Update on Nestor's Baby

Thanks for praying! Friday we met Nestor and his wife, Silvia with their baby. The baby being much better was released from the hospital and they were able to come home. We were thrilled to see them. The family had just expected the baby to die, and even Nestor himself was just telling people that the baby was probably just going to die. They steel themselves to that, so that it doesn’t hurt as much when it happens, I think. Anyhow, we pray that the baby is well on the way to full recovery and that he doesn’t have a relapse. This cold rainy weather is very hard on babies when the parents hike on the trails, they don’t really have a good way to keep the babies dry and they get so cold and wet.

Please pray that God will work in Nestor’s heart, as he is one of our closest neighbors but hasn’t shown very much interest in the Bible teaching at all, but when we talked to Nestor on the trail yesterday he said he would come to church on Sunday, but he did not come. :-(

As a family we are enjoying a short visit from Kenny these days. It has been a year and a half since he was here in Ecuador, and he is enjoying familiar sights, sounds and flavors! ;-)

In Christ,
Kevin

A Complicated Journey

Wherein a simple trip becomes a day-long adventure.

A true story

Written by Kenny Bruce

And inspired by the creativity and humor of Davey Jank

“Are you sure you won't fall off? Be careful...” Our friend's mom worried for about the fourth time. The six of us kids were sitting in the back of a pickup truck while both sets of parents rode inside. Rather, we were sitting around the rim of the bed of the pickup – we couldn't have sat in it because that was all full of the various cargo we were planning on hauling up the mountain. I guess we looked precarious to their mom – or maybe it was just that we were so obviously unconcerned with the possibility of bouncing out of the back and getting our clothes all muddy on the dirt road. Mothers can be like that.

“We're fine,” we insisted for the fourth time. As the adults seated themselves in the safe, boring interior of the truck, I wondered aloud what she was worried about.

“After all, we're MKs,” I opined. “Next best thing to superman.”

The trip continued smoothly for something like half an hour. By 'smoothly', of course, I mean that none of the bounces were enough to shake us out of the truck, and none of the mudholes in the road were bad enough that we had to hop out and push. We were all having a grand time in the back. It was the first time the six of us had been reunited in a year and a half, since Andy and I now had embarked on the grand adventure that is college in the US of A, each leaving two younger sisters behind here in Ecuador. We were happily reminiscing about all the most miserable moments we had spent together growing up, when suddenly the pickup rolled to a halt.

Looking up, I quickly came to the conclusion that our unscheduled deceleration had something to do with the mass of red-brown clay that had decided to spend the day rather squishily encamped upon the road, leaving no way to get the vehicle, and all our stuff, to our destination. Having concluded this remarkably astute observation, I proceeded to wonder why the bright yellow bulldozer sitting near the landslide was, err, sitting. Lunch break, perhaps?

A quick consultation between the national worker sitting on the bulldozer and the dads soon revealed the nature of the problem. I overheard something about 'transmission'. Apparently something important had choked with the strain of coercing the placid mud to make its squishy home somewhere else, and the part wouldn't be here until possibly later in the day, they said, which of course meant next week.

However, all was not lost. Although we had too much stuff with us to carry all the way to our house several hours walk distant, we would be able to shift it all over the landslide by the simple expedient of all the boys making several trips to carry all the heavy stuff. There there was a truck which had been caught on the other side (thereby unexpectedly finding itself in the very monetarily profitable position of being the only vehicle in working condition on that side of the road) and while it was too full to take us and our pile of stuff at the moment, the driver assured us that he would be happy to return and take us and our belongings as soon as possible. So far so good.

In the meantime, our spirits remained high, and as soon as the work of transporting the pile of items to the far side of the landslide had been accomplished, we set out to amuse ourselves. Although Andy wanted to lead an expedition across the river to investigate a large mudslide that had utterly devastated several hundred feet of a ravine over there, no one else felt much like adding a couple hours hiking through the jungle to our journey, what with the scorching tropical sun and all. Instead, we passed the time throwing rocks (and spears), weaving baskets, splashing in the nearby creek, and finally by sitting around Andy's emergency reflective blanket and playing cards.

