Background information: I am a native of Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes. I graduated from Worthington Senior High School in 1972 and entered the U.S. Army for two years the summer after graduation. I was sent to Germany for 20 months to serve as a medical corpsman. During my time in the military the Lord touched my heart and I understood more clearly what it meant to have a personal relationship with him. When I returned from the military I pursued a degree from Mankato State University in Physical Education and coaching. Sports were a big part of my life and I looked forward to finding a teaching job after graduation. Jobs were difficult to find so after searching and applying all summer for a few positions without success I applied and was accepted to attend a Bible Institute in Hamilton, MT. The 2 years spent there were life changing for me and were some of the most profound spiritual times in my life. After finishing the 2 year program I returned to Minnesota, got married and worked in Christian schools and as a youth pastor for 10 years. During this time my daughter was born, she is married and lives in Arizona.
My teaching job was eliminated due to a reduction in enrollment at the Christian school but I continued teaching in the public schools in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN area. I was also involved in motorcycle rider education and driver education and this led to a full-time job working with a non-profit organization that had the contract with the State of MN to conduct the rider training program. I worked at this job for 7 years and enjoyed it very much. During this time I began going on short-term missions trips to Mexico, Venezuela and Guatemala. I also pursued seminary training via a distance education program. I resigned my job in July of 1998 to pursue full-time work in missions. I spent a year at Bethany College of Mission in preparation to join Dove International, a mission organization from MN. Through Dove International we began a Discipleship training program in Antigua, Guatemala in January of 2000. I continued working with Dove International and its ministry in Mexico and Guatemala until June of 2006 when the Discipleship Training Program transitioned to become part of Youth With A Mission. YWAM Antigua offers a 5 month Discipleship Training School, hosts teams for short-term outreaches, conducted various ministries in the community.
Bruce recently spoke at Eden Prairie Assemblies of God church and gave an update on the ministries of YWAM Antigua and shared his story of his call to missions. You can watch the message here.
Please feel free to contact me via email at: brutcho@gmail.com
You can also read my blog:http://guatemalaministry.blogspot.com/
Susy's Background Information
Susy was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. She was selected to be one of the recipients of the Walton Foundation scholarships and completed her undergraduate degree in International Business from John Brown University. After returning from her studies she worked in El Salvador to fulfill part of her obligation as a recipient of the scholarship. She completed her Discipleship Training School at the YWAM Cartegena, Columbia base and served on staff at YWAM in San Salvador. She also served as a translator for YWAM Antigua, Guatemala and join the base as a Voluntary Missionary in 2014. She is currently serving as a interpreter for the base and is helping with public relations and social media of the base.
