Ric and Sharon Bruce We’re excited to announce that we’ve been officially invited to work with New Tribes Mission in Thailand! We’re honored and humbled to join what God is doing in Southeast Asia through generations of dedicated and faithful national workers and expat missionaries. Last week we had the privilege to meet some of them as friends… now they have become our future coworkers. After consulting with our home churches we will announce our decision to accept or decline the offer in the coming days. Thank-you for your prayers as we make this important decision.
Reflecting on the Trip
Greetings from Thailand
We returned from Thailand full. We spent each day wisely, making the most of the moments we had in the country by meeting with missionaries, pastors, tribal leaders, and church leaders. I have to say that of all the trips I’ve ever taken overseas this one was by far the smoothest and most profitable in more ways than one.
Both Sharon and I feel excited about the future. The trip confirmed one thing for sure: the possibilities Thailand offers for ministry are endless.
We’re excited to find out where this road will take us and we’re honored to walk it with partners like you from around the world. Your continued prayers and financial gifts enable us to continue our commitment to reaching the lost of Southeast Asia.
Tags: Prayer Request, Thailand, Thank-you
Last Day in the Village
These photos were taken during a tour of a village in Thailand.
Tags: pictures, ric and sharon, Thailand, travel
Sounds of the Village Waking Up
Listen to the sounds we woke up to this morning by clicking here. See if you can hear the distant temple gongs calling the village to the morning prayer and offering. This link will require download.
Tags: cars, download, rooster, sound file, village
Visiting the Village
We’ve been running non-stop since we arrived in Thailand. Our first morning was spent flying from Bangkok to a regional city, Chiang Mai. Once we arrived our first order of business involved a tour of Grace International School and learning about the various ministries connected with the school. Our second priority involved food but I won’t bore you with the details.
This morning we started out with a big bowl of fried rice and enjoyed two more presentations regarding missionary work in Thailand. Later today Sharon and I arrived in Udon Thani, Thailand to visit with missionaries from our home church. We will be here for a few days and hope to post a few pictures of our time here. Here are a few pictures from the last two days:
Tags: Chiang Mai, pictures, ric and sharon, Thailand, travel
Safe in the Land of Smiles
An hour ago the wheels of our Airbus A330 touched the tarmac here in Bangkok and we’ve already been whisked off to a nice hotel and treated to air conditioning and first class service. The next leg of our journey begins in a few hours but I will update again soon hopefully with pictures.
Off to Thailand
In our next post you won’t see us looking like this:
Hopefully the next picture we post will be taken halfway across the world and we’ll be wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts enjoying 90 degree weather. Our blitz tour of Southeast Asia begins now and will end next Friday and of course we’ll be carefully documenting our trip and posting whatever morsels we possibly can on this site as often as possible. We’re looking forward to a whole lot more warm sun on our faces in the days to come.
So no more of this:
And a whole lot more flying: 40+ hours of it in fact (round trip). Next week there’ll be a whole lot more meeting new people, visiting remote villages, exploring ancient temples, and learning new things. Please pray for our safety and for clarity as we communicate and learn. We’ll post more ASAP!
Tags: language, Michigan, pictures, Prayer Request, Thailland
Busy Holidays
This was a special holiday season for us. We enjoyed time with friends and family. During December we had the unique chance to see all our living grandparents (they live in New York, Oklahoma, and Arizona), many of our aunts and uncles, cousins and old high school friends. We feel enriched, refreshed, and ready for our next adventure.
It’s special for another reason too: Lord willing, our next Christmas and New Year will be spent in Chiang Mai, Thailand where we will begin learning the Thai language and culture.
Tags: Family, friend, Holidays, preparation, Thailand, travel
Thailand in January
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Blasting off to Thailand 01/20/2010
In January we have the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Thailand with our missions pastor and key members of our home church in January. It all came together at the last minute and our heads are still spinning as we think about all we need to do to prepare for this trip. We’re excited about the possibilities the trip has for us. We’re excited to visit a tribal location, meet our future leaders and co-workers, and explore our future home.
You can help! Our church leadership has informed us that the cost of the trip will be $1,500 for each of us or $3,000 total. We can’t cover this amount without your help! For your convenience we have many ways you can give to our ministry. To explore the options visit our give page. All gifts to our ministry are tax deductible and will go toward our ministry expenses.
We need your prayers too! Please pray our trip preparations will go well and that we will communicate and minister effectively while we are in the country. Have a wonderful Christmas Season and thank-you for your participation in our ministry.
Tags: Michigan, ric bruce, Thailand, travel, Trinity Church
It’s Christmas Time
Putting up the tree
How do you know it’s Christmas time? Because it’s seventeen degrees outside, the snow’s been falling since we arrived, and the tree is up. We’re in Michigan celebrating the holidays with family and connecting with our home churches. Our primary focus during these days remains the same: we’re raising financial and prayer support for our ministry.
Today we’re gearing up to send out a print Christmas newsletter, adding new contacts we gained during our travels to our databases, and spending time in meetings with our pastors and supporters.
We’re greatly encouraged during these days by many people who choose to make an end of the year donation to our ministry. If you would like to give please visit our give page http://www.ntm.org/wp/ric_bruce/give/. God bless you this holiday season!
Michigan is Cold!
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Headed North!
Michigan, here we come. We leave in six hours and will drive for 18 hours through snow, ice, and maybe even some rain. Please pray for us as we finish the final leg of our trip! We can’t wait to be in one place for a while after our massive trips lately.
Tags: Michigan, pray, ric and sharon, snow, travel
