Christmas 2016

/ john & brena

xmas16

Merry Christmas from PNG!

We had a quiet and low-key Christmas day here, just the 3 of us. It was a nice reprieve from the busyness of the past two weeks as we have been getting our new house ready to move into (cleaning and painting). This week we will move our stuff over and then clean the house we’ve been renting, in preparation for another family to move into on January 3rd. Moving doesn’t get easier as you get older, and to be honest, these last couple weeks have not been easy. We could use your prayers for the coming week and then the month of settling into our new place.

In spite of the difficulties, we have MUCH to be thankful for this Christmas:

  • A God who loves us unconditionally, has taken away our sins, and gives us the hope of eternal life with Him someday,
  • Good health and the ability to keep working overseas, doing work we enjoy,
  • Grant and Joey doing well in America and enjoying the holidays with family and friends
  • The Fataleka NT being typeset and soon to go to the printers,
  • Wonderful friends here in PNG,
  • And our very own house!!!

Thanks for being a part of our 2016 year through your friendship, prayers, financial gifts, and letters. We appreciate you.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea – john_bruner@sil.org

Grant Bruner, PO Box 2159, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, AR 72761 – brunerg@jbu.edu

Joey Bruner, ETBU Box 6-331, One Marshall Drive, Marshall, TX 75670 – joseph_bruner@etbu.edu

TO GIVE ONLINE:

https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/Bruners

TO GIVE BY MAIL:

send gifts to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862

(The check should be made payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators – include a note that says it is for the ministry of John and Brena Bruner)

11 thoughts on “Christmas 2016”

  1. Greetings to all of you in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ !

    I am so blessed to see you be able to move into your own home there in PNG!

    I will certainly be praying that your move into your own home will prove to be a wonderfully encouraging time for each one of you. And I will pray for you to be able to do whatever the work necessary to leave your rent home in good order.
    We are grateful to see God’s blessings on your ministry as you look forward to the production of this new Bible translation and it’s distribution to those dear folks who will for the first time be able to read God’s Word in there own language!
    We love being able to pray ALL of your family!
    Keep looking UP! And rejoicing in Him!
    Taylor

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  2. John & Brena, Wonderful to get you greeting and news. A very Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you from South Africa where we are celebrating the holiday with our daughter and family including our newest grandson, Khotso, born Nov. 3. Love, Hutch

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  3. John and Brena,

    Having just moved recently, Anita and I can relate to the hassles of moving. And, my guess is, you have moved much more often than we. I am thrilled to know that this move is into a home that you own. May it be a loooong time before you have to move again. May God give you the resilience and strength to complete the cleaning and moving tasks … and to overcome any other obstacles you face.

    Blessings and Happy New Year to you,

    Doug Haag

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  4. John and Brena,

    Thanks for you new blog. Great photo of you three. We will pray for you as you make the transition. A quiet Christmas, at times, is welcomed. I wished we could be there to help you with the new house. It would be fun. Christmas here was good. It came in stages. Christmas Eve B/B invited Jane and I over to a quick dinner and then we opened gifts that we had for each other. Then on Sunday, Christmas, Jane and I stayed home from church to prepare dinner for the Donley’s which included Steve, Bradley and family, and Rod and Marilyn. We had thirteen around our table. I went to Home Depot and bought a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood to put on our table because so 13 would fit. Even then it was tight. Jane did the works: turkey, mashed potatoes, three pies and on and on it went. The Wilsons and Becky brought salads and rolls. It was excellent. Prior to the dinner and the arrival of the Wilsons and B/B, we exchanged presents with the Donley’s. That exchange went on for about an hour. After dinner there was some chit chat, a group photo and B/B and the Wilsons left. The Wilsons like to drive home in the daylight because of Rod’s eyes.

    Then we had our third opening of presents, this was the stockings that hung over our fireplace. So all in all we had three Christmas.

    I can assure you, we were beat when it was all over. A good beat. We’ll send some photos today so you can taste of our experience.

    We love you and missed having you.

    Dad

    >

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  5. J/B…Your comments about “as you get older” are clearly understood from this household. You two are so youthful that it is easy to forget that it happens to all of us. The move, completing the publishing of the NT, keeping up with those handsome sons…good time in life to read 1 Corinthians 15:58 once a day. I’m advising myself as well with these remarks. Thanks for the always relevant prayer letters that continually inform and motivate to pray.
    God gave us His very best in Bethlehem…May you continue to know His very best in 2017.
    Paul Sailhamer

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  6. We hear you… we moved into our home forty years ago saying we will try and not move again, fortunately we have not had to. When we do make another move it will require much work and plenty of preparation.

    Thanks for the picture.

    Happy New Year!

    Our blessing to all,

    Love,

    John

    ________________________________

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  8. So excited for you to be moving into your very own house! Will pray for the stress of moving, cleaning settling.

    Thank you for the calendar! It will remind me to keep praying.

    So glad your two oldest seem to be doing well in the US. It can be quite an adjustment.

    Christmas blessings,

    Lynn

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