RON & DORIS WEEKS
Ron was raised in Congo by missionary parents, speaks four languages, and attended Indiana University where he was involved with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and The Navigators. He served with the Navigators in Uganda and Kenya before returning to Indiana University where he met Doris.
Doris grew up on a farm in Minnesota, attended Winona State University, and moved to Chicago with The Navigators who later sent her to Indiana University to disciple women.
After their marriage in 1976, Ron and Doris worked full-time jobs and used their free time to disciple International students through their church. In 1978 they took a survey trip to Ghana and Congo that confirmed their calling to become career missionaries. Complicated pregnancies with two children delayed their move to Congo until 1982.
Ron served as Appropriate Technology Director and financial manager at CEDECO, an Agricultural Development Center in the Bas Congo province. Doris was a full-time mother caring for three children as she provided hospitality to students and staff and learned the Congolese culture.
In 1986 Ron was asked to serve as Director for the Protestant Guest House in Kinshasa. Their children attended a British Baptist School where Doris taught. While rebuilding a dilapidated “guest house,” they mentored University students, taught church discipleship and helped to launch the Congo Navigator ministry. They were evacuated from Congo due to civil unrest in 1991.
The instability in Congo led them to join the Navigator team in Ivory Coast. From the Ivory Coast Ron commuted back and forth to Kinshasa where he continued to oversee the guesthouse management and outreach to university students and community leaders. Doris taught in the International School of Abidjan where their three children attended.
In 1998, Ron and Doris returned to the US for two years and Ron traveled to Africa periodically to encourage the Navigator ministry in Congo. Doris, meanwhile, completed her Masters in Educational Leadership while managing the home.
After serving with the Navigators for 25 years, Ron and Doris joined the International Foundation to help launch Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast groups and disciple businessmen. He hosted French speaking African leaders to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. Ron taught seminars on “Spiritual Warfare” and traveled to Liberia after their civil war to help organize a conference on reconciliation. Doris taught at the International School of Abidjan, gave educational seminars, and co-facilitated two Liberian Refugee Schools in Abidjan. Their home was a center for Bible studies, youth activities, and hospitality. They were evacuated from Ivory Coast in 2003 due to civil war.
A highlight of Ron’s time in Ghana was helping to launch the Youth Corps there and in other West African countries. He trained mentors to disciple street kids and teach them life skills. Doris discipled women and helped to start various micro-enterprises in Accra. Ron and Doris spent the next four years traveling between Ghana, Liberia, Burkina Faso and Benin to help coordinate and encourage the fledgling Youth Corps ministries there.
In 2008 Ron and Doris returned to Kinshasa to encourage the National Prayer Breakfast groups and disciple businessmen. Doris worked as the Principal at an International School, discipled women, and offered hospitality to many.
In 2013 Ron & Doris launched RedemptionWorks International and moved to Mbandaka. Ron partnered with another Congolese, Christian non-profit organization to manage a government sponsored road rehabilitation project over 375 miles of dirt road through the jungle in the area of Congo where Ron spoke the languages. This project, for two years, provided employment and income for more than 3000 villagers and many opportunities to teach and demonstrate God’s faithfulness. Many evenings were spent showing the “Jesus” film in their local language.
The English Training Center in Mbandaka was established in 2016. Doris trained teachers and developed a Bible based curriculum to teach English to adults. Ron taught Farming God’s Way to village farmers in Mbandaka, at the Mbandaka Technical Institute for Rural Development and in two towns along the Congo River. Doris continues to offer teacher training and English instruction to the growing number of people who want to learn English.