THE CANNY CHRONICLES

This blog was started a little over a year ago as I (Bryan) sat on the couch in Gordon and Niki Elliott's living room in Santa Cruz, Bolivia and started to journal my experiences from my first trip out of the United States. We have certainly come full circle as I am writing this new post from the exact same cushion on the exact same couch in the exact same house in the exact same city. There is one key difference between then and now. I am no longer chronicling a tourist visit, but now posting updates as a career missionary with the plan to live here for a few years rather than just a few weeks.  TOP 5 Initial Adjustments to living in Bolivia 1. HEAT . As Gordon told one of the Bolivian pastors when he commented on how much I was sweating, "Iowa es muy frio" (Iowa is very cold). I am also the only red head I have seen here so far. Red head = fair skin. PTL for sunscreen. 2. LANGUAGE. We will be starting Spanish studies with a tutor in just a few weeks after Easte...

Fun fact : This post is about our time down south in South Carolina and GEORGIA and this font is called GEORGIA. Hmm...I hope I don't cause a tear in the space time continuum.  Molly at the coast in Charleston We rejoice in the unique experiences we have had on this deputation. We have not only had the privilege to meet many great people across the Evangelical Denomination, but also to see a lot of interesting and fun places along the way. One of those fun places was Charleston, South Carolina. Molly and I were invited to the South Eastern Conference Pastors and wives retreat. Neither one of us had spent much time in the south and we had a great introduction to that part of our great country. We are seriously thinking about hiring Lynda Eckhardt as our own personal travel agent.  We saw a lot of historical Charleston such as Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began), the historic Provost Dungeon where Pirates were once held captive, and we even were in some buildings that...

Goshen Evangelical Church I was single for 25 years before I met and married my bride, Molly. That is a quarter of a century being defined by being alone. You would think that being or doing something for that long would make that existence somewhat comfortable. So why is it that when I was given a weekend alone, while Molly was at East Central Conference Women's Retreat, I had no idea what to do with myself? I felt utterly UNcomfortable. I played my guitar a little and caught up on a little reading, but at one point I found myself sitting and staring at a spot on the wall and realized I wasn't quite sure how long I had been staring. What had defined me for 25 years was no longer comfortable. I am now defined by what has been the norm for the past 10 months. One existing as one is not even close to as good as two existing as one.  When Sunday morning of that weekend came, I knew I would be speaking alone at Goshen Evangelical Church. I had grown comfortable sharing togeth...

Ligonier Evangelical Church Ligonier, IN Rev. Troy Diersing is the son in law of our former Executive Director of Evangelical Church Missions, Duane Erickson. Molly had the chance to meet Troy and his wife Gloria about a year ago when they were serving in Shiloh, Ohio. Troy and Gloria are now serving the Ligonier Evangelical Church and there is another big change from a year ago. They have a beautiful new baby boy. I didn’t get the chance to hold the little guy, but Molly did for just a few brief minutes. Babies are so busy at that age with all the eating, sleeping and well… what happens after they eat. It is quite a tough life isn’t it? Babies are such good reminders for us of God’s love. He looks after our every need and stands at the ready for whenever we let out a cry. Often times God looks after us through the care of His loving people. We have felt so well taken care of during this whole deputation. Everywhere we go we are welcomed with open arms and people go far and above ...

Sturgis Evangelical Church Sturgis, MI I have to make a confession of ignorance. I had always heard about the huge annual Sturgis motorcycle rally. As we drove toward Michigan I mentioned something to Molly about how it would be interesting to see where that was hosted. She gave a look that said, “oh you poor thing”. She then quickly corrected my misinformation and told me that the motorcycle rally is held in Sturgis, South Dakota. We drove through South Dakota earlier during this deputation, but somehow missed the rally. I wasn’t too broken up about it, because I don’t look the best in a bandana and leather vest. Getting back to the topic at hand… We arrived at Rev. Rodger and Joyce Moyer’s house and I let Rodger know that I’d be keeping an eye on him to report back to his brother Bruce in the mission office. He told me he would do the same for me. Of course this was all in good fun and we had a really great time all weekend. Along with having a good time playing some board game...

Wesley Evangelical Church (WEC) Shiloh, OH There are always some unique blessings at each church we visit. During the weekend in Shiloh, Ohio, one of those unique blessings was attending the Valentine’s Sweetheart Banquet. We had great food, great fellowship, and great times of laughter. Pastor Bryan Graham and his wife Kara organized a really fun “Newlywed Game” with 4 different couples in the church. We learned a lot about these couples and I think they learned a lot about each other. Along with the fun we had, we also got a really good message from the evening’s speaker. He shared an idea that really stuck with me. He said, “Rather than having your love sustain your marriage, your marriage should sustain your love”. Think about when you ask a couple why they want to get married. Whether the couple is Christians or not I guarantee one of their main answers, if not the only answer, will be, “We love each other”. Now think about the main answer couples give when filing for divorce....

Bridgeway Evangelical Church Kendallville, IN I think it is official. Molly and I are becoming Boilermakers by osmosis. We have been blessed to stay with two different generations of Wolheters in the Kendallville area. The Purdue fan transformation started at Dennis and Bonita Wolheter’s house when we stayed in James’ old room. The light switches are a bronze/gold and at the top they read, “PURDUE TURNS ME ON” while the bottom reads, “INDIANA TURNS ME OFF”. Our transformation continued later in the week as we stayed with Pastor Jeff and Andrea Wolheter. We were placed in the upstairs “Purdue Room” complete with everything Purdue themed from trashcan and pillows to pennants and posters. I woke up to black and gold surrounding me and even though I had no prior connection with the university, I had some strange sense of pride. We were in Kendallville for Super Bowl Sunday and had a good time just relaxing, watching the game, and of course watching the Pre-game interview with Bill O’Reil...