Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand Mail’s Here
Sharon opened our mailbox just now and made a new friend who jumped out, hissed at her and ran back into the safety of the mailbox. He’s a tokay, a common lizard here in Thailand that has startled us on more than one occasion. But this one stayed long enough to take his portrait. Here’s his mug shot:
Tokay Lizard in our mailbox.
Tags: eye, grip, lizard, orange dots, Sharon, shiny, skin, startle, tokay, you've got mail
May 2012 Newletter
This letter covers our March and April activities with prayer requests, updates and pictures. Thank-you for your support and prayers.
Tags: 2012, culture, Letter, may, northeast, plan, ric and sharon bruce, thailand pictures
Songkran 2012 Video
Our latest video shows some of the things we did with our Thai friends during this year’s traditional Thai New Year, Songkran.
Tags: 2012, Chiang Mai, Kuan Mae Ngat, Songkran, Thailand, Wat Pra Singh
Songkran Photo Essay
(c) ric bruce
Songkran is the traditional Northern Thai new year. It’s a time of the year for many things including splashing water on people, getting together with family and friends and doing various religious activities. Sharon and I went to the temple this year and were able to ask deeper questions about things like this pile of sand with flags sticking out of it. Our current line of questioning is not “why do you do that” but is more along the lines of “what does it mean?”; “what are the consequences?”; “who does it?”, etc. Our focus is on the activities and objects that we see around us rather than the motivations for the behavior.
Tags: aspect, photo essay, questions, religious, Songkran
When Religion is Everywhere Jesus Isn’t
Is Jesus just a religious idea? A philosophy? A good luck charm? Or is He a real person; a being who desires a relationship with mankind on a personal level? This question came up over and over on our trip to the Philippines. Though photos, images, amulets, posters, and statues of Jesus abounded we learned from the missionaries on the ground working in the Philippines that few people really know who Jesus is. It was certainly a shock going from Chiang Mai surrounded by the images of Buddhism to Manila surrounded by the images of Christianity… and on the other hand it wasn’t.
We met at least one family, however, for whom Jesus is more than an empty image. Kenneth Pablina and his family are obeying Jesus’ command to “go into all the world” and are trusting God to provide for their needs as they seek to serve Him in… Thailand! God is good. Kenneth and his family do not typically attend the church we attended on Palm Sunday in Manila but they were there this week. It was an incredible blessing to spend time getting to know his family and we are praying we will see them here in Chiang Mai soon.
Kenneth Pablina and I
Please join us in praying for the Pablina family and for fellow missionaries working in the Philippines. -Ric and Sharon
Tags: action, Jesus, Kenneth Pablina, missioanry, Philippines, Thailand, trip, who is Jesus
Trip to the Philippines
Sharon and I just returned yesterday from a short trip to the Philippines to visit friends from our home church working there. We were sent as representatives of Trinity Church to encourage David and Vanessa and to get a first-hand perspective of what their lives are like. It was an incredible trip for a number of reasons. The trip gave us a new perspective on Thailand as we visited another place and it gave us a new perspective on our lives and ministry as we observed other missionaries.
We met several Thai people while traveling. It was fun to listen in on Thai conversations then interrupt with a question relevant to what was being discussed. I remember one older lady particularly well. Her jaw dropped and worked around in a circle until she got her wits around her again and sputtered, “You’re smart!” When people are outside their usual environment surrounded by people who don’t speak their language they really enjoy talking to someone who can understand them so this lady unloaded on us… I could have written a book on culture just from our 20 minute conversation. Many things combined to give us a fresh perspective on things that are distinct to Thais and characteristics Thai people share with other Asian people groups. In our line of work, perspective is priceless.
Interacting with other missionaries in the Philippines helped us better understand our own ministry and lives. It turns out missionaries there are slogging through the ups and downs of language learning just like we are here. It was refreshing to share with them the things we’ve been working on and to hear from them what they’re doing and how things have gone for them. Personally, it made me much more excited to get back here to Thailand and get back to work.
