Lots of Praises!

August Edition

Hi Friends,

How are you? I hope your July was not too hot and had some rain. Mine was pretty busy, but really great! I have spent the month driving, going to Ohio, taking driver’s ed, shopping, preparing, packing, eating at Chick-Fil-A (I never liked their food until I discovered their nuggets), praising God, and more.

-Parents: My parents have been quite busy this summer: packing up their house, getting me ready to go back to Senegal, getting Susanna ready to go to college, freaking out while either Susanna or I were driving, getting back in contact with family and friends, and more. Please pray that their next month will be a bit more relaxing. Pray that they will be prepared for September when they go down to North Carolina. Pray also that they make a decision about where they are going to live after they are back from North Carolina: an unfurnished ready to move in house, or an unfurnished house that needs a lot of work.

-Siblings: Danielle has been spending her summer getting prepared to be a dorm parent to 15 girls. Even though she is still at DA this is completely different from teaching. Pray that she will be able to welcome them with ease when school starts. Pray for her as she transitions into a new schedule and way of living. Pray also for Danielle as she prepares to go to the States come December. Susanna and Benjamin are preparing to go to college, Susanna for the first time, and Benjamin as an RC (Resident Chaplain, or RA like in many other schools). Please pray for them as they make this transition. Pray that they make wise choices in how to spend their last month before things start up again. Pray that Susanna has good roommates (something that has not happened for her older sisters and brother), and that she will be able to adjust to living in the United States – a few weeks ago, we figured out she has spent 80% of her life overseas! Pray that Benjamin and Susanna will make a point to spend time with each other.

-Mali: Mali is still having problems. CNN recently devoted an hour to talk about the issues that are happening there. The current leader, Jeancounda Traore, just returned after being in France for two months due to being beat up. The MNLA Touregs who had originally joined the radical Islamists are now saying that they no longer want to be independent of the rest of Mali, they no longer want Azawad – because the radical Islamists beat them up and kicked them out. The radical Islamists in the meantime are enforcing strict laws on the people in Azawad, they are not allowing people to smoke, drink, have premarital sex, and women must be covered up. They even go so far to enforce these rules as to stone couples to death for having premarital sex. As a Christian, I don’t believe what the couple did was right, but I also don’t think stoning was the solution to the problem. Please pray for Mali. Pray that the leader will have wisdom to know what to do in this situation. Pray for the MNLA to continue to not support Azawad. I don’t really know what the prayer should be, so please pray as you feel led. Pray that the Lord’s will will be done in this situation, even it is something we don’t want, it will bring about his kingdom. Pray also for the famine that is happening at the same time as all these political problems. Pray that food and money will come in to the country so that the people can be fed. Pray also that it will rain enough this year so that the country will not have this problem two years in a row.

-Me: Well, as I mentioned above I have been pretty busy. But God has been really amazing this month. Here is a story. So driver's ed in MD is composed of two things, 30 hours in the classroom (3 hours on 10 days), and 6 hours of driving with an instructor. On the first day of the classroom the teacher told us that we couldn't start the actual driving part until after we had finished the class and that it was a 2 to 6 week waiting period. My family had assumed that the 6 hours was part of the class (we had a lot to learn!). So then I was really discouraged thinking that I would not get my license and my little sister would get hers before me. But then the teacher told me about this option where you can pay $50 and do the driving part whenever it can be scheduled, called "fast lane". She also told me to look online to see if there were any openings to take the final driving test. So I looked and most of the openings were for mid-August and beyond. My mom told me to check every day in case an opening would come up and said that they would drive across the state (like 3 hours away) if necessary. Then my computer was not connecting to the internet, and the website I kept checking was not working for a few days, and then the internet stopped working. So I was getting even more discouraged. I also called the fast lane program but they would not even think about fitting me in without me having an appointment to take the driver's skills test. Then all of a sudden one afternoon I had an inspiration to move my computer to another place in the house where it would be less in the way. As soon as I did that I was able to connect to the internet (through a different connection than the one we have been using which at the time was not working), and checked the schedule right away. And when I did there was an opening for August 1!! I was so excited!!!! I ran up to tell my mom and she said to take it even though it was like up to 2 hours away. So I did, then I called the fast lane people and they were able to fit me in!! So now all I have to do is pass the driving test. But it was just all so incredible how God worked everything out! Sometimes I don't have enough faith, but God has been faithful to me so many times in my life, such as now, that I should never doubt. I now need to have faith that I will pass the test tomorrow, and that if I don’t the Lord has a purpose for it. Please pray that I do pass though, because then I may have to go through this whole rigamarole again in a few years! I mentioned that my computer was having problems up above, pleasepray that I will be able to keep my computer running for at least one more year, that is all I want to get out of it, because by then it will be four and a half years old, which is old for a computer these days! Pray also that the internet will start working on it. On Tuesday I fly to Senegal. Please pray for my travels: pray that my luggage will not be overweight and that it will make it to Dakar without too long delays, pray that the trip will go smoothly and that I will make the one transfer I need to make, and pray that I don’t forget anything when I leave. I will be having a roommate this year for the first time in about two and a half years, please pray that we will get along and be friends. I have not had good roommate situations.

