Suffering and the Glory of God

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I’m so thankful that you took time out of your day to read about what God has been doing here in Ecuador. I hope that this post finds you and your family well and that it will also bless and encourage you to seek a deeper relationship with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The past two months have flown by as I have continued to teach my students English and, most importantly, from God’s Holy Word. I have a small and faithful group of students and I continue to come up with new ways to teach them despite the challenges of an online format. Please pray for my students. Pray that their hearts would be open to receive the Gospel and to put into practice what is written in God’s Word.

Restrictions have lifted somewhat here in the country and churches are finally allowed to meet so long as they follow strict guidelines. Everyone must continue to wear his or her mask and each person’s temperature must be taken prior to participating in the church service. Yesterday marked the first Sunday that Huachi Chico Baptist Church met in person since the pandemic began. We met across the street from the church in an open space so that we would have more ventilation, but it also gave us the opportunity to share the gospel with all of our neighbors too! It was such a blessing to see everyone in person again!

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting over the suffering that we see all around the world. Suffering is not to be unexpected in the Christian life but rather it is to be expected at different times throughout our walk with Christ. The Lord says to us through Peter in 1st Peter 4:12:

“ Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”

— 1st Peter 4:12

So we should not be surprised at the trials and tribulations of this life. But we should take each trial, each “fiery ordeal,” as an opportunity to grow in faith and to have a deeper love for our Savior as we depend upon Him. The Lord also tells us in the book of Romans that He is always working for the good of those who love Him:

“ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

— Romans 8:28

So in Christ Jesus our sufferings have meaning. God is accomplishing something in us that can only be accomplished by allowing us to suffer. But what could be so good that it is worth the pain that many of us are going through right now?

“ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ”

— Romans 8:17-18

So the glory of God that will be revealed in us is so great, that Paul, who suffered so much throughout his ministry, said that it is not even worth comparing the two. But these verses do not address the significance behind suffering. What is suffering achieving for us?

“ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

— 2nd Corinthians 4:16-18

And here we have the Lord’s answer. Many times we feel like our suffering is meaningless. I am sure the apostles felt this way while Jesus was in the tomb. Martha and Mary could not understand why Jesus delayed in coming and let their brother Lazarus die. All of us, while we are in the midst of our suffering begin to doubt and to ask the question: Why? This is our answer. God allowed suffering to happen to Mary and to Martha so that His glory would be revealed. God also allowed His one and only Son to suffer and die to save sinners. Not because we deserve it, but for His honor and His glory. We have all suffered throughout this year. We all had hopes and dreams for this year that did not come to pass. Some of us have lost our jobs. Some of us have lost loved ones. But God says to you, that if you are in Christ Jesus not one second of your suffering is wasted. It is achieving for you an “eternal glory” that far exceeds the “light and momentary troubles” that you are facing today. So I urge you, if you have not repented of your sins and received the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, do it today! Let today be the day of salvation for you! All of the suffering that you have gone through has brought you to this moment, has brought you to the foot of the Cross so that you might be saved and that you might share in Christ’s glory. For those of us who know Him and have been called according to His purpose, let us trust Him. Let us take our eyes off of the “light and momentary troubles” that we are facing and let us fix our eyes “…on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog today! Please continue to pray for me and for my students and for the people of Ecuador. If you feel led to give to this ministry, I would greatly appreciate your support! There are two ways that you can give online. The first is through this link: globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green or, if you are giving through Dahlonega Baptist Church, you can use the following link: app.securegive.com/dbch/dahlonega-baptist-church/donate/category and designate the funds for “Jon Green Ministry.”

May God bless you and keep you and uphold you with His righteous right hand.

Blessings,

Jonathan Green

The Heart of Man and the Heart of God

Hello everyone! Thank you for coming to read my blog today! I hope that you and your loved ones are well and seeking the Lord in prayer and in His Word each and every day! Here is a quick update about what has been going on with me and what is happening here in Ecuador. I am well. By God’s mercy and grace, I have not gotten sick and the Lord continues to sustain me through His peace. I continue to give my classes online throughout the week, sharing from God’s Word to encourage and to convict. Attendance has been up and down lately, as many of them are working online and are required, at times, to work outside of normal business hours. Continue to pray for me that I might teach with clarity and conviction from the Scripture and that I would also be constantly searching for new and dynamic ways to teach English, so that they would feel encouraged to continue to study English and to hear the Living Word of God.

