Bruce Brief - Happy Thanksgiving!

“Home” for missionaries can be a little hard to pin down at times! But we are thankful to say that God has helped us to settle into and feel ‘at home’ here in our rented house in the little town of Spofford, New Hampshire. During the month of October, we gradually unpacked and established a routine while we enjoyed the beautiful colors of fall unfolding around us. We live close to Lake Spofford, so have enjoyed getting out to walk and enjoy the scenery.

 

As we look back at our summer travels, we are so thankful for safety on the road, good health, and such encouraging visits with friends and churches. We feel very blessed to be a part of God’s big family! Again, we’d like to share our thanks for your hospitality along the way, as you have enriched our lives in many ways.

 

This fall we are visiting several churches in the area, as well as taking part in several small group Bible studies here in our home church. Although they had a late start, our girls have made good progress in the homeschooling year, and should be finishing our first quarter by the end of this month. Homeschool co-op at church has been a good addition, and Kimberly is looking forward to piano lessons starting up next week, and the possibility of ski lessons during the winter. Now that’s something we haven’t been able to do in Ecuador! Keilah would like to do some ice-skating this winter, and both girls are enjoying youth group.

 

Our family doesn’t feel quite the same without Kenny! But we are happy to report that he is doing well and loves NTBI in Wisconsin. He is learning much, not only in his classes, but also as he holds down a job and learns to take responsibility for his own finances. We are looking forward to seeing him over the holidays.

 

Down in Ecuador our coworkers have started up our Adult literacy program again, so please keep them in prayer, both teachers and students! We were excited to hear the Milton’s wife, Delia will be joining the group of students this time. This is a real answer to prayer. Pray for Doug and Dorcas this month as they man the outpost alone. Chrissy and Andy are here in the states for a short one month visit, and will be returning to Ecuador in the beginning of Dec. Also pray the Doug and Dorcas will be able to find a reliable used 4x4 truck to purchase.

 

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 

In Christ,

Kevin & Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce Brief - Eastward bound!

We’re heading east….

Yes, we are in the final stretch of our summer travels! Tomorrow will find us driving from Missouri to Kentucky and points beyond as we gradually make our way back to New Hampshire to settle down for the fall, winter, and spring. We have so much to be thankful for…

…good friends along the way, and such wonderful hospitality!

…churches and folks that are interested in the ministry and want to help in any way they can

…safety in over 9,000 miles and 23 states and many hours on the highways, and a sturdy van

...the beauty of God’s creation seen in sunflower fields in North Dakota all the way to a cypress swamp in Mississippi (complete with an alligator!)

…God’s provision of a completely furnished house in New Hampshire for the 8 months we’ll be settled down (October thru May)

…the Williams family’s safe arrival back in Ecuador, and Shaubs who held down the fort alone until they arrived

…Kenny happily moved into his dorm room at NTBI in Wisconsin, and finding a job

…and many more blessings too numerous to jot down. Thanks, Lord!

The first week of October (October 3-5) will find us arriving in Spofford, New Hampshire, and moving into a house just a few miles from our home church and Kevin’s folks. We look forward to getting involved in our home church, beginning our homeschool year, and yes, perhaps even settling into a boring routine!! J Keilah is ready to get back into her normal sleep pattern, while Kimberly would just like to wake up without being confused about which state she’s in. Kevin and I are just ready to unpack those suitcases!

Thanks for your prayers, hospitality, and friendship!

Kevin and Kathy

Travel Highlights

on the road again :-)

After three weeks here in New Hampshire, we are out on the road again for points west and south. We are looking forward to seeing many friends and family, even though it entails many hours on the highways of our country! The end of September should see us back in New Hampshire, settling down for the fall and winter. We plan to be involved at our home church as much as possible, while visiting several other supporting churches in the area as time allows. It has been a joy to sit with our friends here over the last three Sundays, as we soaked in the praise and worship and teaching. Our hearts were thirsty for that sweet fellowship! We thank the Lord for these refreshing weeks.

