Baby Steps

Baby steps for the Awa church

Here in the mountains of Ecuador, a small church is being born! It’s been 20 years and several missionary families in the making, but at last we are seeing this small band of believers begin to stand on their own. In April we rejoiced to ordain Paulino and Milton as the first elders. They are both taking the initiative to help teach and disciple and reach out in their communities. It’s exciting to see them putting into action what they are learning from God’s Word. This month, on their initiative, they have started an offering. Paulino and Milton had both expressed a desire to be able to help sick people in the valley here, and felt like it was time to begin a cash offering to be able to help with such needs. (They’ve all been giving food and help in other ways for several years.) The offering was a new concept to many of the other Awa, and there were some differing opinions. One Sunday M. voiced some of his concerns, one being that he didn’t always have much money. Paulino’s response was gentle but clear: “Brother, when the day comes that God calls me to Heaven, I won’t take any of it with me. Not my house, my land, my cows or horses, or my money. All of what I have is just loaned to me for now. It all really belongs to God! Now if God happens to allow me to have $5,000, then I can give a lot to Him, like $1000. But if He just gives me a little, I can’t give as much. It’s okay, He knows what I have. And it’s all His anyhow!”

We’d appreciate your prayers to know when to come alongside and encourage the believers, and when to let them take the initiative. Milton is beginning to take over more of the teaching opportunities, and Paulino is considering the possibilities for beginning to teach in his community, further interior. Many Awa are coming to the believers to ask for counsel and help. Pray for courage and strength for the many open doors and challenges before this small church.

Family news….Twenty-two years and still holding hands

Today we celebrate our 22nd anniversary, and we thank the Lord for His grace in both bringing us together and giving us these years together. While we were engaged, we were teased for holding hands constantly…and years later, by His mercy, we are still holding tight! Amen. We feel supremely blessed for the joy of serving Him together, not just as a couple, but as a family.

Kenny graduated with honors in May from his 2 years at New Tribes Bible Institute in Wisconsin. It was a blessing for me (Kevin), as well as Keilah and our niece Laura, to attend his graduation, especially since Keilah and Laura hope to attend there in another year. Kenny will spend the rest of his summer working at Camp Spofford in New Hampshire, before heading off to study at Liberty University in Virginia this fall. Keilah is spending the summer working at Whispering Winds Bible Camp in Missouri. According to her emails she is enjoying every minute of her time there! Kimberly has been the only one at home this summer. While being an only child brings its share of perks, she has discovered that it also means suffering with more chores. Ha! She has recently dusted off our sewing machine and spent many hours sewing clothes out of old sheets. At 13, this has been her year to grow, and she has officially passed her mom up now!

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

In HIS grip,

Kevin & Kathy

For a printable copy click here

Keilah's Camp Letter

Dear friend,

I'm Keilah Bruce, and most of you will know me as the daughter of missionaries Kevin and Kathy Bruce. I've grown up in Ecuador, as you might know, and last summer I was able to go to a camp in the US. I had a really great time there, working for several weeks and then experiencing one week as a camper. Some of my favorite activities during my time there were swimming in the river, playing paint ball, and serving meals. I also did a lot of cleaning and other outdoor work, like scrubbing the long water slide and washing cars. It was an awesome couple of weeks that stretched me both physically and spiritually, and throughout those exhausting days I made a lot of close friends.

 This summer, before my senior year of highschool, I have the exciting opportunity to return to the camp in Missouri as a Summer Missionary with Bible Impact Ministries. Bible Impact is a ministry targeting children and young people, and it is the organization that runs the camp, Whispering Winds Bible Camp. I'll have chances to work with the children and teenagers going to the camp, and to do a lot of behind the scenes stuff, like cleaning and washing dishes, as well as some of my favorite things from last year. I look forward to being able to return and serve again, and I hope God will use me in a special way this summer.

I have two requests for all of you, the first being: Would you pray for me? I want to have a servant's heart this summer, and I know I'll need God's help to accomplish that. I would also ask that you pray for the camp and the kids that come, that we would be able to reach many kids for the Lord.

