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Musicians
on Mission
Bruce and Nancy Muskrat
Fort Worth, Texas
December 23, 2009
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 Christmas
is a season for giving and receiving gifts because it is the celebration of the greatest Gift that God gave to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are so grateful to the Lord for His many gifts to us this year, especially for the new additions to our family.
 Benjamin Price Muskrat was born on December 16 to Daniel
and Sara, weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz., and measuring 19 inches long. Big brother Luke and big sister Claire are so delighted with their new baby brother. Bruce
and Nancy were able to be in Mt. Pleasant for Ben’s birth, as well as enjoy Daniel’s solo in the Christmas concert at First Baptist Church Mt. Pleasant and the grandkids’ Christmas play. Sara and Ben are doing so well that the whole family will be coming to Fort Worth for Christmas. Sara is taking a leave of absence from her job as a speech therapist at
Titus County Regional
Hospital, but will continue to work from home for a therapy services company. Daniel continues to enjoy his work as
information technology officer at
Guaranty Bond Bank where he was promoted to senior vice president this year. He is also active in the Rotary Club of Mt. Pleasant.
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 At
Another joyous occasion this year was Amy & Danny Ray’s announcement that they are expecting for February 2010. Amy and Danny moved into their first home in August. They have been busy doing their own remodeling and getting the nursery ready for Caleb Aaron who is due February 14. Amy is still at Providence Hospital as a social worker in the
Sub-Acute Care
Unit. In addition, she does contract work for Great Wall of China Adoptions, an international agency. Danny continues with the
Harker Heights Fire Department where he was promoted to Driver/Operator. On his days off from the fire department, Danny works as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Waco.
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 Andy and Heather keep busy schedules with their music and church
activities. Andy has completed over two years as minister of music at Highpointe Baptist Church in Cedar Hill, TX. He continues to work
on his master’s degree in church music at B. H. Carroll Theological
Institute. He enjoys singing with the Singing Men of North Central Texas and plans to go with the group on a mission trip to the Ukraine next year. As a part of the fundraising efforts for the mission trip,
Andy recorded a CD entitled “Amazing Grace” that includes his
own arrangements of selected hymns and an original composition dedicated to his twin sister Amy. The CD can be purchased online at:
www.myspace.com/muskratpiano.
Heather’s home piano studio keeps growing with new students being added regularly. She is also an instructor at
“Music and Movement of
Arlington,” the “Future
Grace School of Music,” and “Southlake
Music Academy.”
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Last March, Bruce and Nancy had the opportunity to travel back to the United Kingdom as part of B. H. Carroll Theological Institute’s Oxford Study Program. This year’s tour included a 4-day trip to Scotland. The two-week study tour based out of Regent’s Park College in Oxford. The Muskrats accompanied twelve Ph.D. students, in addition to other faculty and guests. The tour included the
Cotswolds, the Bunyan Meeting House, Cambridge University, the American Cemetery, the home and church of C. S. Lewis, William Carey’s church in Moulton, John Newton’s church in Olney, Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, the Abbey and Baptist chapel in Tewkesbury, London, the Lake District (home of William Wordsworth and Beatrix
Potter), and Edinburgh and Stirling Castle (site of Braveheart’s William Wallace) in Scotland.
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 Nancy’s parents, Wilma and Quentin Woods, celebrated milestones this year. Nancy and Bruce traveled to Missouri in February to celebrate Quentin’s 90th birthday, then again in April to celebrate Wilma’s 80th. In August, the Muskrats traveled to Joplin once again to help Nancy’s parents celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. Nancy’s sister, Judy, and her family traveled from Anaheim, California for the big occasion, as did Daniel, Sara, and their children. Nancy & Judy surprised their parents with a small reception for family and friends in the home of Jim Muskrat, Bruce’s father, and an excursion with dinner and a show on the
Branson Belle showboat in Branson, MO. Wilma and Quentin enjoyed the festivities so much that they decided they would like to do it again for their 70th anniversary!
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The Muskrats completed their third year with
B. H. Carroll Theological Institute in August. The Institute continues to grow with 195 Master’s students (including 60 students enrolled in master’s level courses in Cuba), 22
Diploma students, 30 Ph.D. students, 4 D.Min. students, 9  Pre-doctoral students, and 408 Readers or auditors in the various Teaching Churches. That totals to 668 students involved in study through BHCTI, which represents a 92% increase in enrollment since Carroll Institute classes began in 2004. The Institute commemorated the 400th anniversary of Baptist life with a special celebration during the summer colloquy. In addition to their work at BHCTI, Bruce and Nancy are active in the music ministry at
Agape Baptist Church. Bruce also serves as chairman of the finance committee. The Muskrats have kept the two grand pianos busy, not only at church but with concerts of sacred and classical music throughout the year. In June, Bruce and Nancy returned to the
International Mission Board’s Learning/Orientation Center located near Richmond, VA to lead the worship sessions and serve as facilitators for the 2009 Emeritus Recognition Conference. This was their third time to participate in the activities for retirees, so evidently they still haven’t learned how to retire! They still enjoy sharing about missions and their work in Argentina and welcome any opportunity to don their Argentine ponchos.
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Our
prayer for you this Christmas season and for the New Year is that the
"Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every
way."
2 Thessalonians 3:16
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Bruce
and Nancy Muskrat are
at B. H. Carroll
Theological Institute, where Bruce serves as as Professor of
Church Music and Missions and is also Director of Business Affairs.
Now "emeritus" missionaries to Argentina, the Muskrats
served 29 years under appointment of the International
Mission Board, SBC. Appointed in 1977 as seminary music teachers,
the Muskrats taught courses in church music and worship in the International
Baptist Theological Seminary, Buenos Aires (1979-2000), and
ministered through music evangelism and participation in church
planting through the mission's Pro-Meta
team. Bruce served as Administrative Support Leader for the Argentine
Baptist Mission, the organization of Southern Baptist
missionaries in that country.
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bmuskrat (at) gmail.com