Our April newsletter is full of good stuff: updates about our house, our upcoming move and what it feels like to be done studying Central Thai. Catch it all at Issuu by clicking here or see it embedded on our website:
Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand
This week we were able to meet twice with our co-workers Mike and Sandy to talk more in depth about some of the important issues we will face as a team in the coming months and years. We’re excited to work with them more and more as we continue to hammer out team formation questions like, “What will teaching the people to read and write their own language look like?” Or, “How often do we want to meet as a team?”, “What will we talk about during these meetings?”, and “How accountable will we be to one another?” These issues can be hard for a new team, particularly when one couple has a head start of a few years in language and culture study.
We’re so thankful that Mike and Sandy have been patient with us as we ask a lot of questions and still know very, very little about what we’re getting ourselves into. We still have a long ways to go in hammering out some of these issues so that we’re all on the same page. In addition to some Skype meetings before we move to the village in a couple months we’re anticipating that we will continue to work through these questions as we begin to work together in a very, very small village in Northeast Thailand.
We’ve had some incredible experiences in just two short weeks back here in the states. It’s been a wild ride! Our days are packed with things like meetings, family gatherings and time with our friends and supporters. That’s you! If we haven’t gotten something on the calendar yet… let’s make it happen! Here are some shot of the past two weeks:
There are a bunch more on Picasa:
Incredible worldwide advances in technology have reversed many of the rigors of missionary life. By and large missionaries no longer have to raise their own food on farms, spend weeks hacking through dense jungles looking for unreached people groups or hike for days to get into a village. So what are the rigors of modern missionary life?
Seven months ago we embarked on the most ambitious adventure of our married life. But just like every adventure we’ve been on including Alaskan salmon fishing and hiking the Appalachian Trail the adventure sometimes doesn’t feel exciting while you’re going through it. Our biggest challenge is this: there is no end in sight to the work here. (more…)

Ric and Sharon Bruce
Recently someone on Facebook asked us, “I’m sure that you have written about it, but what is your ministry over in Thailand?” Her question made me realize we probably don’t reiterate this important point often enough. Or at the very least we can’t say it too many times. Here’s the scoop:
We left the United States six months ago to plant churches in Thailand with New Tribes Mission. Before leaving we dedicated five years of our lives to training with New Tribes, preparing our hearts and sharing our vision all over the US. Currently we live in Chiang Mai learning Thailand’s national language and and adjusting to its unique culture. Our plan is to (more…)
The 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…)
It’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.
This 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.
In 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.
Embedded 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.
These photos were taken during a tour of a village in Thailand.
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:
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.
I can’t believe that Suzie is eleven years old already. When she was born in 1998 she changed our family’s life for the better in more ways than one. Now she’s talking like crazy and has such a little personality. It’s great to see her grow up.
Suzie was looking pretty nervous toward the end of the day. She got up from her chair and began clicking her heals on the floor just as we finished eating our cake. When my dad asked her what was wrong she responded, "PRESENTS!"
See pictures from Suzie’s birthday here.