Secondly, it's my responsibility as a Summer Missionary to raise my own support and pay my board at Bible Impact. As I'm a volunteer, the camp will not pay me a salary, but I can earn what comes in as contributions after my room and board is paid. Any extra will go in my college fund. I'll be working six weeks, and the camp would like us to receive about 200 dollars a week. If you would like to help with my financial support this summer, both the camp and I would be grateful for whatever you can give.

Thanks for being a part of my summer, and thanks so much for your prayers! May God bless you, and keep you, as He is faithful to do for me!

 Sincerely,

Keilah A. Bruce


PS from Kevin: 
Donations can be sent to:
Whispering Winds Bible Camp
PO Box 9
St. James, MO 65559-0009
Make checks out to camp and include a note mentioning Keilah's name. 

Cockroaches

We live with a certain number of cockroaches in our house here at the Outpost. (Perhaps no-one will ever visit us again, now that I’ve admitted that openly!) Anyhow, living with those roaches brings many challenges. Cover the food. Beware in the morning if you’ve left dirty dishes out overnight. Check your boots before you put them on each day. Tuck the mosquito net in REALLY tightly around your mattress. My family all knows what it means when they hear me give a certain horrified shriek---that’s just Mom finding out that she put on her pants with a roach in them. No big deal. (The rest of them manage just fine without the shrieking.)

Mind you, it’s not that we share our house willingly. We spray poison, which often seems to harm us more than the cockroaches. Kimberly and cousin Lena have had ‘roach sleepovers’ where the purpose for staying up late was to hunt roaches, armed with flashlight and deadly knife. Of course, the 5 cent bounty we put on each dead roach carcass encouraged such sleepovers.

So, we do try. Flyswatters are placed in strategic locations around the house, so that if any poor roach dares to come out of hiding in the daylight, he will at least be properly scared back into invisibility! At times it seems that our efforts are fruitless. The cockroaches live freely outdoors, and should we be so blessed as to kill every single one in our house one day, I’m convinced that in the night a new horde would move in through all the cracks and crevices in our wooden plank floor and walls.

But recently we’ve found a new challenge in sharing our house with the little beasts. When we returned from furlough last year, Kevin rejoiced in the newly installed electricity and bought a beautiful brand-new laser printer. (I bet you can tell where this is going…) While I’m not blessed with a lot of technological know-how, it’s quite apparent that the laser printer uses heat to stick that black powder on the paper, somehow in the correct form of letters and pictures. (I won’t elaborate further, since that’s the extent of my knowledge, anyhow.) Combine that nice warmth with lots of little hiding places, all nicely packaged in a black plastic case, and presto! You’ve got a recipe for a cockroach’s favorite habitation.

The first time one came through the roller, squashed all over the paper….well, it wasn’t a pretty sight, but we could live with it. I mean, one just gathers all the legs and appendages from everywhere, right onto the paper, and wads the whole thing up straight into the trash can. It was when the copies started coming out with a long blank streak that we got more concerned. It didn’t work very well for literacy classes to have one blank streak down the center of the paper. Hand writing in the missing numbers and letters got old really quickly. So we began the investigation, suspicious that the blame lay with those pesky roaches again. Sure enough, two weeks later, we found the problem—a cockroach’s innards had smeared in exactly the wrong place, across the window where the laser shines down on the roller.  Okay, so once found, we fixed that. Of course, during the extensive investigation, in which we did everything the warranty said not to, we managed to knick a little chip in one of the important rollers, so that now each copy comes out with some little funny black spots on it. Sigh. Well, we can live with the black spots, as long as the blank section is now gone!

And so continues our battle with the little scurrying critters. At this point we feel like we are winning. We’ve poisoned the critters, and we’ve figured out the most important places to clean the smears off. Wait, I smell something…what’s that? Oh dear, there’s a really bad smell coming out of the side of the printer….I hope it’s not melting wires or something. No, not the smell of wires melting, …no, it smells more like, wait, that’s definitely the scent of…yep, you got it. Cockroach on the grill!

