Posts Tagged ‘language’

Norfolk, Virginia

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

We have been in Virginia with my brother Sam and his wife Kari since Thursday. This morning we presented our ministry at South Norfolk Congregational Community Church, the church they attend here. Tuesday is Sam’s 23rd birthday, so we’re very excited to be here for that as well. While here we’re doing what we do on the road: talking to people about our ministry, handing out our prayer cards, spending time with family, and Sharon is stealing as much time as possible to work on her Cherokee write-up which is due TOMORROW!!! She will likely be pulling an all-nighter tonight and then be exhausted in the morning.

This coming Friday we head to central Virginia to visit some very good friends and then will drive on to Tennessee on Friday. Please pray for Sharon as she finishes up her paper and for safety as we travel. Thank-you.

Settling In for the Long Haul

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Sharon sitting down to sort through mounds of Cherokee data.

Sharon sitting down to sort through mounds of Cherokee data.

As Sharon sits behind me she alternately scratches her head, bounces her knees, and bangs some phonetic writing out on the keyboard. Today is her first full day of work after four full days of packing, cleaning, traveling, visiting, and unpacking. Outside the orange leaves on the trees are almost gone and rain is in the forecast for the next three days. In the kitchen is a pot of hot coffee and under Sharon’s feet a small space heater breathes warmly on her feet. Ideal conditions.

Now if only the computer would work right, the data would fit together perfectly, someone would spoon food into her mouth, and the kitchen would clean itself. Then it would be perfect, but that’s probably asking too much isn’t it?

Please pray that Sharon will be able to focus on her studies and finish her analysis of the Cherokee language before we hit the road in a few days!

A Sample of Cherokee

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Here is a sample of the Chrerokee language written phonetically courtesy of Sharon. See if you can pronounce the words!

Screen shot 2009-10-13 at 2.40.38 PM

Indian Tacos

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Sharon made some delicious indian tacos on Saturday with her language helper (Bobbie) and some of her friends who are also in the linguistics course. The time Sharon has spent with the Cherokee friends she has met here in Tahlequah has been priceless, but we are ready to move on and be completely done studying. Sharon still has a lot of work to do! Breaks like this one are much-needed and well-deserved.

Powwow

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Sharon attended a Powwow on Saturday and had a great time watching the dances and seeing the costumes. She was able to try Indian Tacos and even some of the dance moves. Cherokee culture is rich and intricate, so Sharon went to the powwow to learn some important culture that will help her with her analysis of the language and understanding her language helper. I will be posting some video of the event tomorrow.