The situation here in Ecuador is very delicate. Cases continue to rise across the country and the healthcare system is not adequately equipped to handle the cases of COVID-19 in addition to all of the other healthcare needs that they would normally face. In spite of the dangers, people are going out and working and gathering in groups. Everyone is wearing a mask because it is required by law. If someone is found outside without a mask, they are fined. The masks have helped the situation from getting completely out of control as people have to work in order to provide for themselves and their families. Please be in prayer for the people of Ecuador, especially for those who are going out and working. Pray for wisdom for all of the government officials. Pray that they would be honest, as we have seen some high-profile cases of corruption, that they would recognize that they will have to give account to the Lord. Pray for all of the pastors and churches, so that the Gospel may continue to be preached throughout Ecuador and more and more Ecuadorians might be saved.

I pray that you would take joy in putting His commands into practice and in sharing with others the promises of God. I pray that you would humbly help others to see the sin in their lives and, out of love for God and for them, you would lead them to the foot of the Cross. This a challenge for all of us but this challenge is not optional. It is the command of our Savior and our Lord (Matthew 28:18-20). The Lord has called us to love Him with all that we are and all that we have, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). But we are called to love not as the world loves, but love as God loves. We are called to love with patience and forgiveness and we are also called to love by convicting others of their sin and their need for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the same love that Christ showed us. He made us aware of our sin, and the consequences, but he also made a way for us to be with Him and to avoid the punishment that each of us deserves because He took that punishment upon Himself. He helped us to learn that the heart of man is sick and stained by sin and that the heart of God is to redeem a people for Himself and for His glory. In Christ Jesus, we have the perfect example of the love that flows out from the heart of God and all Christians are called to be imitators of Christ, to pour out the love that Jesus has shown us into to lives of those around us.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! I hope and pray that you and your family and all of your loved ones are staying safe during this public health crisis. Always remember that our hope is in Jesus Christ. He has promised that He will be with us to the very end and He keeps His promises.

If you feel led to give to this ministry, I would greatly appreciate your support! There are two ways that you can give online. The first is through this link: globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green or, if you are giving through Dahlonega Baptist Church, you can use the following link: app.securegive.com/dbch/dahlonega-baptist-church/donate/category and designate the funds for “Jon Green Ministry”

Blessings from Ecuador,

Jonathan Green

Independence Day

To everyone from the United States, I want to wish you a happy Independence Day! I hope that everyone who reads this blog is well and I pray that the Lord would bless you and your loved ones and guide you all closer to Him!

You may be wondering why I chose the phrase, “Independence Day,” instead of “Fourth of July” or just “4th.” I chose this phrase for a reason. I chose it because while we as Americans celebrate our independence from Great Britain, many of us choose to remain enslaved. Many of us who say that we love freedom choose to remain in chains. It is not only an American problem, it is a human problem. I am sure some of you are wondering what I am talking about. Some of you know the only source of true freedom. Jesus Christ. Most of the people in the United States that are celebrating freedom today are in bondage to sin and death. Let us read God’s Word, given to us through the Apostle John in the third chapter of the Gospel that bears his name:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

John 3:16-21

Here we see the heart of man and the heart of God. We see that God loved the world, but the people loved darkness. They love the darkness because they know, even if they do not recognize it consciously, that what they are doing is wrong. That the thoughts, attitudes and feelings they have toward God, toward others and toward themselves, is wrong. But they love the darkness, because the darkness does not make them confront their sin. The Light does. Christ does. For my fellow Christians, we are called to be salt and light by our Savior and our Lord. We are set free from slavery to sin and death. But, sadly, many of us still have the minds and hearts of slaves. Much like the Israelites in the desert, we have been freed from Egypt, but our minds and hearts long to go back there.

What we have seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the killings of African-Americans and the protests and violence that were sparked in their wake, has been the heart of man revealed for all to see. We have seen selfishness, pride, greed, corruption, hatred and violence. Things that were hidden behind a mask during good times have been revealed during these times of crisis that we are all facing. The question that now faces us is this: “What do we do?”