Here are some pics from the Conference

Awa Conf 2011

Awa Conference 2011!

Thanks for your prayers! This year the conference had a very different feel.  For one, the place was different, as we held it here at the Outpost. The food was different, as it was all planned and cooked by the local believers. Instead of us providing hospitality, the Awa took care of it themselves. In fact some of the visitors from the lowlands stayed in different houses during the three nights up here because of so many wanting them to come and stay with them!  It was a real answer to prayer to see the maturity of the believers as they took ownership and responsibility for the conference to a new level. Wow!

This year Doug and Milton taught through the first part of Daniel, as Doug just recently completed the first draft translation of that important OT book.  Those familiar testimonies of faith and faithfulness—like Daniel in the lions’ den-- were heard for the first time by many that came.  In the afternoons I taught some simple principles of money and debt from a Biblical perspective, as easy credit and loans have become an increasing problem here in these mountains. Paulino led us on Sunday morning as we remembered Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.  This was followed by the official recognition of Paulino and Milton as elders among the Awa believers.

Paulino and Milton both demonstrated their leadership in so many ways during the conference. The maturity and wisdom they displayed in the planning was incredible, even in such simple areas as the food. Each morning they discussed with the ladies what should be cooked, and made sure there was what was needed. They organized men to carry water up from the spring. They waited until last to be fed, to make sure there was enough food for all. Milton even helped to serve food one day, a definite ladies’ job! They earnestly taught, admonished, and encouraged their fellow believers. One of the highlights for me was overhearing Milton in deep conversation with Alfonso, Meregildo’s neighbor, about what it means to be saved. As Alfonso expressed his worries (he can’t read, he can’t help getting drunk), Milton patiently encouraged him and reminded him that salvation rests in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Both Alfonso and his wife, along with their adult son (Manuel), all made a public show of their trust in Christ on Sunday.

Ok, I want to get this off, so I’ll close off for now, so you can praise the Lord with us for His wonderful work in the hearts and lives of the Awa people.

In HIS grip,

Kevin & Kathy

 P.S. For you prayer warriors, here are some more specific answers to your prayers!

• ·         Conference supply run:  Both of our trucks were still stuck on this side of the landslides on Wednesday; so along with Porfidio and Cecilia, who came along to help, we hiked over past the landslides and caught a local truck down to Lita, and a bus out to Ibarra. We borrowed the Mission truck to bring the supplies back, and by that evening the road was open, so we only had to carry the heavy load the 10 minutes to our houses.  (The landslide fell again later that night, but then was opened back up again the next day.)
• ·         We had wondered how the hospitality would go, for the Awa coming from afar. Meregildo butchered a calf at his house, left his wife preparing a feast, and hiked over and waited for five hours at the end of the road until the folks arrived. He even loaned his boots out to one girl who arrived in flip-flops, and rode back on his horse, barefoot, holding two of their kids! The huge grin on his face told of his joy in serving them.
• ·         The Lord’s provision in great weather during the whole conference.  There was a noticeable 3-day lull in the heavy rains!
• ·         The Lord’s grace and love in dealing with up to 65 people here at the Outpost! For the most part, the children played cheerfully, without leaving too wide a path of destruction behind them. J The water supply here is tight with so many—but the ladies doing the cooking were real troopers.
• ·         More than sufficient food! (We started off Friday morning butchering a cow out back!) It was a true feast! On Sunday many made the comment that they were going home full!
• ·         Thursday afternoon we heard a huge clap of thunder and soon realized a lightning strike had taken out the electricity for most of the valley. Friday we survived on battery power (for showing the Jesus movie) and were amazed to have it return Friday evening. The electric company had come, hiked up, and fixed it---a real miracle on a holiday weekend! (Kathy says maybe they were angels in hardhats! ;)

Cicada Sonata

As I sit here and type this morning the sound of singing is almost deafening. ‘Tis the season again, and the little teal-green bugs are everywhere. The chickens, dogs, and even cats are happy as they consider the cicadas a great snack. The persistent cicadas’ song grows louder and louder as the morning sun warms things up. Unlike their cousins in the US that come out every seven years, these guys are annual critters. Each year they arrive like clockwork in March, sing their songs, and then disappear about Easter time. Their choruses are over, and their offspring live underground….until next year!

