Hello from PNG! Please click on the link below to read our latest newsletter. Some of it may be familiar if you have been reading our updates, but there are also some new things. 4 pages, a lot of pictures. And please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thanks!
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John is Back!
John is back from his three week trip to the States! Thanks for your prayers for his time there. This is how God answered prayer and what was accomplished…
- He attended three days of Seed Co. meetings discussing work in the Pacific.
- He was able to spend some time with two of his brothers and their wives, my (Brena) sister and brother-in-law, two nieces, and his little great-nephew! He was also able to see two friends of Joey and Grant from school here in PNG who are in the U.S. now.
- He got Joey moved into his dorm at East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) and met his soccer coaches.
- He met up with Grant and drove him to his school (John Brown University) to start his third year of college, stopping first at Joey’s school so that Grant could see him and ETBU. (*their contact information is below)
- He shopped for things we need here.
- And he met with the typesetter for the Fataleka NT (yes, God provided a typesetter)!!
Please continue to pray for Joey as he adjusts to this new school where he doesn’t know anyone. We’re thankful that he is on the soccer team, which gives him a ready-made group of guys to hang out with and a coach that desires God to be glorified in their playing. Most of all, we’re thankful that God is there with Joey.
Joey (center) with his soccer team
Joey enjoyed showing his school to his Ukarumpa friend, Amaechi
Thank you for praying for my time here in Ukarumpa with Luke. My OCD didn’t bother me too much, I put on a Village Ladies Tea, and I was able to keep busy practicing with six other ladies for the community play which was performed this past weekend, a DAY after John returned!!! :) It was GREAT fun for me to act again in a real play (should I say more than 30 years after my high school drama days?!) A dream come true. It was a lot of work, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. I played a 25 year old hairdresser named Annelle. Maybe you can guess the play? (because of play write laws we are not allowed to name the play on the internet.)
Village Ladies’ Tea on our back patio
Luke has been busy with school, band, friends, and volleyball. It was fun for me to watch him play several games while John was gone. He recently took a trip down to Lae with friends and had a great time. Thank you for continuing to pray for him and us as we parent him.
Luke on his recent trip to the coast
TO BE IN TOUCH:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea – john_bruner@sil.org
Grant Bruner, PO Box 2159, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, AR 72761 – brunerg@jbu.edu
Joey Bruner, ETBU Box 6-331, One Marshall Drive, Marshall, TX 75670 – joseph_bruner@etbu.edu
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)
This Summer
JOHN: The Fataleka New Testament is nearly ready for typesetting! Earlier this month I made a ten day trip to the Solomon Islands where I worked with the four men on the Fataleka team to finish the read-through of the final 30% of the New Testament (we had done the first 70% in March). I was concerned that if things didn’t go smoothly (i.e. too many mistakes) or if any of us got sick we might not finish, but thankfully God answered prayer and we ended up with a day to spare. I now just need to do some final checks (like spelling) and then the New Testament will be ready to go to a typesetter. And speaking of typesetting, we would appreciate your prayers because the person who was going to be doing the typesetting has recently had surgery and is not sure he is going to be able to do it. So please pray that either he will recover quickly and have time to do it, or that we will be able to find someone else to do the typesetting. We are hoping that the typesetting can be finished before the end of 2016 and that the dedication can happen in the second half of 2017. It was great to be with the Fataleka men and see their excitement knowing that the New Testament in their language is not far away from completion.
Now that the Fataleka New Testament is nearly finished, I have no shortage of things to fill my time. I’m busy working with the Papua New Guinean interns who are training to be consultants. I will be doing a consultant check of Acts in September so I can supervise two different interns during that check. It was exciting to have two interns recently complete their requirements to become recognized Bible translation consultants. One of them, Barbara Samuel, is the first female Papua New Guinean consultant (photo below)!
I’m also taking a trip to the States next week for Seed Co. meetings and to help get Joey settled at East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) in Marshall, Texas. Shortly after that Grant will fly to Texas and I’ll drive him to John Brown University where he will be a Junior (studying Mechanical Engineering). It was great that my work meetings coincided with the time that Joey and Grant are starting school! I’m looking forward to spending time with them. I will be gone three weeks.
