Bruchko:

The Life and Ministry of Bruce Olson

Lindsey Allen - 143989

Missions 101: Introduction to Missions

September 29, 2022

1. Bruce Olson grew up in a conservative Lutheran home. He lacked a sense of
reality in his relationship with God, and when he studied the Bible, he had many
questions. Eventually a friend took him to a Baptist church. How did he come to
salvation, and what was the reaction of the conservative Lutherans? What does
this say about the power of the Word of God? What does this show us about the
danger of institutionalized religion instead of personal knowledge of Jesus Christ
and receiving Him as Savior? Bruce Olson came to salvation through Jesus as He
was reading the Bible and he realized that all he had to do was believe that Christ
would save him. He acknowledged that God could be his personal God. The
Lutherans’ reaction towards Bruce’s salvation was not acceptable to them. They
believed that his salvation was when he had his confirmation. The power of the Word
of God, when doctrinally correct, (no matter what beliefs you are surrounded by) can
convict the soul to the coming of repentance. The danger of institutionalized religion
is dangerous compared to knowing Jesus personally and receiving Him as Savior is
that it keeps you in oblivious to the fact that you can have a relationship with Him as
your Savior and it also acts as more of a ritual instead of a personal walk with your
Creator.

2. What can we learn from Bruce’s first contacts with missionaries in South
America? What do you think about their work with the Indians? Explain your
point of view about their approach. What is your opinion about their reaction to
Bruce himself? When Bruce first came into contact with the missionaries in South
America, they were completely apprehensive to tell him about the work they had been
accomplishing. The missionaries’ work with the Indians was not very accommodated
or adjusted to the Indians’ way of life. Their reaction to Bruce in general was not
receptive at all and they were skeptical of him. They also were hesitant to tell him of
the things that the Lord had been doing in the lives of the people.

3. Bruchko showed that God arranged in supernatural ways for Bruce to get to
learn Spanish; to get “broken in” with the Yuko Indians, and then get to the
Motilone Indians. However, Bruce had a disastrous introduction to the
Motilones. How did God keep Bruce from being killed during his first time with
the Motilones, and how did God enable him to escape without detection and
survive? What provision did God make for food in a miraculous way? Bruce was
almost shot with multiple arrows by the Motilones, but he spoke the word “friend” in
Latin to them and they then backed off and took him to their village. He was able to
escape silently from the village one night and followed a river upstream for a few
days. While he was sitting on some boulders by a waterfall, he noticed some bananas
growing a little ways away and was able to eat to satisfy his hunger.

4. We find that God gave Bruce a Motilone friend, who was really the key that
unlocked his relationship with the tribe. You will see how that friend grows both
in the Lord and in influence in the tribe. Please explain how God can use what
appears to be small things in our lives to accomplish His will. Things in our life
may at times seem insignificant, yet we should not be so assuming that God is not
 using every little circumstance in our life and weaving it into a pattern; the pattern of
His will for our lives.

5. Please note how Bobby shared his faith with his Indian tribe. What does this tell
us about how contextualization (giving the gospel within the framework of the
culture) can be effective to win the lost? Just as Jesus taking upon Himself the form
of a servant and being made in the likeness of man was effective in reaching the Jews
and the Gentiles, so it can be effective when we as Christians adapt to the culture or
way of life of the lost souls that we are trying to reach. Although not meaning it as in
we should “conform” to their way of living, but adapting, to some degree, may prove
to be more easier for the people to accept and believe the truths that you are trying to
tell them.

6. Bruce got hepatitis on a trip. The hepatitis nearly killed him, but also saved his
life. Please explain briefly how the Motilone culture kept him from being killed,
and how God arranged for him to be medically evacuated to save his life. Bruce
was currently ill with hepatitis and because of the Motilones’ belief that if a man or
animal was to soon die a natural death, they would not shoot them because it would
put a hex on their arrows, and that starvation would come to them after that.
One day, after staying with the Indians for two weeks, a helicopter flew over was
flying over and landed. It was carrying Dr. Baumgartner as its passenger and from
there, he was taken to a hospital where he stayed for a month or so.

7. Bruce suffered the loss of Gloria and Bobby. Bruce persisted after the death of
his fiancée and his best friend. What does this tell us about tenacity despite trials
in our lives? And how God can sustain us in the most challenging of
circumstances? When trials come into our life, if we trust in God and depend on Him
to be our well of strength to draw from, we can be confident that God is working
everything for good and that our hardships have a purpose whether we can see the
end result or not.

8. Give one or more practical application(s) of Bruchko to your own life.

When you are going through difficult circumstances in your life, and you can’t see the
reason why God has allowed it to be there, you need to remember your purpose: to
keep your eyes on the cross of Christ, telling souls about what He has done to change
everyone’s eternal destiny and just keep going one step at a time while putting your
full trust in Him to take care of you. In the end, the way we react to the trials placed
before us, will determine how God was glorified through it all.

9. “I {Lindsey Allen} have read Bruchko in its entirety”.