It is also the time of year we begin planning and preparing for the Awa Believers’ Conference. Thirteen years ago, when we began the conference, we missionaries did everything. We set the schedule, we taught, we bought the food. All the believers had to do was come. Gradually we have tried to involve the Awa more. Over the years in Lita, it was exciting to see many helping with setting up and cleaning, several ladies lending a hand in the kitchen, and even Milton beginning to help with the teaching!

We want the conference to be something that the believers can do even long after we are gone. It seemed like it was time for our Awa brothers and sisters to take over even more of the vision. So, this year we sat down with the believers and asked them what they thought about the conference. Was it worth continuing? Where should it be held? More importantly, how could the conference become their conference?

After voicing a unanimous ‘Yes!’ to our question about whether the conference was worth continuing, the Awa went on to discuss the location. In the past, some had mentioned the idea of having it here in this community, and the believers decided to give it a trial run this year. This really puts the ‘ball’ in their ‘home court’, so to speak, as housing and cooking will have to be done much more native-style. As word of this decision was spread to the believers in other communities, there was some grumbling and doubts voiced about food and housing for those who would come from afar. So far we have seen much maturity in handling this, but I’m sure it will continue to be one of the most stretching factors for the believers here.

Please pray for Milton, Paulino, and Meregildo as they carry more of the weight of conference planning this year. All are involved in gathering food, and are offering their homes for hosting any believers that come from farther away. Paulino has mentioned the book of Daniel as being a good topic for teaching. Milton has located a beef cow for butchering. Gloria has offered to provide plantains from her garden nearby. Other folks are talking about which pots can be used for cooking for such large crowds. Pray for us to know when to come alongside in a discipleship role, and when to keep our hands off. It would be easy for us to be the bail-out guys! But just as that isn’t always the thing that helps our children grow to maturity, neither is it always the best answer to helping our Awa brothers mature spiritually.

So as the cicadas sing their sonata, we are praying that come Easter weekend (April 21st -24th) the believers will also sing out with loud voices in praise as we gather together to worship our Savior!

We have succeeded again in being anything but brief, so I’ll sign off here. There are a few updates and news bullets down below if you are interested.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy


News Bullets
• Thank you for the many who have been praying for Nestor and Silvia with their little baby Esteban. The baby has continued to be in and out of the hospital. Nestor and Silvia are getting weary in the battle to keep the little one alive. A direct answer to prayer has been seeing all the Christians that God has placed in their path during this battle. At the hospital they ran into a lady from one of the Liebenzell churches in the city, who even invited them to stay at her house, all the while sharing God’s truth with them. Another week they spent an anxious night in Lita with little Esteban fighting to breathe, with our co-workers, the Millans and Collohauso families. Nestor asked them to pray for Esteban that night, and they called up and told us to pray as well. That next morning, the little one was still hanging in there. Many are encouraging Nestor and Silvia to walk in God’s path, but they still have not yet made that commitment. Please continue to pray for them.
• We have two friends, David and Mark, from Whitefield, NH, coming down next month for a short trip. Pray for the Lord’s grace and strength as we travel together, and reach out to one of the Awa communities. Our plan is to fix up the electric installation in their community center building as an act of Christ’s love.
• In May I plan to make a quick trip to the USA to attend Kenny’s graduation from NTBI in Wisconsin. I will also be dropping Keilah and her cousin Laura off in Missouri to work at a Christian camp for the summer. We’d appreciate your prayers for these travels! Kathy and Kimberly will remain here in Ecuador.
• Praise for Kenny being accepted to Liberty University in VA! This is a huge answer to prayer as God led him to this decision step by step, and even provided for the scholarships and aid to make it possible. He plans to work again for the summer in order to save up for beginning there in the fall.

