July Update! Wedding bells in the air :-)

Our best wishes for an blessed summer for each of you! Here, thanks to the dry season, the new road is making progress, and plans for building a bridge over the river by San Francisco are underway.  A friend in the city has loaned me his motorcycle, and I have to say that pastoral visits are quite a bit more fun with my new wheels on the new road! We made it to Palmira in just over 30 minutes from our house. :-) In just a few days, we are leaving for a whirlwind 2 weeks in the USA for our daughter Keilah's wedding on July 29th. These are exciting days for the Bruce family! We are thankful for the Lord's gracious help in planning for this wedding---for Keilah and Jeremy, who have done most of the preparations themselves in our absence; for many of you from our church, who have stepped in to help in many ways; and for our families, who are making valiant efforts to join us from all over the USA. :-) The Shaub family, our co-workers, rejoined us in June just in time for several days of medical caravan. It's been a blessing to have Andy and Chrissy, and our niece Liana here! Being able to sit down together to place the ministry into God's hands in prayer is a special joy. We are thankful they are here to keep on in ministry while we are gone. We'll be returning early in August with Kimberly, our nephew Lee Shaub, and Eli Nelson, a young man from our church who will be joining us to help out during the next school year. Thank you for your continued prayers for the Awa church. While God has not shown Himself in a fiery mountain, or in a thunderous voice from the heavens, we have instead seen Him present here in His still, quiet, and gentle presence in the believers' lives. At this point, Milton still has not re-joined the congregation, but God is softening the hearts of the believers to be ready to receive him again. Notably Paulino and Gloria have finally become convinced from hearing the truth of God's word, that God would have them forgive their brother. Last week, for the first time, Paulino prayed that his brother would re-join the group.  We continue to seek Milton out to encourage and disciple him as he struggles to re-build his  relationship with his wife and family. Some days are better than others, as he battles his own sinful attitudes...he, too, has areas where he needs to forgive his family. Colossians 3:12-14 expresses God's desire for the church here, "So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." (NASB) In HIS grip, Kevin & Kathy <For a printable version click here>