Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 44

alumni news

profile

talking with people about Jesus.
That zeal has led to direct attacks—spiritual as
well as physical.

Rosemond & Raymond
by Ruby Thomas

Two Nigerian Billy Graham Center Scholars—a
husband and wife team—witness the cross-cultural power
of the gospel as they minister in Poland.

Polish ranks among the world’s
most difficult languages to learn. Yet for Rosemond Chinwe Osuchukwu M.A. ’00 and her
husband, Raymond Osuchukwu Adonai M.A.
’11, learning the language was not as hard as
some of the challenges they face in providing
an evangelical presence in this strongly Catholic country. Both originally from Nigeria, they
serve side-by-side as pastors of Victory in Jesus
Church in Lodz, Poland. Rose also coordinates
the international students ministry of Christian
Students Association-International Fellowship of
Evangelical Students of Poland.

At Wheaton Rosemond Osuchukwu developed
intercultural skills that would prove valuable in her
transition from ministry in Nigeria to Poland. Eleven
years after Rose received her master’s degree,
Raymond completed his degree in biblical studies and
participated as a graduate student representative in
the inauguration of President Philip Ryken ’88.
Rose and Ray attended the Graduate School
through the Billy Graham Center Scholarship
Program, one of the Center’s 50 ministries that exist
to accelerate evangelism worldwide. Since 1975,
about 1,000 BGC Scholars have attended Wheaton
College Graduate School, afterward returning to or
beginning their ministries in 108 countries.

Before marrying Raymond, Rose served for 12
years with Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students, becoming the director of associates and
the longest-tenured female on staff.
In Raymond, Rose found a partner with a consuming passion for evangelism. Raymond studied civil engineering at the Wroclaw University
of Technology and served with ChSA-IFES of
Poland for 10 years, coordinating the international students’ ministry across Poland. In 2005,
he became a full-time pastor and church planter.
“He has a heart for lost souls and seeks them
for God with zeal,” says Rose, who notes
that no matter where he is—whether standing
in a queue, or riding a train, bus, or taxi—he is

Seven years ago, Raymond and Rose were taking care of an errand. While Raymond stood
waiting for Rose, he began sharing the gospel
with three teenage Polish girls. As he spoke,
three Polish men approached and demanded to
know what he was saying.
Returning, Rose saw the men rip the “God
Loves You” tracts from her husband’s hand and
viciously punch Raymond in the face, leaving a
wound. She stepped in front of him, afraid for his
life. The assailants spat on her and began raining
blows and racist slurs on the couple in full view
of onlookers. A woman approached, but instead
of intervening, she joined the assault, hitting
Rose in the face and inciting the men further.
As Rose fell to the ground, screaming for help,
security guards arrived to stop the assault. Two
of the men were arrested.
The mayor of Lodz personally apologized to Raymond and Rose and took the arrested men to
court. In court, the couple surprised the judge
and prosecutor by expressing forgiveness
and shaking the hands of the defendants. The
stunned men apologized for their actions.
A year after the attack, Raymond and Rose met
with the main aggressor. “He prayed with me
to receive Jesus into his life, and afterward he
hugged me and was almost weeping for joy,”
says Raymond. “My attacker has become my
brother in the Lord! What happened to Rose and
me led to the salvation of this man. And many
others, including the police and judges, experienced the fragrance of Christ’s love.”
Through such miraculous events, Raymond and
Rose see God’s hand in their ministry to the Polish community as well as to international students. “We love Poland and the Polish people,”
Raymond says. “I believe it is the Lord who sent
us to serve him here in Poland and Europe at this
time. And we are happy to be here. Our hearts
hope to see God visit this country with a great
movement of his Holy Spirit.”

W H E A T O N     49