Discover Ghana 2009

Return Update

2009-09-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-21T12:58:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-06T15:41:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Urgent Prayer Needed

2009-04-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

As we all know, living expenses are going up, and the available resources to counteract the cost are going down. For Rachel and I this means that being able to complete our undergraduate studies at Moody Bible Institute seems still so far away, even though we are second semester seniors. Quite frankly, at this point we do not know how we will be able continue as students for the time being due to how expensive it will be this next semester. In this we ask for your prayers: that we would have patience, trust and provision, as we deeply desire to complete our degree.

Will this compromise our internship to Ghana? This is the key question, especially for all of you, as friends, family, and donors. We feel responsible to you, to let you know that this is even a question in our minds, as you have given a part of yourselves to our cause. You have lovingly sacrificed some expenses, offered your sincere prayers, greeted us with the most jovial of comradeship, all because you care and wish to help us. First, may I make plain that we are still devoted to going on the trip, still eager to participate in that journey. But we just don't know yet how it will pan out. We want to be realistic and responsible, yet we also want to balance realism with real faith. So again, please pray for this situation.

In summary, we are in a financial position where we are uncertain whether we will be able to go on with our internship for this summer, and we ask for your specific prayers in this area, that God will herald clarity and provision as He sees fit in our lives.

As an aside, if we were to decide that we cannot go this summer, Wycliffe does retain the fund-raised monies for us until we are able to reenlist for another internship in the future. But again, this is not the desired outcome if at all possible. We have invested too much into this current internship to toss it aside lightly.

Thank you all for your prayers and understanding.
We love you all in the grace and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Missions Q&A: Rachel

2009-04-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

What are you most excited about for your trip?
It has been several years since I have been overseas, so, I am excited just to be going to Africa. I am excited for the relationships that are going to be formed, even though I know that this will also be the most challenging part of the trip for me. I am also excited for a chance for both myself and for Loren to see how we can use the skills that we have gained through the past four years of Bible college.

Why do you believe God is calling you on this trip?
I have wanted to be in missions since I was little, and then I also discovered a love for language, and I have loved studying linguistics in college. Perhaps more importantly, I love serving people. I was drawn to this trip because of the opportunities to see how linguistics can be used to serve people, through Bible translation and literacy. I also believe this trip will be a good opportunity for my husband and I to see what God may have in store for us together in missions. This is another reason why I am excited to be going on this trip.

What is Christian service according to Acts 1?
To be fully engaged in Christian service means to live every day in a way that would please God. It means that I am to serve those around me, to love them, and to build relationships with them. It means that I am to step beyond my comfort zone to reach others. This trip is not just 'two months of my life that I am giving to the Lord.' Rather, it should be two months where I am serving God and serving others overseas instead of in my home town. Ministry does not end when the trip is over.

What is essential for Cross Cultural service, and why?
Curiosity. One must be willing to learn from the people, to be humble. If a person does not have a good sense of curiosity, then how can that person learn to love the people and love living among them? Without a good understanding of the culture, it is very difficult to build meaningful relationships, and even more difficult to present the Gospel well. How can we expect people to listen to us if we act like we want nothing to do with their way of life? If a person does not have a sense of curiosity, that person may quickly appear arrogant to the people, with an "I'm better than you" attitude. Americans often come across looking like they believe that their way of life is better. This appearance may be entirely unintentional, but it still hinders ministry and relationship building. And so having curiosity and humility shows that we are willing to learn what is important to them and their way of thinking about life (which is often MUCH different than we initially realize).

What criteria do you use in determining if certain behaviors are biblical, contextual or universal?
I used Bible passages, especially the Gospels, in combination with what I have been studying about missions and culture in my classes. There are some verses which are very clear. But, there are so many issues that are not directly talked about at all. For these, I have to consider the values that the Bible commends and consider the impact on the particular beliefs. This topic has come up many times for me, but I still have a hard time describing exactly how to tell which is which. Each issue has to be thought through carefully. I have realized more and more in the past several months that my theology is deeply ingrained in Western-American thinking patterns. Some things I thought were truly biblical, I now realize are not necessarily so.

