by Israel Leito
The Inter-American Division Administration visits its unions periodically for administrative audits, and recently the audit was conducted in the Puerto Rican Union.
Reports coming from Puerto Rico are very encouraging. For the first time, the Puerto Rican Union had more 3,000 baptized members for last year. Their goal for 2004 is to go beyond that. Financially, the union is very healthy, and the faithfulness and commitment of the church members and ministers are seen in the contributions made to the church. This is the third-largest tithe contributor to the world church in the Inter-American Division. There is stability, attention is fully dedicated to the mission of the church and there is no agitation going in any way or form.
The institutions of the union are on a good road to recovery. Bella Vista Hospital (BVH), the largest hospital in our Division, was at the verge of being closed a few years ago, but the present union administration has worked with a good team of workers at the hospital to bring it back. A new emergency wing has been added and the hospital is the only provider of MRI and other specialized services in the western region of Puerto Rico. BVH still faces serious challenges with crushing debts. However, its finances have been restructured in order to meet those debts.
The Antillian Adventist University (AAU) is being revamped with a huge rebuilding program there. For the very first time in recent years, the university has finished a year with very little losses. The teachers are now being paid according to Inter-American Division policy and it is expected that this will be a banner year since they have sold more credits than budgeted.
The Puerto Rican Union is comprised of four local fields: two conferences and two missions, and one of the missions is ready to be evaluated to become a conference as well. We perceive that there is a healthy dedication to mission in the Puerto Rican Union, and its leadership is guiding it in the direction of fixing their attention on the mission of the church and the second coming of Christ.
One novelty in the Puerto Rican Union is that last year they closed down almost all their churches on a particular Sabbath, and that morning all the members who so desired went out and witnessed in the streets. Thousands of pieces of literature were distributed and there is a sense of fulfillment on the part of the membership, who expect this will be repeated.
The Puerto Rican Union faces a great challenge for workers since, as US citizens it is easy for them to migrate to the United States. More than 40 percent of the worker force in Puerto Rico is comprised of foreign nationals due to the migration of local workers. The School of Theology at the AAU is preparing more workers in an aggressive plan to respond to the needs of the union.