Bolo tie!

Recent beading effort.  Thunderbird design bolo tie.

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

The past two weeks have been rough.  I had a bout with anxiety that kept me from really functioning.  It's happened a few times before - during my last months in Ukarumpa, after my first year of graduate school, and in 2011 when I crash landed in Dallas on medical leave. 

What is it like to have an anxiety attack?  Imagine that you are afraid of something that you cannot see, you can only feel.  Imagine that your world shrinks down to feelings of loneliness and helplessness.    

Then, imagine that you slowly start feeling like yourself again.  

I am grateful for my counselor, Cindy, and my Mom for helping me to work through each day and see things for what they are.

I've been thinking about the Prayer of St. Francis.  
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

An instrument is a tool that is used for a specific purpose.  When we ask God to use us, we must put aside certain comforts and be prepared to make sacrifices.  We have to "get out of His way" and realize that we our His vessel.  

God calls us to love one another.  The command is so simple, but is the hardest thing to do.  Love one another?  Love, when we don't feel like loving?  I'm still wrapping my mind around this.  

How can I be an "instrument of God's peace" today?  I can offer words of encouragement and kindness.  I can offer people the "benefit of the doubt."  I can make the world a kinder place to live. 

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.