Now more than ever, we must first confront the sin in our own lives. We must examine our own hearts and minds by the light of the Word of God and see where we are falling short so that we can use what we have learned to help others. Let us read the words of Jesus, recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Luke 6:41-42

This does not mean that we ignore the sins of others but it means that we always begin with ourselves. We do this not only out of humility, recognizing our own imperfections, but so that we can more clearly see the problem that others are facing and help them through it. How can we show others the light when we cannot see it clearly ourselves. We need to ask ourselves some hard questions. What are some of the thoughts and feelings I have towards God? Do they honor Him? Or do they mistreat Him? And what of my thoughts for others? Do I love others as I love myself? Or do I harbor hatred for those that are different than me? Do I dismiss the suffering of others as being exaggerated? And what about the thoughts about myself? Do I view myself as being without sin? Do I compare myself to others and think ‘I’m better than them?’ These are more than just superficial questions. Each of us needs to take the time to examine ourselves, seeking the Lord’s guidance in prayer, and holding our lives up to the light of Scripture to see if our attitudes, our thoughts, our desires and our deeds are good or evil.

It is when our union with Christ is made more perfect that we will experience a more perfect union in our nation and our world. We know that not all who hear the message of the Gospel will receive it, but we do know that some will and that God will always receive honor and glory for it. So I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to not only proclaim the light of the Gospel, but to live the light for others to see.

Take time on this Independence Day to reflect on whether or not you are truly free from sin and death. If you are not yet free, I ask you to come into to the light. To repent and ask for the forgiveness from God that awaits all those who are willing to receive it and to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For my brothers and sisters in Christ, I ask you to reflect on your walk with your Lord. Seek His presence, daily, in prayer and in the meditation on His Word. Abandon the mindset and the “heartset” of a slave to sin and experience the freedom that our Heavenly Father has given to all of His children.

Please be in prayer for me as I continue to serve the Lord here in Ecuador. Please consider becoming a regular-giving partner in this ministry, so that I can continue to share the Gospel and to drive away the darkness with His marvelous light. I pray that you would join me carrying the message of hope, the message that Christ lives and offers an abundant life of freedom from sin for all who would receive it. Conditions here are difficult. Hospitals and clinics all over the country are filled to capacity, with more seeking treatment. Pray for those that are suffering. I ask, specifically, for prayers for Ivonne Almeida. She is the wife of pastor Jonathan Constante, pastor of First Baptist Church Ambato. She is currently in a diabetic coma in one of the hospitals here in Ambato. Normally, she would be taken directly to ICU, however, because of the pandemic, all of the ICU beds are full. Please pray for healing for her and that God would comfort her husband and two children and all of her family.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I hope that this message was challenging and edifying at the same time. If you have any questions you can contact me via email at: chacaucojon@gmail.com. If the Lord has led you to give to this ministry, you can do so online at: https://globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green

May God bless you, your loved ones and the United States of America!

Jonathan Green

Life and Ministry Under Quarantine

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I’m glad that you dropped by today and I hope that you and all of your loved ones are well in the midst of these difficult times! I am doing well given the circumstances. I have stayed in good health and I have everything I need here at home. The restrictions here in Ecuador began in earnest around the 12th of March when the ban on large gatherings went into effect. Churches had little time to adapt for the first Sunday after the ban but some pastors were already transmitting their sermons live from their homes and have continued to do so during this quarantine. Curfews were also put in place soon afterwards and became more and more strict as time went on and is now from 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. I go out as infrequently as possible. I go to the supermarket once every two weeks and that is the only time I spend outside my home. Ecuador is very vulnerable and has suffered a lot because of COVID-19. Please pray for the people of Ecuador during this trying time. Pray for God’s provision for those in need, pray for protection for the doctors and nurses and all essential personnel who are keeping things running, and pray that the Lord would be at work in the minds and hearts of Ecuadorians and that they would realize that God is in control and that they would recognize their need for a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

In spite of the quarantine I have been able to continue to give some of my classes online. It was difficult at first, trying to find the right methods and the right materials to use in an online format, but we have been able to find a rhythm that has allowed me to continue to teach English and to share God’s Word. My students have been so thankful to have the classes and have shared how it has helped them and has made these days of quarantine easier to bear.

