Roads, Rain and Sowing the Good Seed

 

January & February 2022 Roads and Rain

We are SO thankful that the road to the city of Ibarra is mostly open again! After the engineers examined the area and gave the gloomy pronouncement of six months before the road could be open again, the regional tractor drivers courageously just went to work and managed to clear a pathway through the rockslide in just a month. At the point where the roadbed fell, the crew used dynamite to make a narrow passageway just wide enough for one vehicle to pass. This past week rain continues to fall and more mud and rocks have fallen in various places along the 50 mile stretch of highway, so there are days when the road is closed again (like today). These days travel at night, with the heavy rains, is not a good option. For the most part though, we are back in business, and we are grateful for the much shorter and more direct trip to the city. Thanks for your prayers!
 

Sowing the Good Seed

In our last Bruce Brief we asked for prayer for recently widowed Oso. We are pleased to report that he continues to come to the church service each Sunday and, yes, he continues to bring a pack of grandchildren with him. The first Sunday he returned, we asked him how he was doing, to which he replied somewhat dismally, “Well, I’m not dead yet.” We recognize the reality of the sad loneliness he is experiencing in these days, and therefore we are glad to see him seeking out the comfort of the truth of God’s word.  Thank you for your continued prayers for him, that the “God of hope would fill [him] with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom 15:13) until that day when God does call him home.

We’ve been going to visit Paulino’s elderly parents, José and Senovia. They are less mobile now and are not able to come to church, so Kathy & I take my guitar and sing and go over a short Bible lesson together with them. Grandsons Jeison (14 yrs) and José Freddy (13) are there listening as well. Please pray for these two young fellows who have lived with their mother and grandparents since their father Alfredo was killed in a drunken fight many years ago. Pray that the good seed of God’s word would be an encouragement to José and Senovia, and that Jeison and Jose Freddy would allow the truth they hear to truly take root their hearts.

With continuing covid sickness, school continues to be ‘hit or miss’ for youth in our valley. With the boredom that comes from not much going on, these young folks are open for Bible study! 😊 Just recently the last three (Avelino, Aida, and Emma, pictured above) finished the Samaritan’s Bible study book, making for a total of 25 youth who have done this study. And there are 26 young folks signed up for the new Bible study we’ll begin this coming Sunday, February 6th! Pray that this book Rey de Gloria (King of Glory, a panoramic overview of the Bible) will be like that good seed in Jesus’ parable of the sower. Pray that the seeds sown will bring forth a harvest of much fruit in these young people’s lives.

Thankful for your partnership in prayer,
Kevin & Kathy

If you are interested in checking out the King of Glory material in many different languages, you can find it here: www.king-of-glory.com.

Happy New Year!

 

By God’s grace, December finds us back in Ecuador

We flew back to Ecuador on November 22nd—many thanks for your prayers! God brought us here safe and sound, despite a travel day with some additional stresses along the way, which seem to be the new normal. One big stress was having to leave two of our check-ins behind in New Hampshire due to a last minute Ecuadorian government change in regulations. But there were also blessings as well, like getting moved to more comfortable seats at no cost on the last leg of our trip.
 

“Business as Usual”

The recent uproar over the new Omicron variant is taking Ecuador (and the world) by storm this Christmas season. The government is struggling to know how to respond, and we hear daily news of new rules and regulations. At the same time, rainy season has hit early, and we are being deluged with daily rains, triggering major mudslides and road closures. The main road between us and the city is now closed for perhaps the next 6 months as the engineers try to figure out a way to move a large section of the mountainside to re-construct the fallen roadbed. Our alternate routes are currently very long and sometimes a bit tricky to navigate being over the steep mountainside on just dirt (muddy!) backroads. Amidst this chaos, we were recently encouraged by the phrase “Business as usual” --- God’s call to keep going about the business of teaching and discipling. People need to know Him, and amidst the craziness of the world situation, that is still our call!

Kathy read this phrase from Isobel Kuhn’s book In the Arena, from the Kuhn’s struggle to continue with ministry in China during the tumultuous years leading up to World War II.

Isobel writes: “Those days the whole world was learning from England what a boost to a nation’s morale is the spirit of blitz or no blitz, we carry on business as usual! The Christian missionary surely should have equal courage and faith. This was the reason we decided to ignore the danger zone and go quietly on with our usual programme. It had a wonderfully stabilizing effect upon the whole countryside, for the Lisu [tribal people there with whom the Kuhns worked] were jittery at the presence of so many armed men and ready to desert their villages for caves and other places of refuge high in the mountains.”
 

