Dear Praying Friends and Family,          I hope this letter finds you all well in the Lord. We want to thank you for all your help in the work the Lord has called us to do in Ukraine. The long “To Do” list helping us transition is being checked off. In spite of Covid we are finally able to direct our time and energy to updating and encouraging our sending churches in the work in Ukraine.

The reports received from my associate in Ukraine, Brother Alexei, give me great peace of mind knowing that the Lord is with them and comforting them in the work going forward. Over the years I’ve seen and heard of quite a few works that have ceased to exist after the missionary left the field for an extended amount of time. That is always a great concern as the Apostle Paul expresses repeatedly in his epistles. Overall, the people and ministry are holding strong for the Lord. The quarantine requires them to limit services and use the internet to broadcast on occasion. Many of the elderly in the church are dealing with a lot of sicknesses but our people are helping one another. They are also holding Bible classes in a nearby orphanage. I can’t express enough the relief, joy, and thanksgiving we feel for what the Lord is doing with our ministry.

Our meetings so far have been a huge encouragement to us in the work. After having been on the field this past term for nearly seven years, I again see what a necessity furlough is for missionaries. It has been great to see pastors and churches that we have not seen in years, like Tabernacle Baptist Church in Denver, NC. We haven’t seen them in 17 years, yet they have faithfully prayed for our work and supported us the whole time! Temple Baptist Church’s missions conference in Statesville, NC ministered to us in ways we never expected. They encouraged us in the work and gave us the opportunity to have fellowship with other veteran missionaries, which helped us tremendously. More and more, we are being refreshed by pastors and their congregations. I am speechless and amazed at how the Lord works with and through His people in the Gospel ministry. We were able to spend time with Pastor Joe Silvestri and saints there at Wooster Bible Church. We always come away from their church and home encouraged in our personal walk with Jesus Christ. It has been good to visit other churches in the Cincinnati area like Branch Hill Baptist Church, Mt. Hope Baptist Church, Anchor Baptist Church, Lebanon Baptist Temple, Bible Believers Baptist Church, Friendship Baptist Church, and Miltonville Baptist Church who have all been a big blessing to us over the years.

I wanted to use this letter to write a paragraph or two about personal issues and things that the Lord has been teaching me about ministry and family. All pastors, evangelists, and missionaries know of the challenges of raising children in the ministry. Missionaries face an added challenge dealing with transitioning back to life in the USA at 18 to 20 years old. During my first ten years of missionary work several well-meaning elderly saints wanted to give me advice in this area. I was “all ears”, as they say, knowing that, “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding (Job 12:12).” The tone of their counsel was, “Remember young man, God called you; not them,” referring to my children. I took this advice and applied it to our family trying to be realistic about expectations of my children in regards to missionary service. We also constantly reinforced the idea to our older children the need to prepare to leave home after finishing high- school if they do not have a definitive call to stay in the ministry. The outcome, thus far, has not been that great; at least in our family. As occasion presented itself, I’ve had conversations with other veteran missionaries on this and I’m alarmed to hear of so many good children of good missionaries dropping out of church altogether. “Houston, we have a problem.”

Red flags began to go up when I overheard, on several occasions, conversations between my children and inquiring adults about what we do. Their replies were, “My dad is a missionary”; not “We are missionaries.” That there be no misunderstandings, let it be said that our children do indeed serve alongside us in the ministry. However, there seems to be the need for an ever so slight adjustment in their hearts. I feel that we have made a big error and we are trying to correct it now. It stands to reason that if God wanted my children to be Americans in the usual sense that He would have had them born to American families in America. God placed them in our family and we are missionaries serving in Ukraine. Just as there is a special call given to Americans to leave America and go to the foreign field, it is only reasonable to think that there should be the same for missionary children to leave the field where God put them and call them back to America.

After serving the Lord in Ukraine the first ten years I began to see that my lifespan was not as long as my vision. I have enough vision for several lifetimes. In other words, the work that needs to be done in Ukraine spans generations not a single lifetime. Second-generation missionaries would be a great blessing to the Lord’s work. No wonder the Devil concentrates his attention on them to take them out. We missionaries often think that the Devil attacks our kids to stop us (which is true), however, the opposite may be closer to the real reason. Second generation missionaries would be able to do so much more for the Lord. My wife and I have counted the cost of serving Jesus Christ into our twilight years and we are all in! Whatever the cost! We are encouraging our children to serve alongside us in this work, unless the Lord calls them elsewhere. This minor adjustment has brought tremendous comfort and liberty to our hearts in the task of raising our children for God. My daughter has made up her mind about helping us in the ministry and working towards being self-supporting with a job that will allow her to work online. Our son, Benjamin, believes the Lord wants him to begin his life in the USA. We are helping him transition while we are here. He is praying about a lot of things, including going to Bible Institute. Our son, Samuel, is my right-hand man in the ministry at the moment in the USA. I really need the help and I keep him busy. He is also praying about the future and is looking at returning to the field with us and helping in the work until God makes things clearer to him about His will for his life. As for our younger children (Christopher, Michael, and Joseph), we have enrolled them in online classes in Ukraine while we are on furlough to further their language studies. Please pray that the Lord’s will be done in all our lives as we serve Him.

I have begun scheduling meetings and look forward to seeing you all sometime soon. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a specific date. My number is 513-376-1011. If not, you should be hearing from me in the near future!     Thank you for all that you do for the Lord, giving us the privilege to serve Him in Ukraine. Until our next prayer letter or our meeting in the air! That Ukraine May Know Him, Christopher Rue Phil. 3:10