Among the plethora of Harding alumni who have become long-term missionaries is alumnus James Rucker. He spent six years in Haiti doing mission work where he used his experience in electronic media production to make Christian educational help videos. He then met and married Abigail Rucker.<\/p>\n
After they got married, they lived out at HUT, where James worked. Soon after they got married, the Haiti Christian Development Project invited the couple to come to Haiti long-term. The couple had a few offers for places to go for mission work, but Abigail said James felt Haiti was the right choice for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe prayed that God would close the door to Haiti if he did not want us to minister there,\u201d Abigail said. \u201cWe spent two months in Haiti and decided to make a two-year commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abigail is starting a new job as administrative director after teaching English, holding women\u2019s Bible studies and doing blood pressure outreach. Abigail said James helps with elementary school grants, assists in facilitating a bakery that church members opened, and supports Haitians by teaching English and helping with communication. The couple has been in Haiti for a year-and-a-half.<\/p>\n
Robert Meyer is also a Harding graduate and is on campus this semester teaching in the Bible department. Meyer spent the summer after his freshman year in Africa on a mission trip.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there, the group was challenged to think about if doing cross-cultural mission work in Africa was something we could do, and I had never even thought about it before,\u201d Meyers said.<\/p>\n
When he returned to Harding, Meyers said he wanted to find a way do something cross-cultural in Arkansas. He spent the next summer interning with an inner-city mission group in Little Rock, and for his last two years at Harding, drove to Little Rock every weekend to worship with the Silver City Church and the children there. Meyers said the kids were a rambunctious group and mostly came from single parent households.<\/p>\n
Meyers started graduate school in Memphis and while he was in school, a group of friends he went to Harding with decided to form a mission team to Angola, Africa. They invited Meyers and his wife to be a part of the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we talked to them, we realized that Angola was urban, unlike most of Africa,\u201d Meyers said. \u201cWe saw how the work we had been doing in Little Rock \u2014 it was urban ministry \u2014 was directly applicable to Angola.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people ask me, \u2018How did you decide to become a missionary?\u2019 and I like to say, \u2018I didn\u2019t,\u2019\u201d Meyers said. \u201cThere was never a moment where I said, \u2018God is calling me to do mission work somewhere.\u2019 But when we learned about the need in Angola and saw how God had been preparing us for that and it made sense, so we went.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meyers said his favorite part about being a missionary are the friendships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the fact that we have fellowship, we have community with people from all different cultural backgrounds,\u201d Meyers said.<\/p>\n
There are many Harding alumni that become long-term missionaries, but there are also some Harding faculty that have been missionaries. Dr. Laurie Diles grew up in a missionary family. When she was a child, her family moved to Brazil, and she said that is the model that she used when she decided to do long-term mission work. Diles and her husband, Allan \u2014 also Harding faculty \u2014 spent 11 years in Prague with a mission team.<\/p>\n
Diles said his favorite part of mission work is how clearly the purpose is defined.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part is you know why you\u2019re there,\u201d Diles said. \u201cEvery conversation is intentional; every decision is intentional. It\u2019s very clear what the assignment is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diles said she has several pieces of advice for anyone who is considering mission work. She recommends going with a friend or a group as well as taking some mission courses or doing Global Outreach to get a feel for longer-term mission work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I would say is don\u2019t close any doors about going. If there is even the slightest interest in going, keep the door open,\u201d Diles said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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