Romans Party at Elm Tree Baptist

The Young Adults class at Elm Tree Baptist held a Roman's night for the church. We even had a "craft time" where we made Roman arm bands and crowns. It was a great time, and the young adults had put a lot of work into it.

Visiting the World's Largest McDonalds

Last week we made an emergency run to Missouri and got to stop at the world's largest McDonalds on the way home. We stopped and got a little snack to get us the rest of the way home.

You'll have to trust me on this one...this really is me, and it really is the world's largest McDonalds...and it really was 1:00 AM.

This is Elisabeth; we ventured out together...thankfully we made it home together also!

Time flies when you're having...

...verbs?

Our focus for the past week (and next 3) has been the verbs within Cherokee. We're discovering that you can communicate a full English sentence with only one word in Cherokee. For example, you can say "She will not be stomping" with only one word. We're getting to a very exciting point in the language, as we are now accustomed to writing it down and the sounds we should expect to hear.

I'll post more pictures soon! Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
Carrie

Surprises around every corner...

We got to go to a United Keetoowah Band pow-wow on Saturday. The Keetoowah are a tribe of Cherokee here in Oklahoma. These are only a few pictures of the 115 participants in the pow-wow. They came from all over to participate. It was great to be able to see a pow-wow.

We also were surprised with the presence of Chris and Ginger. They are in Tulsa visiting with family, and decided to drive over to visit us. Please be praying for them as they are waiting to hear if they will be receiving their visas in time to leave in January.

Love,
Carrie

Home on the Range...

Sweeping the Dining Hall

This is the size of our rooms!

It took us about six hours to get to Tahlequah, OK from Roach. This weekend will be full of cleaning and finding a language helper at church on Sunday. I'll be working with one of my classmates, Justin.

Please be praying:
-- that we will find a language helper that we can work well with.
--for us as we rely on each other for meals, cleaning, and bathroom sharing.
--families that will be adjusting.

Love,l
Carrie

Ooooooooooo-klahoma!

On Friday morning, our class is driving down to Oklahoma to begin studying Cherokee for six weeks. We will be staying at a Cherokee-run conference center outside of Tahlequah.

Until then, we are frantically working on "Kuman". Kuman is a language from Papua New Guinea. Our goal is to discover what the Kuman think they are saying, and to discover the grammatical structures within their language. This project is due Thursday morning.

Over the past few weeks, a few viruses have been passed around campus. As our minds are exhausted and our bodies following in exhaustion, would you pray with us that the linguistics students would not get sick? Our desire is to finish strong in this assignment this week, while preparing for our 6-week move to Oklahoma.

Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
Carrie

An Example

These two pictures make one white board of Northern Tepehuan non-action clauses. Northern Tepehuan is a language group from Mexico. Non-action clauses are sentences that resemble "This tree is tall." They describe the subject in the sentence. It took many different color markers and a few hours, but I was finally able to figure out most of the meanings of the words. Today I'm working on the action clauses: "You hit me."

Please pray that I will have a clear mind on this 3 day problem of Northern Tepehuan!

Love, Carrie

More Linguistics

This picture is all that we have learned in the past three weeks of linguistics. This week we will learn and review for two days before we begin the "Long Problems." We'll spend three days to two weeks working on long problems: Northern Tepehuan, Tomi Ksa, and Kuman. Please pray for our class as we begin this stress-ier time.
Love,
Carrie

Table Rock Lake

Our class had the opportunity to go to a lake house this weekend, and we spent many hours out on the water...here's a few pictures of it:

Caution Flagger: Man Down!!

Christin, Janna, and Tiff tubing

I tried wake boarding...but didn't make it up

That was the extent I was ever out of the water!

We had a great time, and tomorrow morning we return to our linguistics studies. (Technically, tonight...we have homework...)

Love C~

My new Apartment...Again

Welcome to my new house!! I finally have a place to hang my hammock, so I'm in it quite often. My door is on the left...come on in...The living area (from the kitchen)
The kitchen (from the living area)
There are two of us in the apartment. Please pray that we would communicate well with each other this semester and enjoy each other's company.

