Greetings in the lovely name of Jesus Christ. July, August, and September have been very productive months for our family and ministry. Ephesians 3:20-21 is so true! God has and continues to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”. To start with, our Pastor’s Conference was very well attended, and the Lord challenged our pastors in “the work of the ministry”. Dr. Scott Caudill, Pastor Jason Jett, as well as two local pastors did a tremendous job exhorting the pastors and laymen in attendance. Additionally, my wife hosted a ladies meeting the following Saturday and had over 100 ladies in attendance. Mrs. Caudill and Mrs. Jett did a wonderful job teaching the ladies while the men served the lunch. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
On August 15th, we traveled back to the States to begin a furlough. We needed to come back to address some health issues as well as attending our youngest son’s wedding. Angie had her third annual post-cancer checkup, and it was clear. We thank the Lord for His goodness. We also want to thank those who prayed for her neck and shoulder issues. She is experiencing relief through various treatments and daily exercises. I experienced candida overgrowth in my body again which always causes complications with my ileostomy. I am nearly healed from that. Again, to God be the glory.
From the time we arrived home, there was a flurry of activity as we began preparing for Micaiah & Hannah’s September 13th wedding. Their wedding was beautiful. We are so thankful for the Lord answering our prayers of twenty-two years in giving Micaiah a godly bride. After the wedding, we were able to enjoy a few days with our older two sons and their families. Grandma and Grandpa ☺ were very happy to get to see our grandchildren together for the first time and to spend an abbreviated family vacation with them. The hardest part of the foreign mission field is the separation from our children and grandchildren. We made every moment count.
In our last prayer letter, we spoke of the need to finish our church building projects in Shama and in Kojokrom. The Lord answered those prayers three weeks ago: our home church sent $25,000 to finish these buildings. Within a few months, those buildings will be finished. To God be the glory, four church buildings have been built in three years. This is awesome as we know the gospel is being preached in four more villages, lives are being changed, and churches are becoming permanent. During our next term, we believe that the Lord will allow us to send more church-planters to Tarkwa and Tamale within Ghana and possibly even to the country of Nigeria!
God has also miraculously provided for the Calvary’s Hope Academy, our boarding school/orphanage. The Lord has provided not only $32,000 to finish the foundation but additionally $18,000 toward the ground floor. We are asking and trusting the Lord to provide the remaining $57,000 to finish the ground floor. This will enable us to open the school in September of 2025. We are also trusting Him to provide the finances to build the remaining three floors in His time.
While we are missing our church family and dear friends in Ghana, God is blessing the ministries in our absence. We are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to visit and thank our supporting churches for the fervent prayers and faithful support. We love reconnecting with those we love so dearly. Can you imagine what Heaven will be like? There’s a glad reunion day coming. If you would like for us to come by and update your church between now and May of 2025, please contact me: my temporary USA phone number is 605-951-3269.
Your Missionaries to West Africa,
James & Angie Ruckman
