Cooking squirrel on a December afternoon

I didn't get up before dawn this morning to wander around in the woods hunting rabbits (chokfi) and squirrels (fani). The men from Hopewell Baptist Church did. By noon they'd gotten four squirrels (to the best of my knowledge). The men passed on their catch to the women of the church to dress and cook.

I arrived in time to watch Mrs. Isaac working on the last squirrel, taking the skin off with a knife.

The squirrels were then prepared with salt and put into a small black pot next to the fire to cook. I was glad to be near the fire because it was a chilly afternoon! The lady in charge, Lola, made sure there was enough wood on the fire and kept raking the coals forward under the pot. She used a large slotted spoon to skim the ashes from the top of the water.


We talked around the fire for a good long while as the food cooked. Henry told me about how things used to be when he was young. It used to take a long time to prepare meals - collecting wood, waiting for the fire to be just right, waiting for the meat to cook. Things are so immediate now. He was surprised to learn I'm from Pennsylvania. (Yes, I am cold in Mississippi but I'm glad I don't have to shovel snow.)


We enjoyed a meal of meat, biscuits, pork n' beans, pineapple upside down cake, greens and (strong) coffee. I smell like campfire smoke now, the chill hasn't quite left my toes. And I am happy.

Friday Choctaw language Bible study

Friday December 9, 2011

It was cold this afternoon. I put on a pot of coffee and leaned against the counter in the office kitchen, listening to Leonard read 1 Corinthians 6 in Choctaw. After some a few verses he began to talk about the meaning of the verses and how it relates to everyday life. I understand a few words here and there, and he's good enough to provide a sort of English paraphrase. Leonard has been holding a Choctaw language Bible study at the CBTC office on a weekly basis. Tonight I joined the group for the first time. Everyone was a little sleepy after a long week at work but the coffee perked us up a bit.

Leonard talked about the need for Christians to live differently. He encouraged us to live out our faith and be a good example (even if the people around us don't understand why we are trying to live differently). A humble man, Leonard talked to us from his own experiences and testimony. He doesn't want his kids to make the same mistakes. He said that "God doesn’t give us tasks that he doesn’t equip us for." The life experiences he's had have allowed him to related to the people who attend his church.

Working on the Bible translation has given him new perspective on the Gospel. He said that as he's gotten to know the Word he's seen changes in his attitudes and behavior. Working with different Scripture resources, translating, doing community checks and then using it as a resource for preaching has allowed him to make the Bible real and applicable.

As I thought about the interactions of the evening on the way home I thanked God that He's allowed me to be here. I am blessed to be part of this work.

Yakoki Chihowa.

Bita Ikbi

The students recently completed diamond pattern headbands.

I've been working with Pam at Choctaw Central High School for about a month now. Each day is different. My activities include:
*assisting her with teaching
*helping the students complete projects
*grading, typing lesson plans
*creating worksheets
*brainstorming ideas.

After school Pam and I study language and culture together. We are working with "Choctaw Language and Culture" by Marcia Haag and Henry Willis. It's published by University of Oklahoma Press so the alphabet used is the one used by the Oklahoma Choctaw. (I'll write about the different alphabet/orthographies in a later posting).

My task this week is creating a "how to" book on making a diamond pattern headband. I'm combining English and Choctaw vocabulary with photos and illustrations of each step.

We're also doing language learning & culture discussions about beading techniques. The students are creating beautiful beaded Christmas ornaments!

Choctaw Christmas CD

Choctaw Christmas Music in the Choctaw Language!
Nittak Hollo Chito Isht Talowa CD now available!

Also:
Christmas Music song booklet!

For more information, visit our Facebook page.

Season to Give & Recieve

Since Christmas is the season of giving and receiving, I’d like to let y’all know about some of my favorite ways to give and to receive!

Give: Soldiers Angels

I read about Soldiers Angels in a Guideposts article in 2008. The article described how the organization was formed to provide care packages and support for American service personnel serving overseas. (The slogan is “May no soldier go unloved.”) I volunteered to “adopt” a solider for 1 year. The commitment meant sending 1 care package a month and 1 card/letter per week. Since then I’ve had three adopted soldiers. I joined the Letter Writing Team (sending letters of encouragement once a week to different soldiers) and most recently Cards Plus team (sending cards for special occasions to soldiers, veterans and their families).

