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February 2000
Dear Sisters and Brothers in the faith,
Greetings! It's a pleasure to sit at my desk to write you this
letter. First, we would like to let you know how grateful we are
for your financial support last year. During the year 1999, fourteen
churches of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supported our ministry
with the Worldwide Minsitry Division (WMD) in Louisville, contributing
a total of $19,478.53. That is to say, 70 percent of our salary
last year was given by you. We indeed appreciate your support
in many ways. We are praying for you, for your church leadesrship
and members and, above all, for your evangelistic and outreach
program, so more people will come to know Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Savior. Amen.
Secondly, we'd like to share with you some of our goals for the
year 2000. Our priority and main goal for this year is that God's
will will be done in our lives. As some of you know, this year
is the last year of our first term as mission specialists with
the PC(USA). That is to say, that we all go back to the United
States next year for furlough, now called "interpretation
assignment." The time given for interpretation assignment
is six months, but we are negotiating with WMD to go for one year,
from July 2001 to June 2002. We are doing that for the sake of
our daugthers. The American School here in Fortaleza recommended
that we go for one year, so our daughters will be in the United
States for the whole academic year. My wife and I will be doing
some theological studies at a seminary, and at the same time,
we'll be visiting some supporting churches that have expressed
interest in welcoming us and learning more about our ministry
in this region of Brazil.
At this moment, three main projects we have in mind to accomplish
this year. The first is to enlarge the facilities of the two local
churches I am working with. Both churches are in the need of more
space to develop their ministry adequately. Both churches are
growing in many ways: numerically, spiritually, and financially.
Praise the Lord! The names of these two churches I am working
with are: the Jeressatti Presbyterian Church and the Aerôlandia
Presbyterian Church. Both are located in the city of Fortaleza.
Another project that we are considering is to help buy land and
build a Spiritual Retreat Center for the Presbytery of Ceará.
The Presbytery of Ceará has been working on this project
for many years, but the financial situation of the churches in
the presbytery is such that without help it may take decades to
build the center. Some churches in the presbytery have budgets
that do not surpass $1,500.00.
We praise God that a few weeks ago we received a proposal from
an ecumenical organization that is offering support to help in
some projects. We are concentrating all our efforts to present
this project to this ecumenical organization, which is also supported
by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The coordinating committee
from the United States will be with us by the middle of this year
and would like to see the project(s). Please, I ask your prayers
for the projects, whose only intention is to expand the kingdom
of God in our midst. If you would be willing to cooperate, do
not hesitate to get in touch with me or with the office for South
America at the Worldwide Ministries Division at Presbyterian Church
Center in Louisville (100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396).
Regarding my ministry in the seminary, I will be teaching three
courses this semester: church growth, Christian education, and
introduction to theology. This, for sure, will keep me more than
busy. Besides the responsibilities at these churches and at the
seminary, my wife and I are beginning a prayer group meeting at
home. This group will meet every Wednesday. Please pray for this
prayer group meeting. Our purpose with this group is that by the
end of the year 2000, it will be a new church development.
Also, when groups come from the United States I am here to receive
them in this area of the northeast and help them with translation,
hospitality, and help them learn more about the projects of the
Independent Presbyterian Chruch of Brazil. We are happy to receieve
mission groups from the United States and help them. It helps
us to refresh our English language, too.
My wife and kids are doing okay. Reyna is doing ministry at home,
helping our daughters, especially Kerry, to adjust to this new
environment. Kerry, 7 years old, is in the second grade this year
at the Fortlaeza Academy and is doing very well. She loves her
school and teacher. Kerry is the only student in second grade,
but she is handling the situation very well. In her room there
are also two kids in first grade. In this school there are a total
of 42 students, from first to twelfth grades. It has the same
curriculum that schools have in the United States.
Ashley, 4, our younger daughter, is going to school to learn
English. The Fortaleza Academy (the American school in Fortaleza)
does not have kindergarten, and they require that all students
have a very strong background in English. Ashley likes her three
hours everyday. By God's grace we are becoming tri-lingual, just
as the master Jesus was with His Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. In
our case, Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Reyna is expecting a little Ricky and the due day is March 24.
We are happy about it.
Some of you may know that Reyna is not a U.S. citizen. She is
a permanent resident of the United States and, as such, she must
re-visit the States every two years in order to keep her visa.
Therefore, she needs to return to the U.S. for a visit by the
end of May 2000. I will probably accompany her to help care for
the baby and to help her through the procedures with the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service. It can be irritating and
exhausting to work with the INS.
Once again, in behalf of my family, we express our gratitude
to you all. May God continue to bless you doing God's mission
in the name of JESUS!
Ricardo, Reyna, Kerry, Ashley and Richard Green
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