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By this time, many of the churches that support us now know who
we are. Many of the members who have heard us sharing our stories
had come to us and said, "Now we know who the Greens are."
Others have said: "Now we know of whom the pastor is speaking
when she mentions your names." And others have said: "Now
we know for whom we are praying when your name is given to us."
We believe that making direct contact with supporting churches
is extremely important. It gives us a sense of identity and tells
us that we are not by ourselves in the mission field, that others
are supporting us in many ways.
We'd also like to share with you the wonderful experience I am
having as a student of the doctoral ministry program at the Columbia
Theological Seminary here in Decatur. Presently I am working on
my D. Min. in the specialization of new church development. My
intention is to finish all the required course work during this
year's furlough and then to work on the thesis on returning to
Brazil. Doing this doctoral degree program in one year is consuming
a lot of time, and I ask you to put me in your prayers, that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ might have mercy on me working in
this program. Also pray for my dear wife who has been of great
support during this furlough.
My practicum project requires that I work 400 hours in a local
congregation, Christian organization, hospital, etc. For part
of this, I am serving as coordinator for the Hispanic Lay Leadership
Program which is sponsored by the Office of New Church Development
of the Columbia Theological Seminary, the Presbytery of Greater
Atlanta, the Outreach Foundation, the Cherokee Presbytery, the
Presbytery of North Georgia, and the Office of Hispanic Ministry
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The goal is to prepare the lay leadership of Hispanic Presbyterian
new church developments and Hispanic fellowships in Greater Atlanta.
The classes began last November with twenty students registered
in the program. Part of my responsibilities involve arranging
for the infrastructure of the program: scheduling the classes,
looking for professors, and putting all the necessary pieces together
to have a functioning program.
Lastly, we were privileged to spend our Christmas season in our
native country, Honduras. Reyna and the kids were happy to spend
three weeks with our families in Honduras. My parents were honored
to in the celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, and Reyna
saw her parents for first time since 1996. Reyna's parents were
very excited to see the three children. It was the first time
they'd seen our little Richard.
It is indeed always a pleasure for us to share briefly with you
the many ways God has been blessing us during this first semester
of our furlough. I ask your prayers for all of us, Reyna, Kerry,
Ashley, and Richard, as we look forward to sharing our stories
of the great things God is doing in our midst and through us.
Praise be to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yours in Christ's service,
The Greens: Ricardo Reyna, Kerry, Ashley, and Richard
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page
258
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