There are a lot of uncertainties ahead, but I continue to trust in the Lord that He is with me and that He will provide what I need. No one on Earth is certain how long this will last or what the world will look like afterwards, but the Lord knows. The Lord knows and I trust Him. I hope that you will join me in prayer for all of those most affected by this pandemic. For those that are ill, for those that have lost loved ones, for the doctors and nurses who are fighting every day to save lives, for those who have lost their jobs, for those who are literally dying of hunger, for wisdom for all governments and leaders of all nations and for ourselves. May we all seek the Lord more and more and may we place our faith and our trust in His love and in His goodness. May we turn our eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. May God bless you and protect you and your family. And, when all of this is over, may we celebrate together by giving the honor and glory to our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. I will end my blog with the priestly blessing of Aaron for the nation of Israel. I join with them in lifting this prayer for you and all of your loved ones:

24 “‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

Numbers 6:24-26

May God bless you all.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Green

New Year, New Update

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I hope that all of you had wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations with family and friends! For Christmas, I enjoyed spending time with Pastor Carlos and his family in his home. For New Year’s Eve, we held a time of fellowship, worship and the study of God’s Word culminating with a meal shared together just before midnight. When the clock struck 12, we all wished each other a happy new year!

New Year’s Eve Bible Study

A week into January, I began my classes again. It was a slow start at first, it seemed like my students were still on vacation! But after another week things got back to normal as returned to learn English and the Word of God. Please continue to pray for me, that I may be used by the Lord to lead my students closer to Him and that those that do not know Him, may receive the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

I also pray that you would consider giving to this ministry. I know that there are many ministries and many other places that you could invest the resources that God has placed in your hands. I hope that God would give you a heart for the people of Ecuador and for what God is doing through this ministry to reach people with the Gospel and to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Ambato, Ecuador. This ministry depends on donations from people like you. There are ongoing needs that are not met and in order to grow this ministry I will need additional support. I am so thankful for those who have donated and continue to donate! You form a special part of this ministry and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to follow God’s calling. If you would like to give online you can follow this link: http://globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog today! May the Lord bless you and keep you this day and every day!

Blessings from Ecuador,

Jonathan Green

End of the Year Update

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! It’s been nearly three months since the last update so there’s a lot to catch up on! The month of October was a very difficult month here in Ecuador, there was a nationwide protest that was primarily in response to the removal of a fuel subsidy. For an entire week the country was shut down. The highways between the cities were closed off by the protesters and no food was coming into the cities or leaving the farms. After a week, the government lifted the order to remove the fuel subsidy and began to negotiate with the leaders of the groups that had organized the protests. Here in Ambato , the protests were mostly peaceful, but there was some looting going on and the neighborhoods had to organize to defend themselves as the police had their hands full with the protesters. Thankfully, things returned to normal fairly quickly. Within a day or two it was as if nothing had happened. I was unable to have my classes during the, “Paro,” which translates, roughly, to stoppage. The next week was affected as well as my students took care of the needs that they were unable to take care of the week before. But by the following week, my classes had returned to normal also. In November, I celebrated my birthday on the 7th. I would like to thank everyone who sent emails or made comments on Facebook for their kind words of encouragement! Classes continued with a few new students having joined, including a kid who is a nephew of one of the members of Huachi Chico Baptist. He isn’t a Christian and neither is his family, so please join me in prayer that he and his family may receive the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. December has just begun, but attendance has become irregular. The Christmas season is a busy time as those in school are taking exams before their Christmas break. While the adults in my classes have additional obligations that keep them from attending on a more regular basis. In one of my classes, I am teaching them how to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Last week, I received them in my home and we practiced singing together.

My hope and prayer for all who read this is that you can truly focus on Christ. Not only during this Christmas season, but throughout the year. We often live such distracted lives that we forget what is truly important. We forget what the Lord has done for us. Christmas is a chance for us to slow down to focus on the miracle of Christ’s birth and the sacrifice He made so that we might become children of God. So take a moment, each day, especially during this Christmas season, to reflect on what God has done for you. Reflect on the depth of His love for you and how He was willing to step down from Heaven to live among us and to sacrifice Himself for us. The Lord made Him who had no sin, to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. So let us demonstrate the love and grace that He has shown us to others.

May God bless you and keep you this Christmas and may the coming year be filled with blessings for you and your loved ones. Not only for you to enjoy them, but so that you may share the blessings the Lord has given you with others.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Blessings,

Jonathan Green

August and September Update

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Thank you for stopping by to hear about what God has been doing through this ministry the past couple of months! As I mentioned in my last post, I had a Vacation English Course for kids. I had about 30 kids for three weeks and in each class I told them a Bible story in English and we practiced pronunciation and played some games and by the end of the course some of the kids were sad that it was over!

