Released!

This week I got a call from my Wycliffe Personnel Administrator, Jo. We had a conversation about my current partnership development efforts. It was decided that I am able to begin my assignment with the Bible Translation Committee as an Arts Intern!

"As an Arts Intern, I will support the Bible Translation Staff and local ministries in incorporating the Arts (storytelling, dance, music, visual arts and drama) into ministry in order to share the Gospel message in effective and meaningful ways. Some of my activities will be leading storytelling and songwriting workshops, developing church drama teams and doing illustrations for literacy materials."

If you are interested in supporting me please go to the Wycliffe online Invitation to Partnership. Type my name into the fields.

April Showers

This week brought some extreme weather to central Mississippi. Several people called or emailed me to ask if there was any damage to the area and if I'm okay. I'm doing well. The trees on Nana's property lost a few branches but the house is intact. The Bible Translation Office, a double wide trailer, is okay.

Please pray for those who experienced loss during the storms.

Scenes from the ECHO Spring Festival

Cooking Hominy over the open fire

Community Dancers performing

Literacy Class Visit

A group of students from the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics are scheduled for a visit April 18-20. I've been communicating with Amanda over Skype to work out the details.

Yesterday I went to the Choctaw archives to find some samples of literacy materials. The challenge for the students is making "big books" - large sized story books for use with large groups of students. The storybooks I found in the archives were in the School alphabet, not the Modern alphabet. Literacy teacher, Pam, is very excited about having the students come to visit. She's looking forward to their insight and support.

For more information on the Choctaw orthography, visit the Wikipedia page.

Busy Week!

This week has been very busy, but extremely satisfying. I came home from Dallas with a renewed sense of purpose. To tell you the truth, I am very happy to be here and I don't want to be anywhere else.

Translation Team:
Lillie, Warren and Leonard are continuing to work on the book of Luke on site. Jesse and Elijah have other commitments, but are doing some revisions and drafting. Jesse is revising the Childrens' Bible Stories Level 1 and Elijah is working on Philippians.

Storytelling:
The ICI storytelling workshop is planned for May 25-27. The first step is a "mini-workshop" to prepare and inform the staff. I drafted a preliminary outline. Eddie gave me some more information about the recording equipment and the technological side of things. (I was very tempted to sit and play with the Olympus recorder!)

Partnership Development:
84% promised! I continue to reach out and share about Bible Translation as I build my team of prayer and financial partners. I'm taking an online PD seminar through Wycliffe. It's been helpful and encouraging. This weekend I am sharing at a church in Jackson, MS.

Drama at Hopewell Baptist Church:
We didn't have a practice this week because of the tribal elections. A lot of folks are attending rallies. Leonard has a lot of great ideas. He'd like to incorporate drama and dance into the ministry of his church.

God Sized Vision

I want to share some inspiration with y'all. A vision. A God sized vision.

The Choctaws are unique among Native American tribes because their language is still spoken in homes, churches, schools and in the work place. I consider it a privilege to be part of this community. I hear Choctaw spoken when I am shopping at the grocery store! According to Miko (Chief) Beasley Denson, 85% of tribal members speak Choctaw as their first language! That means that the Choctaw language touches hearts in a way that the English language doesn't.

As an Arts Intern, I understand how the Arts (storytelling, drama, visual arts, music and dance) allows people to connect with others. In their own culture, but also with people from other cultures. Arts are a cultural universal! Christian artists are in a unique position to be catalysts for change.

I don't know about you, but I want to be part of what God is doing. I want to be part of something big! I've been praying about a God sized vision. Jesus tells us to pray that "His kingdom will come and His will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." Wouldn't it be wonderful if God's kingdom came to the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw Indians?

I want to be part of something so big that only God can be given glory for it. He is faithful!

Translation Progress

At our staff meeting this morning, translators Lillie, Leonard and Warren gave updates on their translation progress. Lillie and Luke are preparing the book of Luke for publication. Warren is learning the translation software and creating a word list. The challenge right now is making sure the translation is ready for publication - and that all of the words are in the Choctaw modern alphabet.