Our dear sweet 28 year old niece, Libby (Bruner) Davis, died a few days ago in Texas. It is so unbelievable and so tragic. We had the privilege of knowing Libby when she was a little girl in the Solomons (our families worked together) and then as we were home on furloughs we would spend time together. We even just saw her at Grant and Sara’s wedding.

When Libby pops into your mind you immediately think of her infectious laugh, her smile, her interest in you, her love, her fun. As a college student she flew to the Solomons so that she could be with us and celebrate with us at the Bughotu NT dedication in our village. That’s the kind of girl she was. To think that she will no longer light up family gatherings and be a friend, daughter, sister, wife, and mom to those around her is unimaginable. But we have hope that because she was a believer in Jesus, we will see her someday. That is such a comfort.

Please pray for her husband, Kevin, and little girl, Michelle, as they carry on without her. Pray for her parents, Andy and Kay. I can’t even imagine losing a child. And pray for her siblings Matt (and wife, Amy), Michael and Jacob. She was their wonderful big sister. Their family will never be the same.

John has been in the Solomon Islands this past week doing checking when we heard the news. After much discussion we decided that it would be good for John to fly back for the memorial service, so that he can be there with his family. He will be leaving straight from Honiara tomorrow and arriving back here to PNG on Friday, Aug. 3. It’s hard to not be going with him.

Libby, at our dedication, already making a friend

Kevin, Libby, and Michelle

TO BE IN TOUCH:

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

Grant and Sara Bruner, 700 Daniel Ellis Dr., Apt 10105, Charleston, SC 29412 – grantbruner27@gmail.com & sarabruner14@gmail.com

Joey Bruner, c/o Dave & Ceil Bruner, 206 Forest Trail, Isle of Palms, SC 29451 – joeydbruner@gmail.com

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)

After we returned from our whirlwind trip to the States for Grant and Sara’s wedding, life didn’t slow down for several weeks. We are just now catching our breath! Here’s what’s been happening:

Sports Day:  Every year in May the high school has a Sports Day. We enjoyed watching Luke compete in the Pentathlon and do really well! He’s also been spending most of his spare time riding motorbikes and working to make an old motocross track ride-able again.

Can you find the motorbike??

Banquet: Every year the parents of the high school juniors and seniors put on a “banquet” for the kids. It’s kind of like the American prom, but it’s centered around a theme. The Teen Center is decorated, games and booths are planned, food is made, etc., etc. It’s a big deal and takes months of planning and work to pull it off. John and I (Brena) helped the week before the banquet and I was responsible for overseeing the preparation of the main meal. The theme was Vikings this year. Luke went with a few of his good friends and enjoyed his time.

The Class of 2019

My wonderful Food Committee

Some of the ‘Viking’ desserts

Graduation Reception: The 11^th grade parents put on a reception every year for the graduating seniors, their parents, and invited friends. Around 150 people attend. I volunteered to oversee it and it happened the night Grant and Sara arrived! Whew! I’m glad it’s over!

That’s a lot of food the parents made!

Grant and Sara’s Visit:  We spent  six wonderful days with the newlyweds. Grant enjoyed showing Sara the place he spent his high school years, and we enjoyed interacting with the two of them and getting to know Sara better. What a perfect pair they are! We played some volleyball, cards in the evening, the guys went on some motorbike rides, and we all drove to the nearest town, Kainantu. We’re so glad they came!

At the local pottery shop in Kainantua

Motorbike riding — the thing Grant misses the most about PNG

Go Team Bruner!!

Spending time with Kairu’s parents and niece

Our 25^th Wedding Anniversary: We are thankful that God has blessed us with 25 years of marriage! There have been ups and downs, but we’re grateful that through it all we have a stronger marriage and wish for many more years! To celebrate, we drove to a city about two hours away that has a reasonably nice hotel and stayed three nights. It was great to get away and relax, especially after all the busyness of the last couple of months.

1993

2018

Greek Refresher Course & Trip to Solomon Islands: John participated in a week long “Greek Refresher” course with a handful of other colleagues. It was a great review for him and will be a help in his translation work. Now he’s preparing for a consultant check of Romans for a language group in the Solomons. He’ll be spending a couple of weeks there in mid-July.

Can you guess what their signs say? :)

THANKS & PRAYER

• We’re so thankful for strength and the completion of so many activities in the past couple of months, time with Grant and Sara, and celebrating 25 years of marriage. We’re thankful too that life is not so busy now!
• Pray for John’s time in the Solomons and for me and Luke as we stay here in Ukarumpa. Pray for good physical and mental health for all of us (I always struggle a bit more with OCD when he’s gone).
• Please pray for Luke as he enters his senior year of high school in a couple of weeks and starts thinking more seriously about what to do after graduation.
• Pray for Joey as he also is making decisions about his future with work and/or school.
• Continue to pray for Grant and Sara as they are starting their new life together. Pray that Grant will get an engineering job soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read and pray. We appreciate you!!

TO BE IN TOUCH:

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

Grant and Sara Bruner, 700 Daniel Ellis Dr., Apt 10105, Charleston, SC 29412 – grantbruner27@gmail.com & sarabruner14@gmail.com

Joey Bruner, c/o Dave & Ceil Bruner, 206 Forest Trail, Isle of Palms, SC 29451 – joeydbruner@gmail.com

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)