Return Update

Dear Friends and Family,

We have returned safely from our two month internship to Ghana. Here we encountered the culture of a new culture and country. The most distinguishing characteristic of Ghana is her hospitality, where it is easy to find welcome.

We joined with national translators. These are dedicated people who sacrifice time away from farms and families in order to serve God for a job that is most often volunteer work. Being a translator helps to connect people to the Scriptures like never before through the language they understand best. The national translators taught us the principles they use for Bible translation, and how they go into the villages to test the translation for understandability.

Bible translation is always accompanied by literacy projects. This is the process of teaching the nationals how to read and write in their own language, with the short-term goal of helping them with their education and with getting jobs, and a long-term goal of enabling the people to read the Bible in their own language.

We also learned about Ghanaian culture. This includes the wonderful and colorful clothing, how to eat and prepare the different foods, the Ghanaian-English accent, the methods of hospitality and greeting, and the daily manual chores. Chores include hand-washing clothes and dishes, filling our own buckets of water from a rainwater well, taking our bath from one of these buckets, sweeping every day with a grass broom, and shooing away the free-range chickens and goats.

Of everything , the most important part of this trip was the relationships. Our host family was Prince Michael and his wife Florence, with their two children Samuel and Joseph. They were so happy to have us, so fun to be with as an addition to their family, and our nights sitting around a communal bowl of food talking for hours were priceless. Esther, one of the project volunteers, taught us how to cook Ghanaian food, showed us how to navigate and barter for supplies in the market. She even brought us around to greet her family. There is Pastor Ofori, the very first pastor of his language group. His testimony is the story of how his new church both grew and suffered in its early years, and how God used him to bring light into the troubled waters of traditional idol worship. Joyce, another one of our friends, is a spiritual leader for the many young church members of the surrounding villages. She is quite the chef, loving every opportunity to serve in practical ways just as much as she loves to serve through advice and prayer. These are everyday people from small villages and towns, yet are extraordinary in their love for serving their God and their country.

For those of you who are interested, Rachel and I first flew into the capital city of Accra along the southern coast. From there we traveled north to the city of Tamale. After a week of orientation we were sent to the Mid-eastern Volta Region to the city of Nkwanta. Here we worked with two language projects for two weeks: Adele and Gikyode. We then traveled south to the city of Pusupu, where we worked with the Ntrubo language for a week. During our last week in the Volta Region we returned to Nkwanta to say our goodbyes, then traveled back to Tamale where we participated in two weeks of debriefing. At the end of the trip we traveled back south to Accra to fly out.

On this trip we have been shown many new options to consider for future careers, in addition to prior interests. What it will be in the future is still unclear. In the meantime, we are to be patient for God’s guidance in our lives.

Another important benefit from the trip was its emphasis on prayer, and the Ghanaian Christians rely on a day to day life of prayer. From protection from venomous snakes and witch curses to calling upon the Holy Spirit to work mightily in a small isolated village on a mountain side as they play the Jesus Film for the first time.

And finally, we want to say a special thanks to you, our supporters. Your interest and involvement in our internship and our lives is a blessing. Nothing could have been accomplished without the unified support of our family and friends. Please stay in touch. We will attempt to update our blog on a semi-regular basis.