Keys to effectively entering into a new culture based off of Philippians 2.
Jesus, in becoming a human being, chose to live with us, eat with us, and learn our ways (or, the Jewish ways). As a human being, He experienced pain, sickness, and trials, as well as joy and close relationships. His incarnation is the perfect model for missions because we are also called to go and live with the people, learn their ways, their language, and eat their food. The first part of the passage identifies some key ways that we can have the mind of Christ: fellowship with the Spirit, affection, compassion, being unified (among believers) in mind, in love, in spirit, not being selfish or conceited, being humble, and considering other people more important and their needs above our own. A person can continue to grow and be challenged in these throughout their entire life. It is something that we must work on, and rely upon God for, every day of our lives, and especially right now as we prepare for this mission trip. God is the giver of life, and we ought not hold on to our own lives in such a manner that prevents others from coming to know the love of Christ.
To enter into a new culture requires imitating Christ. It requires humility, a willingness to learn and listen attentively, flexibility, a desire to build strong relationships (where you really do care about the people!), and the ability to love people; putting aside one's own comforts for the sake of being with the people. The key is that none of this happens when we try to act on our own strength. It is through prayer and fellowship and reliance upon God that we s-l-o-w-l-y learn. In this feeble way, God works to bring about His glory, which is what we should be seeking, rather than our own.

Write two or three things you believe God wants to accomplish in and through you.
o I pray that God will help me trust Him more this summer as He teaches me to move out of my comfort zone and build relationships with people.
o I also pray that God will renew in me a love for people, and a love for serving other people. I know it is in my heart, but it has been very weak for the past several years. Truthfully, I feel as if I am very self-centered, and I pray that this would change as God works in my heart these coming months.
o I pray that God will continue to show Loren and I how to use our skills, knowledge, and interests for Him on the mission field. I pray that this summer will be a time of growth for us as we learn what missions will look like for us as a couple.

Personal Missions Statement
I will seek to throw all my cares on God as I learn to trust Him more each day (Philippians 4:6), while seeking to learn and adapt joyfully to each situation, through the grace of God, desiring to serve those around me while seeking to honor Christ in all that I do.

Missions Q&A: Loren

2009-04-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

What are you most excited about for your trip?
I am excited to be involved in active ministry beyond my everyday comfortable life in my apartment, college, library, church, etc. This is where there is going to be a lot of movement and activity and places I have never been and situations I have never experienced. This is a good thing because it keeps my mind active and working, and I need to stay challenged and need to keep learning new things in order to engage my faith and the faith of others more consistently. I have to admit, I am an adventurer, so seeing new sights and exploring new places of the world is an exciting thing for me. My wife and I are also looking forward to discovering how we do missions together, for this is our first missions trip since knowing each other. This trip will hopefully help solidify in our minds how we want to go about serving in missions for the future.

What does it mean to be fully engaged in Christian service with Acts 1 in mind?
Well, for starters, there is no such thing as Christian service without 'continually devoting ourselves to prayer.' Second, Christian service involves the proclamation that 'the Scriptures has to be fulfilled.' The Christian must have an understanding of how God is working through history, especially through Jesus, before being able to sincerely be engaged in his or her service.

In light of being in a new culture while trying to support a Biblical worldview, what criteria do you use in determining if certain behaviors are biblical, contextual or universal?
First, does a behavior transgress or agree with any commands Jesus himself enforced? Does it conflict or match up with what the Bible as a whole clearly enforces? Does it cause dissention or sin to come about, or the opposite? Or is it neutral in regards to Scripture? Then does it clearly violate or agree with the resident culture? Will it hinder the Kingdom or the church, or will it promote them? Then it enters the realm of the individual conscience. Does he feel bad about it, or does he feel really good about it, or is it just a matter of preference, or even neutrality?

What are the keys to effectively entering into another culture, especially for communicating the gospel within it?
Humility (Having the mind and attitude of Christ as in Phillipians 2). Recognition and understanding of cultural differences. Understanding what is essential in the Gospel message (that which is essential for salvation) and what is not (i.e.: gray areas, things not critical for salvation, preferences). Forming friendships. Giving lots of time and service and effort. Know-how of the foreign country. PRAYER.

What insight is God giving you about why he wants you to go?
I have a lot to learn about not living simply the way I want to live. For that is an easy mentality to have in America, with all our wealth, comfort and self-rights laws. As an American speaking English, I am of course used to everyone else in the world wanting to be like us (though its hard to imagine why most of the time), and they are the ones learning English and learning our culture. If I am going to be a missionary, there are aspects of my life (and stuff) that I will not be able to rely on or take with me, and I will be the stranger and the one having to learn much.

