Happy New Year to you all! I am thankful that you have taken the time to read my blog today! It has been a long time since I have shared an update and I apologize for that. A lot has happened, both good and bad. I continued teaching English and sharing the Gospel. I continued preaching in Huachi Chico Bapist Church and in other churches as well. But I think it is time to explain, but to excuse, my recent lack of updates.
In September, my wife and I discovered that she was pregnant. We were so overjoyed. Even though it was still early, we told family and friends and some of our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Ecuador. However, eight weeks into the pregnancy the doctor detected that the baby was not growing normally. He told us that it probably was what we feared but he told us to wait one more week to see if there was any change. So we held out hope. We prayed. Our family, friends, and our Ecuadorian brothers in Christ prayed. But the will of our Lord was to take our baby to be with Him.
It is painful to write these things. Even now my eyes are filled with tears. But the Lord is faithful and good even in the midst of trial. Many times we cannot understand what God has planned in the moment, and perhaps we will never understand it this side of Glory, but He is faithful to His Word and to His promises. He has promised to neither leave us nor forsake us just as He promised to Joshua in Joshua 1:5. He has promised to uphold us with His “righteous right hand” in Isaiah 41:10. He has promised that His thoughts towards us are for “good and not for evil”, to give us “a future and a hope” in Jeremiah 29:11. 'And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ' Romans 8:28 He has kept all of these promises to us.
It has been painful to write but you deserved an explanation for the lack of communication on my part. This is not an excuse. Your prayers and financial support are the means by which the Lord keeps me and Rosemary on the field serving Him and the people of Ambato and other parts of Ecuador. So I humbly ask for your forgiveness and your understanding as my grief has made it difficult for me to write as I should. Continue to pray for us as God continues to heal our hearts. Pray for us that the Lord would use our pain for His glory and for the furthering of His Kingdom here in Ecuador. Pray for us that we would look forward to what the Lord woud have has do in this New Year.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my blog today. I am sure it was difficult to read. But I hope you stay tuned as I will be publishing a normal blog post to update on some of the things that God has allowed us to do in the previous months. Thank you again and God bless you!
Blessings,
Jonathan Green