Greetings and Happy 2019 Brethren!

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   I pray all is well. The challenge of writing a newsletter is to fit everything you want to say in a few short paragraphs so as not to put your readers to sleep. I will do my best to fit the highlights of 4 years into Reader’s Digest form. This is my first attempt, so please bear with me. For starters, my name is Jonathan Hazard. Most of you know my father, Lonnie Hazard, missionary to the Philippines. From reading my family’s newsletters, you probably know that I stayed back in our home state of Minnesota when my family came to the US on furlough in March of 2015. It was a blessing to meet a lot of you for the second or third time and get a chance to make new friends in the churches.

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   As my family flew back to the Philippines in 2016, I began life on my own. I felt like I had to take a crash course on adulthood. We never had the need to drive in the Philippines, and so I had to learn how to drive, then I had to buy a car. Since my parents didn’t own a house here in the States, I had to find a place to rent. Everything takes money, and so I had to find a job, open a bank account and start paying the bills. I spent most of 2016 through 2017 trying to prepare to be a husband and for life in general. The Lord caused my cup to overflow with blessings and taught me many of life’s lessons that I desperately needed.

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   This brings me to 2018. By far, this has been the busiest and most blessed year for me. I could write a small book of all the Lord’s blessings from this year alone. On September 8th, I married Stephanie Cariveau, the bride of my dreams. The Lord brought us together in April of 2014 when she came to visit us in the Philippines on a mission’s trip. Men, I will spare your ears the pain of the romantic details of our love story. Needless to say, ladies, if you want to know the editor’s edition, you’ll have to ask my wife. I can tell you that the Lord blesses beyond measure when you honor Him and obey His word. The Lord gave us a perfect wedding and we couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon! We enjoyed a whole week together in the Smokey Mountain National Park! We are currently living in St. Cloud, Minnesota, helping whenever we can at Blessed Hope Baptist Church and also at my father-in-law’s church in St. Cloud.

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   I want to highlight September 29th. This was my first chance to take an introductory flight in Blaine, MN. When I was 15 I knew the Lord wanted me to someday be a missionary pilot. He has confirmed this over and over in the last couple years. I believe missionaries have a great need when it comes to supplies on the mission field. Almost any missionary I ask could use someone to supply them with material, whether it’s tracts and bibles, schooling books, medicine, building materials or even just to get from one remote place to the other. Please pray that the Lord will guide me in the coming years as to what flight school I should attend. I do not have a time table as to when I’m going to start this. I am waiting on the Lord’s timing for it all. It will cost anywhere from $12,000 to $16,000 to get my private pilot’s license. God blessed me with a supportive and God- fearing wife who encourages the vision I have to one day be a missionary pilot, and loves the idea of being a missionary pilot’s wife. I can’t thank the Lord enough for her. I am very excited to have the chance to do this someday. By God’s grace, I will continue to send out updates about this subject in the coming months and years.

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   December marked an exciting month. While traveling on furlough, many of you expressed a desire to purchase a recording of the Hazard siblings playing hymns with our instruments. Unfortunately, with the Pacific Ocean separating us, it’s nearly impossible to make a CD at this time; however, the Lord has given me the unique opportunity to make a violin and piano CD. I am partnered with a very good friend, whom I essentially grew up with, to start our own music studio. His name is Caleb Darling. The Lord has gifted him with an ear for music and we share the same passion for making it. Caleb has experience with music editing and recording that will be a tremendous help in the creation of our new music studio. We are so excited to have this opportunity!

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   At the beginning of this year I purchased and created a website for you to be able to stay up to date with our progress. We ask for two things. First, that you pray for our production as we take on the challenge of creating a music CD for you to enjoy. There are a lot of decisions to make, and we ask for your support in prayer. Second, we ask that you google www.MusicStudioProductions.com 

and enter your email to subscribe for our newsletter. Through this website we will be able to let you know when the project is completed and available for you to purchase! Anything we get from this recording will be used to repair several older instruments that some of you gave during our furlough, and if all goes well, to make a second recording in the future!

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   Before I close this letter, I want to send a call to any willing and able bodies to go on a scripture distribution campaign to Mexico, basing in El Paso, Texas. This is a special 10-day mission trip, scheduled for April 26th through May 6th of 2019. The trip will cost you a little under $850 per person. This covers all transportation, lodging and meals from the time you arrive in El Paso through the end of the campaign; however, each person is responsible for getting to and from El Paso. If you have been praying for a chance to go on a mission trip in 2019, this might be your answer to prayer. The mission trip is put together by Dave Darling, a man I have known my whole life. He’s the associate pastor of our home church and was actually my wife’s youth pastor when she was growing up. Lately, the Lord has laid on his heart and given him the experience needed to start a campaign similar to the ones he has been a participant of in Eastern Europe for the last 15 years with Courier’s for Christ. Brother Dave wanted something similar done for the people of Mexico, but within a shorter amount of time and at a lower price to make it more accessible. This campaign is modeled after the ones in Europe, where in each city tens of thousands of John and Romans are distributed to the public, along with an invitation to a city-wide meeting where the gospel is preached. Many Eastern Europeans attend these meetings to hear the gospel and receive a free Bible for coming. Brother Darling has a flyer with more information if you are interested. Please feel free to contact Bro Darling; daveav1611@hotmail.com or 612-845-3586 (c). There is a limit to how many can go, and the slots may fill up fast. Please contact brother Darling ASAP if you have any interest.

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   Please remember to visit www.MusicStudioProductions.com and enter your email to get our newsletters. It will be a joy to share all the Lord’s blessings with you in the months and years to come! By God’s grace, our CD will be out soon! If you have any questions, feel free to text or call me at 612-799-8127. If you'd prefer to email, our address is contact@musicstudioproductions.com.

 

      Love in Christ,

         Jonathan Hazard