I'm Taking Linguistics!

I only got 3 wrong on my Linguistics test, which is REALLY good! If you miss under 10, they highly recommend that you take it, and under 5 is a definite recommendation. So, as of today, I'm signed up for the course! Of course, God could always close this door if He has something else, but it seems that He is leading in this direction. It's super cool!

So what does this mean?
Instead of only being at MTC for 3 semesters, I will be here for 4 and 1/2 semesters. The first semester of the linguistics course, I will be here on the MTC campus studying. Then, for the 1/2 semester, I will be in Oklahoma doing a practicum with the Cherokee people. We'll put everything we learned in Linguistics to use there.

What do linguists do on the field?
Being a linguist means that you are better equipped on the mission field to analyze the grammatical structure of the target language. Linguists typically are the ones to develop an alphabet for unwritten languages and set up the literacy program in the tribe (i.e. teaching people to read their own language). Since they have extensively studied the grammar and language, linguists are also often (though not always) the ones who translate the Bible after there are believers in the tribe.

What kinds of classes will I take?
Here are the classes I will be taking as a part of this course:

• Phonology (108 hrs.) presents an in-depth look at the decision-making process used in determining what the alphabet should be for an unwritten language. The candidate will learn to distinguish significant sounds from insignificant sounds and write up a description of one
• Morphology (57 hrs.) gives a detailed look into the way that words are constructed. The course will use a variety of languages to present examples of morphemes and their alternate forms. The candidate will learn to correlate language forms with meanings and to organize an explanation of the language in an orderly and understandable way.
• Syntax (103 hrs.) looks at the many ways languages can form multiword constructions. Phrases, clauses, and sentences are all studied as preparation for the study of an unwritten language.
• Applied Linguistics (51 hrs.) gives the candidate an opportunity to deal with a large set of language data in order to determine its inherent phonological and grammatical structures. The candidate will prepare a paper explaining their insight into the language
• Advanced Linguistics Issues (45 hrs.) combines an introduction to discourse analysis with a look at some less common phonological situations.
• The Practicum (325 hrs.) gives the candidate the opportunity to put into practice the skills and abilities developed during the previous courses. Language data will be gathered from native Cherokee speakers and analyzed. The candidate will summarize the findings regarding phonological and grammatical structure and compile them in a paper.

I would really appreciate your prayers as I am trusting God with this next step of my life. I am also currently in the process of researching mission fields to see where God may have me serve overseas. I'm super excited, but it's also a lot to think about. I would definitely appreciate prayers!

Back in MO

After a long 12 hour drive yesterday, I'm glad to say that we're safely back on campus in MO. We had an awesome time with family and friends back home. It was great getting to see everyone back home! We had a pretty full house with my friend, Rachel, from MTC as well as Josiah's brother, Jotham, and his friend Ryan from New Tribes Bible Institute. Overall, it was a very great and relaxing time!

My surgery went well (I don't remember it), and I slept almost 2 full days (from medicine, I think). Thursday-Saturday, I was in a lot of pain because I stopped taking the heavy pain meds, but thank God for Advil! Thankfully, I'm doing pretty good right now. My jaws are a bit sore and stiff, but I'm not in much pain, which is a huge blessing. Thanks for your prayers!

Today, we got back into classes. We had a class on time stewardship, and then we took an hour long test that determines how good we might be at linguistics. Linguistics is a huge part of tribal work because it deals with the nitty-gritty of how languages work and the grammatical structure behind the language. The linguistics training here at MTC is an extra 1 and 1/2 semesters after the basic 3 semesters. Only a few people can get into the linguistics training each year, so they test people to see how well they would fit in the program. If you're not going to do well in it, they don't want you to take it (for obvious reasons :-) ). Plus, they want you to have a genuine interest in the subject. I find it quite intriguing. It's like a puzzle, and I love puzzles, so it's pretty fun! Anyways, I'll let you guys know how I score on it pretty soon!

Like I said in my last post, I'm working on getting pics up. Hopefully they'll come within the next day or so!

Update on Surgery

Surgery went really well, thanks for praying! I woke up freezing cold in the operating room, and my whole mouth was numb, but I wasn't in any pain, thankfully. Since then, I've been sleeping pretty much all the time. There's been almost no pain, swelling, or bruising, so I'm very thankful!!! I'm able to eat soft stuff pretty regularly, and I'm a bit more alert this morning (already had an 1 hour long nap). Thanks for all your prayers!

Since I'm home for the next few days, I'm going to try to post a bunch of pics so you guys can see my last couple of weeks at MTC.

Back home!

We made it back home safely! Thanks for all your prayers! The drive was long, but bearable because the four of us took shifts driving.

I have surgery in 1 hour, so please be praying! It'll be good to get the teeth out, but, as my grandparents were saying, I'll be enjoying Thanksgiving through a straw... yay.

