Lord, send me!

I was born into a Christian family in Alton, Illinois, on 9 August 1949. I have an older brother and younger sister and enjoyed a secure and happy childhood.

I met Jesus on a personal level when I was 18, and had this revelation that even if I had been the only person in the world, Jesus would have died for me. I got married when I was 19, and we started our family straight away. We had three beautiful children – one boy and two girls. 

As I navigated the new life experiences of marriage and children, the Lord taught me I could trust him with everything, and this has become the foundation of my life. I first felt called to overseas missions when I was 22 through some prophetic words at a revival meeting. My husband and I talked a lot about serving God overseas; however, he had concerns about raising our children ‘on the field’. 

Those years of raising children at home were like a rollercoaster ride – one minute, I would be crying out to God: “Send me!”, and then there were seasons of waiting and serving God as a mother alongside my job as an IT systems analyst.

Changed circumstances and a frustrating wait

In 1988, my 20-year marriage ended, and I found myself a single mom, juggling my career and raising my preteen and two teenagers. Once again, I felt God’s call to go to the mission field. I had often heard that the call of God is irrevocable and doesn’t change, but my circumstances had changed, so it was hard to keep trusting God despite my life taking such an unexpected turn.

A few years later, the kids and I joined a short-term mission trip to Guatemala with my church, and every day of that trip, my heart broke for the lost. When I got home, I started applying to mission organisations, but none would accept a divorced single mom.

The Lord taught me I could trust him with everything

After two more mission trips to Guatemala and the Philippines, I realised I was ready to go anywhere and do anything for God so continued to cry out: “Just send me!”

He still didn’t send me. 

Discipling young women abroad

Two years later, when my youngest daughter started university,  I connected with a missionary in China who wanted a woman to help disciple young Filipino women in his church. Once again, mission organisations wouldn’t accept me; the responses I got included: “We wouldn’t send a single woman to start a project alone” and “We don’t accept divorced women.”

Ultimately, my pastor agreed to send me anyway! My kids were on board – by now, my son was married, my oldest daughter was halfway through college and my youngest had just begun. So, in 1992, I went to Hong Kong. I served there for a few years and then met some new friends serving with an organisation called Asia Connect. I applied, and they accepted me! Our new team moved to Lhasa, Tibet for four years, where we discipled young women in the house churches there.

Then, God began giving us a burden for orphans. We tried to start some programmes for children in Lhasa. However, red tape and government bureaucracy made it impossible, so we planned to start an orphan care work in Mongolia.

Sadly, our team then broke down, which led to my being unwell with burnout, so I went home to the States. After a period of rest and doctor’s care between 1999 and 2000, I recovered. In the meantime, my youngest daughter had gone to West Africa, with the Peace Corps, so I went to visit her for six weeks.

During my time there we travelled by bus, covering a lot of the country. As we passed through cities and countryside, I would gaze out of the window and weep over the dryness of the land and over the people who needed Jesus.

A change of destination

I returned home to America confused: I thought I was meant to start the orphan care work in Mongolia! But when I talked to my pastor, he just smiled and said, “Ruth, I knew you were going to end up in Africa!” The more I prayed about it, the more God seemed to be leading me to make this change.

I contacted Asia Connect again to see if they would send me to West Africa. Unsurprisingly, they said: “No, our name is Asia Connect; we support missionaries in Asia.” However, my fantastic home church and other special families and individuals agreed to financially support me so, in 2000, I moved to the small town where my daughter was teaching.

We lived in a tiny house with electricity but no running water. Still seeking the covering of a missionary organisation, I approached a few more organisations. But, once again, none of them wanted to work with a single mother and divorcee. 

I realised I needed to start a non-profit myself, so in 2000 Sheltering Wings was born. With a board of directors, we were able to start an orphan care programme. Alongside the support of the local government, we built an orphanage, a school, a medical clinic, a sponsorship programme for 400 children and 80 widows in Yako, and established infant malnutrition clinics in three villages. 

It was incredible how the funds poured in, and God opened all the doors for us to have an impact. We also worked with local churches to disciple new believers (youth and children are not allowed to profess faith until they are 18, so we supported them as secret believers).

I worked in this small town for over 13 years until God stirred my heart for the children and widows in an even more isolated area of the country. I knew I needed a teammate for this calling, so I prayed for God to send me a sister-friend. God sent her along, and she is still my housemate today! 

God also sent a couple to whom we could hand over the orphanage projects, and my teammate and I went to start a new work in 2013. 

Coming under attack

This new work was located in the remote southwest part of the country and was completely different from what I was used to in the north. It was a nine-hour drive from the capital with the last 35km on a dirt road that took an hour and a half to cover. There was no infrastructure in the village; no roads, no electricity or running water.

Government officials welcomed our arrival and, with the support of the village chief and the local church pastor, over the next seven years we built a medical facility, secondary school, a church and house for the pastor, a sponsorship programme for 300 children and 50 widows and partnered with two local churches to support secret believers and disciple young women.

In 2016, we lost one of our teammates in a terrorist attack in the capital. His wife continues to serve, overseeing and developing the orphanage projects. Terrorist activity increased in our region as groups moved in through the porous borders of our neighbouring countries. In 2018, it became too dangerous for us to remain in our village, so we evacuated to a small town 35 kilometres away where there was a police and military presence. 

To this day, we have not been able to return to our village. Leaving our pastor, our friends and the children was heartbreaking. Our beloved country has since experienced increasing instability and several coups. There have been at least three attacks in our village, and twelve villages in our region, inhabited by thousands of people, were forced to evacuate on foot.

Lessons learned

I moved back to the USA and, in 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This changed everything. For the next year and a half, I received treatment. I’m so thankful to God that he brought me through my illness; I have been cancer free for one year!

I am still receiving immunotherapy treatments every three weeks, but I am able to return to our base of ministry twice a year for six weeks each visit. 

Throughout all my adventures serving God, the ups and the downs and the disappointments, the main lesson he has taught me is to trust him wholeheartedly. I have learnt that if God speaks, he will bring his plans to completion even if I can’t see how. 

So many times throughout my journey, I have felt the inadequacies of my inabilities or seemingly impossible circumstances. But he has shown me time and again that he is strong enough. He is able! If he gives you a vision, never disqualify yourself. He will lead you, guide you and accomplish what he wants, so keep asking him to show you the way and leave it to him – you can trust him. 

For more information on Sheltering Wings visit sheltering-wings.org