 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son….” John 3:16

December 12th the German Impact youth were here, sharing a Christmas message with a simple drama. What a thrill to watch many of the Awa’s faces as they leaned forward taking in the action and songs. One of the mothers of several of our regular Sunday School kids, Berta, caught my attention. Berta’s husband Simón recently took a job in a far community and spends most of each month away from home. A few days before the program, Berta had come with her son Klever asking for homework help, and she shared with us how much they were struggling not having their husband and father in the house. She asked if it was okay if she joined her children for the coming Sunday program. She did come, and it was a joy to watch her face as she intently listened to the message of a Savior who came to give hope! Please pray for Berta to understand the Gospel.

On a sad note, this past week grandma Delfina, a faithful attendee of our services in Rio Verde, went to be with the Lord. She was instrumental in bringing many of her grandchildren with her each Sunday to hear God’s word. Please pray for her husband ‘Oso’ who also has some health issues. I’m sure adjusting to life without her will be hard for him! We praise the Lord that we were able to be here to help during her burial, and to have an opportunity to preach the Gospel to all those who came. Pray also that many of those grandchildren (seen in the picture to the left) will continue to come and learn of Jesus who takes the sting out of death!

We thank you for your prayers! Pray that we would be steadfast in taking each opportunity that God provides to share the message of the coming of our Savior.

And we wish each of you a belated Merry Christmas and a blessed new year! May each of the ordinary moments of your days be blessed with the joy of knowing Jesus.

By God’s grace carrying on ‘business as usual’,
Kevin and Kathy

LIEBENZELL MISSION USA’s 80TH ANNIVERSARY!

 

06 November 2021

 

What a joy it was to participate in the celebration of Liebenzell Mission USA’s 80 years of faithful service in ministry! Missionaries, staff, and many friends of the Mission gathered at LMUSA’s headquarters for a full weekend October 22-24th. We greatly enjoyed connecting with old friends and getting to know new ones. If you are interested in a short video on the legacy of God’s goodness in the founding of Liebenzell, you can see it here!

https://www.liebenzellmission.org/80-years

Kathy and I flew back to the USA in mid-October for a “short” trip. Our hope was to quickly see our kids, attend the anniversary celebration, and have Kathy see the doctor and get some labwork done. Thank the Lord we’ve been able to do all of the above! However, our three-week trip is now rapidly extending longer as we are recovering from a bout of covid… :-/ But we are smiling at God’s perfect timing: our Kichwa friends Angel and Carlos were able to cover the first two weeks we were gone, and then our co-workers the Shaubs were able to fly back. So we are able to recover in peace. 😊 We are blessed to be with daughter Keilah & Jeremy, and Ronin and Amaris while we recuperate here in New Hampshire!

•    Pray for us to have wisdom as to the timing and details of our return to Ecuador.

In His grip,
Kevin & Kathy

Some more pictures below!

Hiking with Kim and Zach in MO

Enjoying time with Kenny and Sophia and getting to know our newest grandson Miles

4 generations of the Bruce family

Keilah and Jeremy with Amaris and Ronin

A cement mixer, a banana, and a reminder to rely on God!

Just what you would do, right? Tie a banana to the gasoline tank?!? Well…let me explain how this was God’s answer to our prayer!
 
Perhaps I should back up just a bit….
 
A week or so ago, Ángel, our builder, said he would be ready Thursday to pour the floor for the church kitchen we are constructing in Palmira. Knowing that we’d need several guys to help mix and pour the cement, we planned a “minga” (community workday) with the Awa at church on Sunday. I ordered 30 sacks of cement and arranged to rent a cement mixer, to be delivered Wednesday afternoon.
 
Wednesday evening Kathy and I were preparing all that we needed for the next day. As we packed up tools, extra gloves, and food for the lunch, we reminded ourselves that starting the day with prayer would be a great way to get going the next morning.
 
