We’re tired, so for the next few days we’ll be relaxing and seeing some of the sights in Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri. After all the work Sharon put into her Cherokee analysis and the days of traveling we need to take a few days to slow down, catch up on our mail, and prepare for our next meetings.
We had a great time with in Tennessee today. This Sunday we will be in Missouri at Prosperine Baptist Church. Monday we fly to Arizona to spend time with family for the holidays.
Tomorrow we will speak at a country church near Fayetteville, TN. We were invited to the church by a man we met on the Appalachian Trail this summer. As stories go, the story of our meeting seems pretty interesting:
Our last day on the trail that week proved stiflingly hot and the trail grew steep as we climbed to a mountain ridge from a river valley. When we reached the top of the ridge, we thought our troubles were over. The terrain was relatively flat and we only had about six miles to the shelter we were stopping at for the night but it took us hours to make the trek because the trail was so overgrown.
Overgrown trail is not typically an obstacle hikers on the AT face, but this particular section looked like it had not been maintained that year… and we were hiking in August. As we rounded a bend in the trail I saw in the distance a man sitting on a log that did not look like a hiker at all. As we approached I noticed he wore blue jeans, heavy black leather boots, and a cotton shirt. Beside him lay a very heavy-looking pack.
After our first two months on the trail we’d learned to be very careful and trust our instincts when we came across things that looked out of place. In this case we needn’t have worried. A kind, relieved smile spread on the man’s face as we approached and after a brief hello he asked in a slow southern drawl where he was.
After a fifteen minute conversation we learned he was the pastor of a church and he learned we were missionaries. We hit if off immediately and had a great time talking with him. That night we shared our water and offered our food to him. We all slept in the shelter that night (he upstairs and we downstairs) and the next day we shared a ride with him back to his car. Random chance? Probably not.
We have arrived in Tennessee, the third stop on our seven state tour. Here we will do what we do best recently: spread the word about our lives and ministry.
The drive here proved… frustrating. Two major interstates over the Appalachians were closed, forcing us to take slow and windy back roads. The payoff: we saw some amazing country. Below are some pictures we took.
We’re in Norfolk, Virginia watching the rain slam against the windows and listening to the wind howl though the trees outside. This is the yearly “Noreaster” that residents here have come to respect for its ability to flood the city annually. Here’s a link. We are safe, but appreciate your prayers as we are hoping to drive to central Virginia tomorrow and then head on to Tennessee Saturday.
Yesterday, however, we did squeeze in a little fun before the heavy rains and wind. We went to the Virginia Beach Aquarium and had a great time looking at the animals. Here’s a sample of what we saw:
On the road finding internet is always a problem and when we do get it we snatch every precious second of it we can get. I’m in the process of adding pictures to our online albums, checking our email, updating our website, downloading important files and updates for my computer, and managing our contact lists from the churches we’ve visited. The most important thing I’m doing, though, is sending Sharons paper off to the grader’s. Here’s how it came in:
Pages: 115
Hours: 100+
Sharon is SOOO happy to be done. Now we party. We’re going to the beach and then shopping. Wednesday we will go to the aquarium here in town.
We have been in Virginia with my brother Sam and his wife Kari since Thursday. This morning we presented our ministry at South Norfolk Congregational Community Church, the church they attend here. Tuesday is Sam’s 23rd birthday, so we’re very excited to be here for that as well. While here we’re doing what we do on the road: talking to people about our ministry, handing out our prayer cards, spending time with family, and Sharon is stealing as much time as possible to work on her Cherokee write-up which is due TOMORROW!!! She will likely be pulling an all-nighter tonight and then be exhausted in the morning.
This coming Friday we head to central Virginia to visit some very good friends and then will drive on to Tennessee on Friday. Please pray for Sharon as she finishes up her paper and for safety as we travel. Thank-you.
Tonight is our last night at the conference in Maryland. We are headed on to our next destination: Virginia. There we will be sharing at my brother Sam’s church on Sunday morning and spending time with Sam on his birthday. I am getting my presentation notes together for church and Sharon is still working on her linguistics paper.
