I (John) have recently come back to Ukarumpa from Alotau where I spent two weeks checking the gospel of Luke for the Kaninuwa language. It was both a humbling and encouraging trip for me. Here’s why:

I, along with Joseph and Joyce Park (the Wycliffe advisors for the Kaninuwa translation), had an easy 2-hour flight to Alotau in a small plane and enjoyed seeing the beautiful mountains and coastline on the way. The five Kaninuwa speakers, however, had a 6-hour motor canoe trip in rough seas (they actually ran out of gas before they reached the mainland and had to paddle the last half hour!). Then one of them, Phocus, was feeling sick during the checking. He spent most of one day in bed but the next morning showed up and told me that he was really sorry he had missed some of the checking as he felt like he was letting down the team. He didn’t miss any more of the sessions even though I could tell he was still not feeling well! It was very humbling to me to see what the Kaninuwa were willing to go through for the sake of translating the Scriptures into their language.

Kaninuwa Team: (L to R): Jack, Rose, Phocus, Lynette, Lebi, Joyce, Joseph

Alotau, being on the coast, brought back memories of our years in Solomon Islands

My job as a translation consultant is to find places where there are either mistakes or the translation is not communicating clearly. It can be difficult for the translation team to be told many times during the check that they need to change things. However, Jack (photo below), the main translator, would thank me almost every time I pointed out something that needed changing! I was so encouraged by his desire to make the Kaninuwa translation accurate and meaningful.

Phocus and Lynette (photo below) are not part of the Kaninuwa translation team, but they came as helpers to answer my questions to see whether the translation was accurate and clear. After the check Joseph asked them to write down their thoughts about the time spent checking. Phocus said that he was thankful for the new insights he gained from the check and was looking forward to sharing what he learned with people in his village. Lynette said that she was thankful to learn more about how to dig into God’s Word to understand it and, “I understood God speaking to me in the Kaninuwa language.” Hearing those types of comments makes me very thankful I can be involved in this work!

Thanks for your prayers while I was away doing the consultant check. Brena managed fine at Ukarumpa, but because of a large surge in COVID cases (in all of PNG but especially in the highlands where we live) she wasn’t able to put on Cafes, Teas, or cut hair. Currently all the different departments here on the missionary center have to shut down every day at 2pm and we are only allowed to get together inside with one other family. It has made life more difficult and we would appreciate your prayers that the situation would improve so the restrictions can be eased soon.

I am scheduled to leave on Nov 5^th for another consultant check (also the gospel of Luke) for the Kope language. I plan to be gone until Nov 22^nd. We would appreciate your prayers that the check would go well and that we will stay healthy. Please pray for Brena too as she will again be staying here at Ukarumpa.

Thank you for your part in the work here through your prayers and gifts. We are so blessed and humbled by your partnership.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

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

TO GIVE ONLINE:

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

TO GIVE BY MAIL:

send gifts to: Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO 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)

Many people have asked us, “How was the wedding?” or “How was your time in the States?” So much happened that we thought it would be best to “describe” our stay in the U.S. in August and September through pictures. We also value your prayers for the items listed at the bottom of the update, especially for John’s consultant checking trip starting tomorrow.

Our first stop in August was Texas. We stayed five days and were able to see a few family members in that area like John’s brother Bill and wife (picture above), and my sister and her family (picture below).

From Texas we flew to Charleston, South Carolina, but because Joey had COVID we weren’t able to move in immediately with him and Luke. So we picked up a car and drove down to Florida to spend a few days with John’s parents. What a sweet time we had with them and with another one of John’s brothers, Brad.

After Florida we drove back up to Charleston and stayed with this hospitable, sweet couple the Huletts (prayer partners of ours and the caterers for Joey and Moriah’s wedding) for a few days before we moved in with Joey and Luke. We lived with the boys for three weeks during which time we shopped, made plans for the wedding rehearsal dinner, and shopped some more (sigh).

Although our time was busy, it was very special to hang out with Joey, Moriah, and Luke. It was also so nice to get to know Moriah better (since we’d only seen her briefly a couple of times before) and be able to attend her bridal shower! Here I am with Moriah and Moriah’s mom, Denise.

John, Joey, Moriah, Gabe (a friend of Joey) and I ran in a 5K while in Charleston. I love doing races when we’re back in America so that was one of the fun things we did on the trip.

The first week of September we drove up to see Grant and Sara in their new place of residence, Charlottesville, Virginia. Grant is working as a mechanical engineer at a commercial refrigeration company and Sara is in her first year of pharmaceutical residency at the University of Virginia Health System. What a special five days we had with them. They are very near Washington D.C. so we enjoyed sightseeing with them. Here’s our cute tour guides on the streets of DC.

We also saw Mt. Vernon and some sights in Fredericksburg.

On the way back to Charleston we stopped briefly in Waxhaw, North Carolina to see our good friends from Papua New Guinea, Brad and Toni Guderian. We were so happy to hear Toni’s colon cancer is in remission.

Then the wedding week began! What a busy week, but there were many sweet moments with so many friends and family. It was heartwarming to see “the boys” together again: (left to right: Luke, Grant, Icy, Jesse, Amaechi, Kairu, Stacy).

We hosted the rehearsal dinner in the gym of the church where Joey and Moriah were married. Since we couldn’t get in to set up and prepare until 3:00 p.m. it was a mad rush to get it all done, but we managed with the help of others. What a wonderful evening of celebrating what God has done in Joey and Moriah’s lives.

We shared an Airbnb with my immediate family. It was very special to be together with my sister, brother, and dad, a very rare occurrence.

We felt so blessed to have several sets of dear friends from around the country share the weekend with us like Robin and Lee Montgomery (left), Rick and Jolene Nachtigal (top right), and Keith and Karen Anderson (bottom right). *you can click on the tiny pictures to enlarge

and….The VERY Happy Couple!

Joey and Moriah spent their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic and are now settling into normal life in Charleston, South Carolina, where they intend to stay for a couple years before serving as missionaries wherever God leads them. Joey is working part-time and finishing up his degree. Moriah is working as an assistant to John’s brother, Dave, who is the missions pastor at East Cooper Baptist Church.

Here is a barely coherent John on the last leg of our 50+ hours of travel! We arrived back to Ukarumpa and to our home on Friday, Sept. 24. A friend had made sure it was clean and put some meals in our freezer so that we would have an easier time settling back in. It sure made a difference.

PRAISE & PRAYER:

• We thank God for how He answered prayer and met our needs so wonderfully during the entire time we were in America. Some examples: a car being loaned to us for the exact number of days we needed it, being able to get a quick and painless root canal done on the spur of the moment, finding an Airbnb so close to the church and the right size for our family, and a quick and easy wedding dress find for me.

• Pray for Joey and Moriah as they begin their new life together.

• Please pray for John’s consultant checking trip in Alotau PNG from Oct. 8-22. He will be checking the gospel of Luke for the Kaninuwa language. Pray that he and the translation team will remain healthy, have wisdom in knowing how to correct any errors and find ways to improve the translation, and that John would be able to come back when scheduled. Things are constantly changing in regard to COVID regulations. Please pray for me as I remain here in Ukarumpa. This will be the first time to be kid-less while John is away on a trip.

• Pray for contentment and remembering why we are here.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

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

TO GIVE ONLINE:

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

TO GIVE BY MAIL:

send gifts to: Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO 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)