BRENA: It wasn’t very much fun making another house move, but now that it’s finished and we’re completely settled, I am feeling better about life :). I’m thankful we can stay in this beautiful and peaceful house for another 11 months. I’m also enjoying doing a lot less cooking now that we only have Luke left in the house. And after a little break from Staff Care things, I’m now back at it, baking for weekly Cafes, and hosting monthly Village Ladies’ Teas and Coffee Nights. I’m grateful that I can contribute here in areas I enjoy. Thanks so much for praying for all the transitions this summer.
relaxing in our new home for the year
THE BOYS: Luke has started grade 10. He’ll be participating in sports and band again this year. We’re so thankful for the school here, and the godly teachers, coaches, and community group leaders that invest in his life. Joey, after a short time in Australia and Southern California visiting family and friends, has been living with Grant and his two friends in South Carolina and working at Chick-Fil-A. From all we hear, it sounds like they’re having a great time together. Kairu is still here in PNG and in a couple of weeks will be helping out in a hospital in a remote location. It is a great opportunity for him to see if he wants to pursue a career in medicine. I’m thankful that God has been working things out in each of the boys’ lives.
Joey, Samuel, Tyler, and Grant
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Please pray that Joey’s transition to college and playing soccer will go smoothly. Pray that John will have a great time reconnecting with Joey and Grant while he’s in the States and that I (Brena) will sense God’s peace and help for the three weeks he’s gone (I tend to struggle more with my OCD when John is away).
- Please pray that a typesetter will be found for the Fataleka NT and that John will have wisdom in the consulting and mentoring he is doing.
- And finally, pray that each of us will continue to know God’s great love for us and that it will affect the way we live.
TO BE IN TOUCH:
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
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)
Milestones and Moving
The last month has been a whirlwind of activities. Thanks to those who have prayed for all of these things;
- Jr/Sr Banquet that we, the parents, put on for the kids. I, Brena, helped with Appetizers, while John played “Joey” in a play, ran a booth, and served the dinner.
- Joey’s baptism. Joey accepted Christ when he was young, but it wasn’t until this year that his faith became his own and he wanted to declare publicly his commitment to follow Jesus. We’re so thankful for what God has done in his life.
- Joey’s graduation from Ukarumpa International School!
- Joey leaving PNG for college yesterday. He will spend a month in South Carolina with his uncle and aunt and work at Chick-Fil-A with his brother, Grant. :) John will fly home in August to meet up with Joey and get him settled at school (E. Texas Baptist University).
- Saying good-bye to people as they leave for good or go home for furlough (always a bit hard).
- Adjusting to having just one boy in the house!
- Celebrating 23 years of marriage this coming weekend.
- Moving to a different house here on center (since the owners of the house we stayed in last year are returning from furlough). Once we get completely unpacked and get the other house cleaned and closed, I can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy this really nice house for the next year.
- John leaving next week for a two week stay in the Solomons. He and the Fataleka men will be finishing the final read-through of the New Testament.
Here are some pictures from the last few weeks and we would appreciate your prayers for the things mentioned at the end of this letter. Thanks for being a part of our lives and making it possible for us to keep working with Bible translation.
(Joey and his friend Jesse arrive at Banquet with the community watching and smiling – an Ukarumpa tradition!)
(John playing “Joey” as they reenact a scene from the Class of 2016 8th grade play)
(John baptizing Joey in the same spot he baptized Grant 6 years ago)
(Sunday, June 12 – celebrating what God has done in Joey and Jesse’s lives)
(he did it!)
(the band of brothers wearing hand-made traditional PNG bags. They will miss each other greatly as they go their separate ways)
(the Class of 2016)
(our new house for the year)
(Joey and Kairu saying a tearful good-bye. Kairu will be staying in PNG for now but hoping to study in the states next year)
(Good-Bye, Joey. We will miss you!)