Many people on Facebook were able to follow our trip. We’ll continue to get more pictures up so you can experience the trip with us. We’re thankful for God’s protection while traveling and for a new way to look at life and ministry.
Tags: culture, flag, flag of the Philippines, Ministry, perspective, Philippines, stories, travel, Trinity Church
Sunday Photo Essay 5
This photo still cracks me up months after it was taken. In December we spent a weekend with coworkers in the village they work in. Observing the local festivals and ceremonies was a lot of fun. We had a great time getting to know the people and seeing the personable relationships our coworkers had with the villagers. This camera is one prop for the parade. It’s just a fun prop that someone wore during the parade and shows the creativity and originality of the group.
Tags: ceremony, december, festival, group, original, parade, prop, relationship, village, weekend
Pope’s Story
Pray for Pope, one of our good friends
Pope has been my friend since the day I met him a year ago. When we first met he flung an arm around my waist, patted my stomach and told me I was fat. That’s true love. He’s always bursting with energy and bubbling with joy so I was shocked when I heard his life story last week. Here’s a rough translation from Thai:
“I grew up in Na Fon village, the youngest of my family. My parents were farmers. Dad only graduated third grade so Mom and Dad can’t read or write. Now Dad can read the Bible because God gave him the wisdom to do it. Mom still doesn’t read well. My family is Lawa and ever since I was a kid my parents planted rice.
I only graduated sixth grade. After sixth grade I became a monk to learn in another village but didn’t make it too far because I was already addicted to drugs. Everyone chased me out of the village because of my habits. I went home and things got worse. I huffed glue, gasoline, anything that would make me high. I drank. I overdosed a few times and had to go to rehab. I would see strange visions and felt like I had a fever all the time in rehab. After I got out of rehab I would go back home and get right back to it. I was crazy. I didn’t know what I was saying. I had problems and fights all the time. Sometimes people beat me up because when I drank I didn’t know myself.
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Sunday Photo Essay 4
Sharon and her friends jumped into Mork-Fa Falls just the way they came: blue jeans, makeup, necklaces, cell phones and all. Yes, poor Kay forgot to leave her cell phone on the bank before taking the plunge. Here’s a picture of her face before she realized her awful mistake:
Click the picture to see more photos from the falls.
Tags: Chiang Mai province, friends, Language, mork-fa waterfall, swim, Thai church
Dry Season Newsletter
Embedded below or on issuu.com you will find our latest newsletter. Thank-you for taking the time to read, share and respond.
Love, Madaline
We’ve gotten some incredible postcards, letters and emails from home but Madaline’s letter is one of our all-time favorites. Sharon visited Madaline and her third grade classmates a few weeks before we left for Thailand bringing along some hand-made artifacts from our first trip. Later, Madaline remembered a lot of the things Sharon talked about and showed off her computer skills in this excellent letter:
Madaline's Letter
Tags: elephants, grate trip, hugs, love, madaline, monkeys, pizza hut and walmart, third grade, tie
Photo Essay 3
Every morning our Pastor takes his two daughters to school on their Honda Dream “school bus”.
Tags: backpacks, helmet, Honda Dream, kids, school, Thailand
At Sunset
Sunsets are beautiful this time of year.
Every night just before sunset I can be found out walking with the uncles and aunties in our neighborhood. During this time I build relationships, learn about Thai customs, listen to stories about the way things used to be and experience life with the “villagers” (people in our neighborhood). Last night Uncle Somboon rattled off John 3:16 in perfect Thai. I stared at him with my mouth open. Without pausing for a breath he went on to say he’d gone to a Christian school when he was a kid but he never understood why he was forced to memorize verses all the time. Who, he wondered, was God? Why did he have to send his son to die? What good would believing that do?
