<![CDATA[The Ruscios

<![CDATA[The Ruscios - Blog]]>Wed, 26 Nov 2025 05:51:29 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[July/August Update]]>Sun, 24 Aug 2025 06:30:02 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/julyaugust-update

]]><![CDATA[May/June Combined Update]]>Thu, 03 Jul 2025 22:40:42 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/mayjune-combined-updateHappy Summer! While you are all enjoying your longest day of the year, we are experiencing our shortest. Coming from Spokane, with an 8 hour daylight swing between summer and winter, our 37 minutes here isn't saying that much, but it's just enough to notice.

In the last couple months, we have fought one medical challenge after another. On the heels of Frankie's foot infection (which, believe it or not, is still healing - healing takes so much time here!), Logan's legs (nearly always covered in some number of blistered bug bites) exploded in infections. We went through a season of changing around 17 band-aids every morning and night trying to fight the infections.

Next came the lice - yuck! A new experience for us, but not as bad as we first thought it would be. And before we had even finished clearing up the lice, we moved onto the fevers.

In God's providence, Logan's sickness came with a fairly high fever that also cleared out the infections in his legs! The sickness passed through two more kids fairly uneventfully. And then, Jacklyn came down with it.

She was in bed for days trying to get food and water down. This culminated in what we thought was a seizure but now seems more likely to be a vasovagal episode (still the loss of consciousness and muscle jerking, but caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate). This is way better than a seizure, but a scary 60 seconds in the moment nonetheless. That same day Frank's fever started and would last almost four days. Both of us eventually received IV fluids which helped turn us around.

It's so hard to be sick and without energy at the same time as one another - kudos to our kids for making it through without parents for several days and for helping out around the house while we were so very sick!

We are still in recovery mode now, building up our energy and trying to pick up the pieces from being out of commission for a whole week collectively. But we are thankful to the Lord that He helped us to make it through, and we didn't have to medevac to a hospital. And we are also very thankful for love and care from our teammates who swept in and washed our dishes, swept our floor, poked our arms to set IVs, and brought some smiles and food for our kids.

In celebration of completing our formal language program, we are going to use this month's video to give you a little taste of what we've been learning. And actually, there's so much we're excited to share, this will be a longer video so we decided to count it as both May and June's updates.

Praise!

Thankful to have successfully finished our final language check!
Thankful for the Lord's love and care for our family.
Thankful for two new families on base! They have both arrived safely and are settling in well.
Thankful for the Lord carrying us through infections, bugs, and sickness.

Prayer!

Pray for perseverance and diligence for our kids (and Jacklyn!) as they homeschool through the summer.
Pray for a heathy summer and reprieve from sickness.
Pray for the Donckles family who is settled and jumping into language learning.
Pray for the Miller family who is settling (already knows the language and culture), and is preparing to build a house in the tribe with the Cann family.
Pray for the details of scheduling a helicopter to sling load building supplies up to the mountains for the Miller house build. Frank has run into several challenges in this process.
Pray for the English family, who are still stateside, finishing up their final support raising so they can join their teammates, the Donckles, and prepare to start a new church plant together.
We are thankful for the wisdom of the Lord to give us just what we need each day - pray for us to accept what He puts on our plates with thankfulness and joy.
Pray that our children would see God for who He truly is, and see themselves rightly. Pray that they would fully understand their desperate need for Him.

]]><![CDATA[April Mini Video Update]]>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/april-mini-video-update

Praise!

We are thankful for continued opportunities to learn language while investing in relationships as we wait to finish our final language check.
The kids are continuing to pick up on language and engage more and more with the locals.
Toby's ear has healed up again and seems to be doing well. We have learned ways to be proactive and help prevent infections.

Prayer!

Pray for an infection we are working through on Frankie's foot. He is learning a hard lesson from not caring for a scratch promptly - salve and a band-aid is a must to prevent infection here. Because this one was already infected before we started treating it, we have had trouble getting it under control. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us to keep at it and know how to best help him.
Pray for us as we continue to adjust to new rhythms and routines as we transition from full time language learning to full time ministry (and still keep learning language on the side.)
Pray for perseverance and diligence for our kids as they finish up their homeschool year over the summer, even while friends are out and playing in the yard for their summer break.
Pray for us to prepare well for the families coming to Madang this summer. Pray that God would give us the wisdom to be a help, support and encouragement to each of them as they settle in and adjust.
We are thankful for the wisdom of the Lord to give us just what we need each day - pray for us to accept what He puts on our plates with thankfulness and joy.
Pray that our children would see God for who He truly is, and see themselves rightly. Pray that they would fully understand their desperate need for Him.

