Celebrate Your Heritage

We anticipate our relocation to North Avenue with excitement and joy. We also realize that we’ll be facing change, and change is not always easy to deal with. It’s during times of change that we cling to our roots. That’s why we want to share this “Family Tree” with you and some exciting stories about WBC missionaries with deep roots at WBC. We have roots firmly planted in Christ as witnessed by the WBC family members who have sacrificially served Christ all over the world.

The tree and the stories below represent generations of families from our church who we have supported as WBC missionaries. Parents followed a call to serve and their children compounded this heritage with their own ministry. In some cases, we have even seen third generation WBC missionaries.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6 NLT).

Download a pdf of the tree here.

In our June '08 issue of life@wbc, we return to the tree to look at one family with deep roots at WBC. Ed Ruch and his son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Tammy, are WBC-supported missionaries serving in the Philipines. Ed’s 100-year-old father, Eddie Ruch, still attends WBC.

Read the Ruch family article. See Ruch family pictures below!

Mark Ruch works as a counselor for the mission community at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines. He spends time consulting, counseling, and debriefing at the Wycliffe office and at Faith Academy, a school for missionary kids. His wife Tammy encourages Filipino Bible translators and Korean missionary women. They have lived and served in the metro-Manila area for 8 years.

When asked what motivated them to go halfway around the world to serve the Lord in this particular way, Mark replied:

"Growing up as the son of a Bible translator on a small island in the Philippines, I had a front row seat to watch the power of God's Word transform the lives of people who read and heard it for the first time in their own language. I also understood firsthand the needs and challenges of missionary kids and families. So when I saw an ad from Faith Academy for a marriage & family counselor, I was excited to see a way I could help out, using the gifts the Lord's given me."

"For me, it began at Wheaton College," stated Tammy. "During my junior year, I became focused on trying to be a 'perfect Christian.' I soon discovered, after a time of great stress and anxiety, that it was simply not possible. About that time, I re-read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity and realized afresh that that's precisely the reason Jesus came to this earth. Because it's impossible for us to have it all together, so we need God's grace and forgiveness. As I experienced that freedom in my own life, I wanted others to have it as well. Having grown up in Europe as a military kid, I already had an interest in other cultures, and so began to pursue missions opportunities. So when I heard Mark's care and concern for missionary kids and families, it wasn't hard for me to embrace his vision and pursue whatever God had for us."

Mark's work not only involves counseling individuals, couples and families, but also providing seminars to various groups. This past year he and his colleagues taught seminars on Peer Debriefing, Dealing with Conflict Biblically and Child Protection. Some of the seminars involved traveling to other areas of the Philippines and this month to Jakarta, Indonesia. He is also available as a consultant to mission administrators, and during the last 4 years, has been heading up the family counseling department at Faith Academy. He is thankful for the three other part-time counselors the Lord has provided to work with him.

Tammy sees her role primarily as that of encourager and facilitator, first for her family, and as she has time, for others as well. She has been meeting regularly for the last three years with Korean missionary women to help them practice their English. This year she has had the opportunity to serve as a liaison and advocate for Filipinos pursuing master's degrees in linguistics to enhance their skills as Bible translators. She also volunteers some time at the Faith Academy library, teaches beginning piano lessons and edits missionaries' prayer letters.

WBC will host the family this summer and celebrate this milestone in their family history, which is so closely related to WBC missionary history. Mark and Tammy's two daughters, Jaina (13) and Kyra (10), attend Faith Academy and are looking forward to attending Wheaton public schools this coming year during their home assignment.

It's hard to imagine that Eddie’s wife was a charter member of WBC and sent as a missionary and now 46 years later, the fourth generation of Ruch children will be here in Wheaton. The fourth generation of Ruch’s will celebrate their great-grandfather’s 100^th year, the huge accomplishment of grandfather helping complete a translation of the Bible from an unknown language to a written New Testament. They will celebrate their own 11^th and 14^th birthdays here among our church family.

Please check back later as we will add another family's story soon!