| Global
Missions
Missionaries to Buryatia
 On Sept. 15, 2002 the First Lutheran Global Missions Committee was pleased to welcome Matthew and Alison Ruohoniemi to share their story of their call to missionary work in
Buryatia, Russia.
Matthew talked about the deep conviction that he and Alison have had now for five years that God is calling them to work in Buryatia as missionaries. He believes that God will give him a love for the people there and his ultimate guiding light has been the knowledge that God truly loves these people and wants them to know Him.
Matthew and Alison worked previously in Nepal as missionaries.
They now are living in Pine River, MN where Matthew works as
an engineer and Alison takes care of their four children. As
of fall 2002, Matthew and Alison were working in Ulan
Ude, Buryatia to obtain a visa and a place to work in Buryatia. They asked us to pray that an opportunity will open up and they will be able to go to
Buryatia.
In Nov 2002 Matthew and Alison put together a list of goals they feel called to pursue in
Buryatia, Russia:
1. Prayer - We feel God has specifically asked us to pray for the orphaned and unwanted children. We hope that this can involve specific prayer with the children and communicating specific needs to others (both here and there) so they can pray as well.
2. Developing long-term relationships - We feel that God wants us to be involved like a parent. This probably will require very frequent visits and may involve holding, singing to, playing with the children, and telling them about a Father who loves them and wants to adopt them as sons and daughters.
3. Practical help - We recognize that the children in orphanages have many practical needs. We would like to make ourselves available to assist those who work there to care for the children's physical needs.
[back to Global Missions
page]
|
