All Things Bruce Eric

Anita and I know a young couple that is are working in a part of East Asia serving the needs of children there in a special needs orphanage.  Carrie worked at an adoption agency that we had done some work with awhile back and she and her husband Jacob left the corporate world last year to take this new step in their life. We’ve been reading their blog since they got there and have seen their ups and downs as they have adjusted to life in a new country. Carrie’s most recent post hits home for me, particularly after returning from Mexico where you become so reliant on others to help you do everything - talking to the police, ordering food, etc. She very wisely points out that being completely reliant on others to meet your needs almost doesn’t feel American. It’s not what we’re used to. We want to grab ourselves up by the boot straps and get something done. But when you’re in a country where you don’t speak the language, can’t read the signs and have a hard time understanding their traditions and the way they view the world, independence quickly fades. It’s a bit of a long post but it well worth the read. Click here to read it.

Everyone has them. I had one today - a ‘bad’ day. It wasn’t that anything specific went wrong or that I messed up on a high-profile project or anything but my attitude during the day has slowly degraded over time to the point where recently I’ve begun to question everything I’m doing. It has resulted in a very self-centered attitude and tonight it all changed. When we got together with our REALife group, we learned that a the wife of a couple we know reasonably well is not doing very well at all. She’s recently battled cancer, made it through her first round of chemo successfully but recently started a second round and took a turn for the worse. We spent the first 20 minutes praying specifically for her, asking God to heal her, to help her family understand and comfort them, but most of all to heal her.Then we sang a song that just touched my heart and made me realize that, though all around us may appear as out of control, that God is fully in control and that he’s using all this to bring glory to himself. The words that touched my heart were by Mark Hall of the group Casting Crowns from “Who Am I.”They are:“I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow, a wave tossed in an ocean, vapor in the wind. Still you hear me when I’m calling, Lord you catch me when I’m falling and you’ve told me who I am. I am yours, I am yours.” Friends, we’re praying for you. BEA 

I’ve put together this blog out of necessity to communicate with my support team and Hill Country Bible Church on happenings related to our missions trip to Monterrey, Mexico, from March 8 to 15. However, I quickly realize that I can use this occasionally to document different aspects of my life in Central Texas — my family, vacations, work, ministries and thoughts on what I’m learning.We are quickly coming up on the departure date for our trip to Monterrey, March 8. Yesterday, a portion of our team of 25 met for about 15 minutes to talk about a few details of the trip and pass out some of the many forms we all need to complete. In a little more than three weeks, we’ll be departing for seven days of serving the fatherless of Monterrey working closely with our friends from Back2Back Ministries. I’ll be updating this blog in advance of our departure and will provide periodic updates from Monterrey, schedules and WiFi permitting. Stay tuned. BEA