I often find myself thinking lately about how far from God our country has drifted. How close we must be to the “End Times” and how much work is still to be done to reach those who have not yet heard the gospel before it is too late.
“How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” Romans 10:14&15
What’s holding you back?
God's Word in Their Langauage
I Love The Outdoors!
I have always wanted to go on a fishing trip to Canada and go on a Hunt for a Big Whitetail or Elk. I haven’t gotten the big hunting trip yet, but I was recently able to go on my first fishing trip to Canada. It was Great!
I woke up at 4:00am on Saturday morning and climbed into the vehicle with Katie’s Dad, Brother, and Friend. The boat towed behind as we passed over the Macinaw bridge and then crossed the border into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie. 
We continued our drive past Chapleu and into the great North.
The scenary was beautiful. We boated along many miles of lakeshore catching walleye, pike, and smallmouth. 
Even though I am not a big fish eater I loved the fresh walleye. I was a rookie on this trip, but held my weight well when it came to catching fish. I was the runner up in the pike and walleye category and pulled many fish into the boat. I also performed plenty of rookie bloopers. 
When we weren’t fishing we were hiding from the mosquitoes & black flies inside the cabin eating tons of food and snacks. 
Laughing and having fun just as guys. I was also able to see two moose along the shorline, a large beaver, and a martin. I heard my father-in-law’s interesting loone call (and they even responded) and also got too close to the overly friendly chipmunks!
This was a fun and refreshing time spent with people I love and enjoying God and His creation. In the words of my Father-In-Law:
“It doesn’t get much better than this boys”
Sharing: That the Lord would use the things we’ve prepared to help people understand “tribal missions” and the importance of dorm parenting.
Travels: The cost of traveling, our safety, and the timing of trips in light of the coming baby
Future: Working on paperwork and other requirements for PNG. Making calls and planning trips and visits to share!
"Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored…" II Thess 3:1
Please pray for….
Praise the Lord for…
Question # 1:
WHO WILL WE BE DORM PARENTING?
A. 
OR
B. 
Although we will be living in PNG, we will be functioning as support for the missionaries in the tribes. Missionary Kids (MK’s) (Option A) have a choice to make when they enter jr. high age. They could stay in the tribe with their parents, or come to the missionary center where they can experience Christian school education, peer interaction, and a variety of activities. They will live in the dorms for 34 weeks of the year while school is in session. For many this is a hard, but optimal choice. It is also a much safer option for teenage girls. However, parents need to be assured that their teens will be loved and cared for by good dorm parents. That is what we will seek to be with God’s grace!
Question # 2:
WHICH HOUSE WILL WE LIVE IN?
A. 
or
B. 
Seeing how option A would not hold 12 kids and 2 adults, it is safe to say that we will live in a building similar to option B! This is one of 5 dorms at the missionary center. They are family style dorms. This means that we will live with our family of six plus up to 8 teens. They keep siblings in the same dorm. In the middle of the dorm is a mutual living area where all can hang out, eat, and meet with friends. There is also a kitchen where we will make 3 meals and 2 snacks a day for them! One end of the dorm has boys’ rooms and the other side has girls’ rooms. Our private bedroom and office will be located in the middle of the dorm.
Question # 3:
WHAT WILL WE DO AS DORM PARENTS?
A. Disciple, listen, stay up late, go crazy, and have fun.
or
B. Clean, cook, bake, laundry, tutor, discipline, and love?
Option A sounds like a youth pastor’s job and Option B sounds like a home maker’s job. We will enjoy doing both together! We will have a 24 hour, 7 days a week ministry as a family. We will “adopt” these teens as our own and “parent” them while they are in our care. We will be in consistent contact with their parents in the tribe as we come alongside them in caring for their children. All aspects of parenting will definitely come into play as we live with and enjoy these youth. We pray that God will use us in their lives to draw them closer to Him, make wise Biblical choices, and grow as young men and women ready to make a difference in this world for the Lord.
We are finished with training and are official members of New Tribes Missions
The Lord continues to call us to fill the incredible need for dorm parents in Papua New Guinea. Tribal people are begging for missionaries to come to their villages and teach them God’s truths, but there are many support roles to be filled in order for missionaries to go live in the tribes and share God’s truth effectively.
Dorm Parenting plays a vital role for these missionary families by caring for thier children during crucial years of development while they are at school. We are excited and thankful to be used of God in this way!
