Tongue Control

 

Pictures (clockwise from top left): garden ground ready for planting, clearing trees for new garden, a thorny green bug Nate encountered, an onanga (axe) for carving wooden bowls, and Elizabeth learns to dig for ‘meh’ one of the 6 kinds of yam that the Pal people plant.

Those who control their tongue will have a long life (Prov. 13:3)*….

How did you all do on the tongue twisters from last week? Pretty good I bet! (I mean, people who have such good taste in reading material – like this note from us for instance – obviously are going to have great coordination in all areas, right?) Thanks for being game to try those challenges, we’ll be throwing some more your way very soon.

Experiencing

Life here has been very hectic – imagine a perpetual family reunion (for you the long lost…hmm… second cousin twice removed?) centered in the 100 meters around your house with various aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distant relations coming and going in shifts. This is an extremely good thing in lots of ways as it keeps us in constant exposure to the language and culture. At the same time, we have been trying to keep careful balance on things so that we have time to process the information that we are collecting. We’d appreciate your prayers for us as we try to fit into the schedule time to memorize key phrases, and keep an organized record of the language. You can pray for us too as we seek to experience real life with our neighbors – something that we are continuing to do as much as possible.

Infirmity

When a sick old man asks for a hot cup of tea from the missionary, is he asking for temporary comfort or the magical healing power believed to be held by the white man. Truly, we are not sure – it could be both. Please pray for us as we seek to comfort the sick and show real love for them that we have the wisdom to refrain from those actions that would distort their understanding of who we are and the real reason that we have come – that they might hear, understand, and believe for true healing of their souls.

Phrase of the week:

Korogang nuh i?  =  Is that something that you guys eat?  (This is a very useful piece of language as we have been exposed to various plants, bugs, and interesting looking fruits lately… many of which factor into the diet here.)

We are grateful for your partnership,

The Cs

*Depending on the particular translation that you use, you might need to control your lips as well…

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