Christmas 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Where do I start, well, 2005 was a year filled with many exciting events and changes in our lives. Of course, we are now in 2006—but nonetheless, thought you might like to hear the events of our past year. Onawa and I, though far away from home and family, were as busy as ever (explaining why this letter found its way to you so late). Officially, we completed our first year as Okies—yippee. We miss Montana terribly, and hope to return to the Northwest as school finishes.

School is great. I have figured out I might actually be smart. I would not yet consider myself a scholar; however, for now I shall fake it. Last semester proved my most challenging thus far. I am learning Greek, not Modern Greek but a more primitive form of the language. It is the original language of the New Testament, therefore, should I actually absorb some of it, I will be able to read and study the bible at an entirely new level. Nothing, like learning a dead language…ha! I think I’m learning more about English grammar than actual Greek, but next semester we focus more on reading and parsing actual text. A little should rub off on me as we are required to take four semesters (two years) of it. School, oh—hours of writing, reading, and recitation; I love every minute of it.

Last summer I spent six weeks working in Rwanda, Africa. What an amazing experience. Four of the weeks teaching first and second year English students at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. Originally, the plan was to do one-to-one tutoring sessions with students out of their normal classes. When the school realized what a great an opportunity we offered for their students, to practice conversational English, they invited us to teach all their language classes. Though we felt quite inadequate to handle the change of plans, I truly believe that God opened this door in order that we might reach students who normally would not take part. We spent around eight hours a day reading through the book of Luke, and discussing the bible with college students—awesome. It was so cool to study with other Christians who have an entirely different perspective on life, and the best part had to be reading and discussing my faith with several students of Islamic beliefs. I still ponder why God sent me to Africa; I wonder what He is teaching me. The six weeks I spent away from Onawa were tough, however, it was great to see her beautiful face upon my return. Next time we shall go together.

Onawa, as usual, is doing wonderful; she never ceases to amaze me. As you should already know, she graduated from Montana State University in May of 2004 with a B.F.A. in Graphic Design. She excelled in school far beyond my, and I think her, expectations. When we arrived in OKC, we discovered that the design community here is totally oversaturated with designers, and jobs are few and far between. After lots of prayer, God blessed her with a wonderful job. Completely content with what God gave us, we began structuring around her work with Century Inc. Century is the largest producer of martial arts equipment in North America. Over the past year, she impressed her bosses, and was quickly promoted to “Team Lead” in the advertising department. The promotion was huge, but it did not end there because God decided to bless us even more. With absolutely no warning, or premeditation (on our part), a new job opportunity popped up in December. After prayerful consideration, Onawa left her with Century and is now the Design Manager for a company called Ingenux, Inc. Ingenux is a web and software development company, and is right up the street from us. Century is in Midwest City, and Onawa was commuting over an hour each day. She now has better benefits and a flexible schedule so who knows maybe our first born will be an Okie—I don’t know…? God has truly blessed her in her career and it has only just begun.

Well that is enough about us. Know that we miss you all terribly, and hope to see you soon. We hope that 2005 was a blessed year for you, and may this year bring you great joy, peace and plenty of laughter. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

Love,
Rusty & Onawa