Done with Bimester #1

I am now a Wycliffe member! After a long process of filling out the application, etc. I have been accepted. So now I’m planning on going to Training Camp in Orlando where I will learn about Wycliffe policies, next steps and such.

For my Cultural Anthropology class that I just finished I had to visit a cultural setting six times, so I chose to go to a Korean church called Binnerri Presbyterian Church. I also had to interview someone from that setting. I interviewed my friend’s mom who is a Korean lady who came to the States when she was in her 20’s. She has an amazing testimony. One thing she repeatedly said was that she wished she had known how to read the Bible and grow spiritually. Though she was saved when she was 33, she said she didn’t “find the Bible” until she was 50 years old. Then she started going early to church every week so she could read the pew Bible before church started. Her testimony reminded how important the Bible is for spiritual growth. It’s the main way that people can have a direct relationship with God and grow to know him better on their own. So I’m more excited about being involved in Bible translation.

This summer I will be doing some traveling. I’m going to Wycliffe Training Camp in Orlando from June 14-28. Five of my friends from here are also going. Then the plan right now is to go to Charlotte, NC to see my grandparents, then Knoxville, TN to see my brother and some friends, then Ohio to see my other brother and some other friends, then Indiana, then Des Moines to see my parents and then it’s back to sunny Dallas to work and start classes again on July 23.

Please pray for:
* safety in travel and good times with friends and family
* wisdom re: decisions about a future project location and partner (see last update)

Update After Session 3

I just finished up my third of eight sessions at GIAL in Dallas. I have studied Grammar, Phonetics and Phonology. I’m well on my way to having a basis for understanding the languages of the world! I’m really enjoying my classes a lot. I’m learning a lot of fascinating things about languages like Seri (from Mexico), Korean, Pitjantjatjara (from Australia), Zulu (from southern Africa) and many other languages. No, I’m not actually learning to speak these languages; I’m just learning things about the sounds people make while speaking them or about the structure of them.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from my professors:

“If you still have some areas of confusion, we have done our job well.” - Paul Kroeger, Grammatical Analysis Instructor, on their goal of showing us that we still have much to learn about Grammar.
“The main reason for the existence of Phonology is to provide a means of employment for phonologists.” - Steve Parker, Phonology Instructor, tongue-in-cheek answer to a student’s question about why we are learning such in-depth analysis.

I’m blessed to be living on a campus with many great people. I live in the dorm with a few other students. We have a lot of fun playing games, hanging out, doing homework together, going out for Vietnamese or Moroccan food (see photo), etc.
I’m also working at Walgreens part-time and tutoring some middle schoolers. So I have a very busy schedule right now.
I’m in the process of applying for membership with Wycliffe. I’m looking into doing a storying project (called OneStory) overseas when I’m done with my classes here. It would involve translating Bible stories into a language that is unwritten so that the people can have a snapshot overview of the message of the whole Bible. I will have one partner with me. There’s a girl here studying with me named Chelsea who I may partner up with.
I was able to go to Knoxville for my older brother’s wedding on March 1. Shout out to Dave and Sara! It was great to see friends and family there.

Please pray:

• for time-management (that I would focus on what is important not just what is urgent)
• for wisdom about decisions regarding OneStory
• for wisdom about whether Chelsea and I should be partners
• that I would learn to focus on God’s glory in all situations

Expression of the Day - March 23, 08

Easter

Expression of the Day - March 14, 08

“Bleeding Order: A relationship between ordered rules in which the rule (A) that applies first removes a structural representation to which another rule (B) would otherwise have applied.”

Expression of the Day - March 10, 08

Stops Make Better Consonants Than Fricatives

N = Some(thing/one) of nasal character