As the island of Puerto Rico continues its slow recovery from the devastating impact of the September 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria, the International Ministries (IM) missionaries who call Puerto Rico home are also feeling the ripple effect of the fierce storms.

IM global servants have long been blessed by strong financial support from the Puerto Rico churches. But as these churches and families struggle to get back on their feet, their ability to financially support IM and its global servants has dropped dramatically.

IM is urgently seeking help in the amount of $20,000 for each of eight IM missionaries to help close the funding gap in their support. This special appeal is called “Stand in the Gap.”

Your gifts of any amount will bless these global servants and give them the peace of mind of knowing that IM’s faithful donors stand with them, especially when their support is at risk:

Ingrid Roldán-Román
Ketly Pierre
Ricardo Mayol Bracero
Mercy González Barnes
Madeline Flores-López
Deliris Carrión-Joseph
Carlos Bonilla & Mayra Giovanetti

“Puerto Rican Baptists and their churches love their missionaries and provide great prayer and financial support for God’s work,” says Associate Executive Director for Global Mission the Rev. Jim Bell.  “One of the ways we can stand with our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters, in addition to directly supporting their own recovery and rebuilding, is to ‘stand in the gap’ to provide for the needs of the mission and the global servants they support.”

A very concrete way to show our love for God’s mission around the world is by committing to give to our Puerto Rican missionaries for the next two years, helping their crucial ministries to continue and lifting some of the burden from Puerto Rican churches while they focus on rebuilding.

“On behalf of our Puerto Rican missionaries: thank you for standing in the gap with them,” says Area Director for Iberoamerica and the Caribbean Adalia Gutiérrez-Lee.

Thank you for your help during this difficult time! Please give today to Stand in the Gap. With your special gift, you can come alongside the impacted missionaries, encourage the hurting churches in Puerto Rico and stand in the funding gap created by the hurricanes.

In a separate and important disaster relief initiative, American Baptist Home Mission Societies is leading all American Baptists to respond to the needs in Puerto Rico through a multi-year initiative. Please visit “Rebuilding, Restoring, Renewing Puerto Rico” for more information. IM wholly supports this effort.