Posts Tagged ‘ric and sharon’

April Newsletter!

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

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:

 

March 2013 Newsletter

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013

Sharon picked the color scheme on this one. :) Let us know what you think in the comments below. If you need to download it grab it in our dropbox here. You can see it on Issuu.com, in our library here.

Team Meetings

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, February 8th, 2013

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.

November Newsletter

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, November 2nd, 2012

Hey, take a few seconds to check out our very latest newsletter. It’s short, sweet and to the point with plenty of pictures. It has some succinct statements about why we live in Thailand and what we’ve been doing since we got back. Thanks for taking time to read it! If you’d like to download the actual file you can grab it in our dropbox here.

On the Home Front

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, July 1st, 2012

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:

June 2012 Newsletter

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012

This is our latest and greatest newsletter with lots of helpful information. If you don’t see it embedded below click this link to go directly there.

 

Rigors of Missionary Life

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, May 16th, 2011
Start of the Casiquiare - Martin Mykiska

Start of the Casiquiare - by Martin Mykiska

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…)

Why We Live in Thailand

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, April 18th, 2011
Ric and Sharon Bruce

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…)

Results of Our First Language Evaluation

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, April 16th, 2011

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…)

Pictures from Everyday Life

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, February 27th, 2011

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

Great portrait of a street vendor

Headed to a wedding.

Headed to a wedding.

Wedding. Love this picture.

Wedding. Love this picture.

Having fun.

Having fun.

Raw Larb meat salad.

Raw Larb meat salad.

Old tribal woman

Old tribal woman

Can you see the lizards in the tree?

Can you find the lizards in the tree?

Heading home.

Heading home.

Check out all our pictures at Picasa.

Video Trailer of Thailand

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, January 24th, 2011

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.

Our Recent Adventures

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

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

Beautiful waterfalls

Pictures of our church

Pictures of our church

Funny situations... like dogs that think leaves are money.

Funny situations... like dogs that think leaves are money.

Beautiful flowers... from Sharon's camera.

Beautiful flowers... from Sharon's camera.

Evil looking cats.

Evil looking cats.

Delicious food.

Delicious food.

Did we mention waterfalls?

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, 2010

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.

A Description of Our Ministry

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, May 8th, 2010

Sharon put together a short description of our ministry. It will help you understand what is going on in Thailand, how we will fit into that work and how you can be a part of what we’re doing.

Instead of “filling out the partnership card” consider contacting us to learn more about our ministry.

February Newsletter

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Here is our latest newsletter featuring highlights from our recent trip to Thailand. For the best viewing experience I recommend you click the “fullscreen” button that appears when your mouse hovers over the publication.

Last Day in the Village

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, January 29th, 2010

These photos were taken during a tour of a village in Thailand.

Visiting the Village

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

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:

Headed North!

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Thursday, December 10th, 2009

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.

Suzie’s Eleventh Birthday

Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, July 24th, 2009

With Suzie on her birthday

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.
                               

Blowing out the candles 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.