Furlough: In three days we leave for our year of Home Assignment (Furlough). For every year we spend overseas, Wycliffe allows us three months in the U.S., so after this four year term in PNG, we are allowed one year home. That year is divided into vacation, partnership development, reconnecting with family, friends, and supporters, and home service (John will be continuing his work and making trips). This is our 5th time to transition home for Furlough, and although there are some really great things about settling back into our “home” country, there is always some stress that goes with it. Please pray for us as we make this move. **Make note of our new address below.

Getting Ready: Thanks for praying for us as we’ve journeyed through these last busy months here. It’s gone really well overall (despite some illness). Besides finishing up our jobs, we helped other parents put on a Junior/Senior Banquet, watched Luke graduate from high school (and all his other last high school events), and prepared our house for renters. We are now finishing up the last cleaning and packing and saying our good-byes.

Luke was the Beta House Captain this past year. He planned pep rallies and led team Beta on Sports Day. A fun day!

Banquet….where the whole community comes out to watch the arrivals.

Every Banquet the parents put on a silly play for the kids, highlighting the seniors and all of their quirks and inside jokes over the years. Can you find John and me? :) John played Luke at his 20 year reunion and I played Ella Doron, Luke’s classmate.

From finishing home school Kindergarten in the Solomon Islands to….

…graduating from Ukarumpa International School, we are proud of Luke for all of his hard work. And we are very thankful for this strong academic and godly school, out in the middle of nowhere, that has enabled us to continue working overseas with Bible Translation.

This is a difficult time for the seniors as they scatter across the globe, leaving PNG and their PNG friends behind. Pray for all of them! Two of Luke’s best buddies since 4th grade, Brian and Billy, will stay in PNG while Luke heads back to America. Thankful that God is with them, loves them, and will help them.

What’s Next?: We are picking up Luke’s good friend, Joel, in Australia and then spending a week in Hawaii before we hit the ground running. We will spend three and a half weeks in California and Texas, seeing supporters, friends and family. Then we will arrive at our final destination, Charleston, South Carolina, on July 31st where we’ll be living in a missionary house owned by the church where John’s brother Dave is a pastor. Luke (who’s going to work for a year before starting college) and Joey will be living with us, and we’re looking forward to having Grant and Sara nearby as well! What a gift to be near all our kids this coming year!

Open Houses: Hopefully by now you’ve all received our letter regarding the Open Houses we’ll be having this summer in Southern California and Texas. If you don’t live in those areas, hopefully we’ll get to see many of you at another point this coming year. Click on this link (We’ll See You Soon!) for a reminder of the Open Houses and how to RSVP.

We feel privileged and thankful for the chance to serve here in PNG and Solomon Islands these past four years (and more!). Thank you for all you have done to make it possible.

PLEASE PRAY:

• Praise God for helping us through these busy months here.
• My (Brena) legs are still occasionally going to sleep when I lay on my side, but I will have to wait until we get back to the States to get an MRI. Thanks for continuing to pray for me!
• Please pray for Luke as he adjusts to a new life in America, one very different from his 18 years as a missionary kid overseas.
• After Joey’s trip to India he feels strongly that God wants him to serve in missions. Pray for him as he seeks to find how he will serve and what he needs to do to prepare.
• Pray for John and me as we transition back to a very different life as well. A lot of unknowns are ahead, but we are trusting in a God who’s always been faithful in the past.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

**(As of July 31) 4 Fenwick Dr., Charleston, SC 29407

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