Things I believe God wants to accomplish through me this summer.
I believe God wants to accomplish baby steps through me. I pray He will use me to do little but essential things as encourage, teach, and disciple the church here and there. All interactions of the members of Christ’s church are little bits of encouragement, teaching and discipleship which provides an environment for constant growth to thrive. So it is in these three humble and subtle things which I believe God wants to accomplish in and through me.

Essential qualities of a good missionary:
A missionary has to be a people person (but not necessarily an extrovert). He has to be excitable: why else would one want to be a missionary unless he could be excited about what God will do and is doing with the people group? (but again, not necessarily in an extrovert sort of way) Loves the Word of God and wants to be intimately acquainted with it, for that it contains the message worth spreading, and it is the basis of a missionary life and a Christian life altogether!

Personal missions statement developed up to this point:
I should be a servant, even when the service is not on my terms. Life, service and joy is nowhere equivalent to convenience, and this trip is to make sure I can learn that.

Internship Assignment Description

2009-04-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is what Wycliffe is going to try to set up for us as noted by John Ramsey (our team director from Wycliffe):

We will be assigned to live with a language team for the majority of the trip to Ghana, Africa. This could be in a city, town or a village depending on the translation site (which has not yet been confirmed). The goal of the trip will be to assist the language project team and interact with the host culture. Culture and language are important to Wycliffe and significant time will be spent in these areas. Interns will also be expected to contribute to the daily chores required in village living. We strive for a balance in this area keeping in mind the needs of the intern and the needs of the host village.

Orientation takes place throughout the trip, but generally the first week and a half of the trip is dedicated to going over the major orientation topics. The interns will keep a daily journal of their experiences, observations, and impressions (some of which we hope to post after the trip!).

Critical inquiry takes place throughout the trip with the last week set aside for the total trip debriefing. The major component of this time is identifying the experiences in their journals that impacted them and then turning these into organized story modules. Interns then share these story modules with each other and discuss them as a group.

Interns are supervised by Discovery staff during the pre-trip preparations. Once they leave for their assignments, they are assigned a field supervisor who serves as their advocate. This person is responsible for evaluating the intern and meeting with them to discuss the evaluation. The intern also writes an evaluation of the trip from their view which is also discussed during the last week of debrief time (we will post a cliff-notes version afterwards as well). The immediate supervisor will be John Ramsey.

Our March Support Letter

2009-04-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from the windy city! We are writing to share our excitement about God's work in our lives and to ask for your partnership in the ministry to which He has called us. This summer, we will be traveling to Ghana, West Africa for our internship. The trip will start on June 7th and will last until July 30th. We will be part of a team composed of other linguistic students from the US and from Ghana. The Ghana Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation (Wycliffe Ghana) will host this team. This internship is designed as a college level practical learning experience for those with a serious interest in missions. It is called a Discovery trip because it is designed to help students discover what actual linguistic and missionary work is like on the field. For Rachel, this means hands-on interaction with Bible translators and literacy specialists. For Loren, this means opportunities to practice leading Bible studies, doing administrative work, and writing while in a missions setting.

In order to meet the financial needs of our summer ministry, we need to raise $4,500 each in support, for a total of approximately $9,000. This amount includes travel, food, lodging, ministry expenses, insurance, and other related costs. The first half is due April 11 and will be used to purchase plane tickets. The rest of the funds are due May 21.

We would like to ask for your help in two ways. First, would you pray for us? We would be blessed to have people praying for us each day while in Ghana. Pray that God would enable us to learn and to serve. Pray for us also as we train for this trip, and work to raise the needed support. Second, would you consider sending a one-time, tax-deductible gift to support us as short-term missionaries? We would greatly appreciate anything that you could do to help us in this area. We are doubly appreciative because we know what your generosity means during this economic downturn. If God leads you to send financial support, please make checks out to Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Whether you are led to support us financially or not, we would love to hear from you and will greatly appreciate your promise of prayer for this summer.

Thanks, and in the
Love of our
Lord Jesus Christ,

Loren & Rachel (Edmondson) Rugen