Well, I think that is all for now. I pray that you are getting sufficient rain wherever you are in the world. Please write me if you have any prayer requests of your own. Have a great day. Ruthanne

July Prayer Letter

I have been writing a (mostly) monthly prayer letter for about 10 years now and my parents suggested that I post it here on my blog.

July Edition

Hi,
how are you? I hope you are doing well. I pray that your May and Junes went well. I am now back in the States getting ready to go back to Africa in a month, in fact. But more about that later.

 -Parents: My parents are on furlough now - or as they call it these days, home assignment. For the first two months they are hoping to have a kind of sabbatical - in other words they are not doing the normal States side thing at first (visiting churches), they are just taking a break. After that they are going to North Carolina to be Missionaries in Residence at their mission's training center. Then they are coming back up to Baltimore (where we are now) and will then start travelling around and visiting churches. We just finished two weeks of packing up our house, so they really need a rest. Please pray that they will get rest in these next two months. Pray also that the rest of their year will go well and they will have a good time seeing family and friends they haven't seen in at least two years.

-Mali: Mali is still in turmoil. The current leader, Dioncounda Traore, is in France after being attacked in the Presidential Palace. Although I call him the leader, it really is unclear who the leader is, which is part of the problem. There is a big famine going on. There are thousands of refugees from the famine and the war. The Toureg rebels and Islamic rebels still have control of Northern Mali, although they are fighting each other. The people in that area of Mali are upset with the rebels because their lives are harder than they were before. The Islamic rebels are making things difficult because they are making the people follow Sharriah law. This means that people are not allowed to smoke cigarettes, women have to wear veils, bars were closed and destroyed, TV has been censored, and more. In following this law, they are destroying shrines of folk Islam, which really upsets the people. Please pray for Mali. Pray that a leader will be established, and that the leader is one who can lead well and find a way to end these problems. Pray also for rain. It is good to have one rain a week from June to July for the crops. After July it is the regular rainy season, but the crops need a good foundation before this starts. Last year there was not enough rain and West Africa suffered. Pray that this year will be different.

-Coworker's car: We have friends who bought a car in early March. They have only been able to drive it for about a month in that four month time period. The rest of the time it has been at the mechanic's getting fixed. Please pray for the mechanic who is working on it now to be able to fix the various problems that the car has. Pray for the owner's of the car to not get discouraged from this. And pray that they will be able to raise the support necessary to pay for the work being done on the car.

-Siblings: Danielle has quit teaching for the time being and next semester will be a dorm mom at Dakar Academy. After that she is coming to the States and will get a job, apartment, car, all that good stuff. Please pray for her as she ends her time at DA and moves to the States. Pray that she will be able to find a good job, and an affordable apartment and car. Ben is travelling around with one of his school's worship bands as the sound person. Pray for safety on the road and that he will drive carefully (he is the driver as well). Pray that the band will be able to reach people through their music and their attitudes. And pray that Ben will learn a lot about his chosen career. Susanna just graduated from high school and is now in that transition time between high school and college. Please pray for her as she gets ready to go to college, she is hoping to get in a lot of driving hours once I am gone, and she has some shopping to do. Her older siblings all had bad initial roommate experiences, and she is really hoping to avoid that. Pray that she and her roommates (she has two!) will get along with each other, they are already e-mailing and Skyping each other. Pray that she likes the school she is going to (Greenville College, the same as my brother), and what she will be studying (Elementary Ed.).