Thanks and Love,

Loren & Rachel (Edmondson) Rugen

Greetings from Loren and Rachel

Hi - This is Loren's mom, Linda Rugen. Loren asked if I could do an update for them since their internet access has been pretty limited. We have gotten several emails and phone calls since they left and are getting just a tiny glimpse of what they have been doing, so I will try to summarize what we know! After arriving in Ghana, they spent several days in the capital city of Accra and then traveled to Tamale, a city in Northern Ghana. Apparently the 14 hour trip was pretty bumpy from the 5-6 word text message we received! After several days in Tamale the team was split up and sent off to various village projects. Loren and Rachel spent the next 4 weeks in the village of Nkwanta in the eastern Volta region of Ghana. Apparently the trip there involved several crowded buses -- goats and guinea fowl welcome! In Nkwanta their work involved 3 different language groups. Rachel told us that they were given Ghanaian names by the people in the village. I know I will get these wrong, but Rachel's sounded something like Akwia Teeu and Loren's sounded like Kwacu Nunci. Apparently Rachel was given her name when she first walked around the village and started talking to people and they just started calling her that. Loren's was voted on in a church meeting! Last week they returned to Tamale for a linguistics conference, debriefing with Wycliffe staff, and various other assignments. Here is a quote from Loren's email that we received yesterday. "During the next two days we will be working with our first supervisor from Nkwanta, his name is Ernest, and he is from the Adele language project. He is working on a dictionary for his language, and he would like help with his definitions. So Rachel and I will be checking to make sure the english makes sense and that the definition is accurate, concise, and well-worded. Finally something right down my alley!" They return to the capital city of Accra next week and fly back to Chicago Aug 1-2. Please pray for the rest of their time to be productive and meaningful - for health and strength so they can be doing all God planned for them - for safety and patience in travel. Thank you!
Linda Rugen (for Loren and Rachel)

Daily Prayer Requests

One of my (Rachel) mission professors, Dr. Elizabeth Lightbody, developed the following daily prayer request chart for short-term mission trips. Reading through this again, I know that I can’t accomplish any of these on my own, and I wonder how many of these areas I can really grow in during such a short trip. Loren and I would be honored if you would support us through prayer for these things. If you would like to choose a single day each week to pray for us, that would be wonderful.

Monday:
~ Personal holiness.
~ Humility.
~ Teachable spirits.
~ Hearts of compassion.

Tuesday:
~ That we may be persons of encouragement
to the team, nationals, and missionaries.
~ Effective communication skills.

Wednesday:
~ Thankful spirits.
~ Development of friendships with 3-4
persons chosen by God.

Thursday:
~ Opportunities to share the Good News
and teach His Word in clarity and grace.

Friday:
~ The ability to pronounce and remember
terms and names.
~ Life styles which draw people to God.

Saturday:
~ Godly wisdom.
~ Good health and safety.

Sunday:
~ Adjustment to culture, food, and housing.
~ A team that demonstrates unity and a love that
enjoys the local people and culture.

Schedules

The chart below is a very approximate schedule, subject to changes, delays, and rescheduling. The green portion represents our time in a specifically assigned village. Unfortunately, this location has not yet been disclosed to us. During our time in the village, a typical day will include the following: in the mornings, we will assist with domestic chores, practice language learning, and work on our assigned language or work project (we have not yet been informed of our specific assignments). The afternoons will include village walks to practice the language, observation of the Bible Translation project, and further work on our language or work project. The evenings will include journaling, visiting, reading, and devotions. We will also be able to visit the village market about once a week. We hope this gives you a general idea of what we will be doing, although we know that much of the details are still vague.

We apologize for the small font; there was just too much information we wanted to share with you. You may need to zoom in to read it all. :-)

Intern’s Approximate Weekly Schedule
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
	fly out of Chicago	arrive in London, fly to Ghana, first teem meeting	orientation to wycliffe, the local culture, and language learning	orientation to wycliffe, the local culture, and language learning	orientation to wycliffe, the local culture, and language learning	preparation and shopping for village visit
attend church in capital city, rest	travel to village, walking tour of village, settle in	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, interact with village projects
attend local church, help with domestic chores, rest	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, interact with village projects
attend local church, help with domestic chores, rest	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, visit neigh-boring villages
attend local church, help with domestic chores, rest	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, visit local points of interest
attend local church, help with domestic chores, rest	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, language learning, projects, observation	domestic chores, good byes to village and host family	travel back to capital city
church in capital city, say good byes, local sight seeing, rest	start debriefing, work on 3 minute moduals	continue debriefing, start 10-20 minute moduals	continue debriefing, local sightseeing and visits with nationals	final debriefing, prepare for farewell dinner with nationals	last minute shopping, packing, and good byes	travel to USA

Thanks All Around for our Beloved Supporters

We want to thank you for all your prayers as we prepare and train for our internship. Just as James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." We also want to thank you for your financial support! As the song 'Indescribable' by Chris Tomlin talks about the abundance of God's resources, including 'heavenly storehouses laden with snow,' so our own story can testify of the resources God has given us in preparation of this internship. We can joyfully say that we are fully funded, and more so! God has provided all $9,000 that we need through your generous giving. In addition, people have contributed nearly $1,000 for our personal expenses incurred in preparation for this trip. This covers the cost of medical bills, equipment, supplies, and food.