Kenny came last monday morning with his driver’s license, the first step in settling into life here! He will be beginning classes at NTBI on August 17^th. His address will be 915 N. Hartwell Ave., Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186. He is excited to begin his studies! He will have many adjustments, as he not only adjusts to school and dorm life, but also looks for a part-time job to help pay bills. Over the next few months he will have to adjust to fall and winter weather in Wisconsin, as well.

Our co-workers Doug and Dorcas Williams flew back to Ecuador this week. They also have many re-adjustments to make as they settle back in there. Please pray for them and for Andy and Chrissy Shaub as they hold down the fort amidst all the changes!

Thanks,

Kevin & Kathy Bruce

Picking berries

Keilah and Kimberly picking raspberries in NH

(Kevin's parents' house and our van from Righteous Rides!)

Kenny happy with his blackberry - a gift from his uncle!

Bruce Brief July--goodbyes and travel

With our flight to the USA coming up in just a few days, we are in the midst of saying our goodbyes—not only to our Awa friends, but also to our coworkers and Ecuadorian friends. In a Latin culture, it is quite offensive to leave without saying a proper goodbye, so we are trying hard to do it right and hurt as few feelings as we can. J Leaving the Awa believers was especially hard for us. Even though the Awa heartily dislike showing strong emotions, many had tears in their eyes last Sunday as they said their goodbyes. Because they have such a difficult time handling these feelings, I think they actually feel a little upset with us for causing them to feel such sadness! While we look forward to seeing friends and family in the USA during this year of furlough, part of our hearts will definitely stay here with the country and people we have come to love.

Changes are in store for the Awa communities while we are gone! Construction is quickly moving forward on the bridge over the RV river, and the workers estimate that it will be done in about five months. At that point the road will continue further interior. At the same time, the Awa are carrying heavy loads of electric poles (made from a PVC pipe-type material, but still over 200 lbs each!), transformers, and wire up into the communities all along the main trail. There should be electricity in our community in just a few months! We can hardly imagine what it will be like to come back to both a road and electric service at the Outpost! These changes bring both good and bad influences for the people as the first electric items that most buy are televisions and dvd players, along with an abundance of videos full of violence and poor morals. Cultural change comes very quickly because these isolated people consider such movies to reflect life in the modern world, which they long to be a part of. With the road also comes easy access to alcoholic beverages. At the tiny community center of RV, there are already three bars/cantinas in place! Please remember the Awa believers as they learn to deal with these influences. Discernment only comes by God’s grace in their lives.

We are sorry to have been out of touch over the last eight weeks! Our not-that-old laptop computer bit the dust, leaving us hanging. I have finally been able to resurrect the hard drive and we have our email address list back. J We are thankful to have communications up and running again (even temporarily on a loaner computer)! For those of you who we have kept in the dark, our plans include flying into St. Louis the 10^th (this week!) and then heading west/north to see Kathy’s sisters, and then on to New Hampshire. Our three weeks in New England will be a little rushed, as we need to be on the road again by mid-August so we can drop Kenny off at the Bible Institute in Wisconsin. In September, we hope to head back to New England (from Oklahoma) by way of any of you who would like us to drop in! At this point, we can be reached best by way of email. As soon as we have some type of phone number, we will let you know. For the fall and winter we plan to settle in New Hampshire. We are still sorting out where we will live, but we praise the Lord for His provision of a Grand Caravan van loaned to us by a wonderful organization that loans vehicles to missionaries (Righteous Rides)!

Many thanks for your prayers for us!

In Christ,

Kevin & Kathy

A few pics from my Hike from Buenos Aires (Ecuador) to Palmira

June 2009 Bruce Brief news

What a month it's been! We are thankful for God's mercy and grace through the ups and downs of trying to pack and sort our three 'homes', many hours of travel for paperwork (and a broken-down vehicle), and a crazy schedule as we tried to keep up with ministry in the midst of it all. The Awa have been a little puzzled by all our comings and goings; actually, I'm not so sure we aren't a little puzzled ourselves as we wake up each morning trying to sort out which ones of us are coming or going today! Most puzzling of all is the fact that our laptop computer died last week and left us high and dry for communications (it's been dying over the last few months, generally making life difficult, but we had hoped it would last until we arrived States-side in July.)

