Asia Antioch Seminary & Ruth School

By God‚?s grace, I‚?ve served as a missionary in Africa, Taiwan, and Korea for 34 years after earning several degrees, such as a Th.B. from Detroit Bible College in 1965 and a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in 1975. Recently I served as principal of All Nations Christian Academy which I helped establish in Korea, but now I‚?m International Relations Director. Together with a Korean missionary and others interested in this project, we are developing All Nations Christian Academy (ANCA ) to evangelize local Koreans and to educate Korean missionary children using English as the medium of instruction. In addition to ANCA; I have also been supporting three schools in India and one in Pakistan.

To help you to understand my commitment to missions, I will explain my background. I grew up in Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia, U.S.A., and became interested in missions partly through my older brother who served for 23 years in Ethiopia and Cameroon as a medical missionary. I was born again when 14 years old and gave my life to be a missionary when I was 16. I raised my own support when I was in America from my family, friends, and local churches, mostly in my home town area of West Virginia and went to Kenya in 1975. While serving as a faith missionary, I‚?ve had various responsibilities such as producing literature for the Africa Inland Church and the Asia Theological Association in Taiwan. Since coming to Korea in 1984, I‚?ve been involved in teaching English and training Third World Church leaders at the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission. I‚?ve also trained Korean missionaries at the Missionary Training Institute in Seoul and at other missionary training institutes and at other schools in Korea and other countries. I‚?ve also served as the English Bible class and missions teacher at various churches.

During this time, I‚?ve become deeply involved in raising prayer and financial support for strategic mission outreaches with the help of my former students. But because of my limited time and funds, I‚?m very selective as to which ministries I support. My main focus is ministries reaching unevangelized peoples in Asia, especially ministries directed by my former students who demonstrate high integrity and sacrificial service.

One of these ministries is the Nations Life Foundation (NLF), a trust which is the legal entity for three schools in India--Asia Antioch Seminary (AAS) and Ruth and Antioch schools. It was established by my former student, Mrs. Hawiphal, and her husband, Rev. Kampu Bailong. They taught in a Bible College in Manipur, India, for ten years, but resigned in 2000 so as to establish Ruth English (elementary) school now with 265 students in Arunachal Pradesh, Asia Antioch Seminary in Assam now with 27 students, and Antioch (elementary) School in Tripura now with 165 students. The goal of AAS is to train evangelists and church planters for the many unreached peoples in India and surrounding countries (Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Bhutan, Nepal, etc.) and the elementary schools are winning many people to Christ. Altogether the needs of these three schools with almost 500 students overwhelm me.

I have already contributed more than $180,000 to these schools, as well as thousands of dollars toward other mission outreaches, such as St. Paul‚?s High School in Pakistan (grades 1-10) and projects managed by Mrs. Hawiphal, such as the Lois Women‚?s Ministries that conducts literacy classes to evangelize Hindus, Muslims, etc., in India. I was able to help these ministries by living frugally and using the interest from money I inherited when my parents died in a plane crash in 1979. But now I‚?m 73 years old and have exhausted these retirement savings by supporting these schools.

The needs are so great, however, that I ask you to consider praying and partnering with me in supporting these outreaches in India so we can win these responsive peoples before the windows of opportunity close. Actually, I would like to donate these schools, including their properties, to a church or mission to supervise and maintain them. They are productive mission investments. The people around Antioch School near Bangladesh, for example, are especially responsive to the Gospel; we started a church there recently which has grown to 100 members. In trying to stop this growth, Hindu militants attacked our evangelist there and almost killed him.

God, in His providence, is thwarting the efforts of Satan to keep these peoples in darkness. Six Indian government officials and a Hindu missionary from America died in a helicopter crash during a survey trip to establish Hindu schools near Ruth‚?s school in Arunachal Pradesh.

The people are open to convert to whatever religion sponsors schools for their children. Already the many Hindu schools established in Arunachal Pradesh have converted some 32% of the population to Hinduism, so we must develop Christian schools there before more convert to Hinduism. And Roman Catholics, with government aid from Germany and Italy, have started hundreds of Roman Catholic schools in N.E. India. Please be so kind as to help our needy schools extend the Kingdom of God in Satan‚?s strongholds. If you would like more information, please call or write to me or write to Pastor Kampu at aaseminary@yahoo.com.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Ruth Marie Eshenaur, Ph.D.
International Relations Director
All Nations Christian Academy