Remembering Our Teammate, Bruce.

One of our Pass Christian mission teammates, Bruce Rember, died Monday. This is a tragedy, especially for Bruce's wife and kids, but also for his extended family, his former colleagues in the Air Force, his friends and, frankly, anybody -- like the guys on our mission -- who had the privilege of getting to know him.

I had the privilege, and the fun, of working alongside Bruce for 5 straight days down in Pass Christian, as a member of the work team headed by Guy Kleintop. I also bunked right next to Bruce. I'm sure there are many others with fond memories of Bruce (to say nothing of longer and better memories) , but I couldn't let this news pass without quickly remembering the Bruce I got to know this July. Bruce Rember:

• Was a quietly unassuming, but very funny, knowledgeable, and hard-working guy. Maybe unassuming is not what you might expect for a guy who had risen to the rank of Colonel in the Air Force. Maybe, if he'd wanted to, he could have thrown his weight around a bit. But Bruce was a team player all the way.
• Was a real student of the Word. Every time I caught myself fooling around with my laptop, or iPod, I'd turn around and see Bruce on his cot with his nose stuck in his Bible, and I'd realize that, probably, I could spend a little bit less time worrying about my gadgets and a little more time on what is really important.
• Was my up-on-ladders-together partner when we were working at Mike Frost's house, doing the dirty work to help Mike finish off his drywall (sanding, taping, mudding, re-sanding, etc.). We had one heck of a lunch on Tuesday of our week in Pass Christian, when Mike's mother-in-law served up a major feast of Vietnamese fried shrimp, vegetable rolls, rice, and ice cold drinks. Even 2 months later, it is a very satisfying culinary memory; Bruce and I felt really guilty (I promise) that we were eating a 5-star meal instead of cold cuts back at the church.
• Was right there with us enjoying Salvador's "Heaven" and some Stevie Ray Vaughan blues CD's when we'd be driving back and forth between our host church and our job sites in my cousin Walter's pickup truck. With some good tunes on, some good friends along for the ride, and some incredible scenery along the side roads and byways of Pass Christian, we were able to remember that even after a storm, there comes a calm, and a return to beauty, peace, and tranquility.

Thinking about that peace and tranquility, my prayer is that, even as we mourn Bruce's passing and even as we grieve for his family's loss, even now Bruce is at home and happy in the presence of our Savior.

The last time I saw Bruce was two weeks ago at our Thursday a.m. men's ministry gathering, Reveille. Bruce was looking sharp in a brand new, blue pin-striped suit, heading out to finish his first week at his new post-retirement consulting gig. I commented as we were leaving, that I very much liked his "new" uniform. He gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

Bruce, we are going to miss that grin and your friendship.

"He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).

Stan