Lesson in Humility

In November I was in a car accident.  I'd just gotten a new puppy (Seth) and I was distracted by the pup jumping on my lap.  I swerved into the other lane and bounced off the side of a Ford F350 Superduty.  It caused enough damage to my car that it was declared "totaled" by the insurance company.

No one was injured!  Praise God!

I called my parents and at the time of my accident they were sitting at the airport getting ready to go on a cruise. (Me: "I got in a car accident!"  Dad: "We're going to see the great pyramids.")  I was out of contact with them for two weeks - imagine two weeks without my support system!

I got a rental car for two weeks and struggled with the settlement process.  I'm not proud of my complaining...  I was provided with a reliable rental car, but still found things to gripe about to anyone that would listen.

I gave a ride to Leonard, who at the time was experiencing car trouble with their family car.  He explained that their car - which is used by he and his wife to transport family members and friends to church, school and work - was completely out of commission.  He'd been asking for rides from friends, coworkers and family members.  He said that being in the car gives him the opportunity to share the Gospel, preach to people and pray for them. 

Talk about an attitude adjustment!  Here Leonard was finding a way to make the best of a difficult situation while I was only concerned about my own comfort.  How humbling!  I've been thinking about how important it is to have a grateful attitude.

I have a 2008 Toyota Yaris now and I'm very happy with it!  


Please pray for that God will provide reliable transportation for Leonard and Vivian. 

Language eLearning: Choctaw Nation language program

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has an excellent language website! 

I've been taking Choctaw I online since August.  The textbook we are using is "Choctaw Language and Culture" by Marcia Haag and Henry Willis.  Three mornings a week I log on to the class website.  After practicing vocabulary by entering the date and the daily weather (see below), we review a section of the book via webcam.  Our teacher is Ms. Lillie Roberts.  She is very knowledgeable and emphasizes the importance of reading out loud, listening  and understanding fundamentals.

What I'm finding particularly challenging is the use of a different alphabet than the alphabet used at CBTC.  I find myself having to double check my spelling!

I like having a steady, consistent time to do language learning.  As anyone who's learned a new language knows, you have to be intentional

Himak nittak vt Mvnti Aktoba awah tahlapi.
Himak nittak kucha yA libisha. 

For clarification:
The Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians is the tribal entity that CBTC serves.  The MCBI website also has information about language and culture.

Abby Farmer - in my office

We've all been learning a lot over the past two weeks.   A team of seven from the Choctaw Bible Translation Committee is traveling to Canada for a week long workshop called Healing the Wounds of Trauma. The workshop was originally designed to assist people from Africa to recover from tragedies they encountered as a result of civil unrest.  The book "Healing the Wounds of Trauma" can be found on Amazon. 

While I was taking classes at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, we covered the contents of the book during one of my classes.  The purpose of the workshop is adapting the concepts in the book to a Native American context.  

We are in the process of fund raising to send our team to the workshop. 

More beaded medallions

 Some new beading projects! I've gotten a lot better with more practice!  Above is a part of my bead set.

 Three medallions that will make-up the necklace portion of my bead set.  Choctaw dress (usually) includes a necklace, two beaded bibs, earrings, and two pins that are attached to the dress. 

 A first attempt at earrings. 

 Earrings completed for Michelle in the Red Water (Oka Homma) colors - red and yellow. 

 Bolo tie that I made for Gary.  I attached an elastic loop on the back for the leather straps. 

 Cobalt blue, white and maroon special order earrings with rhinestones.

 Red and white special order earrings.

Consultant Check

This has been a busy week for the CBTC translators.  A consultant from the American Bible Society, Steve, came to the office for a few days of intense checking!  The translators and board members spent the week painstakingly going through the Gospel of John.  One of the translators read the Choctaw language draft.  Another translator or board member would do a back translation in English.  Then, Steve and our own exegetical consultant, Laura, checked the meaning against the Greek and Hebrew text.

Soon, we'll have the gospel of John ready for publication! This weekend, we're all going to take a much needed break.

Stickball (Kabotcha) Season has officially started.  Around the Reservation, you can see teams practicing in fields.  Today at work, it became apparent that rivalries have started in earnest.  In our office we have representatives from Red Water (me), Conehatta (Lillie), and Pearl River (Elijah).  My housemates (Jason and Josh) are playing with Bogue Chitto. 

We practice 3 nights a week.  We do drills like shooting on the goal, passing, and sprints.  And we run - a lot!  Last night we had practice and I got roughed up pretty bad -  elbow to the gut, fell backwards and hit my head and stopped ball with finger. 


Leonard commented this morning, "Welcome to Choctaw stickball."  Obviously I'm not going to get any sympathy. 

We have a scrimmage game May 6th in Standing Pine.