Brena and I (John) are continuing to adjust to life in the U.S., and so far we haven’t found it as stressful as we had imagined it would be. We are so thankful for how God has helped us in many ways, and we greatly appreciate your prayers on our behalf. Brena is still exploring different possibilities for what she will do with her time, so we would appreciate your continued prayer for her.

Saisai

Lately I have been busy preparing for two consultant checks. One of those is a “correspondence” check for the book of Acts in the Saisai language of Papua New Guinea. For a correspondence check, I prepare like I normally would for any check, but instead of traveling to do the check myself, someone else meets with members of the translation team and some speakers of the language to read the translation and ask the questions that I have prepared. Then they report back to me what the responses were, and I will determine if any changes need to be made. For the Saisai check, I’m not expecting many changes will need to be made as I can tell the team is doing very good work!

Seqa

The other consultant check is for the book of Numbers for the Seqa language. For that check, I will travel to Solomon Islands on September 18^th to do the check in person. The Seqa team took part in the Translations Principles workshop I helped teach in April, so it will be good to see how they are applying what they learned and help them in areas in which they are struggling.

The Seqa translation team (from L to R): Fred Lala, Simeon Mela and Daniel Dalimutu

Solomon

Part of my job is to manage interns who are funded by Seed Company to train for roles in Bible Translation. One of those interns is Solomon Wara, an Are’are speaker (Solomon Islands) who is training to be a translation consultant. He is entering his third year of an M.A. program in Linguistics in Thailand, and I was encouraged by what he wrote in a recent report: “The entire MA Theory program at Payap University is truly an opportunity of a lifetime, one that I continually praise God for. As I reflect on this journey, I recognize that it has not been easy. It has been marked by challenges, moments of confusion, and periods of deep personal and academic growth. Yet, in all of it, it has also been one of the richest learning experiences I could have ever hoped or prayed for. As I continue in this journey, I do so with a grateful heart, grateful for the growth, the relationships, the knowledge, and the transformation that God is working in me not only as a student but as a servant of His kingdom.” Reading Solomon’s report made me thankful for the privilege I have to work with people like Solomon who are committed to serving God and their language communities!

Solomon Wara (left) with his family in Thailand

Visits and Visitors

In late July, I had work meetings in Colorado, so afterwards Brena traveled there to meet me and we were able to visit a few friends and a supporting church. It was great to connect with people we hadn’t seen in a quite a while. We’ve also had a number of people visit us in Texas and it’s been fun to show them our new home.

Dinner with the pastor and missions coordinator of our supporting church in Colorado

We enjoyed a day at beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park with some friends.

Brena’s dad and stepmom visited Texas in August and we enjoyed time with them and other family members.

Our son Joey and his wife Moriah stayed with us for a week in June when they traveled through Texas.

PRAISE:

• for his gracious help as we continue to adjust to life in the U.S. and his provision for all that we have needed.
• for interns like Solomon Wara who feel called to serve God in Bible Translation.
• for good connections with friends and supporters during our time in Colorado.

PRAY:

• that I will have a productive trip to Solomon Islands working with the Seqa translation team from Sept 18-Oct 4.
• that God will direct Brena in finding a suitable ministry opportunity.
• that God will raise up more people like Solomon Wara who want to help their own language communities have access to the Scriptures.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

John: john_bruner@wycliffe.org (personal); john_bruner@tsco.org (work)

Brena: brena_bruner@wycliffe.org

903 Pontiac Ct., Arlington TX 76013

WEB ADDRESS FOR PARTNERSHIP:

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

MAILING ADDRESS FOR PARTNERSHIP:

Send gifts to: Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862-8200 (The check should be made payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators and include a note that says “preference for the ministry of John and Brena Bruner”.)