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.