Our Story

I'll never forget the day I met Ruth. I waited eagerly in the Seattle airport for her arrival. What would it be like to have a Congolese roommate at college? Would Ruth's English be good enough? Would my French be of any use at all?  All these things were running through my head. And there she was, looking a little shy but amazingly confident in the taking of this daring step in her life. It was 1965 and we were each 20 years old.

Ruth’s family in Congo lived in the village where Doris Wiseman, an American missionary, served. As Ruth’s parents assisted with the mission, Ruth -- even as a teen -- had been a language teacher to new missionaries. Back in the United States, I knew Doris from her occasional visits to church summer camp. Doris and Allan Anderson, who was the coordinator of youth work for the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Northwest, had the idea of Washington youth supporting a Congolese student through college. As it turned out, Ruth was the Congolese student chosen and I was the college student chosen to be her roommate. She was a freshman, I a sophomore. 

And thus we settled into our new life at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. One evening as we walked to dinner I saw the first star in the evening sky. I said, "Do you know what we say when we see the evening star? We say, 'Star light, star bright, first star I've seen tonight. I wish I may and I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight.'"  "What did you wish?" she asked. I told her I wished that one day I would be in Africa with her, wishing on the evening star.

And so we enjoyed our college experience together at Linfield. On the day I graduated I kissed Ruth goodbye and didn't see her again for 39 years. 

We both went on to separate graduate schools and we each married. She moved with her husband, Raphael, back to Congo -- and then Cameroon -- and my husband and I went about our lives in the United States. We kept in touch through the years of having children and were delighted when the marvel of email became a part of our communication. 

Then, in the spring of 2007, I got an email from Ruth saying she had been asked to give the commencement address at our college. That January, 15 nursing students from Linfield had spent their January mid-term with her, assessing the health needs of the orphans in her NGO. When they returned to the college they said, "THIS is who we want to give our commencement address!"  So Ruth accepted the invitation and I promised to be there.

My husband and I flew to Portland a day early and so I found myself 39 years later, waiting for Ruth at an airport. When she finally came down the concourse from the plane, she laughed in the delightful way she always did, dropped her bags, and we hugged and hugged. All the years in between instantly vanished. My hair may be gray and she may have aged a little -- far less than I -- but we were finally with each other again.

Ruth’s commencement address was magnificent -- resulting in a standing ovation. Allan Anderson was there too, and several other of our friends from Linfield days. That's when we put our heads together and vowed to get Ruth the 4 X 4 pickup that WEH needed to do its work to the fullest. So Allan and I founded The Friends of WEH, a non-profit corporation in this country. We bought and shipped a truck to her and since, we have continued to fund WEH’s activities, particularly keeping orphans in school to give them a maximum chance for a healthy and productive adulthood. 

In 2009 I spent six weeks in Cameroon working with Ruth, and in 2011 I spent three months. It is hard describe what these opportunities have meant to me, and how much I have learned by being there. Ruth and I hope we can continue our collaboration for many years.