Greetings from the Ruckman family. We trust this prayer letter finds each one of you in good health as you persevere in the will of God. In April, we had the blessing of celebrating the resurrection of Christ with a sunrise service at our church in Ghana. What a blessing to serve the risen Saviour and to worship with others who have identified with the death, burial, and resurrection our Lord.
Two days after Easter, Angie and I travelled back to the States. We thank the Lord for blessing us with a beautiful granddaughter within 12 hours of our arrival. Jesse & Leah welcomed Tayler Anne Ruckman into the world. While there were some scary complications at birth, we are thankful that both mom and baby are well.
Three days after arriving in the US, Angie and I hit the furlough trail. We have been able to report to twenty-five churches in these last two months. The Lord also allowed us to preach at a Jubilee in Kansas and a campmeeting in Eufala, OK. We have enjoyed being able to renew old acquaintances while making new friends along the way. Two weeks after our arrival, Jimmy & Tori welcomed their third child who was supposed to be our fifth granddaughter, but instead, Malachi James is a healthy grandSON. We are so thankful to the Lord for His blessings upon our family.
God continues to bless the ministries in Ghana. Just this last Sunday, we had three professions of faith at Mt. Calvary. One of those was a boy named Joshua who has wanted to be saved for two years but could not understand the simplicity of salvation. Praise God! We also had a student graduate from the Bible Institute in April. What a blessing to see men and women growing in their knowledge of God and His Word. Next spring, we will have at least four graduates.
Construction continues at Calvary’s Hope Academy. While the workers are finishing the ground floor, the Lord has already provided $10,000 toward the second floor (where thirty-nine students and a family will be housed). We are asking the Lord to provide the remaining $78,000 to finish that floor this year. The school /orphanage will open its doors on September 16th. We are anticipating what the Lord will do. We want to thank the five separate churches who had VBS penny offerings and sent them our way. Those offerings are paying set up costs for the Academy and some furnishings for the first floor. Praise the Lord!
August 18th is the date that Angie and I will return to Ghana. One week before our return, we will load a container with Scriptures, school books, Bible Institute books, Sunday School materials, clothing, etc to ship to Ghana. We are asking the Lord to provide the finances to ship that container. He will.
We will return with a young man from our home church who will intern with us for a few months. We are thankful as he will be a great blessing to us. We trust that his time with us in Ghana will be formative in his life as he continues to move forward in the will of God.
One week after arriving back in Ghana, we will have a week-long Pastor’s Conference followed by a one day Ladies meeting. We are expecting well over a hundred men through that week and the same amount of ladies on that Saturday. Would you help us pray that God will bless those meetings as we seek to help God’s men and families become rooted and built up in Christ?
The Lord has met many of the needs that we mentioned in our last prayer letter including all of the Bible Institute books. Thank you so much for praying. And thanks to those who met the needs. Would you help us pray for Him to provide the remaining finances for 1). a passenger van and for 2). Shipping the container to Ghana in August? God bless you as you continue to hold the ropes for our family as we continue to preach Christ and plant churches in West Africa.
Your Missionaries to West Africa,
James & Angie Ruckman