(So thankful this man chose me 23 years ago and is still choosing me every day)
Please Pray:
- for all of us as we go through this time of transition. Pray for peace and rest. Pray especially for Joey as he adjusts to life in America and a new school. Pray he will stay close to God and trust in His faithfulness.
- that Grant and Joey will have a special time together this summer as adult brothers! We’re thankful they both have jobs.
- for John’s upcoming trip to the Solomons. Pray that the read-through will get finished and that the men will stay healthy. Pray for me and Luke as we stay behind.
To Be In Touch:
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
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)
Prayer for Consultant Check
A couple of prayer needs:
- Please pray for John and the Ura translation team as they check the book of Hebrews this week. Please pray for wisdom and that the right questions will be asked to make sure the meaning is clear.
- Please continue to pray for strength, wisdom, and peace during these last few weeks of the school term, as Joey leaves, and as we move houses.
Thanks for being an encouragement to us!
To Be In Touch:
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
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)
Life! & Trip to States
It’s hard to believe the end of the school year is fast approaching! That means that Joey will soon be heading off to college!! But before that happens, there is a lot going on here…
- Lots of homework for Luke, running track, earning extra money by washing cars, practicing trumpet, turning 15.
- Rugby for Joey and Kairu, enjoying “last” times with friends, rebuilding a go-cart, earning extra money by cleaning rain tanks, Joey turning 18.
- I (Brena): catering the food for a Ladies’ Craft Retreat weekend, baking for weekly coffee houses, meeting with friends, cutting hair, taking care of my family.
- John and I: “Banquet” prep (a parent produced evening for the 11 and 12th graders) which includes lots of practices, meetings, cooking, enjoying a couple of nights away at a nearby mission’s guesthouse.
- John: enjoying his job with the PNG interns that are training to be translation consultants, getting ready to leave TOMORROW morning for another trip. (This time he goes to the U.S. for Seed Co. meetings. He’ll also be able to reconnect with some family members and our home church in California on his way back.)
PLEASE PRAY:
- For John’s trip to the States – safety, fun, encouragement – and for me and the boys as we stay here. John will be gone almost two weeks.
- For Kairu’s older brother, El Nathan. His wife passed away recently. He is left with 2 young children.
- For strength and joy during these last two months of busyness and time with Joey.
- For strength and joy in the transitions ahead this summer.
I’m so enjoying my weekly lunches with these two sweet high school sisters – Ashleigh and Natasha Mills. They are such an encouragement to me. We get to talk deeply about life (something I don’t do with my teenage boys!). They dorm here while their parents work at a remote hospital and school.
Seven of the eight PNG men in this picture (closing ceremony for an Exegesis class) are interns that John is helping to become Translation consultants. (John is NOT in this picture) :)
Luke, soon to be the only kid left at home
To Be In Touch:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea
To Give:
Decisions
There are 100 students at UIS this year in grades 7-12. Can you find the boys??
GOING TO SCHOOL is the job of kids in our society. There’s no choice about the matter. They have to do it. And it is the job of parents to figure out the best place for that to be. In our family, I (Brena) needed to home school the boys while we lived in the Solomon Islands because there wasn’t any other choice. When we have been in the States we have had our boys attend public school to help them adjust to American culture. Thankfully we were able to finish the translation of the Bughotu NT by the time Grant entered high school and we could go to a location where there was a school he could attend. I didn’t feel qualified teaching the boys through their high school years and we also wanted them to have all the extra-curricular activities and friends that come with being in a regular school setting.
So the option in 2010 was to head back to the States or go to a Wycliffe center somewhere overseas where John could continue working with Bible translation. And that’s why we landed in Ukarumpa, the Wycliffe center in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. As we have said before, Ukarumpa International School (UIS) has been a great place for our boys to attend. They’ve had an excellent education, godly teachers, coaches, and youth leaders who have had a positive impact on their lives, and extra-curricular activities to participate in. We are so glad we chose UIS!!
Like Grant, Joey will soon be graduating from UIS and we have asked you to pray that God would clearly lead him to the right college to attend (if that is what he should do). And God has done that!
