Loa Ruth Arnold 95 of Creston died March 12, 2013. Ruth was born on April 5, 1917 in Clarke County, IA and was the daughter of Francis and Ina Carnes Arnold. She graduated from Creston High School in 1935.

It was while she was in High School that a local pastor came to the school and invited all the teens to attend an old time revival meeting. Ruth attended and heard for the first time everyone has sinned against God-even her, as good as she was. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The evangelist used other Scriptures that showed Ruth she couldn’t make it to Heaven on her own goodnesses. She had a sin debt to pay and only Jesus could pay it for her. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” She heard the truth, believed it, and by faith trusted in Jesus to be her Savior. She repented of her sin and became a new creation in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

After High School, Ruth was employed as a nanny, a bank teller, and an attorney’s secretary before furthering her education at Moody Bible Institute. Following her Bible based training, she became a missionary with American Messianic Fellowship in 1948, ministering in Chicago. While there, she conducted children’s ministries and was responsible for the Correspondence Course Department of the Mission. She was supported by First Baptist Church of Creston for the entirety of her ministry. She retired in 1985.