I think that supporting our troops and their families is extremely important. I encourage you to take a look at their website and see if there’s anything you can do for soldiers this holiday season!

Give: Angel Tree

Inside WalMart stores there's a tree with small paper angels attached to it. On each angel are gift requests from children in need. Usually the items requested are clothing, shoes and toys. Consider picking up one of the angels and adding the gift to the collection there!

Receive: Goodreads

I love to read. It's easily my favorite hobby. Goodreads is a fantastic website for people like me who love books. It's very interactive - create a bookshelf with your favorite books, get recommendations, answer trivia questions, add friends and read author blogs.

The site has a giveaways section where you can enter your name to win new editions of books from the author or publisher. I won two books so far.

Receive: Amazon

Amazon is listing a free MP3 Christmas music download every day during December. They have a wide selection of free MP3 singles and albums. I already started my Christmas music playlist!

On the road & returning home

I've been on the road for the past week and a half! I started my journey on the 18th with a drive North to Charlotte, Michigan. I shared with the congregation at Crossroads Church. I talked about translation, my experiences in Choctaw land and languages. Afterwards I answered some questions. The children were especially interested in stick ball. Then we shared a Thanksgiving meal complete with venison, turkey, stuffing (or filling or dressing), pies and coffee. I was a bit taken aback to find frost on my car the morning I was getting ready to leave!

I was in Fort Worth, TX for Thanksgiving. I had a fun and relaxing visit with Dale and Lucille as well as David and Laura! Lucille is a fantastic and accommodating cook! (She made 2 gluten free pies!) We challenged ourselves to solve the New York Times crossword puzzle (5 adults with 12 college degrees between us) and succeed 3 times (but rolled our eyes as we figured out the gimmick of each puzzle). We watched some football games. And, we laughed a lot and shared pleasant conversation about everything under the sun. Thank y'all for making me feel welcome!

***

I drove home to Mississippi last night. While I was driving I found my thoughts wandering. I thought about the fact that MS feels like home to me; something that we all search for. And that I am happy there. Not a wild, excited, hyperactive kind of happiness. Instead it's a deep kind of contentment that I know where I'm where I'm supposed to be. And without experiences where I haven't been content I wouldn't appreciate the situation I'm in now.

My thoughts wandered to the different people I've missed seeing and how nice it will be to catch-up with them. Are L. and V. planning any special events at the Baptist church for Christmas? How is J. liking his new job? Is G. feeling better after struggling with some diabetes related issues? Is P. getting ready to introduce a new set of lessons to the high school students? I had a lot of questions and I found myself anticipating seeing each of my friends. I am content.

It's been a good week. I am content, but I am also grateful because I know how blessed I am.

Yakoki Chihowa.

Leonard preaching at Hopewell

Recovery

In July I had a relapse into depression and anxiety, issues that I've dealt with since I was in the South Pacific. It's like being alone at the bottom of a hopeless pit. Depression is like a heavy weight that comes down on my mind at times that I have a hard time shaking off. Anxiety is the body's flight or fight response to stressful situations. After being exposed to too much stress, an amount that a "normal" person can easily handle but right now my threshold is much lower, my heart starts pounding and I feel completely helpless. It's a very lonely place to be.

It's October now. I'm getting a little bit better everyday. A great source of frustration to me is how limited my personal emotional reserves are. Because of this I have to carefully choose my social activities and balance that with times of rest. For someone who has always felt like my value is related to the amount of "stuff" that I do, this has been very frustrating. I don't like to feel so limited.

Conversations with trusted friends has given me some insight. Ministry isn't always about the quantity of stuff we do. It's also about the quality of time and investment that we make in the people around us. I am finding that this has helped me to be a better friend and a better listener. I know that I will continue to get better and be able to do more and more. For now, I'm learning to be content.

Birthday

Today is my 29th birthday. One of my favorite stories is "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. The following entry is inspired by that book.

I am 29 years old. I woke up early this morning and listened thunder, lightening and rain falling outside my window. My dog, Crouton, paced nervously around the room until I finally woke-up. She didn't want to walk outside the carport. I called my Mom. I picked-up a prescription. I talked with my coworkers.

I am 28 years old. Laura-Christel, Martha and baby Kinsley and I are traveling back to Mississippi. We stop for dinner at a sushi restaurant in Meridian. Laura-Christel eats my complementary dessert. The waitress sing, "Happy Birs-day to you".

