Puerto Rico. With this In mind, we had an evangelism seminar In August to discuss ways In which we could better use our contactsat the school for evangelism. One of our plans Is to go calling on all the familiesof the school. And waixg praylnp that the Lord will lead each of us to one familywho earnestly desires to" know more about Him, so that we might begin Bible studieswith them.

I personally will be calling on the families of the third graders, which Is thelargest class In the school. Not only are the XatholIcs and various Protestantgroups represented In this class, but also Muslim and Hindus. And then there arethose who have no ch.urch preference whatsoever. The doors are wide-open, and we praythat God will heTp^Trs to bring His Word to others. ' '

^ The church here In Caparra Terrace Is growing, for which we just praise the Lord.In July two adults were baptized—one was the mother of one of our students and theother was the.,grandfather of two of our students. (Their mother and sister were baptized last year.)"" One of the students will be baptIzed,thIs next Sunday.

We praise the Lord, too, that we didn't experience that so-called "summer slump'UIn fact, new families have started coming regularly. Over half the adult Sunday Schoolclass are not Immersed yet, but we know that several will be making decisions soon.

^11 of-us who are working here are j-ust.r5.ally thrilled with what the Lord Is doing,and we're really excl^^ed to be a part of the work.

Another thing I'm looking forward to Is the National Missionary Convention. Ihave been asked to participate in a workshop entitled, "Whole though Alone". When Iwas first asked to come, I didn't think I would be able to because of the cost. Butthe Lord provided -- both with the funds needed and a lowering of air fares for October and November. He really does provide for us In so many ways. If any of you arethere, be sure to look me up.

I do not plan to make a speaking tour at this time (I'm planning one for next. year}jhowever,"~'r'dO have a ^stlde Drooram with a script of the work here. If you would ffke'to use It for a missions' presentation In your church, Sunday School class or ladles'group, please let me know.

1 also want to thank you all for your wonderful support. It really means a lot,,to me to know that you care and are praying for me and for the work here. My heartIs just full of praise and thanksgiving for all that the Lord has done. I can reallysay with the Psalmist, "Bless the Lord,0 my soul; and forget not all his benefits."Psalm 103*1,2. Pleas take time to read the entire psalm. It Is a marvelous psalm of

•pralle to,.t^ Lord for all that He has done.fay God; bless every one of you as you work for Him.

In ChrI St,

MAIL';^GP0 Box^29A6 FUNDS: ^Eastside Christian ChurchSan Juan, Puerto Rico 7755 Phoenix w - •00936 El Paso, Texas 79935

MARILYN WOOD

SPANISH-AMERICAN EVANGELISM

3135 FORNEY LANEEL PASO, TEXAS 79935

Research Departii>antMissions Services AssociationBox 177

Kempton, Indiana 46049 M

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

EL PASO, TEXASPERMIT NO. 2295

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED