December 2003

And do not be conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

When the time comes to write a newsletter, I hesitate. Instead of writing about my mission work, I would like to use Christmas newsletter to share with you how we have been tremendously blessed throughout the year 2003.

First, I will share a reflection of the many blessings we have received from God. Secondly, I want to say how grateful I am for the support I have received from my dear wife Reyna, and my dear three children, who have helped me to accomplish my missionary work in this country; and thirdly, I want to tell you about a new ministry that I have initiated in different Presbyterian churches around the area of Fortaleza.

One of our goals in our life as a family at the beginning of this year was to incarnate the words of the scripture found in the book of Romans: “be you transformed.”

As a Christian, I believe that the primary goal in the life of a believer will always be the desire to grow and mature in the Christian faith. As believers, the expectation that we grow at the same spiritual level and dimension as Jesus grew is part of our own Christian nature. In different ways in the Gospels we find that Jesus constantly reminds us: to be perfect, as His heavenly Father is perfect. As humans, this is difficult to accomplish, but the challenge to be transformed as the Apostle Paul mentioned is always before us. We may never be perfect, as Jesus demanded, but pursuing perfection shall be the goal of every Christian in order to be transformed. As followers of Christ, this great invitation is given to us from God: “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”

I would to share with you about the great support that I have received throughout these years from Reyna and our three children. Without this support, I do not know how I could have done the mission work in this region of Brazil. It reminds me what Naomi said in the book of Ruth: “your people shall be my people and your God my God.” I do really appreciate their support, their courage, and their faith, which helps and nurtures my faith.

Third, I would like to share with you an experience I had with some of my students who recently graduted from the seminary. Last semester I had the privilege of teaching a class in urban ministry. We studied the mission of the church in the city and how public theology (outside the church building) had been reduced to private theology inside the church.

In teaching this course, I intentionally included a chapter called “The Word on the Street,” which described a practice doing theology outside the very church building where the students met each Sunday.

By beginning their experience of the Word proclaimed on the sidewalk outside the church building, I exposed my students to the biblical and theological insights of the pioneers of the primitive Church, such as Paul and the disciples of Jesus who, according to the book of Acts, preached Christ in the marketplaces, in the theaters, on the streets, and by visiting houses and knocking on doors.

This activity of preaching the gospel of Christ on the sidewalks in front of the churches has become a fascinating experience in the life of the students, as well for the life of the seminary, and for the life of the local churches.

We began preaching on the sidewalk of the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fortaleza every Wednesday for two hours, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. As a result of this, the leadership of this particular church has assumed responsibility over this activity. Now, two more Presbyterian churches around the city have begun this type of ministry on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to noon. And two more churches are planning to start their sidewalk ministry soon!

Have we been blessed tremendously by God throughout this year 2003? Yes! God has been good to us. He has enabled us in such special ways to be grateful at Him and to be grateful for the support of my family. God has blessed us by giving us the courage to go outside the parameters of the church building and preach His Word. Please do not forget to keep us in your prayers, especially for this ministry in the lives of many Presbyterian churches in Fortaleza.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, 2004.

Yours in Christ’s service,

The Greens: Ricardo, Reyna, Kerry, Ashley and Richard

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 146