Where it all began!

We have returned to where it all began, at least our training and our life as parents; Caedmon's birth place.   Yes, that means John has finished his linguistic write up and completed his linguistic practicum with the Cherokee language.  This is an example of the word "sofa" written with the orthography (alphabet) John selected (a symbol representing each sound)
                                         gʊn³nuuun³hiiin²dan²³ gan⁴skiin⁴lown³piin²³     
and a sign in Oklahoma with the word "stop" using the actual orthography used by the Cherokees (a symbol representing each syllable). 

On our way into town we stopped at the hospital where Caedmon was born. It was really special to me, Erin, to reminisce about meeting Caedmon for the first time and now be able to show him.

We are staying on campus where John took linguistic classes and Caedmon went to childcare. We've already met with one couple, great friends from a small group, and have plans each night this week, a big praise! We are thoroughly enjoying our time here, the slow pace (no papers for John to write), seeing old friends, and the living accommodations. It seems like each new place improves our accommodations. In Oklahoma we had one room for the four of us with shared facilities. In Missouri we had an apartment with a kitchen but a common wash house, down the walkway, for bathing. Now we have a hotel like room with a shared kitchen, but our own full bathroom. 
We are glad to be moving along on our journey, but our time in Missouri was a blessing. We were able to connect with many friends and enjoy the lake.  We were even blessed with a buyer for John's motorcycle. Next time he rides one may be with all four of us on it!

One down, One to go!

Yesterday I (John) finished the first half of my write-up, describing the tone, sounds, stress and syllables of Cherokee. What a learning experience! For one, I now know what to do differently as I collect data next time, to make the analysis MUCH easier. I'm right on pace to finish the whole paper on time, and I'm thankful for that. I appreciate your continued thoughts as I crank up my grammar analysis today.

Also, we're extremely encouraged by the financial partners who continue to come on board. We have had no meetings since August 5, but since that week our promised support has gone from 39% to 65%. We are thankful for every person who is committed to partner with us in the big adventure ahead, and amazed at the Provider's provision. Praise Him with us!

Please be thinking of us

We have arrived safely in Missouri, where I (John) will begin my Cherokee write-up in the morning (a daunting task!). Upon our arrival here yesterday we got the following news from a leader of our organization, and would appreciate you remembering us as we make decisions in the days and weeks ahead:

...we will need to delay your arrival in Asia.  ...we decided that we need to delay plans to add new personnel until we are able to work through some issues to gain clarity about our purpose and role there in the ministry.  These are important to the foundation we are building on there, so we just want to make certain that as you and others join the work that there is a high level of clarity as to why we are there and what we are doing. 

In February we should be able to project a suitable arrival date for you at that time… and hopefully before that time.  But realistically, the earliest projection for your arrival, should all go well, would be March 2012. 

...If you feel you cannot wait and need to move on to another field opportunity (especially in light of the rather open ended arrival projection), please let us know your thoughts.