-Me: I hinted above that I am going back to Africa. When I was in Dakar in May I had an interview with the director for a position that might be opening. I was told that they would not know if I was needed until late July. But then a few weeks later he asked me to send in the application. So once I did that and gave him my references, I was accepted to work at DA! I will be doing a variety of things: training for the cashiers position, switching the Accounting software over to Quickbooks, monitoring elementary recess, helping to recruit new teachers, and maybe more. So now I am preparing to go back, and I have much to do: get in 40 hours of driving, go to Ohio to get my stuff from a friend who generously stored it for me while I was home, shopping, raise support, and more. Please pray for me as I prepare. Pray that I will make wise decisions about where to spend money and how to spend my time. To learn more about this, check out my blog: ruthannebowers.blogspot.com.

I hope this finds you well. If you have any prayer requests of your own, please tell me and I will pray for you. Enjoy your July, get some sun but not too much, go swimming and eat ice cream! Have a great day. Ruthanne

Coming Full Circle

            I decided to start writing a blog in order to keep my friends informed about what is going on in my life. As you all know I grew up in West Africa and went to high school in a city called Dakar in Senegal. My high school’s name is Dakar Academy. My parents are missionaries in Mali, West Africa with the United World Mission. During my school years, I was home schooled, and attended public and private schools. I attended Dakar Academy at some point in each level of schooling – elementary, middle, and high school. I graduated from high school in 2008 and for college I went to Bluffton University in Ohio. During college I acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a minor in missions, and graduated this past May. Last month I had the chance to go back because my little sister was graduating from high school. When I was there I had an interview with the director to work at DA – preferably in the business office. After I filled out the applications, sent in my resume, and my references helped me out – the director wrote to accept me to the Dakar Academy 2012-2013 staff!

At college graduation

            It did not take me much time to decide to accept the job offering. Before I went back to Senegal my parents and I had been worried about the upcoming year: where was I going to get a job, where was I going to stay, etc? Although this job has answered many of those questions, new ones have been added.

            Why do I want to work at Dakar Academy? Dakar Academy was started in 1961 as a woman teaching the kids of missionaries so that the parents could continue their ministry without taking time out to teach their kids. This small little group grew to what it is today, a thriving, Biblically based, American school of 250 students. The students represent between 20 and 30 nationalities, ranging from Canadian to Korean to Nigerian to Saudi Arabian. The students include children of missionaries (79%), children of diplomats, and children of business people.

            My experience at DA was very rewarding. I have heard many people who went to school in the States talk about their high school experience as a bad thing, as something they don’t like to think about. Not so with me. Going to DA meant I received a first rate education, I learned about God, I was surrounded by many people my own age (which would not have been true if I had been home schooled in Mali all my life), I learned how to make good choices, and gained experience in a variety of things: fund raising, leadership, teamwork, and much more.

            For me to be able to go and work at Dakar Academy and be able to do the same thing as that first woman would be wonderful… however, I am not going to be teaching, rather I will be doing the background work – some of the work that helps make the school run smoothly. I will still be enabling missionaries to continue their work by having a place for their children to go to school. While I train for the cashier’s position, I will also be working with Quickbooks, helping the director with recruiting, and doing some jobs which will involve interaction with the students.

            Ideally, I would like to go to DA under a mission organization. However, with only one month until I leave, that won’t be possible. Dakar Academy provides housing, health insurance, and a small monthly stipend so I can live simply with what they provide. During the year to come, I will be applying to United World Mission, through which I can receive financial support.

            Until then, if you would like to support me directly, I would appreciate any help you can give. I have included a Paypal link here to enable friends to contribute. However, you will NOT receive a tax-deductible receipt for such gifts, just my heartfelt gratitude. I will use such funds to help purchase my plane ticket and make payments on my college loans. By supporting me you will be supporting the hardworking men and women who have given up other opportunities to go and share the gospel with the people of West Africa.

            More than that, I really need your prayer support. Please let me know if you would like to receive monthly prayer emails which I will be sending. Even though in one sense I will be going “home,” life as an adult with a full-time job will present new challenges and I know I’ll need God’s help.