At the onset of his missionary career, pastor Luis RodrÃguez and his wife, Lourdes Santiago, were dismayed at the lack of commitment from church members at the church they’d planted in Coamo, Puerto Rico. However, this apathy did not hamper the efforts of these Southern Baptists. Besides, from God's divine perspective, this was only the beginning.
Luis remembers the challenges faced during those uncertain days after being sent by the Raham First Baptist Church of Santa Isabel to plant a new church in Coamo.
"When we arrived at Raham-Coamo, we noticed the believers there didn't really have a commitment to come to the services,” said Rodriguez. “When we were on our way to a prayer service, they started calling to excuse themselves from coming to the service. In that moment I turned and looked at my wife and wondered if our efforts were really worth it. We began doubting if God was really involved.”
When Luis and Lourdes arrived at the small church for the prayer service, only one other couple had come to intercede for God’s work there – but a couple with a very special need.
"With great sorrow in our hearts, we found brother Carlos Santiago and his wife, Andrea, who was kneeling in prayer,” recalls Rodriguez. Andrea’s hair had fallen out due to the chemotherapy she was undergoing to fight her cancer.
“I looked at my wife, she looked at me, and the Lord spoke to my heart, saying, ‘For the love of that solitary life I'm sending you to Coamo. It's one life, one soul. Don't worry about the ones who made excuses and didn’t come.’”
Because of Andrea’s commitment, Luis and Lourdes were motivated to press on with God’s challenge of planting a church in Coamo. The result was the creation of the Raham Baptist Church in Coamo.
The name of the church, "Raham," is the Hebrew word for "God has shown compassion.” This is precisely the spiritual gift that continues to be one of the driving forces behind Rodriguez’s work in Coamo.
Luis and Lourdes Rodriguez are missionaries for the North American Mission Board, responsible for planting churches in Puerto Rico. They are two of the some 5,300 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions, and are among the NAMB missionaries featured as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 7-14, 2010. This year’s theme is “Live with Urgency: Share God’s Transforming Power.” The 2010 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering’s goal is $70 million, 100 percent of which benefits missionaries like Rodriguez.
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