Early Thursday morning, the volunteers from Rio Verde joined us as we piled in the truck and headed to Palmira. Amidst the chaos of arriving and unloading, many things seem to need my attention. Soon we fired up the cement mixer, which ran for a few minutes, sputtered and quit. Thinking we had flooded the motor, several young fellows pulled and pulled on the starter rope, but to no avail. Then I remembered what I had forgotten…
 
Okay….so time to start anew. 😊 I called the guys over and we gathered around that obstinate cement mixer and prayed together. We prayed for God’s help and wisdom to get the mixer going, for strength for working, for God to hold back the rain so the cement could harden properly. After praying, we were checking the spark plug when David noticed that the motor wasn’t getting gasoline. Fiddling around with the valve, he got the gas flowing again and we were off and running, and then it started to falter again. That is when David realized that the vibration of the motor made the gas valve close on itself. His brilliant idea was to tie a banana over it to hold it in place! (Thank You, Lord, for the ideas You send!) And so the banana did its job, and we could do ours!
 
After the banana fix, the mixer ran without stopping until we were done. The Lord was also gracious and sent us a dry afternoon so that the surface of the cement had time to harden.
 
I am thankful that the Lord is gracious to remind me to depend on Him. Trying to pull-start a motor repeatedly without succeeding is a great way to jar my memory!
 
Please praise the Lord with us for:

• Progress in the construction of the church kitchen
• For Ángel and Carlos, our builders, both Godly men and hard workers, and the many Awa who have helped out working and cooking
• For God’s patience with us when we get busy and forget to depend on Him

And join us in praying that the future kitchen will be a place of fellowship and community, bringing glory to our Lord Jesus.
 

Grateful the job was done! (And lunch was smelling pretty good too!)

 
If you would like to see more pictures of the workday, please check out our online album here: Kitchen Floor Minga
 
Thank you as well for partnering with us by your prayers and support! The last few months have been challenging with our coworkers still in the USA, taking care of sick family members. Often we seem to be pulled in many directions with many needs calling out for our attention. And yep, in those chaotic moments we do need those reminders to rely on Him for strength and even to arrange our daily schedule.
 
You are in our prayers,
Kevin & Kathy

Joy in July and August Adventures

 

12 August 2021

 

In a moment when Jesus’ disciples thought the crowds were bothering Him too much, bringing their little ones to be blessed, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” These words were on our minds in July as we held two VBS programs, one in Palmira and one in Rio Verde. Each day in both communities more children came, totaling about 70 in Palmira and almost 100 in Rio Verde. We are so thankful for Jesus’ example to follow, as well as the strength and help God provided daily for these days!
 

Some highlights:

• Having fun teaching a few English words each day.
• The kids actually listening quite well to the Bible lessons!
• Working with our awesome helpers: Maria, Meredith, Aaron, Hanna, and Tanja
• God providing moments to just love on the kids
• Feeding all those hungry bellies a good lunch each day
• Giving the Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes and seeing the joy on each face!
• And….working with the twenty-one youth returning each Sunday to complete the lessons in the Bible lesson workbooks.

Thanks for praying for these busy days! We felt God helping us with strength and patience each day, especially dealing with those crazy moments that like to show up in the midst of such a time. 😊
 
For a few more pictures of July happenings, see here: VBS 2021 Palmira then Rio Verde
 
The weather has finally turned to dry season, which means beautiful sunny skies, great swimming in the river, and….we are finally able to order the materials for the construction of the church kitchen in Palmira! The first loads of rock and gravel have arrived, and we’ve had some fun workdays after church on Sundays getting the loads of rock moved closer to the church. (The flat tire on the truck wasn’t quite as fun…!) We’ll keep you updated on the progress!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

Highlighting our helpers!

With our coworkers on a 3-month trip to the USA, things can get a bit crazy! But God has been faithful to provide helping hands when we have needed them.

 
Here’s a few of those faithful folk that have been a blessing to us in the last few weeks:

Gloria Gloria has a big heart for teaching the Bible to the Awa children! She told Kathy recently, “Many of the people are asking me if I’m afraid to teach God’s word, because I might die (like my brother Paulino did). But I tell them all that I’m not afraid, if I die, then I die and I’ll be with Jesus. It’s so important for the kids to learn about God!” Each week Gloria helps to prepare and then teach the Bible lesson to the children in Palmira.

Ángel Ángel is our Kichwa cement ‘maestro’ friend from Chirihuasi community, near Ibarra. He recently spent two weeks with us helping to finish up a project that has been on the 'back burner' for awhile. Ángel knows and loves God, and demonstrates this in his interaction with the Awa--while here he just loves to visit and encourage the believers. In a few more weeks Ángel will join us again for working on the Palmira church kitchen project—which we are looking forward to!

