Mulishani!

So you know how you can identify the best missionaries at a missions conference by the coolness of their opening line?  How if the first words they utter are fantastically foreign to your ears it must mean that they are amazingly gifted communicators and have fully adapted to the language and culture that they are serving in?  How if they keep talking in this strange tongue and even leave stunned pauses for obviously unknown responses in said language it could only indicate that they are at least 5 rungs ahead of you on the ladder to heaven?

Okay, maybe that was just my thought as a child.

Perhaps I'm a bit of an oddity in that sense.  Growing up, missionaries were my rock stars.  I was fascinated by everything they represented in my mind...intriguing cultures, exotic languages, an arrival at the perfect Christian life...by now I hope you can see that I was perhaps a bit idealistic and maybe even delusional about the status of these servants of God in my perspective.  Aren't you glad that I see it, too?  Anyway, that's not what I'm writing about. 

I'm writing this to let you know that I'm well on my way to greeting you with a few new cool words from a language I'm learning!  Inspirational, huh?

In my last post a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was starting a class in order to learn how to learn a second language and culture.  Well, I'm a few weeks into the class, and the highlight so far has DEFINITELY been my language learning practicum sessions with a group of five guys every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon.  We're learning, or really discovering, how to understand and speak Bemba, a language of Zambia, in the southern portion of Africa.  Let me tell you, this has been a blast so far!

If you're anything like me, you probably spent some time in school learning a foreign language such as Spanish, French, or German.  You probably had no real motivation to learn except for a language credit or maybe just curiosity.  You probably also used tools such as a textbook, flash cards, and vocab lists.  How much of that language do you really remember?  When is the last time you've used this language in conversation?

I took Spanish for several years growing up...and though I lived in Orlando for a few years and now live in Texas, I can tell you that I would NOT be able to carry on any type of conversation with the many Spanish speakers living here.  Sure, I could pronounce words on the menu or ask where the bathroom is, but that's about it.  Don't get me wrong, I had some incredible teachers throughout the years, too!  One of them has gone through the exact classes that I am currently taking!  

Just a handful of props for today's lesson...

The thing that I'm loving about learning Bemba is that the students themselves are choosing how to explore and learn the language.  Our language consultant, Elijah (I'll try to get a picture with him soon), simply shows up and we ask him questions, play games, write down what we hear and discover in order to reach certain objectives.  Today was my first day of leading the entire session, and I certainly had to be on my feet when my own cultural background and assumptions were met with blank looks and a few "we don't really have a word for that" moments! 

Tip of the day: don't assume that every language uses distinct words to represent each color that we distinguish in English!  In Bemba, there are words for black, white, and red.  Every other color can be put into these categories or an English word can be borrowed to describe it.  I was fascinated.

Wow, Sarah told me that I should write about the church I visited yesterday with a Bemba speaking Pastor, but I'll have to save it for another day.  Again, here are some more pictures of the kiddos for your enjoyment! Naia!

Another day at the Dallas Museum of Art...she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

For the birds - Eliana had a blast making a fancy bird, too! 

Our good friends, the Tuckers, stayed a few nights.  Sarah and Lanea have been pregnant together many times!

Annnnnnd, the littlest Schuh. Get it, girl.

The Roma

A couple nights ago the low here in Dallas was 27 degrees (!!!).  It's been like that since late last week.  To you mid-westerners and northerners I realize that's probably a heat wave, but to those of us wimps here in Texas--recently moved from Florida--that's COLD!  The high yesterday was 41...I know, I know, be impressed and feel sorry for us all at the same time.

Well, I braved the cold and went for a walk this weekend.  I wore: two pairs of socks, 3 layers of shirts, jeans, a winter coat, 2 pairs o' gloves, ear muffs, and a long white knit (thick) scarf generously draped over my shoulders and face.  I did have a hood on my hoodie layer but this fearless soul didn't need it.  I had to chuckle at myself (as did my husband and probably other people peering out their windows) but even in doing so had a far more important picture emblazoned on my mind's eye.