After the course was finished we had a special event where we gave each child a certificate recognizing their achievement. This event also presented an opportunity for Pastor Carlos Paredes and myself to share the Gospel with their parents as well. The past month I have continued with my afternoon and evening classes however, over the past couple of weeks, some new students have joined and we have had some good discussions about the Bible and what it means to be a Christian. Please continue to pray for me and my students that God would be at work in the lives of my students and that I would be His instrument.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! I hope that it was an encouragement to you to know how God is at work here in Ecuador! I want to thank all of you for your prayers but most of all for your financial support. Without your support this would not be possible! When you give, you are not giving to me, but you are participating in bringing the Gospel message of hope to those who need it! Please consider donating so that this ministry would continue to reach the people of Ambato, Ecuador with the Gospel. If you would like to donate, click the following link: https://globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green ,if you would like more information about Global Outreach International please follow this link: https://globaloutreach.org/ to their website which will provide you with information about Global as well as how to contact them if you need any further details.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this update and I hope that the Lord would bless you this day and every day after!

Blessings from Ecuador,

Jonathan Green

Here I am with one of my students receiving his certificate.

Back in Ecuador!

Hello everyone! After a long time between posts, I’m back with an update of what I’ve been doing the past month and a look ahead to ministry opportunities coming up. I’ve had a great month back here in Ecuador! After a week of getting settled back in, I worked alongside Steve and Carol Thompson and Camp Chacauco and a youth choir from Dawson Baptist Church near Birmingham, Alabama. The youth choir was made up of 101 girls and boys and 45 adults accompanied them as leaders and chaperones. We traveled to different communities putting on concerts and when we weren’t doing that we split into “smaller” groups of about 30 each and had Vacation Bible School in Patate, Pelileo, and Ambato. After a great week serving together with them, I settled back in to my normal class schedule while gearing up for an English course for kids for 5 days a week for the next three weeks. Please be in prayer that God would use me to impact the lives of the children who come to learn English so that they would learn that there is a God that loves them and sacrificed his only Son so that they could have a relationship with Him.

None of this would be possible without the prayers and financial support of my brothers and sisters in Christ from Dahlonega Baptist Church. I had such a blessed time together with you in the month of May, sharing what the Lord has been doing here in Ecuador on a Wednesday night, eating homemade ice cream together at my Grandmother’s home, and worshiping our Lord together on Sunday mornings. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I thank you for joining together with me in showing the love of Christ to the people of Ecuador. I thank you for allowing me to serve my Lord. I thank God for you and pray for you every day and I hope and pray that this blog will bring joy to your heart just as your love and support brings joy to mine. Thank you so much and may God bless you this day and every day after!

February Update

Hello everyone and a belated Happy New Year! Welcome to my first blog post of 2019! Thanks to all of your prayers and support, 2019 is off to a great start! But first, a little bit about my December. I had a great December celebrating Christmas with my neighbors and a great time of fellowship celebrating New Year’s Eve with my brothers and sisters in Christ here in Huachi Chico. I also held classes with pastors to help prepare them for their doctoral studies in theology. January started slowly as we transitioned from the holidays back to a more normal schedule. All of the classes returned to normal including my class in Pelileo which, with the new year, added some new students. I’m so excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of these new students! The class with the pastors has been on break since Christmas as the pastors were with their families and soon after the new year started they traveled to Guatemala to begin their doctoral program. They have only recently returned to Ecuador and I hope we can start our classes again to continue to help them further their education. February has been busy, not only with classes, but with a couple of great opportunities! A week ago I had the opportunity to help translate for a medical group. Because of my classes I was only able to help one day, but I was able to translate for a doctor in the morning and in the afternoon I was sharing the Gospel with the patients that came to the clinic.

Here I am using what is called an “EvangeCube” to share the Gospel

Here I am explaining how Christ is the only way for us to be with God and to have eternal life.

Please be in prayer that the seed of the Gospel was planted in good soil and that all who heard would receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. I had another opportunity this week but it is still in the planning stages and I hope to tell you more about in the future!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! I hope that it was an encouragement to you to know how God is at work here in Ecuador! I want to thank all of you for your prayers but most of all for your financial support. Without your support this would not be possible! When you give, you are not giving to me, but to see God’s kingdom expanded and for people to pass from death to life. Please consider donating so that this ministry would continue to reach the people of Ambato, Ecuador with the Gospel. If you would like to donate, click the following link: https://globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green ,if you would like more information about Global Outreach International please follow this link: https://globaloutreach.org/ to their website which will provide you with information about Global as well as how to contact them if you need any further details.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this update and I hope that the Lord would bless you this day and every day after!