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION

Contrasting worlds

As we pulled on our rubber boots, the early morning moist air swirled around us. We donned our packs and headed out. The leaves were still dripping from the night's rain and heavy mist that still clung to the earth that morning. The trail was slick, to say the least. If the first few steps were any indication, our trip today would be long and difficult.

We were on our way to a community to the south of us, our destination being the community center and school. One of the Awa teachers there had asked us to help by teaching some simple English for their 6^th and 7^th grade class. We agreed to help, since our hearts were truly excited by the opportunity the class provided for teaching the Bible as well.

As we hiked on, it was like taking a step back in time. The trail we were on was not used by motorized vehicles. All travel here was done on foot or horseback. Horses' feet tend to land in the same places, which leave deep ruts. Many stretches of the trail look as if someone made a ditch across it every foot or so. The challenge is to stay on top of the slippery nubs between them, and not slip off into the deep notches. The brackish water cradled in them is not something you desire to have sloshing around inside your boot!

About half way there we faced another challenge. A bunch of Awa fellows from the community there were working on repairing the bridge we had to cross. The suspension bridge, wide enough for a horse to cross, that far from any roads is a marvel to behold, but that day the men were replacing the rotten boards with freshly cut ones. For us this meant shimmying across a narrow beam laid across a couple of swinging sections where the old boards had been removed. I was fine with it, but Kathy was a bit more apprehensive, as you might imagine. You certainly don't want to look down too long at the raging muddy river below, as it throws your sense of balance off. It was good to greet all our friends there, some of whom were showing up carrying the new planks down the muddy hill on their backs. These planks were free-hand carved out of a hardwood tree with a chainsaw, each plank weighing in around 80 to 100 lbs.

From there on the trail was even harder. Not only was there a marked increase in the amount of mud to slog through, it was mostly uphill the rest of the way. Slowly we worked our way over the mountainside, finally arriving at the community center just over 3 hours after leaving home. We were wet, mostly from sweat, not rain, and the mud had crept up our boots and on our pants past our knees. I'm sure we were not a pretty sight. Thankfully the community has water piped in from a stream up above, so we quickly cleaned up our muddy pants and boots and changed our shirts. Yep, ready to go now!

One of the things I was struck with that day were the sharp contrasts of old and new. Even though our trip up there was like a step back in time, the community had electric lines strung up between all the buildings. A year and a half ago they had lugged light poles, transformers, and wire all the way up the muddy trails and so were now finally connected to 'the grid.' After we taught the English and Bible classes, we also taught some of the teens of the community how to use a computer, type a letter, and make copies on a multifunction color printer. (All of which arrived there on horseback!) Later that evening, we were invited to watch a DVD. In fact many of the houses had DVD players and TVs. To top it off, one house further away from the community had a Direct TV satellite dish outside. When I later talked with the owner of that house, he said, “Yeah, it's only the dish for now since I haven't finished paying yet.” But he excitedly told me he was sure looking forward to being able to watch the news!

All of these 'technological advances' can be used for good.....or evil. We were pleased to bring up a disk with a bunch of mp3 recordings of Bible teaching in the Awa language for one of the believers, but saddened to hear that the lights and big sound systems have provided new opportunities for all-night drunken dances in the community. I am afraid that many of the 'advances' will only be a noise and distraction from the good news of the gospel for the Awa people, much like they are back home in the USA. Please continue to pray for the advancement of the kingdom of God among the Awa. Greater is HE who is in us than he who is in the world!

Although this was anything but brief, we want to thank you for your part in the ministry. We highly value your prayers, support, and, most of all, your friendship! Thank you.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

for a printable copy click here

Bridge with repairs made (on our return trip)

Computer class 101

High tech Awa home