Rusty Pedersen, the Program Director for Puerto Rico for Crossing Thresholds spoke at the July 21st service as part of the Mission of the Month.  Crossing Thresholds is a Westchester County, NY international service organization that works in Africa and now in Puerto Rico.  Rusty shared slides and information about his work in the community of Mariana, Puerto Rico.  Specifically, he spoke about the rehabilitation of an abandoned elementary school that has been renovated to create a community center called the Center for Transformation.  The Center is being used to house international volunteers, host local programs and will act as a storm shelter in the event of future natural disasters.  Rusty presented the need for a commercial stove/oven to complete the kitchen project.  The stove will be purchased locally and the anticipated cost is $1,900.00 USD.  Rusty also suggested that congregants watch a the video “Hope in the Dark” a documentary on Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico created by film students at the PACE University in NYC.  The video can be found on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/KR7s8H9najw