Here is just a quick update on what we've been up to these past few weeks. We have been keeping in touch with our team coordinators, John and Shevawn Ramsey, as well as getting to know some of the other team members via an online message board set up by Wycliffe. When I checked last, there were six team members from the U.S., one from the Czech Republic, and one from Slovakia. We are still waiting to learn who the eight Ghanaian team members will be, although we just learned about Maame Esi, the Ghanaian leader of the trip. As far as we know, we will be the only married couple on the trip besides John and Shevawn since the majority of the team members are college students. We look forward to meeting the team personally in the capital city of Accra on June 9. Besides getting to know the team a little, we have also been kept busy buying supplies, working out details, and reading books about cross-cultural ministry.

We'd also like to provide you with some of the interesting facts and information that we have found about Ghana, so that it may perhaps provide you with a better understanding of where we are going, what we are going to encounter, and what you could pray for.

Besides all the preparation work, we have been doing a little bit of reading on Ghana and have learned at least a little bit so far. The Republic of Ghana is home to about 100 ethnic groups, and hosts Lake Volta, Africa’s largest man-made lake. Ghana became independent from Britain in 1957, but was subject to a terrible governmental system for years afterward. Only recently were successful democratic elections held. Even so, Ghana still faces hardships in finding stability in its government and economy. As for culture, extended family and lineage are important social structures. Dressing well and keeping up appearances are also highly valued. While Ghana is a secular state with religious freedom, there are ever-present tensions between Christians, Muslims and Traditional African religion, the three largest religious groups in Ghana. Christianity was on the rise in the early 1900’s, but after the Muslim immigration in the late 1900’s and the independence of Ghana this slowed significantly. The northern portions and larger cities are predominantly Muslim, while Christianity is more common in the south. Traditional religions still have influential sway over the populace, however, since they connect best with the Ghanaian social values. Even with all this knowledge there is still much to learn about the culture! Hopefully, this knowledge will help us to be discerning and to be able to engage the people and the culture more effectively and lovingly.

So there are less than two weeks left until we leave for Ghana. It has seemed like forever, but the trip is finally almost here. Please pray that we will be able to gather all our resources, and also that we would at least feel ready enough to jump right into things once the trip arrives.

In Christ Alone

This is a hymn probably everyone knows, but I sung it in a devotional group recently, and realized how much it applies to what Rachel and I are doing. In all reality, this song describes the reason why we are going into missions. It describes what our focus should be, what our mindset should be, and where our hope should be. So please: read, enjoy, reflect, and know how POWERFUL the message is, especially in the context of those who have never believed, or perhaps who have never heard such theology before.

IN CHRIST ALONE

In Christ alone my hope is found:
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all -
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the one He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For every sin on Him was laid -
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death -
this is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry till final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home -
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Moving Forward!

Things are happening very quickly here in Chicago. But God loves to be creative in giving provision to his children!

A new housing situation has been provided that alleviates our financial position. We will be moving off-campus to the suburbs of Chicago in mid-May, and we will commute in the fall to finish our classes here at Moody Bible Institute.

This means we are now able to move forward with our plans to go to Ghana this summer for our internship!

Updated Prayer Requests: In light of these changes, please continue to pray for us as we finish this semester's classes here at Moody, as we prepare to move, and as we continue to prepare for this internship (can you tell that it takes a lot of work? :P). Pray that we will be able to raise the last bit of funding needed for Wycliffe Bible Translators, as well as the funding needed for the pre-trip costs (see sidebar for more information).

We want to thank you for your prayers, your support, and your encouragement! It has meant so much to us as we have been working through all the many details necessary to go on this internship.