Many residents and visitors around the Branson area have enjoyed meeting and chatting with Randy and Ruth Ryel, who opened Steamy Joe Café in downtown Branson in 2020. The restaurant subsequently relocated to The Bradford on Hwy. 265, where it is now owned and operated by the Flota family since the Ryels returned to Kansas to live closer to family, but Ruth and Randy still enjoy visiting Branson, and Steamy Joe continues their tradition of friendliness and great food.
What casual acquaintances may not have known, though, is the courage and obedience that led the Ryels to step out in faith in the late 1980s as independent Christian missionaries to China. That story is now available in Randy’s recently released book, “No Fight, No Glory,” an honest look at the challenges they faced, along with God’s leading and provision.
With their four young daughters, the Ryels left a newly-built home in a good community and Randy’s good job to go live and preach the Gospel in communist China, following God’s leading even though they did not have official Bible college credentials and had no promise of financial support. The book highlights the struggles faced by independent expatriate missionaries, but readers will also see miraculous victories shared with some engaging humor and the spiritual insight gained only through experience. This Globe writer, friends with the Ryels from “way back,” recalls a letter from Ruth recounting family errands with four little blonde girls in tow—in a country with a one-child policy tending to place higher perceived value on boys.
As you read about the family’s experiences with spiritual warfare and God’s miraculous provision, you’ll also learn more about that infamous one-child policy and the early beginnings of Chinese adoptions.
“It is my prayer the book will give you faith in God to do whatever He says to do, and go where He tells you to go,” says Randy in the book’s cover excerpt, which he recently shared on Facebook. “If there is ‘No Fight, No Glory’ ever comes.”
The book is available at major online retailers or, if you’re passing through Arkansas City, Kansas, get a copy in person at the original Steamy Joe Café, and maybe a chance to catch up a bit with the author.
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