June 2009

Dear friends,

Kathy and I could hardly believe that this was our mother, as we stared at her senior picture in the 1934 high school yearbook. We were not in Minneapolis, but on the opposite side of the globe at Woodstock International Christian School in Mussoorie, high in the Himalayan Mountains of North India. Mom was the daughter of missionaries, and by third grade had been sent far away from her family to this boarding school. For years I had longed to retrace her steps, and it was thrilling to hike from the classroom buildings clinging precariously to the mountain side, 2 kilometers down into the valley and up the next mountain to the dormitory where she had lived.

Woodstock has played a part in shaping who I am. What sparked my interest in exploring other parts of the world? Why have I wanted to dedicate my life to serving others for Christ? Why do I see differences as exciting rather than threatening? Those attitudes came from my mother, which to a large extent she learned at Woodstock School. Another Woodstock graduate is Sara Wiegner, who served as an IM missionary with me in Costa Rica, and clearly reflects the values of this Christian community. Today the school continues to prepare students to be global citizens, using their lives to improve their world and serve others.

Our hostess at Woodstock is my friend Cathy Holmes, who has served here for 34 years, 26 with International Ministries. I have been impressed with her passionate love for children. She has been a surrogate mother to these students for many years. My sister has been horrified to imagine sending her two boys away to study in a foreign country at an early age. Yet many parents in this part of the world find it necessary to make that unthinkable sacrifice. Some are missionaries working in remote areas who have no schools available for their children. Other parents live in countries with few opportunities for their sons and daughters to have a future. Cathy has told us of students who come to Woodstock as refugees, with their parents unable even to visit them or for them to return home.  For all of these children, Cathy has been a teacher, mentor, and surrogate mother, helping them to adjust to a radically new culture, rules, food, and language. She has served in many different roles during her years at the school, but has been a consistent advocate for the students. We have heard over and over from her in these past few days, "We exist for the children. We want what is best for the children."

I have been very upset to realize that Cathy's amazing ministry here is in serious jeopardy. She runs the risk of not being able to raise the support that she needs by September 30. I would like to invite you, if you are able, to participate in Cathy's ministry with any amount you can. If you could give a gift of $200 or more before June 30, that gift will be doubled and perhaps together we can help her to continue to serve these children. You can give online at http://www.internationalministries.org/missionaries/69 or by sending a check to "International Ministries", marked "for Cathy Holmes' support" to Missionary Support, International Ministries, PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19486-0851

Thank you,

Ruth Mooney