October 10, 2017
It started out as a Swiss steak dinner, and ended as a Puerto Rican blessing. As a fund raiser, our congregation sponsors a monthly dinner with a different entree each time. Tonight’s was Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a choice of pies. For the good of everyone, I stayed out of the kitchen until it came time to clean up. Instead, I slowly wound my way between the tables, greeting people, making new friends.
As we were wrapping up, one of the members approached and almost whispered, “There are some people looking over your motorcycle. Maybe you should check on them.” So I went out and as I was about to introduce myself, one of them, a young woman said, “You must be the new pastor! I just KNEW it as you came.”
“Nuts!” I thought. If it’s that obvious, I must be doing something wrong. I introduced myself to the five of them, three women and two men, one of whom was Alberto Martinez, the pastor of the small Puerto Rican congregation that meets in the chapel of our church. Ten minutes later, I was “back in Cuba,” worshipping with my Dunkirk Hispanic brothers and sisters as they praised Jesus in a language both lyrical and strange to me, but familiar to God.
When I was asked to do pulpit supply at the Dunkirk church, the tipping point that clinched my decision was that Dunkirk is almost 50% Puerto Rican, and the best way to learn Spanish for our Cuban mission work is to immerse myself as much as possible in the Hispanic community. Tonight, I was baptized in it, meeting brothers and sisters in Christ who are going to be my teachers as we worship and work together. God is good, and I am grateful!
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