Inspire, Winter 2004

28 Winter 2004 Chuck Truxton ’67 and his wife, Bev, enjoyed their home assignment the last three months of 2004. Although they are resting secure in the Lord, the ethnic and religious violence that is in Nigeria has caused stress in their lives. Also, some of their missionary colleagues have been victims of armed burglaries, which has led the Truxtons to take extra precautions. Their home assignment came at a much-needed time in their ministry. Dan ’68 and Nancy Norton Brower ’69 took a mini-furlough from Brazil the last few months of the year. Before leaving Brazil, there were four major hurdles to overcome. They marveled at how God worked everything together for good to make the trip possible. Dan Lacey ’68 and his wife, Betty, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on June 13, 2004. They also share that they have been serving the Lord in France for 35 years. They are so glad that God has chosen them to share the Good News with those that are so oppressed spiritually. Bruce McDonald ’69 has had his third book, The Fight of Faith: Believing God in Difficult Times , published by Moody Publishers. Bruce is international director of sports for the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE). He and his wife, Bev (Hare) ’72 , live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 70s Preston Butcher ’70 was recently appointed as the national director of government entities for the Internal Revenue Service. He will serve as senior executive over three programs, including tax exempt bonds; 560 federally recognized Indian tribal governments; and federal, state, and local governments. He and his wife, Ruth, reside in Columbia, Maryland. Larry ’72 and Nancy Leapline Allen ’70 were blessed by a trip they made to Khulna, Bangladesh in July 2004. It was powerful to see so many of the Bengalis eager to learn English and willing to listen to the gospel. Ruthann Steyer Bosley ’72 has had her book Victory in the Valleys published by Victory Press. The book chronicles the trials and victories of the Bosley family, from parenting challenges to the illness and death of Ruthann’s husband, Gary, to dealing with grief and a new stage of life. God’s faithfulness is a key theme of the book. For more information, visit www.ruthann.faithweb.com . Phil McDonald ’74 has been named president of Closed Door Ministries in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Closed Door provides quality biblical training to believers in countries closed to American missionaries. The goal is to see these leaders evangelize and disciple their own countrymen. Phil and his wife, Rebecca, and family live in Rockford, Michigan. Phil may be reached at philmc@closeddoorministries.org . Jim ’75 and Rachel Mayo Chambers ’78 departed for Africa in October 2004. They have a strong desire to run the “Kingdom race” in another part of the world. Their girls, Mary and Becca, could hardly wait to get to Africa. Jon ’76 and Dee Perry Mitchell ’76 and their church family in Brazil feel strongly that God is calling them to buy the church property they are currently renting. The location provides centrality, accessibility, and visibility. Please pray that the needed funds are provided. Evandro Batista ’77 and his wife, Elina, left Portugal in December 2004 to start their furlough in the States. They look forward to spending time with their two boys and visiting with their supporters. They have been encouraged lately with the Ericeira Church. The church is in the process of being registered with the Portuguese government, and the Batistas are excited to see how God will work through all the paperwork and legal issues. Marty Shaw ’78 has been appointed CBInternational’s Asia ministries director. Marty and his wife, Denise (Gawthrop) ’78 , have spent 21 years in Japan and have served in a number of ministries, including camp, church planting, and field leadership. For the past two years, Marty served as CBInternational’s coordinator of global strategies. Marty will continue to develop core elements of the global strategies initiatives within an overall CBInternational Asia strategy. Bill Abernathy ’79 recently received his doctorate of ministries from Grace Theological Seminary. His dissertation was titled “Cultivating a Biblical Worldview in the Context of the Local Church.” Bill and his wife, Peggy (Van der Hoeven) ’79 , and their children, Kristie, Joshua, and Caleb, reside in Columbus, Ohio. Bill is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church. Alumnotes 50s Sam ’56 and Ellen Smith Hornbrook ’56 are pleased with the construction progress that has been made on their church in Mexico. There is still work to do, though, and not a lot of money left. Please pray that the necessary funds come in to complete this project. 60s Marv ’65 and Joan Carter Stephens ’65 praise God that all of the Editorial Bautista Independiente (EBI) staff, their homes, and the EBI buildings were unharmed during Hurricane Charley. Jan Reiner ’66 shares that the new believers in Malta are growing and abounding in the work of the Lord. The church in Malta has been searching for a resident pastor who would live and work among the people. This would be so beneficial to the people since Jan lives five hours away and can only be with them on the weekends. Joyce Rudduck ’66 asks for your prayers concerning a translation project. The project is moving ahead slowly, and the task before them is overwhelming. They need your prayers so they can produce a quality translation. Betty White Bertschinger ’68 , retired director of Patterson Clinic (now known as University Medical Services or UMS), went home to be with the Lord on August 14, 2004. Betty’s years of service for the University began in 1966, when the student health clinic was just a one- room nurse’s station in the back of Faith Hall. Under Betty’s leadership, the nursing staff grew to four full- time nurses, and Patterson Hall was remodeled into a clinic facility. Betty founded the Cedarville sports medicine program (which later transitioned into the athletic training program) and was key to the development of student health services on our campus. Betty retired in 1992 but was inducted into the Cedarville University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 for her work in the sports medicine program. In addition, Betty was recognized as one of the first college health nurses in the nation to be certified by the American Association of Nurse Credentialing (AANC) in college health. She served as president of the Ohio College Health Association in 1986 and 1987. Deb McDonald, current director of UMS, said, “Betty was a champion for the athletic training program and for Cedarville University Emergency Medical Services (CUEMS). She was the CUEMS advisor for many years and made sure the EMTs had what they needed to care for our campus. We wouldn’t have CUEMS today if not for her. She truly was a neat lady and a visionary.” Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Rene, who died in 1965 while the couple was living in Cordova, Alaska, where Betty served as a missionary. Our sympathies in the loss of Betty go out to Betty’s sisters, Bonnie White Oliver ’87 , Joy Wilson, and Amy Jacob; many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews; and the rest of her family and friends. Former Clinic Director Home with the Lord According to the Dayton Daily News (Ohio), volleyball has helped form a unique bond between Bobbie Brown Jones ’79 and her daughter, Kelsey ’06 . As Eric Frantz reported in the newspaper’s September 23, 2004 edition, Bobbie and Kelsey have had a volleyball coach-athlete relationship since Kelsey was in the fourth grade. Bobbie was the head volleyball coach at Orange Christian Academy (OCA) in Orange Village, Ohio when the young Kelsey began practicing with her mom’s team. Bobbie had the unique opportunity to coach her daughter up through Kelsey’s freshman year. Change came in 1999, noted Frantz, when Bobbie’s husband, Bill ’81 , took a new position as assistant professor of biology at Cedarville University. With the family, including younger brother Colin, moving to Cedarville, Bobbie traded in her OCA job for a volleyball coaching position at Cedarville High School. This allowed her and Kelsey to continue their coach-athlete set-up for the rest of Kelsey’s high school career. According to Frantz, Bobbie stated, “[Kelsey and I] have a really good relationship, and we’ve been really blessed. Looking back, there were times that I was much tougher on her than anyone else, but she rolled with it. She’s a tremendous athlete, and I felt privileged to coach her.” Now a junior multi-age physical education major at Cedarville University, Kelsey is still making waves on the volleyball court. Just this November, she was named to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) All-America First Team and NCCAA All-National Tournament Team and was recognized as NCCAA Player of the Year. Bobbie tries to make as many of Kelsey’s games as possible, and Kelsey does the same for Bobbie’s high school team games. Kelsey told Frantz, “My mom and I have an awesome relationship, and she’s my best friend in the world.” The Volleyball Bond