Prisca & Aaron                                         Maria & Meredith Each year Liebenzell Germany sends us a group of German youth, the annual ‘Impact’ team. From the nine young folks on the Impact team this year, two—Aaron and Prisca---come our way to help teach the Awa children and youth. They certainly have more energy than we do to play an hour of soccer with the kids! 😊 Liebenzell USA has also sent two interns to Ecuador for the summer! Maria and Meredith have spent several weeks in Atuntaqui with the Friess family, and will be spending half of July with us here in AwaLand. We are thankful that all four of these energetic young people will be helping us with two VBS programs for the Awa children and youth. Thank you for joining us in prayer for the VBS in Palmira July 8-10 and in Rio Verde July 13-15. As a special bonus, we have Samaritan’s Christmas shoeboxes to hand out at the end of each program. Meredith says she is happy after so many years of making the boxes to be giving them! 😊

And we thank the Lord for another Helper He has sent 'to guide us into all truth' (John 15:26) Our prayer these days is that we would have ears poised to hear His prompting, and a heart seeking His guidance in all we do. And that His strength would carry us through in our weakness. We pray that our Faithful Father will do the same for you.

Thanks for being a part of the team God is using to reach the Awa!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

May Lockdowns

With hospitals filled to capacity, Ecuador is in the midst of a 4-week lockdown, with 8 p.m. curfews each evening and a complete lockdown from Friday evening to Monday morning. Even here in the mountains, Saturdays and Sundays have been pretty quiet! Since Sunday church gatherings weren’t allowed, we changed to Mondays, a creative alternative that has worked out quite well. Kevin is also enjoying spending his Thursdays in Palmira, teaching guitar lessons to Rómulo and Abraham, and working on literacy with Guillermo. Our days continue to be full with neighbors stopping in for help with a myriad of needs, giving good opportunities to share and disciple and talk together.

A special blessing has been having our young neighbors Christian & Ana Patricia stop by quite often with open hearts for spiritual conversations. Since Ana Patricia had drunk poison back in February (we mentioned them in our March Bruce Brief), they have had a hunger for hearing God’s word, and from what we can see, are taking what they hear and applying it to their lives.  This last weekend Christian told us he was sad that they had to work on Monday and would miss church, so he asked if it was possible for them to come up Sunday and hear the teaching then. He said, “When we can’t make it to church, I really miss the Bible teaching, I feel like I begin to forget and I don’t want to forget!” Amen! 😊
 

Exciting news in the Bruce family!

We woke up May 4th to the wonderful news that Kenny & Sophia’s little one, Miles Robert, had made his arrival in the night! Miles has already charmed the whole family with his cute expressions! 😊 We thank God that he seems to be adapting well to life in the big outside world. Kenny & Sophia have kept the airwaves busy with many pictures, but we do look forward to seeing little Miles in person perhaps later this year.

Sophia, Miles & Kenny

Keilah & Jeremy continue to live in New Hampshire, help out at church, and work on support-raising as they look toward heading to Paraguay sometime in 2022. We greatly enjoy watching Ronin (now almost 3 years old!) and Amaris (8 months) grow and learn and develop. Keilah was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder (Hashimoto’s) in February, and has been working through a treatment plan to address the Hashimoto’s as well as an underlying infection. We are thankful that she is doing better and gaining strength. For those who are interested in Keilah & Jeremy’s news, here is a link to their last prayer letter and their website: https://jkwindler.com/

Keilah, Amaris, Ronin & Jeremy

Kimberly & Zach both celebrated their 23rd birthdays in March. They continue to live and work in Camdenton, Missouri, and are thankful for the shorter Missouri winters! Kimberly is also taking a treatment for an infection, and slowly has been gaining strength and feeling much better. We are thankful for Dr. Moriah from Rolla who has been a great help to both Kimberly and Keilah.

Kimberly & Zach

Thanks for praying for God’s help and strength for us as we face a few months without our coworkers Andy & Chrissy, who are on a short furlough in the USA. We are thankful for His presence here with us, and for His faithful provision for us through your gifts and prayers!

In His grip,
Kevin & Kathy

Check out the video below our mission made about our ministry!

Kevin & Kathy Bruce — Missionaries to Ecuador