GUESS WHAT...WE HAVE A DAUGHTER?This is our little blessing from the Lord - Taliah Grace BruceShe is an absolute joy in our lives! Don't worry, I'll back up and give more details on her... Yes...I've been pregnant for almost the ENTIRETY of writing this blog! We found out a few months after our wedding in May! And, I had been SUPER sick through most of it, including both trips to California!! But the Gospel is sustaining, and I have been completely honest about my joy and attitude about all the adventures we have had! I wanted the focus of this blog to be on the Gospel first and foremost. (Also, personally, I would be really annoyed with a blog that rants about pregnancy; it REALLY helps to get my mind off of the sicknesses I had through focusing on serving the Lord presently, and preparing for parenting! As much as I want to go on and on about our little girl, I have some other things to share first. We have had a full month! She didn't come until the end...so you will have to wait (JUST LIKE I HAD TO WAIT FOR SO LONG)... Beginning of the month: Daniel and I in Prescott, Arizona.Since it had been a while that Daniel and I have had the time to go on a day trip, when the timing worked out, we headed up to Prescott for the day! Prescott is about two hours north of Phoenix. As you can see, it has beautiful scenery, and it has a good amount of people as well! It's probably one of my favorite places in Arizona now, for reasons you'll see below. Here's the main place where we got to share the Gospel... At a courthouse?We didn't go IN the courthouse to share the Gospel, but we did get to talk with some people around this area. One notable conversation I had was with a girl named Cameron, who was walking along this courthouse area with her friend. Cameron's friend seemed pretty mocking and antagonistic to the Gospel at first, but Cameron listened. Her friend told me she was a flaming homosexual, and a liar, among other things, before I really asked her much of anything. She walked away, but Cameron stayed and continued the conversation up to the Gospel. She told me she had tried to kill herself before, and she seemed to understand the seriousness that you could die at any moment. She took the tract, a 'What Time is Purple booklet', and a Living Waters movie gift card, saying she would look into the stuff I gave her. I was shocked that Cameron stayed to talk with me after her friend left. Pray for Cameron and for her friend! You can also pray for some tracts we left in a really old-looking building... The inside of an old post office (still in operation) in Prescott.I found a plaque that said this building was erected in the 1800's. Isn't that cool? We thought the place needed a little Ronald Reagan... Can you spot the Reagan tracts in two of the pictures? These are really cool tracts, by the way. They have the Gospel on them, as well as an American flag, a picture of Reagan, and an anti-abortion message on them. The front of the card is a quote from Reagan that says, "I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." I can only pray our little girl appreciates that quote as she grows to maturity... Keep reading to see what else we explored in Prescott... A better view of the surrounding area of the courthouse...Here's another side of the courthouse. I put this in here as a separate picture so I could explain more about what's so nice about this park. Because of a sidewalk around the courthouse and some nice little shops surrounding the place, people tend to causally walk around this area without much going on. This is what makes it so ideal when we talk with people! In the photo above, you might also notice some writing in the pavement in front of the big statute... Here it is a little closer...Can you make out any of the writing? It's a timeline, starting with "In the beginning" and then going up to the late 1900's. I know it's probably super hard to read, but I figured the important part was the beginning of it, shown on the bottom of the left hand side picture. Suddenly, "in the beginning"...a big bang happened...and...all of a sudden...the next point of the timeline shows 1581. I wonder if anything happened in-between that time... I'm pointing this out because I found it ironic that they used the very words that God used to start the Bible and then they put it with a non-sensical explosion thing. It just shows how man can't make sense of anything without the Word of God. No kidding...man can't make sense of anything without the Word of God...Time for another round of... ...spot the Reagan!! See if you can find the tract in each of these pictures. (If they're too small, try clicking or touching the pictures to make them bigger). These pics were taken inside one of those little shops I mentioned. Does it remind you of any previous blogs...such as...I don't know...the one about Sedona?? Daniel had asked me if I wanted