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Mt. 9:37-38
We desire to leave for Papua New Guinea, January, 2011
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
We have prayed for over a year that the Lord would sell our house. Does God not answer prayer? Oh yes He does, according to His perfect will! He has allowed us to move back in and enjoy our home in New Era, MI! He provided for all our training expenses and house payments this past year. God is so good! We take the house as a gift and continue to trust that He will provide and sell the house in His timing.
We are now enjoying RECONNECTING with neighbors, family, friends, and our church families. The Lord has given us opportunity to PRESENT in several churches this fall and continues to encourage us as we seek churches and individuals to PARTNER with us in our future ministry.
Even with all the work to be done,
He has also blessed us with some good family time. We love biking down the rail trail, swimming in our pool, walks around town, and working together.
We are anxiously expecting our fourth child on 9-9-09. Katie and baby are healthy. Pray for perseverance as she gets tired and uncomfortable.
We praise God for His goodness as we continue on the path He’s given us!
Never underestimate a child’s prayer! Ben, our 4 year old son, has been praying for the past 1 1/2 months to go to a "splish splash park". We have a VBS demo with a water park theme that he loves to watch and wants to go there! Considering our current financial situation we explained to him that sometimes God says "No, that is not what is best for you", "Not yet, I want you to trust my perfect timing", or "Yes" in answer to our prayers.
A week ago we caught word of an indoor water park in Branson that only charged $5 per person if you had residency. We have student residence since August, so we qualified. This was too good to pass up, but we still could not justify that expense when we were trying to buy groceries each week.
Three days before the only Saturday we could go, we received an anonmous letter of encouragment from someone who had no idea about Ben’s prayer. They gave us a twenty dollar bill and wanted us to use it for a fun family activity! WOW! God did something we could not have done!
So yes, God does answer little boy’s prayers no matter how small they are! We were able to explain what God had done to our children and Ben was beside himself with excitement! God became a real, loving, and intimate God to him at that moment. He couldn’t wait to pray and was so excited to go to church the Sunday after we went. It is so cool to see God working in our children’s lives through His everyday provision! PRAISE THE LORD!
I wish I had pictures to share of the fun we had at the water park, but this Mom unfortunately forgot her camera!
How can we begin to understand the greatness of who God is?
Katie and I have been amazed as we learn (about water, electricity, solar/ wind/ water power, motors, batteries, lights, frequencies, wells, outhouses, transformers, inverters, etc) that man has only tapped the surface of what God has made. 
While we can create ways to use this energy, power, and water somewhat safely it will never be as pure or perfect as God’s original.
*Any time we change from one power/ energy form to another we will lose about 20%!
*The best filters for water are ground and UV rays (sunlight) and man cannot create anything nearly as efficient! 
This is a small picture of what we have been learning in "Missionary Technology". Everything you need to know about things you didn’t know you needed to know to survive in a remote 3rd world location.
God has provided NTM with key people and connections to put us on the cutting edge of technology for advancing tribal missions. How AWESOME!
There are many hands on opportunities to apply what we’ve learned. We zapped batteries back to life, 
soldered and wired different connections, made a halogen lamp and a LED nightlight from scratch and so much more. 
Missionaries in PNG have experienced frequent loss of equipment due to lightning. They are preparing us with the right equipment and knowledge to prevent this from happening to our electronics in the dorm. We are so thankful that God has taught man how to use technology to further His Kingdom!
WOW! We are learning that missionaries in tribal locations have to be prepared and trained for ANYTHING! We learned all about general wellness, how to diagnose and treat diseases, give shots, take blood pressure 
, and use an otoscope. 
As dorm parents, we will not have to use all this information very often because there is a doctor at the missionary center in PNG. However, you never know in a third world country. It was all very interesting and we had fun with it!
Our First Shot Records!
Jon was such a good sport to let me poke his arm! Was he too tough for this shot, or was Katie just that good?!
I, on the other hand, was a wimp and I am very thankful for a man named Kurt who took my place! Jon finds the right spot.
He measures precisely! 
Jon has to flick any bubbles left to make sure he has an accurate dosage. 
Aim! 
We are thankful for Gail Hemphill (a nurse recently moved back from PNG) who helped us not to hurt each other when giving a shot! We were also very impressed with our class instructor who is a nurse at the local ER, has traveled all over the world helping medically with NTM, and lived in a tribe in Africa.
Jon and Katie Ruse Enroute to Papua New Guinea 