Indiana

Last week I left Louisiana for Missouri and quickly moved my things to a new apartment. Then I went up to my cousin's wedding in Indiana. We had a great time up there, and we're looking forward to the next time we're all together. This is (almost) all the cousins. We're missing three cousins for the picture. I made it safely back to Missouri--but not without stopping at a friend's along the way.
Tyler, Mike, and I were on a SUMMIT trip together a few years ago, and Mike married Ashley this summer. It was so good to see them again!

I'm back on campus now, trying to get my apartment put together. I'll put up pictures, once the boxes are gone!

Thanks for all your prayers,
Carrie

Vacation Bible School

Each night in our classroom, the kids wrote down things they were worried or scared about. We then hung them on the "Tasmania" bulletin board, signifying that they went "walk about" on Tasmania Island.
"Everywhere I look I see Your face": The kids did a great job singing on the last night.

Visitors!

This is my friend Blessing from high school. She and her family were in town for a wedding, and I got to spend a little bit of time with them. It was great to see you guys again!






My brother, Tim, was here on leave for two weeks and we were able to spend some time together. He has some pretty cool shades he got from the bank. :-)



Please be praying for our VBS kids and staff this week. Tonight is the fourth night, and we adults are starting to get tired! Sunday night the kids will have a "Family Night" and sing for their parents. We always enjoy that! Thanks for your prayers--

Love, Carrie

Summer in Louisiana

"Wow, it sure is hot this summer!"
...
"It seems likes it rains all the time!"
...
"I can't believe all the grass is dying!"

These are all things I've heard this summer in Louisiana--and every other summer since 1996! We Louisianians, for I am one so long as I am here, are always surprised that this summer is just like last summer. How easily we humans forget what just happened. Hot and humid--it's a constant for us, and we can always fall back on the weather to start a conversation.

But what about that other great Constant in our lives? Many times I find myself relying on the weather as a constant that I can talk to people, usually strangers, about. What would happen if I chose another Constant in my life, Jesus Christ, to converse about with people? If nothing other that strange stares, my life would change as I focus not on the weather and it's effects on me, but on Jesus Christ and His power in my life.


Update wise, I'm busy getting ready for VBS at Shreve City. It starts next Monday, July 9th. Please pray for our church as we prepare for these fun children. I've also talked to a few people in town about sharing in their churches this summer. As I'll be leaving August 9th for Missouri, that basically leaves July for sharing with other churches.

Happy Independence Day!

Love, Carrie

Goodbye, Pennsylvania

Maryland-Pennsylvania Border from High Rock, MD

Pappy at High Rock, MD

Elliot untying Pappy's shoes

I spent the week with Pappy Leckron this week. We had a restful time, and I was able to visit with many family and friends. We went up to Pen Mar Park, MD one day for a picnic and fed a few Appalachian Trail hikers. It was so fun to spend time in Waynesboro! Now I'm in Maryland with my brother, Tim, for the weekend.

Congratulations!

My cousin Casey and Josh got married last night here in Pennsylvania. It was a beautiful wedding, and fun, too! Have a great time in Rehobath. Love, Carrie

Hm...

Well, this shows how busy I got at the end of the school year. I just found more pictures you haven't seen! May 11th the youth group had a formal banquet themed from The Chronicles of Narnia. We had a blast preparing, and the youth had even more fun in Narnia!

These are our 26-ish high school youth.

You are now entering Narnia!

Carlos and Nathan pulling aside the coats for Lauren

Koni, Gretchen, and Heidi licking the light pole

Our four seniors: Kent, Brian, Kathy, and Heidi

Mr. Tumnus' house

Can you see Mr. Tumnus?

And that is the banquet!