Ultimately, Uncle Somboon concluded, all religions teach the same principles. They provide social controls, keep people in line and prevent chaos. Insights like those Uncle Somboon provides here can help us present the gospel more clearly. We need to start at the beginning and patiently teach through the foundational elements first, building on a firm foundation of truth before presenting a truth nugget like John 3:16. If we fail to do this the meaning will be lost and presenting an unclear gospel will reinforce misconceptions and cement preconceived ideas.
Tags: beautiful, gospel, John 3:16, principles, sunset, Thailand, uncle, walk
Portrait of a Tough Life
Today’s photo essay comes from a village near Mae Jaem, in the mountains past Doi Inthanon. Large portions of this Karen group have embraced the gospel whole-heartedly. Our Thai teacher often takes us on trips all over Northern Thailand to visit his friends and family or to attend weddings of people he knows.
Karen Woman
Tags: bamboo, glasses, head wrap, Karen, karen ska, picture, red karen, walking stick, watch, wedding, woman
Valentine’s Day in Thailand
There are a lot of advantages to living in Chiang Mai. One is you don’t have to think long in order come up with a great Valentine’s day surprise for the little lady. The tourist business provides a plethora of choices. Sharon explains our day yesterday in a series of pictures with captions on our Picasa web albums. Enjoy.
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| Valentine’s Day |
Tags: 2012, Chiang Mai, Dhara Dhevi, Mandarin Oriental, places, Sharon, Valentines Day
Sunday Photo Essay
This week’s photo essay was snapped as I at in the back of a tour van followed by the Google Streetview car doing rounds in Chiang Dao, Thailand. Many villagers wore open stares of surprise and curiosity as it passed by. Here’s my favorite shot:
Google streetview car in Chiang Dao, Thailand
Tags: car, Chiang Dao, Google, guide, shopping bags, streetview, Thailand, tour group, tourist, villager
Chiang Dao Trip
Last week we took a trip with our friend Pama to Chiang Dao, an area directly north of Chiang Mai. Pama had always wanted to see the long-neck Karen so we cancelled our language session for a day joined a tour group headed that way. It was a really weird feeling… being a tourist all over again. Below are few glimpses of our time. You can see all the pictures on our Picasa Web Albums.
Us and Pama
Our fearless guide
Tourist trap
Tags: attraction, Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao Cave, Karen, long neck Karen, orchids, people, Thai, tourist, tourist trap
What Makes Cultures so Different?
Sometimes we say words like “culture” but don’t take time to explain what it is that makes this job of adjusting to a new culture so hard. In this article I’ll briefly describe three major areas in which Thailand and the US would fall into different categories culturally and I’ll explain some practical outworkings of each distinction in our lives. As primary source material I’m using Human Communication, the Basic Course by Joseph Devito. It’s important to note neither category is superior or inferior to the other. Each represents a different way to approach communication and interpersonal relationships.
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Tags: ambiguity tolerance, American culture, collectivist, heavy, high context culture, individualist, low context culture, Thai culture, Thailand
Video for Kids
This is a video we made for kids from our home church. It’s meant to present our work in a simple, easy to understand way.
Tags: "missions programs", buddhism, Buddhist, kids, New Tribes Mission, ntm, ric and sharon bruce, ric bruce, Thailand
Trip Down South
This past weekend Sharon and I took a trip with some good friends of ours. The experience was basically this: we’d stop somewhere for five minutes, rush out of the car, furiously snap pictures and jump back in the tiny pickup truck to speed off at 100 miles an hour down the road. We left at 4:00 AM on a Friday, drove 7 hours to Ayutthaya, another couple hours to the heart of Bangkok, 3 hours to Pattaya and finally turned around 12 hours from our home here. The whole trip was 58 hours long. Embedded below (maybe) are a few of the pictures. Click here to see them on Picasa. There are dozens more on Facebook.
Tags: Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Pattaya, Pictures, Satahip, Thailand, vacation