Blessings from Ecuador,

Jonathan Green

November Update

Hello everyone! I’m back again, finally, with another update to fill you in on the great things that have been happening! The month of October came and went so quickly as I was busily teaching classes and participating in a special event at Camp Chacauco. From October 11-13, Camp Chacauco invited me to assist with translating for a group of pastors from the United States who gave lectures on theology and the church. Steve Thompson and Esteban Martinez translated the lectures but I was able to help the pastors interact with Ecuadorian pastors and I also translated questions and comments for the other pastors who were not giving the lecture at that time. It was such an encouragement to learn from these servants of the Lord and help them as they shared their knowledge with pastors and leaders here in Ecuador. These lectures finished on the 12th and then a conference on marriage and family began which continued until the night of the 13th. I helped the pastors from the US interact with couples attending the conference and it was really a blessing to see the impact that the Lord was making through these pastors on the lives, marriages, and families of these couples.

November has also been really busy with classes and on the 7th I celebrated my birthday! Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes but I especially want to thank everyone who sent me a card. It was incredible! Thank you so much to everyone from Dahlonega Baptist Church and my family and friends for all the wonderful words you shared, it was really special! A few days after my birthday we had a special event at Huachi Chico Baptist Church here in Ambato. The pastor invited everyone who could come to a half-day fast on Monday the 12th . It was an edifying time where me, and church members, joined the pastor at the church for 5 hours dedicated to the Lord. We read and studied His word, sang songs of praise, and we prayed over each person that came. The time seemed to fly by as we enjoyed our time together with each other and the Lord. One of my prayer requests was for my parents’ trip to visit me during Thanksgiving week. In the days before they came I was scrambling around trying to get everything ready for their arrival but everything worked out really well. On Sunday the 18th ,during church my Dad and me sang a hymn, in English, as a special music and afterwards we went out to eat lunch with some church members who then took us to a nearby community to shop and to enjoy beautiful views of the entire city of Ambato. On Wednesday the 21st, I went with my Dad to visit Camp Chacauco and to visit the nearby city of Baños. We had a good time of fellowship with the staff of the Camp and then we went over to Baños where we drove up to a restaurant that is high above the city where we ate lunch and enjoyed the view. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday and I also translated for my Dad as he gave the Bible study later that night at Huachi Chico Baptist. It was such a blessing to have them here and the church members here in Ambato were excited to have them and they were always encouraging them to come back soon. My parents were also the ones who brought all of your birthday cards and they were sure to get a picture of me with all of them!

A picture of me with all of your cards on my dining room table!

I also celebrated Thanksgiving at Camp Chacauco this past Saturday, the 24th, with the pastors of the association of Baptist churches here in the mountains of Ecuador. It was a really enjoyable time getting to see and visit with some pastors I had not seen in a while. I have also been presented with an opportunity to help three pastors who are preparing to go and study for their doctorates in theology at the Baptist Seminary of Guatemala. Some of their course material is not translated into Spanish so I will be teaching them to read and understand English so that they can complete their studies and eventually receive their doctorates. Please be in prayer for me and for these pastors as we prepare before beginning these intensive classes on the 12th of December. Also be in prayer for PESCA Baptist Theological Seminary, once these pastors finish their doctorates they will be the first doctoral faculty of this seminary. Please pray that God will continue to bless this seminary as it prepares the next generation of pastors and leaders to carry the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their churches and their communities. Please continue to pray for me and the classes and especially for my students that they would draw closer to the Lord through the hearing of God’s Word in my classes.

Thank you stopping by my blog today! I hope that it was a blessing and an encouragement to you to hear what God is doing here in Ecuador. As I mentioned before, please be in prayer for me and this ministry but also please consider donating so that this ministry would continue to reach the people of Ambato, Ecuador with the Gospel. If you would like to donate, click the following link: https://globaloutreach.org/giving/missionary-details/jonathan-green ,if you would like more information about Global Outreach International please follow this link: https://globaloutreach.org/ to their website which will provide you with information about Global as well as how to contact them if you need any further details.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this update and I hope that the Lord would bless you this day and every day after!

Blessings from Ecuador,

Jonathan Green