January 18, 2010 – San Juan, Puerto Rico…[Freddy Sosa/IAD Staff]
The Seventh-day Adventist Traveling Bible made its way into the island of Puerto Rico on Jan 3, 2010. Dozens of church leaders and members awaited the arrival of the unique Bible which was escorted by a three-member delegation from Martinique.
A special press conference was held as the multi-language Bible landed at the Luis Munoz Marin Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mr. Luis Valladares, representative of the island’s governor, joined church leaders and praised the church for its Follow the Bible initiative.
The Bible was escorted by a caravan of vehicles announcing with loud speakers from the city of Ponce to the city of Guanica, the importance of the study of the Bible and the program celebrating the world traveling Book in the nearby baseball park. Hundreds of Priorities, the missionary magazine, were distributed during the day.
More than 1,500 church leaders, community leaders and church members gathered for the special celebration.
Representatives of the office of Guanica were in attendance. Jesus Calderon, president of the city’s municipal district, addressed the crowd.
“It is a pleasure for us to host this activity which elevates the spirit of our people through the emphasis of the Word of God,” Calderon said.
Pastor Rodriguez, president of the church in the West Conference, spoke of Guanica as the place where the North American forces entered in 1898. Along with the troops was American soldier David Trail, the first Seventh-day Adventist to step onto the island. It was in Guanica where Trail requested the General Conference to send a missionary to work on the island.
“This is why the city of Guanica was chosen as a special place to receive the traveling Bible,” Pastor Rodriguez said.
The unique Bible continued to the north of the island where thousands witnessed and learned of its journey around the world.
The visit of the traveling Bible in Puerto Rico culminated the church’s months of activities related to the Follow the Bible initiative. The island’s two Adventist radio stations promoted the various Bible-related activities such as Bible reading marathons, Bible transcribing marathons and special community projects.
Top church leaders then traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Jan. 7, where the Bible remained there for five days.
To view photos of the traveling Bible in Puerto Rico, visit http://flickr.com/photos/interamerica