:-)

Losing my Wisdom (Teeth)

We figured out why I'm having fevers each morning. My wisdom teeth are bothering my mouth (basically, I'm teething... go figure...). So, my parents talked with the dentist yesterday, and he said I need to have emergency surgery to get them out. The plan was for me to have them out two days after Christmas, but now, I am having surgery on Tuesday at 10:30am (yeah, two days before Thanksgiving...). I'm kind of nervous because I've never had surgery before (which has been a huge blessing!). So, Josiah, two friends, and I are driving the 12 hours home this Sunday instead of on Tuesday like we had originally planned. Please pray for safe travels and calm nerves for me. Thankfully, the dentist prescribed an antibiotic, which I started yesterday, so hopefully that will start pulling down the fevers.

Thanks for praying!

When Trials Come

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of the song "When Trials Come", but it's an incredible song that has given me a lot of encouragement over the past few days. Life here is wonderful, but sometimes stress creeps in, and I find myself discouraged. I've been having a fever on and off for the past few days and there are a lot of other things that could cause me to quickly throw up my hands in defeat and exhaustion. But God is more than faithful, and I know that I can depend on Him.

 

When trials come, no longer fear

For in the pain our God draws near

To fire a faith worth more than gold

And there His faithfulness is told

And there His faithfulness is told

 

So what's up with classes? Last week, we started our Phonetics class, which has been SUPER fun so far. This class will continue until the end of the semester. We are learning how to recognize, hear, write symbols for, and speak every sound that humans (in any language) make in speaking. It's pretty cool, but it's also making us see how incredibly stupid the English language is at times! This knowledge will help us further down the road when trying to learn a language that has never been written before.

 

Within the night I know Your peace

The breath of God brings strength to me

And new each morning mercy flows

As treasures of the darkness grow

As treasures of the darkness grow

 

Things at ministry are still really neat, but also discouraging at times. We never know what to expect when we show up. Last Sunday, I ended up talking for an hour one-on-one with one of the guys who told me basically his entire life story. It made my heart hurt so much for him. He is a Christian, but he hasn't been discipled very much, and it shows. He's scared, hurting, and very much alone in the world. It's so hard to hear stories like his, and yet, it forces me to my knees in prayer for him and all the other guys at the home. Every night, I know His peace.

 

When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in its shadow I shall run
Till You complete the work begun
Till You complete the work begun

 

Ultimately, through everything that's going on right now, I'm struck by the brevity of our lives and the urgency that we have to live every moment for Christ. Our world is dark and only going to get darker. Our society has wholeheartedly embraced evil, and, while I did enjoy getting to vote for the first time yesterday, I think that America is quickly setting itself up for failure. As such, we as Christians need to be even more proactive about sharing the Gospel because we never know how much time we'll have. Whether it's here with the guys at the boys home or overseas, I want to constantly see the triumph of the cross and run in its shadow until Christ completes the work He's begun in my life and in the lives of those around me.

Some quotes

“If God calls you and no board will send you, bore a hole through the board and go anyway” – Samuel Zwemer

“To stop or linger anywhere, even to repeat the rejected message so long as there are souls beyond that have never heard is at least unjust to those who are still in absolute darkness” – Arthur Pierson

“I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land flooded with darkness than a land flooded with light.” - John Keith Falconer

Totally epic quotes that are more humorous than anything:

(about the people living in the land of Canaan when the twelve spies went to spy out the land)

“Think of it this way. The Expendables meet the Avengers, Chuck Norris is their king, and they don’t want to move”  – one of the students during the student teaching portion of our Foundational Bible Teaching class

(during one game when I was constantly in the middle)
Me (laughing hysterically) - "I hate my life"
Luke Buzzard (an adorable 10-year-old boy) - "You can't hate your life because I'm in it!"

Haha!

Exciting Ministry News

Outreach ministry is a huge part of our week here at MTC. We get a priceless opportunity to reach out to those in the Camden County community to build relationships and share the Gospel. Each student is involved in a ministry team, and there are quite a few on campus. I am involved with the Boys Home ministry. There are seven of us on the team: an MTC staff member, two student couples, Josiah, and me. Each Sunday afternoon, we go over for about an hour to teach the guys at the home a Bible lesson. It's been incredible to see the guys' understanding about the Bible, God, and man grow by leaps and bounds as we've gone from Creation through Abraham and Isaac. Many of them have at least heard some about the Bible, but they never have connected all of the dots. Two of the guys especially are starting to really get excited. Last Sunday as we taught through the story of Noah and the Flood, one of the guys, Cody, (a seventeen-year-old tough guy) threw his hands up in extreme frustration and cried, "So we're all sinners!" When he put together the fact that all men are born outside of the Garden of Eden (and therefore are sinners separated from God) and the fact that all sin deserves death, he was completely overwhelmed with despair. He had never figured this out before.