A quick update on the paperwork, ministry, car, kids, and travel plans:

Paperwork: The Lord was gracious to us through the many hours on buses as we went back and forth to Quito five times renewing one USA passport and renewing our Ecuadorian missionary visas. In Ibarra we renewed our Ecuador i.d. cards, although we ran into some problems with Kimberly's 'cedula' (Ecuadorian citizen i.d. card) when the government records showed that her fingerprints had changed. (Apparently a mistake was made in reading her fingerprints years ago when she got her first 'cedula' as a baby.) Thankfully a few more hours waiting in offices cleared this up without too much delay! Then we were finally able to renew her national passport and are now all ready to fly. Thanks, Lord!

Ministry: Some of you may have heard that Humberto's wife, Maria Liria, fell off one of the cable foot bridges about 10 days ago. She slipped on a wet board, and fell with one of their children. Thankfully the little girl was okay and Maria wasn't hurt worse! She broke her arm in several places, around her elbow. Since our car was in the shop, Cipriano (our national pastor friend) was able to rent a truck to go in and get her, and the Shaubs headed for Ibarra the same day to be of help and encouragement to Humberto there. This accident brought back memories of their daughter Erika, who fell from a cliff and died about three years ago, and Humberto was quite nervous. Andy was able to visit the hospital every day. The doctor first cleared up an infection and then wanted to operate to put in several screws and a metal plate, but Maria and Humberto refused, so Friday the doctor sent them home to make the slow recovery with just a cast. I think he was a little frustrated trying to communicate with them! Andy said that Maria said that no doctor was going to put little nails in her arm! We pray her arm makes a good recovery despite the lack of surgery.

We are struggling to finish up our year of literacy study. With the local elections (today is voting day) and several community happenings, it seems to be difficult to get all our students together long enough to administer our last tests. This next Friday and Saturday we should be meeting for the last time before we leave. Please pray that all 9 students will make it and finish their exams!

4-Runner: Thankfully is back on the road, 'running' again! It took quite a stack of money and about three weeks, but we are glad to have the vehicle again. With so much travel in our schedule this month, we were sure missing having the Toyota, although we gave the local truck drivers some good business!

Kids: Kenny is now a high school graduate...as of Friday! He graduated at the top of his class (okay, we home-school so he WAS the class...but he still did great!) We celebrated with apple pies and ice-cream yesterday. Of course, immediately after the party, on our way down from RV, he fell and sliced open his knee and got to go get a tetanus shot. Hopefully he'll be walking again in a few days, as he has promised to travel with a medical caravan team from Kentucky. Kimberly finished fifth grade several weeks ago, and Keilah will finish up her freshman year with a big Geometry test today or tomorrow. Our kids are gearing up for big changes in the next month as we pack up and say many good-byes.

Travel plans: We have our tickets for the 2nd week of July, flying into St. Louis. We are privileged to have the use of a van for the year, loaned from an organization called Righteous Rides. We'll be heading to New England from Missouri for a few short weeks, and then will head out again to the Midwest sometime in August. Beyond that, we have made few plans, although we have done much praying that the Lord will direct our days and miles. Our full-to-the-end schedule here hasn't left us much planning time!

We are savoring our last moments with our friends here. Last night I enjoyed an hour sitting with Awa friends on the porch at the Awa Center. Gloria wanted to know how she should handle having a drunk and unsaved husband, while Guillermo (her husband, sitting right there) lamented about so many friends pulling him to drink, now that he is the Palmira community leader. Leandro sat back and listened, asking a few questions of his own. I was thankful for yet another opportunity to share God's wisdom for living, and the fact that many people are praying for Guillermo's salvation. Today I am heading out with Luis Alfonso, for the long hike in the back way to RV, making a map for the community of where the road will hopefully be put in one day. Our hearts are pulled to these people...please pray for us as we have a few last chances to encourage our Awa friends. Saying good-bye, even for a year, is hard!

Because of God's mercy,
Kevin and Kathy