Well, after much persecution on the part of a certain younger brother, and much time thinking about what to put on our first post, here it comes at last! Hopefully now we've started it will be easier to make more regular posts, but for the moment I'll take this opportunity to launch our most recent prayerletter. If you would like a hard copy, please give us your address and we'll send it to you.

January 2005
Dear friends and family,

Many warm greetings from Stoke on Trent! As this is our first joint prayer letter since we got married nine months ago, we thought we would give you an update on the last few months, and an apology for waiting so long before writing! We had a wonderful wedding service in Kansas City where many of Monika’s friends and relations were able to celebrate with us, along with a small delegation of friends and family from England, who made the day all the more special. After an adventurous honeymoon which involved a 2,500 mile road trip to Mexico and back, we returned to our home in England where we had another blessing service for our European and British connection. It was so good to meet so many people again, some of whom we had not seen for many years.

Once our wedding celebrations were over, it was back to work for Monika, and back to study for me, as I had exams for some language courses which I had been studying over the last year (German and Spanish). I had also just finished a course in teaching English as a foreign language, and so was looking for a job in that area over the summer and into the next year. However, as we were looking through our wedding cards, we noticed a letter from Operation Mobilisation, the organisation with which we had both worked for three years. It was a request for me to help with the staffing shortage on MV Logos 2 by working in the book hold onboard while it was in the Caribbean. And so it was, after two months of marriage, that I went off to sea while Monika stayed at home working in the local hospital.

Shortly before I left for the Logos 2, a mutual friend of ours from the Doulos came to stay with us. Janet Corin is from New Zealand and has been looking for a job in Britain. It was great to see how the Lord provided a friend to stay with Monika while I was away. Janet returned to New Zealand over the Christmas period and is looking forward to finding a longer term job in the UK, possibly leading to missionary service overseas. Please pray that she will be able to find the right job and that she will draw closer to the Lord during this time.

During my two month stay on the Logos 2, Monika was able to take a two week break from her work to visit me in Barbados. It was great to be able to meet up again, and also for Monika to see the Logos 2 and its ministry. During her visit, we flew to Puerto Rico for a week to see a ministry there called Distributadora Bereana (Berean distributors). They are a Christian book ministry focusing on the Spanish speaking world and also have a local Christian bookshop which is run both by a missionary pastor from America, Noble Vater, and also some members of the church. Many of the books are translated from English as there is a shortage of good study literature in Spanish. It was encouraging to see the work which has been done up to this point, and it was useful to see something of the kind of ministry that we might be involved with in the future. We are still unsure about where the Lord will be leading us and we would value your prayers as we seek His will.

Monika continues to work as a nurse, and has appreciated the opportunity to witness to some of the patients and fellow staff members on the wards as she is moved around the hospital to where ever there is a shortage. She is also involved with the Sunday school, although attendance has been quite low and we are praying for some more young families in the church. (In fact, Monika and another newly-wed friend sometimes feel that they are being monitored for any progress in this area!) It has been encouraging to see the church’s continued spiritual growth and enthusiasm for evangelism and prayer, and we very much enjoy being a part of it.

On arriving back from the ship, I had been looking forward to an observed lesson at the local college, and had hopes of a job in the near future teaching English. However, as they have had no opening for employment yet, I have been working with UCB, a Christian radio station which broadcasts mainly within Europe and on the internet. It has been good to work within a Christian environment, furthering God’s kingdom from yet another perspective and to learn some new skills.

Future plans: I will be completing my language courses in May, and we are praying about what the next step should be. I would like to gain some experience teaching abroad and we are thinking of serving in the Spanish speaking world in the long term future, so we are currently praying about the possibility of visiting Spain, possibly doing a summer outreach and then seeing where the Lord is leading us from there though at the moment we feel more and more that He might be keeping us in Stoke for another year. Please pray with us that we will know God’s will in this and that we will stay close to Him in all circumstances.

It has been a very eventful year and it has been a great privilege to catch up with many of you, especially at our wedding celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic. We hope you all had a very happy Christmas and wish you God’s richest blessings in this New Year!

With much love,

Jonathan and Monika Roberts