]]><![CDATA[January Mini Video Update]]>Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/january-mini-video-updateIt's hard to believe we have already been here for 6 months! Life has become a little more normal, we're mostly settled in, and all the new things take a little less brain power than they first did. We are thankful to the Lord for His sustaining grace, the gift of unity with our teammates, and the support and prayers of every one of you who have helped us, encouraged us and supported us all along the way. The kindness of the Lord is always abounding.

In this month's video, Frank and Frankie chat about being in PNG for 6 months and share about one of the villages where we spend time learning language and culture.

Climbing the coconut tree, building a porch, cooking food, swimming in the ocean and attending a coming of age ceremony. We hope this video gives you a taste of some of the things that have been a part of our language learning!

Praise!

We have had sweet time with visitors over the last few weeks and are so thankful for the encouragement and refreshment!
There is light at the end of the tunnel - hopefully just another month of our formal culture and language learning left.
The kids are learning language well and enjoying and engaging with the people here.
The Lord is kind and gracious to bring us here and sustain us these last 6 months!

Prayer!

Pray for Toby. His ear infection came back this week. Again, it looks like swimmer's ear. Just a few months back, he developed a case of a swimmer's ear infection that developed quickly, eventually moving into other tissues and turning into something much more significant. Please pray that we can keep this one under control and not walk down that road again. Also, please pray for our hearts to be steadfast, trusting the Lord with whatever He plans to bring our way.
Pray that we will hold fast to the Lord as our continual source of strength.
Pray that our children would fully submit to God’s loving sovereign rule over their life.
Pray that we would be faithful with whatever God has for us each day, in both the mundane, and the unexpected.

]]><![CDATA[December Mini Video Update]]>Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:12:47 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/december-mini-video-updateMerry Christmas and Happy New Year!

New Years is a big holiday here in PNG - bigger than even Christmas for most people. We just watched the clock roll past midnight and now fireworks, Chinese lanterns, and plenty of other other noisy explosions and shouting surround us. And another notable thing, all the dogs seem unphased in the midst of the chaos. We're definitely not in America anymore!

We are thankful to the Lord for all He has carried us through over this past year and we are confident that many of you are the tools that He has used to do just that! Looking back, we are filled with thankfulness for your prayers, encouragement and support every step of the way. We love you and miss you all!

Praise!

We passed our third language check - only one more to go!
After a few replaced parts, our generator seems to be working consistently again, Frank is now a little more familiar with the generator, and we are thankful to have more consistent power.
Our first Christmas here in PNG was a sweet time celebrating the birth of Christ together.

Prayer!

Pray for us to be diligent and work through our final language learning module.
Pray that we will hold fast to the Lord as our continual source of strength.
Pray that our children would fully submit to God’s loving sovereign rule over their life.
Pray that we would be faithful with whatever God has for us each day, in both the mundane, and the unexpected.

]]><![CDATA[December Prayer Letter]]>Mon, 16 Dec 2024 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/december-prayer-letter5470820

]]><![CDATA[November Mini Video Update]]>Sat, 30 Nov 2024 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/november-mini-video-updateHappy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving marked our first major American holiday in PNG and it was a sweet time of fellowship and fun with our teammates. A common theme around the table was our gratefulness for one another. We are thankful for the Lord's sovereignty in preparing each of our families and bringing us here to work together and complement one another with different gifts and abilities.

Christmas Cards:
Many of you are already on our fridge from last year's Christmas cards and we would LOVE to update pictures and add new ones! So if you have a few extra stamps (3 regular or 1 international) please add us to your Christmas card list this year.
Our PNG mailing address can always be found at the bottom of our emails!

Video Update:
In this month's video, we'll give you some updates on what's been going on over the last two months. Traveling, infections, generator issues... much has happened and all while we're still trying to keep up with our language study. It's felt a bit like a whirlwind at times, but we are thankful for God's sustaining grace through it all.

In other news, we passed our second language check and are well on our way to our third! If all goes as planned, we will complete the third check on December 20th - just in time to take a nice Christmas break!

Praise!

Our week in the Finisterre mountains was a sweet and profitable time, thank you for praying!
God is faithful not only when things are going well, but even when He give us challenging and difficult situations or decisions - this time regarding the health of our kiddo. Praise Him for His sovereignty, wisdom and goodness.

Prayer!

Pray for us to be diligent and work through all we need to finish in order to complete our next language check before Christmas.
Pray that we will hold fast to the Lord as our continual source of strength.
Pray that our children would fully submit to God’s loving sovereign rule over their life.
Pray that we would be faithful with whatever God has for us each day, in both the mundane, and the unexpected.

