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BRUCE NEWS
RIC AN PO D SHA Box RON 2 B Chi ang Hang D RUCE M THA ai 502 ong 3 US ILA TE ND 0 (517 LEPHO ) 49 NE 0-10 FAC 32 66-0 SIMIL E 5-31 3 - 11 98
Dec 2010 - Jan 2011
ric_bruce@ntm.org
ข่าวเดือนมกราคมและกุมภาพันธ์ January and February Newsletter
www.ntm.org/ric_bruce
This newsletter is for people who want to know every detail about our ministry and lives. It’s long.
IN THIS ISSUE: WHY WE’RE HERE
As we face daily life it’s easy to forget why we came here in the first place. In order to keep our eyes on the prize we need to remind ourselves from time to time why we’re doing this. Continued on Page 2
PROGRESSING IN THAI
Novice monks gathering in the morning to pray.
The beginning of February will see us begin “stage two” of our Thai study. We completed stage one’s fifty lessons in 12 weeks and anticipate stage two’s 80 lessons will require 20 weeks. You can help us learn Thai more quickly in some ways that may surprise you. Continued on Page 3
Salt fields near Bangkok.
MEETING KEY LEADERS
During the past three months we’ve been mostly adjusting to our new surroundings and getting used to new things. Now we’re looking to go deeper by meeting with monks, church leaders and teachers willing to share with us. Continued on Page 4
Buddha’s hand.
Thailand, its languages and its people continue to amaze us with their complexity and beauty
Ric and Sharon Bruce | PO Box 2 Hang Dong Chiang Mai 50230 THAILAND | www.ntm.org/ric_bruce
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What’s our motivation: the staggering truth about the need in Thailand. VAST AREAS OF THAILAND HAVE NO ACCESS TO THE GOSPEL A year ago today we were still reeling from a decision by our leadership to close Cambodia. In fact a year ago we hadn’t been officially invited to join the field of Thailand yet. How strange it seems now to look back and reflect on that. We’ve lived here four months and getting here in itself was a whirlwind adventure. The first four months were the honeymoon but now the hard work of learning language and culture study begins. We’ve been training to fill a specific niche in the broader efforts of the body of Christ to make disciples of all nations. We’re here to engage the unengaged, reach the unreached and disciple the undiscipled people groups of Thailand. Or at least one of them.
Call it whatever you want there are only a few other missionaries doing the same thing. What keeps us going is the realization that there are vast areas of Thailand that have no gospel witness and we can be part of the solution. There are simply not enough Christians here. By most conservative estimates less than one percent of Thai people are Christian. We’re continuing to g ather information and statistics about the church though meetings with key members of the community (learn more on page 4). We don’t want to make sweeping statement about God’s work here yet, however, and as the picture becomes clearer we’ll let you
Holding a snake in a village in Northern Thailand.
know what we learn so you can be praying about our team’s part in that picture (you’re part of our team if you pray for us and encourage us). Vision, training and strategy will only carry us so far. Your prayers and and support really keep us going each day. We’ve received so many cards, letters, emails, Facebook messages and phone calls since we arrived. Thankyou. YOU are the real reason we’ve made it this far. You’re keeping us from loosing momentum. Please keep up the great job contacting us and keeping us encouraged. It means a lot and we never want you to feel we take it for granted. God bless you each. -Ric and Sharon Bruce
Noodle Soup: a Thai staple.
Ric and Sharon Bruce | PO Box 2 Hang Dong Chiang Mai 50230 THAILAND | www.ntm.org/ric_bruce
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We scoot around Chiang Mai on our little automatic Honda scooter.
STAGE ONE COMPLETE
Our Thai study is broken up into four main stages. Stage one was the easiest, but it was crucial in laying the foundation for the stages to come. It focussed primarily on Thai at the word level although each new word was learned in the context of a simple sentence like, “This is the man” or “point to the cup.” At the end of this first stage we’ve developed an ear for the language and learned a few things about word order, sentence structure and patterns in the language. We’re nowhere near proficient. STAGE TWO IS DAUNTING
Stage two seeks to develop us in two very important areas: reading and writing Thai and understanding the underlying structure of the language. Reading and writing Thai is no walk in the park. An ancient king developed the alphabet to prevent the common person from gaining the ability to understand the written language by purposely making it confusing. He did a good job, as you can see from the samples I’ve included in this newsletter.
