Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand We had a great time of fellowship, worship, prayer and encouragement with our Thai church this weekend. It made our first Easter in Thailand and away from family much easier. The best part was this weekend showed us that all our hard work is paying off as people around us began to notice our language ability growing. We’re slowly getting out of that awkward first stage of language learning where you’re no fun to be around because you don’t speak the language but you need to speak the language so you can get better. Below are some pictures but be sure to check out the YouTube video too. Enjoy.
Posts Tagged ‘bruce’
Results of Our First Language Evaluation
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, April 16th, 2011The results of our first three months of language study in Thailand were very positive and encouraging according to an email we received this week from our leadership. The email contained a few suggestions for fine-tuning our method and a general summary of what we’ve been doing since we arrived. This report represents the culmination of several meetings we’ve had with leadership and it’s an attempt to gauge our proficiency in the Thai language and culture – a tall order! So the results…. drum roll please… (more…)
City-Wide Waterfight Video!
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Lots of things make Chiang Mai famous: stunning temples, the zoo, jungle adventures, etc. Beyond that, however, the thing Chiang Mai may be best known for is its annual water fight during Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year. It’s insane. Today we walked for five hours around the city’s moat throwing an empty bucket into the moat, hauling it up by a rope and dumping the contents (trash, muck, scum and leaves among other things) on people as we walked. Check out our short video (more…)
Climbing a Mountain
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, March 19th, 2011We’ve created a new video showing you more of the activities that take place at the local temples. To get this footage we had to drive up Doi Suthep, a mountain near Chiang Mai and then climb hundreds of steps to the temple. The earlier you get up there there better so we left at 7:00 AM. See it at our website or on youtube.
Pictures from Everyday Life
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, February 27th, 2011It’s not often you get to see everyday life while living as a guest in another country so we feel privileged to share these pictures which were taken by our friends (on one of our cameras). They’ve generously agreed to allow us to post them here so please enjoy them and if you’d like to see more pop over to our Picasa Web Albums to see them all (you can also zoom in on these ones).
Great portrait of a street vendor
Headed to a wedding.
Wedding. Love this picture.
Having fun.
Raw Larb meat salad.
Old tribal woman
Can you find the lizards in the tree?
Heading home.
Check out all our pictures at Picasa.
Video Trailer of Thailand
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, January 24th, 2011This video trailer of our first three months in Thailand has a bunch of really random things in it… a trip up a mountain, waterfalls, and a silk factory. Click the video below or watch it on Youtube if you don’t see it here.
Our Recent Adventures
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011In the past months we’ve taken thousands of pictures but honestly we just don’t have time to post them all. On our website you’ll find some scrolling picture slideshows or you can check them all out at our picasa web albums. Here are some samples of what you’ll find in the albums:
Beautiful waterfalls
Pictures of our church
Funny situations... like dogs that think leaves are money.
Beautiful flowers... from Sharon's camera.
Evil looking cats.
Delicious food.
Did we mention waterfalls?
Be sure to check out all our pictures at Picasa.
If you want more up-to-date pictures check out our mobile albums on Facebook.
Putting up the Christmas Tree
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, December 11th, 2010Embedded on our website and at our Picasa web albums you’ll find pictures of our Christmas tree going up. This year we’re excited to see what will happen as we begin new traditions in a much different Christmas environment! Today as we were putting the tree up we were sweating. But the Christmas music and the beautiful tree helped us forget that and have a lot of fun.
Thanksgiving at Duke’s
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, November 28th, 2010We’ve spent the last two Thanksgiving days in Arizona with Ric’s grandparents. This year we knew we’d be on our own and we expected to eat burgers instead of turkey with our friends Kevin and Emily. If we couldn’t have turkey we’d at least enjoy American food.
At least that’s what we thought. When we walked into the burger joint Thanksgiving night we were told by the owner they were only serving Thanksgiving dinner. He asked if we’d made reservations. We said no. Fortunately just as we came a table cleared and the owner was able to seat us for the all you can eat turkey and ham dinner. Amazing.
The Duke's Chiang Mai Thanksgiving Menu
Hungry.
Turkey smothered in gravy
Stuffing, Green been casserole and mashed potatoes
Pumpkin pie finish
Physical Therapy: Day One
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, November 8th, 2010I had no idea what to expect from physical therapy but I’m pretty proud of what I did on the first day. After keeping my knee completely straight for 3 weeks I:
- Used a traction machine to bend my knee 110 degrees – ouch.
- Did 30 squats using a railing as a brace – exhausting.
- Walked up and down a ramp while bending my knee – forgot how to walk.
- Biked for 17 minutes – sweaty.
I can now begin bending it, putting some weight on it and pretty much using it like I normally would. I still use the crutches to keep my balance and to help with the weight. I still wear the brace but now it will allow me to bend the knee to 90 degrees. Enjoy these pictures:
Knee Update
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, October 31st, 2010The biggest update on my knee is that tomorrow evening I will see the doctor for the first time since surgery. It feels fine although the regular post-surgical nuisances apply: atrophy of the muscles in my leg, bruising, soreness, numbness, etc. I am anticipating the doctor will remove my stitches tomorrow and get me on a therapy regimen at the hospital where the operation took place. We will update again with more details tomorrow night. In the meantime if you enjoy pictures of gross, atrophied knees or are curious about how it looks check out the pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ricandsharon/ChangingTheBandages#
The Hospital in Pictures
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, October 20th, 2010We’re out of the hospital! It was an amazing experience really… but we’re glad it’s over. Here are some pictures of our experiences. Enjoy.
Us
Waiting for surgery
View from our hospital room
Our language helper visiting.
What the Dr. did.
Up close and personal.
Breakfast.
Vonage
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, September 25th, 2010
What is this mess of wires? Well, that’s our new home phone from Vonage! Some of you may have heard of this service and some haven’t.
It’s great: Free calls. To Thailand. To us. From you. OR Free calls. From Thailand. From us. To you.
It will be a great way to keep in touch, share our lives and keep you involved. The best part: It will be Ric’s cell phone number. Just keep it in your cell phone or address book and call us when you get the urge to hear our voices. Keep in mind that Thailand is exactly 12 hours from Eastern Standard time most of the year and that we won’t be answering during the middle of the night. Leave us a voice mail anytime, however, and we’ll be happy to call you back.
If you need our number send us an email at ricandsharon@gmail.com
Ric’s New Look
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, August 15th, 2010Well, Ric’s joined the club… the four eyes club. He’s always been on the edge but finally took the plunge last week after an eye exam. The doctor took him outside in his prescription and Ric was sold. Since he’s been wearing them his headaches have disappeared and he doesn’t need to strain to see distant things. Thought you’d enjoy a picture of him with his new equipment. 
-Sharon
Heart of a Spartan
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010Sharon ran a race today. If you’d like to see pictures and her finish time head on over to our Picasa Web Albums.
Florida and Ohio
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, February 27th, 2010This weekend Sharon decided to take a trip to Ohio with a close friend and leave me in Michigan. Here is what I could have been doing while she was gone:
Throwing snow
Deciding some urgent business in Florida couldn’t wait I opted instead to book a last-minute flight to stay with a friend and his family in central Florida. I have several objectives here in Florida. New Tribes Mission is headquartered in Sanford, Florida so I will be meeting with key leaders and friends there and networking with key individuals. I would like to get some good photos while I’m here and I’m meeting with members of our partnership team. Here is a sample of some of my photography so far:’
DONE, DONE, DONE
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, November 9th, 2009
Sharon is done with her paper!
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.
Norfolk, Virginia
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, November 8th, 2009We 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.