to go into any of the little shops before we left. I'm not really into shopping and such things, but the town seemed pretty reserved and friendly, so I figured their little book store might have some nice, Christian books... ...nope... ...but I'm SO glad Daniel was kind enough to ask me, and sweet enough to endure the some time in there with me. Why...? Because it's SO exciting to put some form of unadulterated truth of the Gospel to shine in places that are SO dark. On a lighter note... An update on further preparation for the mission field...Update on what's been going on in Greek! My Greek class (the new one I just started) is absolutely amazing! The students are great! One woman taking it is pregnant too, and we are already starting to become friends! We are using the book I shared in the last blog, and the book in this picture is a suppliment to that book. In addition to that, instead of fully stopping Greek with our pastor, Smedly, he offered to let us continue! He offered to give us the resources to sharpen Greek skills with materials from a "Greek Readings" class! That's perfect, because I LOVE it, and because it should help Daniel retain what he has learned thus far in class until he gets to seminary (Lord willing) in August! Daniel sharing the Gospel on Mill Ave with while others from our church witnessed to others.Pray for Lee, Krin, and Marecalla. Lee was very animated and he talked with our friends for probably an least a good hour. Daniel talked with Krin for about the same amount of time. Praying that conviction gets through through some drunkenness. I had a great conversation with Marecalla. She listened to the Law and the Gospel, admitting her sin openly and honestly. She then started crying, I think under conviction, and she said she couldn’t handle it anymore. It was too much all at once for her. She knew she was living in sin. Pray she is truly convicted and that the Holy Spirit converts her! We have had some great nights on Mill Ave...and I'm so thankful that our little surprise came within about 24-hours of being there one Thursday night! Ready to see her?She's coming! This was our last time at small group before she was born. Our shirts have our church's mission logo on them! We were so excited to be matching, and to be together, and we both knew what was coming! But first! A quick Do update... Zach, a missionary sent out by our church to reach the Do tribe.The Gospel has been preached in Do! So...now what? Discipleship, church planting, and translation! In this picture, Zach is discussing translation of key biblical terms into the Do language with the team. Such a careful task!! Some of the Do tribe, ones who graduated from their literacy classes, complete with their primers!!One of the steps in the process of evangelizing tribal people is teaching them literacy. This picture shows some tribal students who are now able to read in their own language! It's so exciting because this is a huge stepping stone for the Gospel to get to them. I LOVE the way this picture looks, like a classroom setting, but even MORE exciting!! I CAN'T WAIT TO HOMESCHOOL!! I know there are some steps before homeschooling though...You need to start out with pictures! These are some of the pictures that the Do team has to show the tribal people what biblical concepts look like. The people learn better through the pictures, and it helps clarify to them concepts they might not understand otherwise. Continue to pray that the people are truly regenerated by the Spirit and that they understand the Gospel in its fullness. Now...related to that... ...it becomes a problem in the tribe when you're trying to teach/translate concepts that the people are unfamiliar with, but the more pictures you have (in various formats), the better... Multi-use Bible animals book!That's why I'm so excited about this little book! This book is a little touch and feel book that will help our daughter better understand the original context of Scriptural animals from an early age, as well as teach her facts about what she needs to learn regarding animals! ALSO, this very book could be used in the tribe! Making the sure tribal people understand, for example, that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is CRUCIAL to understanding the depths of the Gospel. We don't want to cut corners with our tribal teaching. We have heard of substitutions being made for concepts, such as, the "pig" of God referring to Christ, because they don't have lambs over there. I don't feel like I need to explain too much how confusing that would be to a tribal person, not to mention when you get into teaching animal sacrifices and such things... Just because the people don't know something, doesn't make them stupid. I can think of so many things the tribal people would need baby picture books to explain to us Westerners. And I'm so excited at the thought of them teaching