This Sunday, we taught from the Tower of Babel through Abraham and Isaac (which was an incredible amount of ground to cover in an hour!). The guys really got into the story of Abraham sacrificing his son, Isaac. One of the guys was shocked that Isaac basically let his father sacrifice him. He exclaimed, "I would have poisoned my dad on the way up the mountain!" While this was pretty funny, it made us on the team think. None of these guys would EVER trust their dad with a knife. It saddened us to think of their rough backgrounds. But, despite this mentality, the guys were totally into the story and were literally on the edge of their seats as we dramatized the account for them. They were so sure that Isaac was the one through whom the promised Deliverer would come, and they were scared that he would be killed. When God provided the ram as a sacrifice, you could almost feel the relief they felt! It's so cool to see God bring these stories to life for them!

Most people would think that these guys wouldn't be paying attention to Bible stories (after all, these guys are teenagers). But, God is definitely doing a huge work in their hearts. It's amazing to be a part of it!



The guys at the Boys Home

Please continue to pray for the guys, especially Cody and John who are recognizing their need for a Deliverer and are faithfully coming each Sunday to the teaching. Please also pray for the rest of the guys as we continue to develop relationships with them through our times on Thursday (where we do activities and projects with them) that they would have open hearts to hear God's Word. We never know how much time we'll have with any of them, so what time we have is precious! Please also pray that we'll be able to get through to the story of Christ by the end of the semester. It seems like you would be able to do this right away, but without an adequate foundation, these guys would be completely lost. Without the Old Testament stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, etc, Cody would not have come to the realization that he, too, is a sinner who cannot come to God on his own. It is our prayer that this foundation that we are building (which is also the method we will be using in our tribal works overseas) will prepare their hearts for the story of the promised Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

I've survived 2 months!

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, and, in fact, I haven't. So, what's been happening since I last wrote? A lot. We finished several classes in the past few weeks, which gives one a sense of accomplishment (however small it may be). The classes we finished are Child Protection (one of the hardest classes I have ever taken in my life, not because of the work, but because of the content), Love and Respect (a marriage class which I think I have mentioned before), and a class on Stewardship (making the most of our time since it is so short).

So what's going on right now?

• Foundational Bible Teaching = We are working on student teaching right now. Our class of 47 has been divided into a bunch of smaller groups. We are all taking turns teaching through chronological Bible lessons. In total, there are 70 lessons, so the teachers had to condense the material into 27 lessons for us to practice. I get to teach tomorrow (Wednesday). My group is going from the Israelites entering Canaan through Solomon building the temple. That will be a LOT of material!
• Form and Meaning = We just started this class yesterday, and it is about Bible Translation. We are going to be learning how the form and meaning of Bible passages is crucial to understand when translating the Bible into another language (which is something that most of us will have a part in at some point on the field). This class will last through next week, and I'm pretty excited about it!

Some fun events we've been doing:

• Last Monday, our pastor and his wife, who are also our E-linc leaders, took my friend Rachel and me (the two of us are known around campus as "the twins" or "sisters") shooting with guns out on the shooting range. It was a lot of fun! We ended up shooting a 22 rifle, a 20-gauge shotgun, and a 40mm Glock. Super fun!
• We've been playing a lot of awesome fun sports weekly, including volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, and soccer.
• The leaves are changing colors here, and it's really beautiful! We went up to Ha Ha Tonka state park again this last weekend, and it was awesome to walk through the woods with the colors. I'll post pics ASAP!

It's hard to believe it's been two months since I was last home. I am loving being here!

Please pray for rest and strength as I am starting to get a bit run down with all the activities we are doing. I know God is in control, but being here sometimes feels overwhelming since there is so much information and we are constantly with other people. There are some personality tensions going on as well, so if you could pray that God would give us love and wisdom to deal with situations as they arise, that would be awesome!

Thank you all for your love and prayers! Missing you!

Last Day of September

I've survived an entire month away from home... wow! There are definitely times when I wish I could somehow beam myself back (ok, so that was a bit sci-fi there), but at the same time, I'm loving things here.

Highlights from September

• Labor Day hike to Ha Ha Tonka State Park
• Incredible classes (including, but not limited to:)
  • Communication Skills: Learning how to effectively communicate
  • Worldview Analysis: Learning about a worldview, which is how people view life, and its importance
  • Learning Styles: Learning how people learn and how to work with differences
• Playing Ultimate Frisbee every Friday afternoon
• Starting my ministry at Green Gables
• Learning lessons such as:
• Trust and confidence in God
• Importance of prayer at all times
• Playing with babies :-)
• Making lots of really close friends (we feel like a big family, especially all of us singles since we hang out together all the time)
• Eating lunch outside at the picnic tables
• Enjoying the beautiful weather and the gorgeous scenery