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)