Hello everyone and thank you for coming to read my blog today. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write you but a lot has been happening. I’m sure some of you may be wondering about the title of this blog post. Let me start with “Joy” first. I got married! I got engaged to Rosemary on February 5th and the time flew by as we planned the wedding and the reception and took care of so many details that come with such celebration and ceremony. The church ceremony was at the new chapel at Camp Chacauco on November 26th and it was beautiful. I say the “church ceremony” because here in Ecuador you have to get married before the government first which we did on November 18th at the Civil Registry in Guayaquil. The staff at Camp Chacauco helped us so much we honestly could not have done it without them! Fellow missionary Steve Thompson performed the ceremony and we had a wonderful time at the reception. It was great to have my parents and my aunt Shauna there with me and the prayers of so many of you with us as well. But that’s where “Pain” comes in. As many of you are aware, my brother Rob had been suffering from stomach cancer for over a year and November 18th he passed away. At around 11 o’clock the morning he passed away after 13 months battling cancer. My parents called me at around noon and told me. It was hard. It made me all the more thankful to God to have Rosemary with me. I hope someday soon we will be able to travel together and visit the rest of my family and to meet our brothers and sisters in Christ in Dahlonega. Thank you so much for your prayers for my brother Rob, for my parents, for my brother Andy and for me. The Lord has helped sustain us and to give us peace during this difficult time.
Now to talk about a “New Beginning.” In the fall I began teaching in-person classes again at Huachi Chico Baptist Church. We had a great response at first but attendance has diminished somewhat as the year is coming to an end. Please pray that I will find new ways to get more students involved so that they can hear the Gospel and know the Lord more through His Word. Also pray for Rosemary and me as we begin our life together. May the Lord lead us and guide us in life and in ministry as we serve the Lord together. May God use our marriage for His honor and His glory. May our marriage make us more effective in ministry than we have ever been before. The need is great but our God is greater. May the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ shine through us to guide others into His kingdom. Please pray for me as I continue to minister in the men’s ministry of Huachi Chico Baptist. Pray for the men that they would find the time to gather together to study God’s Word so that they may be equipped for every good work that Lord has prepared beforehand for them to do.
As this year ends, I ask that you would also give to continue to support this ministry. I am so thankful for all those who have given and continue to give. But I also hope that we would have more monthly support. Times are tough. Inflation is on the rise and costs are higher than they have been in years. That is why I don’t ask for this support lightly. But I pray that God would prosper you and your family and free you to give generously to further His kingdom work. I pray that you would join with Rosemary and me here in Ambato, Ecuador to help the light of the Gospel to shine brightly in 2023 and beyond. Thank you and God bless you!
To close, I will leave you with the words of David from Psalm 31. David was in the midst of great trials. Saul was seeking to take his life. The people had abandoned him and had even begun to spread slanderous rumors about him. But even in the midst of such suffering, David said this in verse 19:
'Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!' Psalms 31:19
So remember how great the goodness of our God is. Remember how He saved us through the blood that His only begotten Son shed upon the cross to redeem us, to rescue us from sin and darkness and to adopt us as sons and daughters of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Look to Him always. Especially in difficult times. Remember that our God is faithful and will always keep His promises. God bless you all!
Jonathan Green