Hello from Ruth! Sept. 29, 2008

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! You may never fully know of what value and impact it has been. I feel truly honored and blessed! So, thank you! I am now back in Kansas after completing the Discipleship Training School (DTS) in England and in Indonesia. This past season in my life has been a time of growing and drawing closer to God. I really learned to truly obey Him in every aspect of life. It has been an exciting journey, one that I will never forget and the beginning of a new life purpose!

For the first three months of our DTS, which included 13 students and 6 staff members, we spent time learning and experiencing God in a new and fresh way. Every week a new speaker came and taught on a particular topic. Hearing God’s voice, grace, forgiveness, evangelism, fear of God, and relationships are just a few. Every week we had local ministry opportunities. Tuesday and Friday evenings we went out into Brighton, a nearby town, and did evangelism. It was awesome seeing how open and eager people were to talk about God. After much praying, we felt led to Indonesia for the 2-month outreach phase. One of the students decided to not go on the outreach for various reasons, but the rest of the 12 students and only 2 of the staff members all flew out to Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 9th. It was such an exciting time seeing God work in the world’s largest Muslim population! The first month we spent on the island of Java. The Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base director in the capital, Jakarta, was our translator for our whole time there. We traveled a few times by foot and other times by various types of vehicles to a new village every week and she traveled with us.

For the first 2 villages we were able to stay in the villager’s homes, which was quite an experience! In one of the villages, Ciwidey, all of the villagers threw us a huge party and late into the night our translator whispered into my ear saying that all of the villagers including little children would stay up all night long no matter how tired they would be for working in the rice fields the very next day, just to be able to spend the more time with our team. It was really eye opening realizing the impact we were having on the Indonesian people, especially because we were able to demonstrate God’s love and truth through our actions and words. Our last week in the island of Java, we went to a Christian orphanage of about 30 teenagers and I was asked to preach and encourage them to really step out and stand firm in their faith. God really spoke through me and it was awesome seeing their faces brighten up. Because Java is a Muslim dominated island we ministered mostly by playing with the village children and spending time with the villagers, teaching English, prayer walking, and taking every opportunity to speak at the few Christian youth and cell groups.

In the second month we went to another island called Borneo. There we were blessed with a team of seven Indonesian people, who worked with YWAM there, that traveled with us for the entire month. Some served as our translators and some provided our meals. It was a real blessing having them as part of our team. Because Borneo is a Christian dominated island, we were given many more opportunities to encourage and speak to fellow believers at Sunday schools, youth and cell groups, schools, orphanages, and Church services. It was evident that God really moved in the local villager’s lives as well as our whole team’s lives. We were able to do a lot of house visits, where we’d go and visit the Christian villagers in their homes and talk and pray with them. God really blessed those times and we were able to touch many lives.

Overall, God showed Himself faithful over and over again throughout these past five months. He truly blessed our time and I firmly believe that every person we encountered has truly been impacted and ministered to by the Holy Spirit. It is awesome seeing how God completely transformed every person in the team’s lives and now He is using each one of us to impact and change the lives of others.

As for the future plans…I remember when I was about 14 years old telling myself, “I will never ever become a missionary.” God sure loves to change our plans, huh? =) He has really transformed and fired up a passion in my heart towards bringing the truth and light to the nations. My newfound love is to disciple young people and watching them grow in their walk with God. This January I am planning on returning to England and joining the staff at the Holmsted Manor YWAM base where I completed my DTS. They are now requiring a one-year commitment minimum for all staff. In mid-January I will be taking a Leadership Training course for three months. I will then go on to help lead the next five month long DTS beginning in April. I really feel God’s hand leading me in this direction with those plans. I know that there is no where I’d rather be than in God’s will and am so excited to serve Him with everything that I am!

The way YWAM is set up every staff member must raise his/her own financial support. I will need a minimum of $350 a month for the next year that will cover room and board, but that does not include traveling expenses. I believe His promises are true and He is faithful and has and always will be our provider!

Thank you for praying for me!Ruth

Please pray…1) God will continue to impact and bless the lives of all the

Indonesians we were able to encourage and speak truth and life into.

2) My finances will be completely resting in His hands and fully provided for.