My uncle, who was waiting at the other end of the road (or rather, at the next impassable part of it) with the horses called us via cell phone several times, mostly to tell us that the truck driver seemed to be in no particular hurry to turn around.(In fact, he was stuck in a further landslide – my uncle ended up helping to push him through it) Although this wasn't particularly encouraging news, it was still all just an adventure, and I proceeded to unconcernedly lose a game of rook as badly as I ever have in my life. I think Andy won. Eventually, the truck did turn around, and after some time, arrived back at our end. We all crammed ourselves and our stuff (“watch out, this pack has eggs on top!”) into the back, which was covered by a heavy black tarp effectively obscuring the view. Finally, we all – sort of – fit (my dad was standing on the back hanging on) and the driver eased the vehicle along the narrow road towards our destination. This trip wasn't quite as lighthearted as the previous one – we were more tired, and the invigorating possibility of falling off was deplorably absent (except for my dad, who did nearly fall off at least once). However, soon we were passing all the stuff out the back, and as the truck drove off my uncle arrived with the two horses.

View from the back of the pickup ;-)

The rest of our hike trip up was unremarkable – that is, the sun was hot and we didn't see very many snakes. Actually, that's not entirely true – there was one interesting bit as we passed the school (the local community center) and the locals were apparently becoming 'cultured' for they had adopted the national custom for this particular few days of January of putting on bird masks and requesting money by swarming around unfortunate passers-by and holding out a cup as they made trilling noises. Andy gave them a dollar and then stood menacingly with the various knives he had stuck through his belt plainly visible as the rest of us passed by. Anyways, eventually we made it to the houses – only to find that in our absence an invading army was conducting search and destroy operations throughout them. The vicious but tiny commandos had pursued their enemy into the wooden structures and were aggressively cornering them, and then hacking them into small pieces and carrying them off as provisions. Army ants are fun to watch -- especially when they catch cockroaches. However, they also bite, so as we tried to get ourselves cleaned up from the hot, muddy hike, we had to constantly watch our feet so as not to hinder their maneuvers.

Anyways, the day did eventually wind down, leaving us all rather more tired than we had anticipated. However, in a sense, we weren't surprised – the road is a dangerous thing, and when has once set his foot to the road, there's no telling what adventures might befall him ere again he rests his feet.

Please pray

Saludos de Ecuador! /Greetings from Ecuador/

We would like you to hold up in prayer our neighbors. In our Bruce Brief in November we mentioned that Nestor and his wife had finally had their first baby after many years of miscarriages. The baby now just over a month old is very sick and in the hospital with pneumonia, and the the prognosis is not good. Please pray that they would be able to save the baby's life, and for patience of the parents as they wait at the hospital.

As a side note, another couple from this area also have their baby in the same hospital, in fact they are sharing the same room. Their baby is doing much better and they expect to be release soon. Because of the intense rains right now, many baby's get sick because of being wet when they are carried on their mom's back from place to place.

Thanks so much for your prayers! May you enjoy the blessing of knowing EMANUEL this Christmas season!

In His grip,

Kevin & Kathy

Christmas letter

Click to print or view bigger

Fun on the road

Andy had some fun yesterday on the road (or not so fun). The slippery mud slid him right off the edge. Praise the Lord no one was hurt and after a couple hours work with some help from the neighbors the got the truck out. Thanks for your prayers!

Eyes to see

A slippery visiter

It’s been a full four months since our return in July! The days and weeks have flown past, as we have spent much time on the road between our mountain home and the cities of Ibarra and Quito. We have certainly had our share of adventures since we got back, starting with the girls’ flashflood escape at the river in July; then strikes and political unrest and propane shortages; vehicle breakdowns; some interesting 4-wheeling on our muddy road….and, just in case we have a monotonous day, there’s often a big, hairy spider or a snake that’ll show up just to keep us from getting bored. :-) But, while life can keep us jumping (literally!), that’s not really why we are here.