Travelling the East Coast

I realized I haven't updated in a looong time. So here are a few pictures from my brief time in Louisiana. I'm currently in the Jersey Shore, PA area visiting with friends and family. Monday, June 4th, I'll head to Waynesboro, PA and visit with Mom's side of the family. I'll spend the next weekend with Tim and Britney in Maryland. Then on to North Carolina for a week with Mom and Dad, and on the way back to Louisiana, I'll stop in Georgia and Florida to visit friends. I'll try to keep in contact as I go!

Love,
Carrie

Halle making a "kissy face" with her new book from Aunt Katie
See you soon!

Some Thoughts on God

I've never really put any "theological" thoughts on here, but tomorrow morning it's my turn to share the devotions in our linguistics course. I thought maybe I would share some things with you all, too. These are just a few thoughts I have come across in the past few years.

If language is reflecting deeply the image of God, don't expect it to be simple, now or ever -- nor for any theory to exhaust it. Language is complicated, because language has its source in person. --Kenneth L. Pike, Summer Institute of Language

Since we are analyzing many different languages, this is especially important to me right now. There have been languages that I don't understand, and it has been hard for me to realize that I may not understand why the language functions a certain way. I have had to accept that I don't understand the language, yet at the same time recognizing that this language works. People use it and understand it on a daily basis. It may not work the way I expect it to, and I may not get it to fit into a "pattern" I know.
A.W. Tozer wrote, "What God is, He is without boundaries. All that God is, He is without bounds or limits...There is nothing boundless but God and nothing infinite but God." Praise God that this is true! How does language fit into this? God has created languages with boundaries, each fitting into patterns within itself. God has created this languages with predictability! What a comfort that is, along with the presence of the Holy Spirit, as our class learns to analyze these problems! The work goes from impossible to possible, from struggle to blessing, from trying to tried.

Prayer:

• Tuesday morning I have my "Welcome to NTM" interview. This is a time when I get to meet with a couple from Headquarters and ask each other questions.
  
• The next 20 days are packed as I finish out the semester. Please pray that I will finish strong as I continue learning how to analyze languages, say goodbye to classmates who will be overseas as early as August, and prepare for a month of travelling after graduation.

Love, Carrie

Linguistics has begun!

I used to look at my grandpa's four-color pen in amazement --how did they get FOUR colors into ONE pen?! If only they could make four crayons in one...
Well, I am discovering now that four-color pens are of great use in linguistics. Linguistics is a course to teach us how to analyze a given language. The manner we are learning, is to circle different areas of the language in different colors. Amazingly enough, yes, the same colors that are in the "magic" four-color pen from my childhood!
We are moving into a stage that has more homework, approximately two hours each evening. Please be praying for me as my schedule is adjusted to two hours of homework! Also, I have been filling out the proper paperwork for becoming a member of NTM as of June 2007. Please pray that I would make wise decisions.

Have a great week!
Love,
Carrie

Easter in Shreveport

I was blessed to be able to visit Shreveport this weekend. Though it was colder than I expected, Sunday morning was beautiful over the lake. As I would tell people here at school where I was going, they were confused that I would go where my parents weren't. I was able to share that my church is family, just as my parents and brother are. Thank you all for making me feel at home in your homes! It was so great to see you all and visit. Autumn and I had a safe trip home, and thank you for your prayers. Here's a picture from the Natural Bridge in Arkansas:
This week our class will divide into two groups: those staying for linguistics and those who are going home to start partnership development. Please pray for us all, that we would all finish strong. The second group is winding down as their training with NTM is coming to an end. The group of us staying for linguistics is just getting started! We will be focusing on how to analyze a language. Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
Carrie

Hmm...

Well, it's been brought to my attention that I don't have a spot for you to leave comments on here. This whole time I've just thought no one was reading...Thanks, Katie W!

Kinship Anyone?

For the most part, kinship is not as important to those of us in the western world as it is to those in developing countries. Many of us live hundreds of miles away from brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents etc. It is likely that we have relatives we have not even met and probably will never meet--and might not even care to! However, the vast majority of tribal cultures are organized around their kinship relationships. Who they fight, how they settle disputes, the work they do in the village, the gifts they give, their status in the village, and obligations to each other are all determined by kinship relationships.

