Bruce Brief--May ~ Paperwork and Red tape await us :-(

Although not exactly our favorite past-time, paperwork is on our must-do list this month. For some time we’ve known that we had to renew our visas before the end of May, but in looking over our other paperwork we had a few surprises. (This stuff all adds up, especially having two kids with dual nationalities!) So just this week we realized that both Kimberly’s Ecuadorian i.d. card and passport will need to be renewed before we leave for furlough, and Keilah’s USA passport was already expired (oops!) So Monday found us on the road again, going to Quito to renew Keilah’s passport. Thankfully that went well, and we are waiting to begin the process of renewing our visas. We ran into a few snags trying to renew Kimberly’s i.d. card, but hope to be able to find a creative solution to the student card (proof that she is studying) that they require. Your prayers will be appreciated!

We are also in the home-stretch for finishing up our homeschool year! In just a week Kimberly will finish up fifth grade; Keilah will soon be finishing up her Geometry, Bible, and Spanish with her cousin Laura to complete their freshman year; and Kenny will be doing his last lesson in Calculus and completing his Visual Arts course to close up his senior year by about mid-June. It feels like quite an accomplishment for Mom and Dad to have started with Kenny back in 1996 with kindergarten and now to be finishing up highschool! I’m wondering who should get the diploma---Mom or Kenny! :-) But yes, we are proud to be the parents of this young man, and are excited with him as he turns 18 this year and prepares to step out on his own. Kenny has applied to New Tribes Bible Institute for the fall semester, and would like to continue his studies at college afterwards. He just has to decide what to study, since at this point he wants to learn everything from linguistics and languages…to history…to computers and technology!

Fifty-eight Awa joined us for the Believers’ Conference Easter week. The Lord worked out such details as the lack of town water service, a shortage of propane tanks, and kids’ school schedules. Thanks for praying! The Millans and Rosales, our two staff families in Lita, played a key part in preparing the property for the Conference and working through these difficulties. Doug Williams flew in from Virginia to shoulder a major part of the teaching, along with our Awa neighbor, Milton. It was encouraging to hear the feedback from the believers. When Kevin asked on the last morning what they had learned from the teaching, many took turns to stand up and share. Meregildo shared that as he listened to Doug’s teaching on the family, he was reminded that this was very different from the way his father had raised him. “But I’m happy to hear God’s Word, so I can know what God says about how to live as a family.” He went on to share more specifics of what he had learned. Juan Carlos, Meregildo’s oldest son, came to conference and quietly listened to each teaching session. As we celebrated the Lord’s Supper with the believers, Juan Carlos quietly asked to take part. As his father questioned him about his sincerity, Juan stood his ground, saying that he was believing. Paulino, another of the believers, also proudly presented his two daughters, Sandra and Diana, who were baptized this year. It is impossible for us to see into these young folks’ hearts, but it is apparent that several of the believers are passing on their faith to their children. And so we came away from Conference encouraged with what God is doing in the Awa believers’ hearts.

Thanks for your prayers!

Kevin & Kathy

Casilla 10-01-692

Ibarra, Imbabura

ECUADOR

+593 9 478-7811

http://brucekev.blogspot.com

Photos of our 12th Annual Awa Believers Conference!

RE: Bruce Brief - Awa Conference coming up!

This is just a quick update for those of you who were praying! We will get some more details out later and post some pictures, but for now I wanted to respond quickly the prayer requests that we had posted before the conference.

 

Below are the original prayer request and a brief response to each of the Lords grace and provision!

 

 

1.       There has been no regular water service at the Mission Center since the big rain. Pray that the town will get the pipes fixed and normal flow restored before the conference. The electric service has been a bit sporadic as well.

The Lord provided water every day! There were a few times the water was off for just a few hours, but because we had prepared by filling every container we could before the conference we were able to function normally. The electric stayed on the whole time as well! It is kind of funny as Sunday afternoon after the conference it did go out for a couple of hours. ;-)

 

2.       There has also been a shortage of propane gas here in the north of Ecuador, especially out in the rural areas. Pray that we will be able to refill the empty tanks soon.

We were able to fill our tanks before the conference and we had plenty of propane.

 

3.       Pray that the Lord will work out the details for the Awa to be able to come. In the community of Palmira, the head teacher has decided that their school will hold classes all Easter week and he has told the believers that their children cannot have permission to leave (Thursday and Friday).

The Lord brought us a good group of believers.  Even some from Palmira as they chose to come down and miss the two days of school anyway. Praise the Lord for this stand of faith. Most of them had to make sacrifices in order to come.

 

4.       Pray for our partner Doug as he prepares and travels down from the USA to be here.

Doug made it fine, and even said that it was one of the nicest trips he had made as far as airline and schedule. Praise the Lord for this! (Doug does not like to travel all that much! J )

 

5.       Pray for us also as we try and coordinate all the supplies needed, including a refrigerator. Transporting all the supplies to the Mission Center from the city can be quite the challenge, as even the main road has been closed off and on with more landslides.

The Lord helped us accomplish this even with my back out! Praise the Lord. We were able to hire a truck to bring a fridge and freezer down with a load of the bulk stuff ahead of time which turned out to be a real blessing, and saved me an extra round trip between Ibarra and Lita.

 

Many thanks for praying! The conference went incredibly smooth this year. Easter Sunday with them was a highlight for me, and a real blessing as the believers shared what they had learned during the conference! It has been many years that we have been waiting for that kind of feedback! During times like that I realize what an enormous privilege it is to be allowed to take part in the Lords work!

 

 

Your servants,

Kevin & Kathy

 

 

Kevin & Kathy Bruce

Liebenzell Mission

Casilla 10-01-692

Ibarra, Imbabura

ECUADOR

+593 9 478-7811

http://brucekev.blogspot.com

 

Go for it!

Is there still enough road?

Bruce Brief - Awa Conference coming up!

Greetings from Ecuador!

Yesterday we had a Jordan-crossing experience—or at least it seemed like that to our family! As many of you know our car has been stuck in RV for the last 6 weeks as a torrential rain February 15^th wiped out the road between us and town. We headed out Monday with the car, not knowing how far we could make it. The Lord helped us make it all the way down. It is quite a story, and you can read more about it on our Blog if you want. Suffice it to say we had to dip our feet in the waters before we saw the Lord part the ‘river’! Thanks for your prayers!

Our Annual Awa Believers Conference is coming up next week (April 9 to 12^th). As always, there are obstacles as we prepare. Many of you have asked for specific prayer requests

1. There has been no regular water service at the Mission Center since the big rain. Pray that the town will get the pipes fixed and normal flow restored before the conference. The electric service has been a bit sporadic as well.
2. There has also been a shortage of propane gas here in the north of Ecuador, especially out in the rural areas. Pray that we will be able to refill the empty tanks soon.
3. Pray that the Lord will work out the details for the Awa to be able to come. In the community of Palmira, the head teacher has decided that their school will hold classes all Easter week and he has told the believers that their children cannot have permission to leave (Thursday and Friday).
4. Pray for our partner Doug as he prepares and travels down from the USA to be here.
5. Pray for us also as we try and coordinate all the supplies needed, including a refrigerator. Transporting all the supplies to the Mission Center from the city can be quite the challenge, as even the main road has been closed off and on with more landslides.

Thank you so much! We have already seen the Lord moving and preparing hearts for the conference and know that He is able to take care of these details as well!

Kevin & Kathy

Kevin & Kathy Bruce

Liebenzell Mission

Casilla 10-01-692

Ibarra, Imbabura

ECUADOR

+593 9 478-7811

http://brucekev.blogspot.com

I think I saw it wiggle!