January, February

Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! May He bless you with the presence of the Holy Spirit!

Job complete!

Presently in mid-February, over 74% of the United States mainland is covered in snow simultaneously. I've so enjoyed our blast of cold weather! One of our little team was gone during it all at her friend's house, helping with a birth. The other three of us hibernated together in our little house. In Starkville, the big problem was the ice--on roads, and in frozen pipes. Our hot water froze, which really wasn't ideal. So, I installed a heat trace, to make sure our tired Chelsea could take a hot shower when she came home. It was the perfect challenge, and I had lots of fun!

I'm very grateful for the time off during the storms. We've been working since Christmas break ended, just about non-stop. First, we were preparing for a six-month school that never happened. Then, we were preparing for an outreach team to come... and another... and another! One team was very short notice. All in all, we have hosted about 36 people in six weeks. It's been challenging, and a joy.

Here are some different experiences from visiting teams, in their own words. (The first two can be found on YWAM Maui's Instagram page, and the third is from Eden Farr, on her Instagram page. Emphasis mine.)

“One thing that we have been told a lot in our ministry is the encouragement and joy we carry with us. The way we love one another on this team has poured into our relationships with those we do ministry with. God has been faithful to use us to show others that this generation is not completely lost, and to bring hope to the younger generation. Our joy in serving here on the mainland US has been something that has encouraged lots of people.”

YWAM Maui serving with Christian World Mission

“...We stood under a little bus stop for shelter from the rain and we just began to intercede. As I was interceding for the students I began to really feel God’s heart for them. I was once a college student as well, and I know some of the temptations and worldly desires that are easy to fall into. I felt like the Lord was reminding me of all these things so I could affectively intercede. I could truly feel that He was near to us and all of the students that night!”

"So while I was blessed to be apart of YWAM and do this outreach, I am even more empowered to continue loving people fiercely and spreading the gospel because it MAKES AN IMPACT."

I've been connecting a little more with the local Roman Catholics. I'm not always able to be around for their functions, but when I come in contact with people from our church fellowship, St. Joseph's, they seem blessed by the fact that I care about them and their faith, even though I'm Evangelical. I'm not able to take traditional Sunday morning communion with them, because I am not Roman Catholic myself, but that's not the only communion a person can have. One lady from St. Joseph's invited me into her home. We had coffee and muffins, and great fellowship with her and her husband, and their small, plump baby. That's a form of communion, and I valued having it so much.

I would like to be able to invite college-aged Roman Catholics into my home for meals, too. It's always just been my goal to show them that I love them like Christ would; and I think He would invite them to His home, if He lived in Starkville. I suppose that if it's the Lord's will for me to provide fellowship and meals for young Catholic people, He'll provide.

Village. Credit: Baciu Cristian Mihai

Another update is that I am moving to Romania soon! I've been talking with some people there, and applied to a mission in Transylvania. Please pray that God's will is done in my finances and visa application. You can check out the missions group here: https://ywamtargumures.com As with any move, I'm excited and a little nervous. ("Nerve-cited," a friend once said, when we were both getting ready to go to Discipleship Training School.) In hindsight, though, I look back happily on all of the big moves I've made in my life, from one part of Indiana to another; from one part of the North to another; and from one part of the United States to another. I guess I'm just slowly expanding my area of influence! Continuing that pattern, the next step after "one part of the world to another," would be to colonize outer space. Hey, if colonization in outer space happens someday, they will need missionaries on their team, too. Would you move to Mars to be a missionary, if God asked you to?

For now, I'm content to take our daily chaos as it comes (surprise outreach teams, natural disasters, pandemics, etc.), hold babies, and do ministry with my team here in Starkville, MS.

Warmly,

Ruthie Jo

Cover photo credit: Daniela Turcanu