]]><![CDATA[September Mini Video Update]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/september-2024-mini-updateTwo months in Papua New Guinea!
We continue to be thankful for God's grace for our family each day. We are becoming more and more adjusted here, are able to hold slightly more detailed conversations, and are settling into a new way of life.

Whether in the village we visit to practice our language, or just outside our gate, the kids are loving every chance they get to play with the national kids.

Video Update:
In this month's video, Logan and Frank will give an update on all things coconut! Click the video below to learn about coconuts in PNG and hear a few updates on our family.

Praise!

God's faithfulness and sustaining grace through our first two months in PNG.
We passed our first language check! And we're moving right along toward our second.
Friendships the kids have been developing with nationals kids here!

Prayer!

Pray for our week up in the Finisterre Mountains living in a village with a FinisTerre missionary family – pray that it would be a time of mutual encouragement for both families, and that it would be equipping for our family to better serve our tribal church planters in the months to come. We will be there this Wednesday through the following Wednesday.
Pray for us to be diligent and prepare for our second language check well.

Please continue to pray:

That we would be Faithful. Faithful to be in the Word every day, faithful to shepherd our kids well, faithful to study the language, faithful to persevere mentally through the fatigue and keep pressing on.
That this would be a season of growth for each of us and that God would reveal Himself to us in new ways.
That we will trust God through each challenge He has prepared for us, and that we would learn to love the people well.

]]><![CDATA[August Mini Video Update]]>Sat, 31 Aug 2024 01:09:13 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/august-mini-video-updateWe recently passed the 1 month mark in PNG!
We are thankful for God's grace for our family each day as we adjust, learn more words, and understand new pieces of the culture here in PNG. The people are friendly, kind and patient with us. They are happy that we are here and love to help us learn their language and culture.

Video Update:
This time we decided to give all the kids a chance to pick what they wanted to share about. Click the video below to see a snapshot of our life here in PNG. In future videos, we hope to go into more detail on some of these topics. For now, this can serve as a big picture overview

Praise!

God's faithfulness and sustaining grace thorough our transitions.
The kids are adjusting and settling in well.
God's provision and encouragement from friends and family from the States!

Prayer!

Pray that we would be Faithful. Faithful to be in the Word every day, faithful to shepherd our kids well, faithful to study the language, faithful to persevere mentally through the fatigue and keep pressing on.

Pray 1 Corinthians 15 for us that we would be be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain.

Pray that this would be a season of growth for each of us and that God would reveal Himself to us in new ways.

Pray that we will trust God through each challenge He has prepared for us, and that we would learn to love the people well.

]]><![CDATA[We made it to PNG!]]>Mon, 29 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.theruscios.org/blog/we-made-it-to-pngWe just finished our 4th full day in PNG! We are adjusting and settling in a little more each day, but it's a process and we need God's grace in each moment. Today we were able to set up our internet and so we wanted to give everyone a quick update that we made it!

For those of you who are on our video update list - we will still try hard to send out a video in the next couple weeks. But for now, here are a few snippets of our time so far:

Cairns, Australia was a sweet opportunity for some much needed quality family time, as well as a very helpful time to recover from all the craziness of leaving the States, recover from jetlag, and process some of the pieces of this transition. We were so thankful - and we had a lot of fun!

The picture below is of a Golden Orb spider that lived just up the way from the apartment we stayed in at the missionary guest house in Cairns.

We stayed a night in Port Moresby because our final flight was canceled. The kids were happy because they were excited to stay in a hotel and swim in the pool. And they all had great attitudes when we found out that the pool was closed for the day. All of these things are normal life in PNG - the land of the unexpected! (although you might as well expect the final flight to be canceled!)

Thankfully, all our bags made it to Madang
...eventually!

Our teammates, the Twomblys, had a place prepared for us.
We're settling in now - unpacking, organizing and making it feel like home.

There are lots of tiny ants in our house. The lizards are inside too, but they earn their keep by eating the bugs.

Our hot water is solar heated, so if the day is too cloudy, there is no hot water. We've had a few cloudy days so we are all learning to wash dishes in cold water and take cold showers!

The kids are getting eaten up by new bugs. Logan continues to have most of his bites turn into blisters. We have to be much more vigilant here to keep them covered to prevent infection.

Everyone is feeling a bit off with stomach aches and headaches as we start the long process of acclimating to a new environment and new germs.

The Twomblys have been very kind, hospitable and generous. They are caring for us well as we settle in.

Our children have made a great connection with their children and they have all been having a wonderful time together.

Thank you to everyone who helped us get this far. It's surreal to be here. We miss you all dearly!

*We can still text from our US numbers - as well as WhatsApp and Signal!*

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