I am 26 years old. I share a birthday with my friend Ruth Huntley. We gather with mutual friends at their home on the ILC campus in Dallas, TX. Afterwards I go swing dancing. One of the best birthdays I've ever had.

I am 25 years old. I have a celebration with the McLeans, an Australian family. I'm visiting them at the Christian Leaders Training College near Mt. Hagen in Papua New Guinea. Heather made me a cake in a special microwaveable pan.

Belated post - Skit with Hopewell youth

I’m working with Leonard, one of our mother tongue translators, who also is the pastor of a Baptist congregation in the Standing Pine Community. A few months ago, Leonard called me attention to a skit on YouTube. Working together, we adapted the skit for use at his church. We began practice earlier this spring. Leonard wants to use the skit as part of the 100 year anniversary of the New Choctaw Baptist Association. The skit is meant to reinforce the sermon Leonard is going to preach about the need for salvation at different congregations August 21 – 26.

Working with the students is part of my work as an Arts Consultant – incorporating Arts into different areas of ministry. I am happy that there are opportunities for me to use my training.

Language Learning (Part B)

This week we're supposed to be moving into the second part of the Growing Participator Approach. That means using the vocabulary we've been reviewing to form sentences. I'm not sure if I'm actually ready to start talking, at least with any degree of confidence. We're going over vocabulary this week (Monday and Tuesday). Elijah, our language nurturer is preparing to go on a mercy mission to Japan with another musician from Jackson. Her name is Myah.

I find myself recognizing words that I hear in conversation around me. At church I can get the basic "gist" of the sermon (at Hope Indian Baptist Church where Pastor Travis speaks in Choctaw).

With more review I'll continue to get stronger with my vocabulary. I was given some advice to really work on speaking with the "right" accent. Sounding Choctaw.

Fund (Fun?) Raising

In order to earn some money for our trip to DC, I worked with the staff at CBTC to make sausage and biscuits. ...Where I'm from (south central Pennsylvania) we've been known to sell slippery pot pie and apple dumplings. As everything that I do is a learning process, let me share some of my life-lessons with you.

People here are down right hyper about their biscuits and breakfast meat. I tried to make biscuits but they were a miserable failure - flat and burned. Just so you know, it's not the same as kneading bread and making loaves. If you work the dough too much it gets hard and nasty.

A couple of different Chahtas came in to save the day. Pam was trying to show me how to mix the dough. Add a little milk at a time. Don't stir too fast. Lillie also made some for us. It’s a pleasure to watch Lillie make biscuits - all the movements in muscle memory, all a standard size, all light and fluffy. I was informed by several people that a "real woman is able to make biscuits." My ethnography and anthropology training kicked in at this point. Making biscuits means you're able to cook and provide for your family? It means you've spent enough time in the kitchen under the guidance of your mother and grandmother? Does having a warm pan of fluffy biscuits translate to "I'm marriageable"? I'm really not sure.

We drove around to some of the different offices in order to sell them. There are several places like the workshop and housing authority where men gather to get their tools and equipment before heading off to their jobs. Timing is everything. We got some feedback about preferences (which brands of meat to buy, combinations of meat/egg/cheese). Dreams come wrapped up in a paper towel. For $1.

House Dance

For one of our language learning sessions in May we went to a house dance on a Saturday afternoon. The dance took place at the home of George Isaac. He and his family hold events like this from time to time to celebrate birthdays. They set up some tents in the yard and brought out some lawn chairs. Elijah sat under one tent with the other musicians. There was a fiddle and some guitars set up with microphones and amplifiers.

Under another tent was a long table piled high with food – hominy in a large cooler, neck bone soup, banana pudding with vanilla wafers, sweet potatoes, greens, etc. And pop from Piggly Wiggly.

Historically a house dance is held in the evening. Folks come together to dance, talk and generally have fun together. In the past, a man would offer an item of food to a young lady in order to get her to dance with him. By the end of the evening, ladies would go home with armloads of fruit, veggies and other treats.

The dance we did was a social dance. Ladies and men stood in concentric circles. We followed the directions of the caller while keeping rhythm with the guitar and fiddle players. We gathered in two concentric circles - swinging partners and promenading.

It was beyond hot and very dusty. The rest of the time we were there I sat under a tree drinking water and working on a beading project.