Entries by Mara Rugen

Faces of Faith – Contreras Family

/in

Salvador Contreras has always been a student of God’s Word with lots of questions. In his research online, he came across the app Academia Cristo, which is an online Bible […]

Faces of Faith – Crispin

/in

Crispin Chikonka has been working as the Psychosocial Counselor at the Lutheran Mission Rural Health Centre in Mwembezhi, Zambia. As a Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) member, he leads […]

Faces of Faith – Dylan

/in

My name is Dylan Munro. I am from East London, South Africa. I had followed many religions, but at one point I had taken an interest in a Buddhist sect. […]

Faces of Faith – Lolly

/in

Ermon “Lolly” Stover was in a dark place. Battling addictions and alcoholism, he felt spiritually dead. The day came when he couldn’t handle it anymore. Remembering the encouragement to “take […]

Faces of Faith – Merle

/in

I was walking our dog through the neighborhood, and out walked this nice man with a cross in his hand and a smile on his face. It was the first […]

Faces of Faith – Semson Lor

/in

I remember being in high school 10 years ago and people would ask me if I wanted to become a pastor, just like my father (Daniel Lor – Trinity Hmong, […]

Faces of Faith – Abdullah

/in

Abdullah and his mother were kicked out of their home and village when they converted from Islam to Christianity. And yet every day they set aside a handful of rice […]

Faces of Faith – Peter

/in

Peter Hollins was raised in a religious household and regularly attended an Episcopal Church with his mother. However, he fell away during high school and later found himself to be […]

Faces of Faith – Kimberly

/in

Redeemer Lutheran Church’s Campus Ministry has played such a crucial role in the growth of my faith during my time at the University of Michigan. When entering college, I did […]

Faces of Faith – Alfredo

/in

From a young age, Alfredo knew God. Raised in a religious family, he was regularly exposed to the idea of Christianity, but it was ultimately his grandmother that really showed […]

Faces of Faith – Timothy

/in

Calling fishers of men . . . to work in the harvest field. We usually do not speak of fish and fields in the same sentence, but here is a […]

Faces of Faith – Huajvam

/in

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4) My name is Huajvam. I’m a Hmong Christian living […]

Faces of Faith – Alejandro

/in

Rolling through the highway in Villa Maria, Argentina, one sees Nebraska-like cornfields. My fellow missionary said the view was bucolic. (Yeah, I had to look the word up too.) Grandpas […]

Faces of Faith – Belniz

/in

How do you reach out cross-culturally when there is a language barrier? By seeing the barrier itself as an opportunity. Jonatan Hernandez’ niece, Belniz, came to stay with family in […]

Faces of Faith – Saul

/in

I was a Buddhist follower before. I know there are many divisions in Buddhism, so I did research and studied each denomination. When I became a Christian, I also studied […]

Faces of Faith – Colleen

/in

One Sunday in August, Colleen and Megan walked into our church for the first time. We learned that they were freshmen, roommates, and members of the softball team at Agnes […]

Faces of Faith – Mackenzie

/in

At such a large university like the University of Michigan, it can be hard to meet other students who want to grow their faith and participate in Bible studies and […]

Faces of Faith – Fan

/in

I was born and raised in western China until I was 18. I grew up happily without being bothered to think about where we all come from and if there […]

Faces of Faith – Alicia

/in

Alicia first came to church with her family for a special worship service in the fall of 2019. Although her family came to church as a courtesy to someone who […]

Faces of Faith – Jesse

/in

The pandemic had disrupted any sense of normalcy. As a newer church plant, we instantly lost our public school worship location. We had property with an old plant nursery on […]