We’ve been in Baltimore, Maryland for three days now and are having a great missions conference with a church here. Each night this week we are standing at a table in the back of the auditorium answering questions about our ministry and passing out materials we have made. The people we’ve met have wonderful questions and make us feel right at home here.
This is just the first stop on a very long route that will take us from Michigan to Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Arizona before we head back to Michigan for the winter. Please pray for safety in travel and for our meetings. We desire to be clear, helpful, and informative during this time and we always seek to be a blessing to those we visit. We will be posting pictures in the next few days of our time here.
If you haven’t heard by now then let me be the first to tell you: Sharon and I are now headed toward Thailand. We recently discovered that NTM will no longer be expanding the field of Cambodia under the current arrangement, leaving us with a tough decision: to pursue Cambodia with another mission or choose another field. After talking with our home churches, seeking wise council, and meeting with missionaries from Thailand we decided to begin pursuing ministry in Southeast Asia via Thailand.
Thailand is a natural choice for many reasons including its close proximity to Cambodia. Thai culture is similar in many ways to Cambodian culture and the minority people groups within the country are numerous.
It’s been great to see how the body of Christ has come around us to help us make this decision and support us during this time. Continue to pray for us as we sort through the implications of this change and seek to keep all of you up to date with the latest!
Here are some funny comics that have been in the past few editions of our local newspaper. Sharon’s mom cut them out for us, so I thought I’d post them for everyone to read.
Sharon sitting down to sort through mounds of Cherokee data.
As Sharon sits behind me she alternately scratches her head, bounces her knees, and bangs some phonetic writing out on the keyboard. Today is her first full day of work after four full days of packing, cleaning, traveling, visiting, and unpacking. Outside the orange leaves on the trees are almost gone and rain is in the forecast for the next three days. In the kitchen is a pot of hot coffee and under Sharon’s feet a small space heater breathes warmly on her feet. Ideal conditions.
Now if only the computer would work right, the data would fit together perfectly, someone would spoon food into her mouth, and the kitchen would clean itself. Then it would be perfect, but that’s probably asking too much isn’t it?
Please pray that Sharon will be able to focus on her studies and finish her analysis of the Cherokee language before we hit the road in a few days!
Have you seen the new sign at Michigan’s borders? We took this picture in front of it while we stopped for a much-needed break on our way back from Oklahoma. Maybe it’s a play on words with two meanings, one indicating that the state is very environmentally friendly and the other making it clear to all crossing the border that Michigan is not two states, but in fact is just one state (despite the fact that a lake separates its two main halves).
We are back in Michigan for a few days while Sharon works on her write-up of Cherokee. It will take a lot of concentration and effort on her part! While she is doing that I will be working on the house we’re living in with my dad and preparing for our next round of travels to Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Arizona.
This post is just to let you know that we are in the process of sorting out a major change in our ministry location. We will be posting more information here as it becomes available. We have been able to talk to some of you in person, and would be more than happy to give anyone a call that is interested in hearing more about these changes. This in no way affects our desire to head overseas next summer or our existing financial and prayer partnerships.
Right now we feel about like this fish being devoured by a shark but very soon we will be getting information out to you. If you’d like more information now please send us an email at ricandsharon@gmail.com and we will reply promptly.
Wow. It’s hard to believe what a whirlwind September has been for us. I can’t believe it’s October already honestly.
We started in Michigan, drove to Missouri for some meetings with our field leader and church there then proceeded to Tahlequah, Oklahoma where Sharon began studying Cherokee.
Since then I (Ric) have driven 3,823 miles through 8 states, bought 169 gallons of gasoline at 15 locations, and been on four flights. During my travels I have been representing New Tribes Mission, speaking at various churches, meeting with pastors and mission leaders, and building a fence (don’t ask). Sharon has spent countless hours gathering language data with her helper, putting it into the computer, and playing back the audio. We are both ready to be home for a few weeks before beginning our next round of partnership visits in November.
Below are some pictures of the famous people I’ve met during my travels:
Ric and Sharon Bruce 
This post is just to let you know that we are in the process of sorting out a major change in our ministry location. We will be posting more information here as it becomes available. We have been able to talk to some of you in person, and would be more than happy to give anyone a call that is interested in hearing more about these changes. This in no way affects our desire to head overseas next summer or our existing financial and prayer partnerships.