3rd Quarter Prayer Letter9/25/2019 October 2019
Dear Friends in Christ, “Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. 6Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. 7How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. 8They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. 9For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light” (Psalm 36:5-9). It has been a great blessing for us to be able to visit many of our supporting churches over the past five months while on furlough. So far, we have been to 30 churches, with another 15 scheduled in the next 3 months. The Lord has been very gracious to keep us from any difficulties along the way as we have travelled over 10,000 miles. Unfortunately, a Wednesday meeting was cancelled in Charleston, South Carolina, due to hurricane Dorian. The highway traffic was reversed, allowing all lanes to exit Charleston, so we couldn’t have gotten there even if we wanted. Years ago, we experienced hurricane Hugo in Charleston, and it left such an impression on us that we have no desire to go through another. While visiting our supporting churches, many have asked about Ron’s health situation. Since it was a main reason for us leaving Cambodia, we understand that you want to know, so you can evaluate our going to South Africa. For the past five months, Ron has been seeing doctors at the VA (Veterans Affairs) hospital here in Milwaukee. The main problem seems to be Restless Leg Syndrome, which he has struggled with for many years. The doctors prescribed Ropinirole, which is a medicine used for Parkinson’s Disease. Ron has been taking it for about three months, and it has done wonders for his sleeping habits. He is able to go to sleep almost every night, compared to only every other night previously. The lack of sleep was Ron’s most pressing problem, which most likely affected the other health issues. His strength has returned and he has gained back his weight (and then some, unfortunately ☹). Cape Town, South Africa, has a more temperate climate than Cambodia, so we believe the change of seasons and cooler temperatures will also help. Please continue to pray for us as there is still much that needs to happen before we can go to South Africa. The cost of living is a bit higher than in Cambodia, so we will need to raise additional support. Our mission board is in the process of calculating a new budget for us. Originally, we had hoped to leave in January of 2020, but it may take a little longer than we expected. Hopefully, by our next prayer letter, in January 2020, Ron will have graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Bible, with a minor in Business. For those of you who don’t know, Ron received an associate degree in missions over 22 years ago. It was recommended that he take time to finish his degree, especially as he will be teaching in South Africa. Tina has also begun online classes to continue her degree. Praise the Lord, the cost of her education is being covered through different grants, which don’t have to be paid back. Jonathon recently finished a new website for the ministry. If you would like to check it out, you can find it at: hisinsouthafrica.com. You will find many pictures from Cambodia, as well as all our furlough presentations, including our current one. Speaking of Jonathon, we are proud to share that he recently completed his final classes for his bachelor’s degree in music business. He is now officially graduated! Currently, he is working as an EMT, but would like to find a job or opportunity where he can better use the talents and gifts the Lord has given him. Leah recently received a promotion of sorts and has transitioned from a secretarial position to the bookkeeper at our home church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Rebekah is currently seeking the Lord's will regarding service in a more restrictive country, but one that has been on her heart for a long time. There have been a number of circumstances and individuals that the Lord has brought together to cause her to head this direction. She would appreciate your prayers for wisdom, the Lord's guidance, and open doors. If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact us or her. Thank you very much for your continued prayers for us, our children, and the ministry the Lord has given us. We pray as we enter the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas that we all would reflect on everything the Lord has given, His abundant grace and salvation, His answers to prayers, and His faithfulness towards us even when we are not. Take care and God bless. Serving the Savior, Ron & Tina Fruin Prayers Praises * Increase in support (housing) * God’s provisions * Guidance for Bible school * Ron’s health improvements * Visa for South Africa * Jonathon’s completion of college * Safety in furlough travels * Safety in travels on furlough * Online college courses * Church meetings and reacquaintances
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Field Update9/1/2019 Dear Friends in Christ, “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:10-12). Although some of you have already become aware of our new change in ministry, whether through our visit to your church or through your pastor sharing the information, we realize many are still wondering. We have tried to keep it confidential up until now, to allow each of our supporting pastors to receive an official letter from our pastor, our board, and ourselves. Those letters explained the switch in fields and confirmed a united agreement by all involved. Through godly counsel from our pastor, we considered a few countries he believed would fit with our gifts, talents, and abilities. One thing we all agreed on was a place where English was a common language, in order to be able to minister effectively and expediently. In our last quarterly prayer letter, we mentioned we would be taking a survey trip from July 8-18 and asked for your prayers. After returning from our survey trip, we wanted to pray at least another month to make sure it was truly God’s will and not just our desire. On July 8th, we traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to spend time with Eric and Katie Graham and two of their children. We were blessed to be able to see the wonderful ministry and meet folks from their church, as well as fellow missionaries in the area. It was also great timing for us to go when we did as Steve and Martha Anderson, BWM field director and his wife, were there during those weeks. We believe the Lord would have us to work with the Grahams, and hopefully soon Nathan and Kristin Childs, who are currently on deputation. Together, we desire to assist in strengthening the existing church, Calvary Baptist, help in their church plants/ministries, and establish some kind of Bible training institution. There are many different ideas for the type of school this would be, such as tutoring and helping students pass their final exam in order to graduate from high school, training and teaching various skills and trades in a technical type school, or even a college preparatory school. Obviously, the first thing is for us to get there and then determine which will be the most effective avenue to begin with. We see great potential and are very excited at how the Lord is leading. The biggest foreseeable obstacles are a venue for the school and transportation for the students. We understand there are many unknown variables and details, but we know God is in control and we are following Him in faith. We will share more as the Lord reveals it to us. One of the prayer requests we would like to place before you as we head towards South Africa is for the additional support needed for housing, as we are going from a third-world country to a more developed area near Cape Town. Another prayer request is for visas, which we hear are more difficult to obtain than in Cambodia. Please also pray for the future ministry there in South Africa: for the type of Bible school the Lord would desire, for the students the Lord wants us to minister to, for the venue, and for transportation needs. Once again, we would like to thank you for your faithful encouragement and support over the years, through the trials and through the victories the Lord has allowed us to journey through together as we all continue in His service. Take care and God bless. Serving the Saviour, Ron & Tina Fruin
AuthorRon and Tina Fruin are missionaries in South Africa. Their current and previous ministries include church planting, Bible Institutes, and colleges. ArchivesCategories |
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