Bruce Brief - June 2010

The suitcases are packed…even Kimberly’s compound bow and arrows, which turned out to be too long for our regular suitcases. We have mastered the delicate technique of getting each suitcase to as close to the 50 lb. limit as humanly possible! J (For some reason our two teenage daughters wanted to bring down w-w-a-a-a-y-y more than they did when they were younger…like clothes and heavy books and jewelry-making supplies….so packing this time was not such an easy task!) J Kenny is getting settled in here in New Hampshire, with an official job (flagging vehicles for road construction) and a ticket to fly back to Wisconsin in August for his second year at NTBI. What fun it’s been to have this month together with him and Kevin’s family! Keilah flew down to Missouri the end of May and is happily settled into her routine there at camp. She did hurt her knee while playing Capture the Flag, so we pray that heals quickly. We plan to head out driving from New England soon after Father’s Day, spend a few days with Kathy’s family in Oklahoma, and then pick up Keilah and her cousin Laura at camp the 3rd of July. Our flight is out of St. Louis July 8th. We are looking forward to jumping back into the ministry in Ecuador! This summer the Luz family, our field directors, will be in Germany for meetings for several weeks, and the Erndwein family will be flying to Germany as well for their year of home assignment. That leaves just seven Liebenzell families on the field. Two of those families, the Galarzas and Millans, have been dealing with health issues. We are so thankful to hear that Mercedes Galarza is recovering from a serious illness (she was hospitalized and almost died due to a mis-diagnosis) and that LuzMarina Millan’s results from a biopsy were negative. The Millan family is carrying a heavy burden as they man the Awa Center alone. The Awa people are excitedly awaiting our return---we hear they are planning a welcome party, complete with a couple of pigs to butcher! (They also sent us a list of gifts we should bring them….we’d appreciate your prayers as we find the right God-honoring way to respond to their requests.) We pray that the Lord will graciously help us with patience and wisdom as we settle back into our responsibilities. While it’s easy to jump back into many things, we sure want to be discerning and keep His priorities on the top of our list! In the months following our arrival, we will be shopping for a vehicle (challenging!) and looking into the possibilities of getting resident visas for our family (doubly challenging!) This will certainly entail quite a few trips to Quito. We will likely need to hire a lawyer for the visa paperwork. Again, we appreciate your prayers for patience as we tackle these tasks. May we rest in His perfect timing! Depending on His grace, Kevin & Kathy & kids