Ric and Sharon Bruce On a journey with you to Thailand Our latest video shows some of the things we did with our Thai friends during this year’s traditional Thai New Year, Songkran.
Posts Tagged ‘Thailand’
Songkran 2012 Video
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, April 16th, 2012When Religion is Everywhere Jesus Isn’t
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, April 7th, 2012
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
Pope’s Story
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
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. (more…)
Photo Essay 3
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, February 26th, 2012Every morning our Pastor takes his two daughters to school on their Honda Dream “school bus”.
At Sunset
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
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.
Sunday Photo Essay
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, February 12th, 2012This 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
What Makes Cultures so Different?
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Friday, February 10th, 2012
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.
Individualist vs collectivist: Individualist cultures emphasize the achievements, responsibilities, goals and successes of the individual while collectivist cultures focus on the goals, cooperation and responsibility of the group. The US fits better in the “individualist” camp. Americans tend to focus more on individual goals and responsibilities, compete with others and emphasize personal success more than their collectivist culture counterparts (such as Thailand) would. Adjusting to group dynamics has been painful for a guy raised in an individualist culture. Here are a few practical ramifications of that working itself out in my life: (more…)
Video for Kids
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012This 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.
Trip Down South
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
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.
Rafting
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, January 7th, 2012Went to a lake a few hours away from Chiang Mai to do what our Christian friends here like to do best: eat, worship and pray. Here are the pictures:
Lighting a “Kom Fai” Lantern
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Sunday, November 27th, 2011November is one of our favorite months in Thailand for a few reasons: it’s beginning to get cooler at night, it’s almost Christmas and Loi Krathong. Loi Krathong is one of our favorite Thai holidays. People let hundreds of these lanterns float into the sky. Here’s a video of us adding to the chaos:
Flood Update
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011
The water has gone down in our area and is now wreaking havok in suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital city. This year’s floods are the worst in 50 years and there are a lot of people that have lost everything as a result of this slow moving disaster. Some incredible photos at
are worth viewing and as always visit www.bangkokpost.com for the latest updates.
Isaan Faces
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011This weekend Sharon and I took an incredible trip out to Northeast Thailand, an area we’d like to work in full time. This weekend we experienced a merit-making ceremony for the deceased which blew our minds. Here are my favorite pictures from this weekend:
See them all here:
Up Mountains
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Thursday, October 20th, 2011The mountains of Northern Thailand have fascinated us since we arrived. Here are a few shots from the top we took this month:
Clouds Over Thailand
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, October 10th, 2011
This year marks the worst flooding Thailand has experienced since 1942. Though our yard flooded for a few days we actually got off a lot easier than many people in Thailand who lost businesses, vehicles, homes, and even loved ones. Please pray for Thailand and for the ongoing flooding in Bangkok and the surrounding areas and check www.bangkokpost.com for more details. We are praying this will be an opportunity for God’s church in Thailand to rise to the occasion and make a real difference in people’s lives. Through this difficult time we hope to continue deepening our existing friendships and model lives of faith.
One Year in Thailand
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Today is the first anniversary of our adventure in Thailand. That doesn’t mean we did anything great… we’re pretty sure anyone could live in this beautiful country for a year. This first year is really YOUR victory and something you can be proud of. Without your continued prayers, interest and support this journey would be impossible. One year sounds like a long time but it’s barely scratching the surface of the time we’re committed to spend reaching people groups in Southeast Asia with the gospel.
It’s Raining It’s Pouring
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, September 26th, 2011Thailand has already gotten enough rain this year as far as everyone we know is concerned. It should be lightening up this time of year getting ready for the “cold season” but so far there have been few signs of improvement. We make the best of it on our motorcycle. Just have to watch out for the big puddles and make sure you stay visible. Here’s a picture from our lives tonight:
Under all that plastic is a big computer bag, a purse and a package from the US.
Crazy Days
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Saturday, August 27th, 2011Sharon and I are breathing a sigh of relief this week as our second set of intensive language evaluations drew to a close yesterday. Virtually all we’ve done for the past two weeks since Sharon’s family left was prepare for the evaluation by doubling our language sessions, spending hours reviewing and answering in-depth culture questions that our consultant reviewed before our language check.
It’s good news. We’re both on track to achieve our goal of reaching a “highly capable” language level by the end of our second year of study (a year from now). We feel grateful to our consultant for conducting a thorough check and spending days processing the raw data we’ve provided her into a set of recommendations to help streamline our study time. I can’t imagine doing this alone.
You can help by praying for us as we study this difficult language and learn more about this complex culture. (more…)
Thailand Field Conference 2011
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, July 25th, 2011
Got my conference face on. Has a camera in it.
We spent last week with some of our favorite people: our co-workers. Since many of them work in remote parts of Southeast Asia we don’t get to see them often. The six days flew by chock full of reports from the various teams, workshops and meetings with our leaders and fun times of fellowship and encouragement with fellow workers.
Below I’ve embedded several pictures of Sharon and I taken during the past week but believe it or not we weren’t the only ones there. You can see the rest of the people by visiting our Picasa web albums (also available on our new Google+ account).
Field Conference and Workshop
Posted by Ric and Sharon on Monday, July 18th, 2011
This week is one of refreshment, encouragement and strategic planning with other members of our organization serving in this region. We’re thankful for this time, these friends and the clarity the first few days have given us so far. This marks the first week since our arrival that we’ve taken done virtually no language and culture study. Instead our days consist of hearing ministry reports from our various tribal teams, business meetings, praying for Thailand and encouraging our fellow workers. Pray this week will be profitable, encouraging, fun and safe. Thanks!