We had just skyped with our friends, Justin and Beth, who are serving in Sofia, Bulgaria.  They are currently learning the language and culture and like us, are in the process of becoming EthnoArts specialists (although they are quite a bit further along in the journey).  We had gotten an email prayer update from them a couple weeks ago asking us to pray for the Roma people as it has been bitterly cold in Sofia this winter...-10 degrees on a given night.  I had already been praying for them but now that I listened to Justin and Beth tell us about them in person I simply can't get them out of my mind.

If you don't know anything about the Roma, they are gypsies.  They are treated as outcasts and are generally viewed as less-than by society.  Their worth isn't much in the eyes of others and for years they have been made to believe that they are of far less value than any other non-Roma person.  Being gypsies and staying true to definition, they live in non-stationary homes...i.e. shanties constructed of old windows/boards/doors or anything else they can find that will make up their dwelling.  They have set up their "homes" in a big open field and whether it is cold outside or not, this is where they live. 

I have been imagining myself along with my husband living in one of these shanties day in and day out trying to care for our three young children, one of which can't walk or use words to tell us how she's feeling and my heart simply breaks for these people.  They are either freezing cold or scalding hot next to the fire that they set up inside their small home.  This does terrible things for their airways, causing severe sinus infections and all kinds of other sicknesses, not to mention the cold I would imagine they feel all the way down to their bones for long periods of time.  I think about the mothers who just want to keep their children warm and fed, but have no way of getting out to get food or proper clothing because of all the snow around.  What about those who have babies and are trying to nurse their infants, but their baby is so stuffed up that she has a hard time breathing while at the same time trying to eat?

The reason I felt burdened to tell you all this is simply because I'm asking you to pray for them.  Pray for their physical needs to be met.  Justin and Beth have been able to provide some blankets as well as transportation for some families to the hospital when they needed it.  They have worked alongside a respected Roma man who is training to become a pastor and wants to show them the Love of God.  Pray for this man and for Justin and Beth...for wisdom and opportunity.  Most of all, pray that the Roma will see the Father who has poured out His Love on them.  Whenever you feel cold inside your home with four walls, pray for them.  To learn more about the Roma people, click here.  To follow Justin and Beth's blog, click here.  Thanks for praying.

"So...have you learned any new languages yet?"

When we were first starting on our journey with Wycliffe, this is a question that was asked too often to count.  Other variations included: "What languages do you speak now?", "So how many languages have you learned?", and "How is language school treating you?" In the past, my main reply was to tell them that eventually I would be learning how to learn any language, not just give an attempt at learning a language for a grade like I did throughout grade school, middle school, and high school. If that worked the way I had planned, I would now be fluent in Spanish, German, and French! 


For the past four weeks, I've been getting a basis in Phonetics, Phonology/Grammar, and Sociolinguistics for approximately 10-12 hours a day between class time, homework time, and time trying to explain to Sarah and the girls what I'm learning and why on earth it's taking me so many hours locked up in a room with white noise in my headphones.  As my fellow classmates (and awesome new friends) can attest, there were times when everything we were learning was peachy keen, locked right into place, and just plain blew our minds away. There were also times when we all just felt like crying or punching something (if we're honest). Now, with a few days of rest behind me, I'm really excited about the next phase...


On Wednesday, I start taking a course called "Second Language and Cultural Acquisition".  Ahhhhh, now I'll be able to answer people when they ask the aforementioned question! Not only will I be learning how to learn another language, I'll get to practice actually learning a language that I may have never heard before from a native speaker! Sweet!


Here's a quick summary of the class:

Students will learn to identify and apply their own language and culture learning styles; manage language learning; use appropriate techniques and activities to develop second language competence at the novice level while working with a native speaker in language learning sessions. They will be able to describe techniques and activities suitable for language learning at more advanced levels. Building on awareness of their own cultural values, they will be able to describe and will begin to implement strategies for dealing appropriately with differences in cultural values.

'nuff said.


And for those who think blogging is worthless without pictures of kids being cute, these are for you!

Crazy kids.

Just 'cuz.