Joey will be going to East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. With the scholarships he received and federal Pell grant his tuition is pretty much covered. And the amazing thing is that the men’s soccer coach is willing to take Joey on the team even though he wasn’t able to attend a tryout or send in video clips. The coach recently told Joey in an email, “We’re looking forward to you being a part of the soccer family.” As we’ve said before, it’s been Joey’s dream to play college soccer and it looks like God is giving Joey this gift.
So thank you for praying for clear direction!
And with Joey’s decision, it makes things clearer for us as well. We were open to going back to the States if Joey didn’t go to college, but since he’ll be living on campus, he is fine with us being here in PNG.
Please keep praying for Kairu, though, as he still doesn’t know what he’ll be doing and where he’ll be going after graduation.
“For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. “ Psalm 108:4
To Be In Touch:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea
To Give:
Three Men
Thankfully we have been able to make good progress on the final read-through of the Fataleka New Testament. We are right at 50% and we have three more days to work before I head back to PNG. We won’t finish but I’m hoping we can be at about 65%. At least three of the men have been here every day and on most days we have had four of them. One of the men, Jeffrey, has not come at all and it is apparent it is because of an unresolved issue from the last time we worked together (Sept 2015). And unfortunately the first cousin of Pastor Sam Fitoe just passed away on Wednesday last week and Pastor Sam had to return to Malaita to do the funeral service. That means we only have three men left for our remaining three days and I would really appreciate your prayers that all of them will be able to come every day. If we only have two, it will be much harder to make sure we are catching things that need to be changed. Because we won’t finish I have already made plans to come back in early July. The more progress we make now means the less time we will need when I come back! Thanks so much for your prayers.
It’s been very nice to be able to keep in touch with Brena and the boys through email and skype. Things are going well there, so thank you for praying for them.
L to R: Joseph Gofi; Sam Sibolo; Salathiel Ulufia; John; Sam Fitoe
To Be In Touch:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea
To Give:
Feb 2016 Newsletter
In a few days John will be leaving for another trip to Solomon Islands. He’ll be gone 3 1/2 weeks and hoping during that time to finish up the checking and final read-through of the Fataleka New Testament! We would appreciate your prayers for him and the team. Pray also for me and the boys as we stay here in Ukarumpa. Pray for peace, safety, and good health.
Click on the link below for more on this and a general update of each of us. Thanks for your prayers!
———-
To Be In Touch:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea
To Give:
A Vacation from our Vacation
Vacationing in Papua New Guinea leaves you feeling like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation!! But, in spite of the heat and humidity and incredibly bumpy 7 hour drive to and from the coastal city of Madang, we had a good time with our friends, the Nachtigals. We enjoyed swimming at nice beaches, eating out and even watching some television.
The whole time brought back so many memories for me (Brena) of our years in the Solomon Islands, especially when we motor canoed out to a little island to swim. It was just like the beach we paddled across to every Saturday to spend time as a family. So it was a nostalgic time for me. In a way I felt like I was “home”.
And thankfully God kept us safe on our travels: a hold-up happened to a bus just ahead of us and a bridge that we passed over collapsed later that same day!
Some items for prayer:
- John is preparing for his trip to the Solomons in late February. He will be working with the Fataleka team on the final read-through of the New Testament. There are still some issues with a couple members of the team that need to be resolved or they won’t be allowed to participate in the final read-through so please pray for them.
- Joey and Kairu are helping out with a VBS program for the PNG kids that live around here. Pray that many kids will come to know Jesus this week.
- Next week the boys start the last half of the school year. These next few months are also the time when Joey and Kairu will decide on the schools they will attend next year.
- Grant has a very full load of math and engineering classes at John Brown University.
The Nachtigal family and us
Kairu, being a highlands boy, thoroughly enjoyed his time in the ocean
We had the privilege one day of driving up the mountain to revisit POC (the Pacific Orientation Course) where John and I (and baby Grant) spent 3 months in 1997 learning the ropes of life in the Pacific. These are the dorms.
the dining room
VBS!
Joey helping with games
To Be In Touch:
PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea
To Give:
johnandbrena 