our daughter useful things she would never learn through living in America her whole life. OKAY...you can see her again now... Here she is!!!!Taliah Grace Bruce!! She was born last week at 12:07am Arizona time. Everything about her delivery was normal. She came out healthy and adorable!! She looks a lot like Daniel to me. SHE'S SO CUTE! Living Waters for kids!I know Taliah isn't old enough to read yet...don't worry... ...but I'm so excited when the day comes where she can comprehend the Gospel! That's why we think this book, Way of the Master for kids, will be helpful for her to understand biblical concepts as she grows! We are so excited to be able to have constant ministry on our hands at all times now, along with our already constant ministry of marriage and our other responsibilities. I know we have a ton of work (and not much sleep) on our plate, but God has blessed us so much this far, and every day He continues to do so! More pictures of our sweet one!Isn't her face just the best? Taliah has quite a personality already. Sometimes she's calm and normal like her mature father, Daniel... ...but most of the time she's CRAZY and full of energy.... ...not that I'm crazy or anything... Little outfits for her in the near future!Aren't these adorable? We got this really cool gift opportunity from when I did my first ultrasound, and here is the result - self-designed little outfits for Taliah! I can't wait until she can wear these to church, and out in public so that people might ask us questions about them... ...and if people don't, I'm sure they still will be interested in her, so we might just tell them anyway... Okay, okay...I'll let you see her again... Why the name Taliah Grace?Wondering about her name? Taliah in Hebrew (or Arabic), means "lamb" or "dew from Heaven". In Australian aboriginal (she is an Aussie...), it means "by the waters". The way Daniel says it is the best!! So...in other words...Living Waters! In all honestly though, we picked that name for many reasons, one of the main reasons being that the Gospel is literally all-sustaining, more than physical water can ever be. And it's God's grace that reminds us of that - Taliah Grace! Speaking of some water...One more quick thing to highlight... Answers in Genesis! Daniel and I are so excited to teach our daughter the truth of biblical Creation from the beginning! This book looks SUPER helpful in explaining the Flood, and how it is a picture of the Gospel!! Alright, one more picture of Taliah... Our little girl!Say bye to Taliah! Thanks for reading this! As for prayer requests, please pray that Taliah's health continues to be good, that we are good stewards of her, treating her rightly and biblically, loving and teaching her as we should, and that she eventually comes to saving faith through the transforming work of the Spirit. Also, keep praying for Do, for the other works in progress in the Finisterre Mountains, and for us to recover well, continuing in the work of evangelism and ministry without growing weary! Comment below! Okay...maybe now that I haven't bombarded you with links, you've seen our daughter's cuteness...you'll want to donate: https://www.finisterrevision.org/donate/
4 Comments
Christine McKinney
3/27/2021 01:42:00 pm
Yay! So good to hear all the updates! Praying for the souls you guys have shared the Gospel with.
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Sarah Bruce
3/27/2021 04:43:35 pm
Yes, definitely!
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Jacquelyn Unis
3/27/2021 05:34:49 pm
Sarah & Daniel, I’m so happy for you!! God has truly blessed you in so many ways! Oh praise Him❤️🙏 Thanks so much for the detailed update. It is so encouraging!!! It truly impacts my heart what your doing and motivates and encourages me to get out there and share my faith within the context of the gospel message. Really like how you take the Reagan tracks around and leave them for others to discover❤️ And so enjoyed hearing about the people you are actually impacting. As well as the Do tribe. That is so exciting that they are learning to read in their own language and how that will open their eyes and hearts up to God’s Word and the Good News. What an exciting life you live! All for the glory of God❤️Praying for all of your requests and that you would continue in the mission God has planned and purposed for you and Daniel and now your little girl❤️ Much love to you☺️❤️
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Sarah Bruce
3/27/2021 06:32:22 pm
Thank you so much!!
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AuthorsDaniel and Sarah Bruce desire to be missionaries to the unreached peoples of the world. Daniel is from Australia and Sarah is from Detroit, MI. They reside in Phoenix, AZ, where they are members at Shepherd's House Bible Church in Chandler, AZ. Archives
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