As for learning the underlying structure of the language it’s important not to miss how crucial this is. A native speaker of Thai expresses their thoughts and feelings in specific ways completely foreign to an outsider. If we speak perfect Thai but put our sentences and stories together in a western way we’ll amuse our friends at best and even offend them in a worst case scenario. We must know how a native speaker builds thoughts into a story.
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Sharon practicing writing.
We’re getting better at speaking and understanding Thai every day. We can now give and respond to basic commands, common greetings,
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please pray for our Thai study. It’s a challenging language and our program is ambitious. The goal is to be highly capable in the language in two years but we can’t do it without your prayers and encouragement. Additional financial support would also open new options and avenues in our language study. This year because the dollar is weaker and because our insurance costs raised by 15% our recommended support has also increased. Additional funds would free us to explore options like additional hours with Thai tutors that would speed the process of “becoming” Thai.
Ric and Sharon Bruce | PO Box 2 Hang Dong Chiang Mai 50230 THAILAND | www.ntm.org/ric_bruce
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Meeting key church and community leaders Who are the key leaders in your community? You probably know but a stranger in your school or workplace might not. When we came to Thailand we had no idea. As we’ve adjusted to our surroundings the picture is becoming clearer and we’re actively seeking meetings with monks, pastors, professors and NGO aid workers to ask what advice they have for us or to seek resources they have that might help us in learning Thailand’s language and culture. Here are a few examples: MONK CHAT
It’s got a cool name but more importantly it’s a forum designed specifically for foreigners looking to understand Buddhism. Monks in temples a ro u n d C h i a n g M a i a re ava i l a bl e specifically to answer questions from people who don’t practice Buddhism. We’re praying that as we make this a regular habit we’ll also begin to build relationships with people open to the gospel. THE NEWSPAPER
This one may sound a bit strange but the newspaper certainly exposes us to the ideas of leaders in our community. Here in Thailand we’re fortunate to have an excellent English language newspapers like www.bangkokpost.com. Any time I see one at coffee shops, restaurants or the gym I pick it up and read the local news. SEMINARY PROFESSORS
We’ve had the privilege of interacting with some wonderful teachers and professors at local seminaries. One is a
pastor at our church and the others work at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary. It’s so encouraging to go to chapel once in a while there and to network with the students who are coming up with unique ways to impact their communities for Christ. They are the future leaders and thinkers who will shape Thai theology and church practice. CHURCH LEADERS
Obviously, it’s important for us to know as much as we can about the church in Meeting a missionary from Korea. Thailand. Church leaders we’ve met are open, humble and excited to talk about their strategies and programs. Unfortunately our limited Thai sometimes keeps us from going deeper. Motivation to hit the books! :) COMMUNITY MEMBERS
This category of leaders is still very much a mystery to us. However, we’ve been walking into restaurants, temples, repair shops and corner stores in our area more often in an attempt to get to know our neighbors and community better. This has proven to be a slow but encouraging way to meet new friends and to connect outside the “Christian” circle that’s so easy to get sucked into here in the city. We’re looking to network with many different types of people in various social strata. Please be praying leaders we meet each day will be open to talking with us and will help mentor and teach us.
We’ve all heard that old saying: It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. That’s so true here. We’re seeking out godly advice, realistic assessments and the opinions of key leaders.
Ric and Sharon Bruce | PO Box 2 Hang Dong Chiang Mai 50230 THAILAND | www.ntm.org/ric_bruce
Thank-you for reading. We appreciate you each. God bless you richly as you seek His face. Yours for the undiscipled in Thailand, Ric and Sharon Bruce
Thank-you for praying for us and for giving so we can continue this work. Get our latest updates on our website and on Facebook. Contact us to learn more.
FR O M : R IC A N D S HARON B RUCE PO B ox 2 H an g D on g C hi an g M ai 5 0 2 3 0 T H A IL A N D
BRUCE NEWS Dec 2010 - Jan 2011