Keilah with her new puppy

And the paperwork…always a challenge! Looking back over our calendars, we counted 10 multi day trips to the city in order to finally have our permanent visas in hand. Based on having an Ecuadorian-born daughter, our new visas won’t have to be renewed, and have only a few restrictions (like not leaving the country for more than three months each of the first 2 years). This coming week we hope to get our national i.d. cards, the last step, and one more trip to Quito in this lengthy process. We thank the Lord for His help and protection in all of this!

And yet, paperwork isn’t why we are here, either.

Or maybe it is...

It’s the people, isn’t it? God’s heart is in drawing out a people to bear His name, and that must include the clerk and the lawyer in the paperwork offices, and the mechanic at the shop, as well as the many Awa around us. Since we’ve returned, we’ve learned that several of our Ecuadorian friends died while we were in the USA, including Keilah’s dedicated orthodontist, Dra. Correa, who died unexpectedly from cancer, and a fellow who Kevin enjoyed chatting with who ran a radio/electronics store.  We are reminded that this is why we are here…it’s the people that matter to our Heavenly Father.

Kimberly and her cousin
helping with the kids during
the literacy class

There’s Simon, an Awa fellow who has recently come several Sundays to hear the Bible teaching after a many-year absence, even bringing his wife and kids. And the young mothers who come to the Monday literacy classes, bringing a whole slew of not-always-cooperative toddlers along with them. There’s the kids in the community of Palmira that we’ll soon be teaching English to. And our neighbor, Nestor, whose wife just had a baby boy after years of one miscarriage after another. 

We desire to not only teach the Word on Sundays, but to see each face that God brings into our path as one that God loves. Something that’s easily forgotten when we get busy!

In the words of the singer, Brandon Heath, our prayer too is: Give me Your eyes...

“Give me Your eyes for just one second

Give me Your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

 Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me Your eyes so I can see”

Thank you for your prayers and support!

In His grip,

Kevin & Kathy Bruce

Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

Bruce Brief - Ecuador Adventures

Ecuador Adventures

The character Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings is quoted to say “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Yesterday I jumped on a bus to go to Quito just to get a special copy of Kimberly's Ecuadorian birth certificate from the main Civil Registration office. As the bus headed out of the city toward Quito the news on the bus tv was showing some demonstrations going on in Guayaquil, and what looked to me like Quito. Because I couldn't hear well, I asked the bus helper if he thought there would be any serious problems in Quito, and he assured me not to worry. ;-)

Well the rest you can read in the news. Yesterday turned out to be quite the day here in Ecuador. As we neared the city the road to the northern bus terminal was blocked, so the driver said he was going to try to go to the southern terminal (an hour detour) which worked out fine for me, I thot, as that was closer to the Registration office. Well, he dropped me off two blocks from the office, which to my dismay was closed because of the police strike. On the ride there I had learned that the road between Quito and Ibarra was also closed in places so I didn't have much hope of getting back to Ibarra that night. I flagged a taxi to take me to an area in the city where there are several mission guest houses. There I was able to hole up, and watch in horror as the news unfolded. The president being held hostage, then later as the Army coming in to rescue him, along with the shooting, was all carried live on TV. Tonight, as I traced the route the taxi took in getting me from south Quito to north Quito, I realized that we had unknowingly gone right by the place where the President was being held hostage!

Today as the Army and Police went back to work, things calmed down and I was thankfully able to return to Ibarra. Tomorrow, Lord willing, we are off to our home on the mountain top again which is really where I prefer being when such uprisings happen!

Because I wasn't able to do any of the paperwork that I had hoped during my trip to Quito, that is still on my to-do list for next week. I just hope that the next time I go out my door will not be as dangerous as yesterday, and I'm really glad that I have a God who directs my steps in spite of my plans! Prov 6:19

Thanks for your prayers,
Kevin Bruce