The catch for us as westerners is to understand that tribal people don't view their relatives as we view our relatives. There are five main types of kinship systems, which all kinship systems include in one way or another. In the Hawaiin kinship system, a person calls all of the males in the his father's generation the same thing he would call his father (i.e. all of his uncles would be called whatever he calls his father). The same with the females in his mother's generation--all of the 'aunts' would be called whatever he calls his mother. Because of this, the children of those 'aunts' and 'uncles' (cousins) would be called that person's brothers and sisters, and they would relate to each other in that way.

There are four other kinship systems: Iroquois, Sudanese, Crow and Eskimo. These names were derived from the particular people group where the system was discovered. Each system has its own way of tracing descent and in turn, how they relate to each other because of what they call each other. In our thinking, we would naturally expect that our dad is more responsible for our well-being than he is someone else's kids. However, in one tribe, the father is more responsible for his sister's kids than he is for his own children.

Why in the world is studying kinship important to planting a tribal church? Kinship dictates how the people relate to each other through gift-giving, obligations, privileges etc. Understanding kinship is one of the keys to know why they do what they do and why they interrelate the way they do--and even later on down the road how they relate to us.

Knowing this will help us to teach the Bible more clearly when we start talking about relationships in Scripture - God as our Father, we are His children - brothers and sisters in Christ, and even how God wants us to relate to those outside of the Body of Christ regardless of where they fall in line with being kin.

(Thank you to Sonya for writing this!)

Love you all,
Carrie

My "Little" Brother

I'm very proud of my younger brother, Tim. He's been in the Navy for a year and a half now. He's a helo mechanic, and just last week got to fly up to Boston for a reward trip. The best workers for the day shift and night shift were flown up to Boston for the day.

Soon he will be going to England, Norway, and Greece for a few weeks to work on the helos there. I miss him terribly when he's in Maryland, but I'm so proud of him! Keep up the good work, Tim!

Ha Ha Tonka

My friend Autumn and I saw that it was a nice day a few weeks ago, so we decided to take a hike through Ha Ha Tonka.

To our left, we had "Florida water", blue water at 56 degrees. This part of the lake is spring fed and stays the same temperature year round. Make way for ducklings!
Also to our left, was this fallen log, with moss at the bottom and snow at the top. I though that was so cool that God could make the log warm enough near the water to grow moss, yet cool enough out of the water to keep the snow!
To our right was a cliff of rocks with some ice--a kid's winter wonder!
The trails were considerable clear, since it had snowed the night before! (Till we hit the parts of snow covering ice...) I'm currently happy with our 10-day forecast of 60 degree weather!

Have a great day!

A Note from Tɛnɛ

This week our class has begun a seven week course of Dobu culture study. The Dobu people live in Papua New Guinea, but their culture has been used here at the Language School for decades. There are teachers that dress as tribal people, and we go into a small attic area each day for our lesson. We plan each day to learn certain words and the processes to elicit them. Though we are learning Dobu culture, our language helper, "Britney" (derived from Britney Spears--Britney likes to listen to American radio) was a missionary to the Palaka people in western Africa, so we are learning to speak various phrases in Palaka.
This picture is of me learning the types of people in pictures. To be culturally sensitive, I asked permission to come sit on her mat and asked how I should sit in the Dobu culture. She told me that "Carrie" (as she pronounces it) means "go" in her language. I told her I didn't want to go, that I wanted to stay a long time, so she gave me the name "Tɛnɛ" which means "sit down." This was exciting to me, because she was accepting my presence with the Dobu.

Please pray for our class as we learn to work together as a group, much like we will in the future on a tribal church planting team. Pray also that we will be culturally sensitive to "Britney."

Nju,
Tɛnɛ

(Thanks,
Carrie)