People of Barrow

The Inupiaq translation team that Brian has worked with this week consists of all women. They work in the public library, and every day the women bring the necessities - bagels, fruit, doughnuts, muffins, eggs, bottles of water, everything they need to survive the rigors of translating!
On Wednesday we were invited to eat lunch at one of the translator's houses. Ida and her husband Nate graciously welcomed Bob, Brian, Rachel and I, along with another one of the translators, Molly, into their house and served a delicious caribou and rice soup. The caribou head and antlers were right outside the window for us to enjoy. At one point during the meal, I asked Ida if I could take her picture. She said that was fine. She told me I could take a picture of the caribou too because he wouldn't care. She assured me he wouldn't charge me!
The most enjoyable part of our time together was the fellowship of these dear people. I keep thinking how I would live or survive in a place where the sun never rises for 3 months every year and the cold is so ever-present. But if I was expecting a sad, depressed group of people, I certainly didn't find it! The stories and laughter shared around the table were heart-warming.
Molly entertained us with stories of when her children were young. In those days they lived across the street from a cemetery. Every few days, her kids would bring her beautiful bouquets of flowers. They were so proud of their gifts, and she was mortified that they were borrowing flowers from someone's tombstone! She also told of a time when her kids caught a whole box of lemmings. She immediately made her kids release the lemmings back to the wild. Later that day at the dinner table, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and, you guessed it, one of the lemmings had gotten in the house.
After eating, Nate brought out several examples of native artwork made from whale baleen and animal skins. The artwork was beautifully done and excellent examples of the traditional Inupiaq way of life. When we were leaving, we saw 30-some baleen drying on their porch. Most of them were quite light-weight but measured at least 9 feet tall. The baleen will get sold to artists who will etch on the black surface and then sell them.
Today we went to a restaurant with 4 of the translators and were once again impressed with their love of life. Ida told a story of a time when she was sure she was drowning and needed her husband to rescue her. Only after he jumped in to save her did she realize the water was only 3 feet deep!
We deeply appreciate your prayers for both the Yup'ik and Inupiaq translators. They take this important ministry very seriously and want to get the best translation into the hands of their people as quickly as possible. Most of the translators are volunteers and need to find time to fit translating in with their regular job and family responsibilities. We also appreciate your prayers as we head back to Iowa today and then on to Spain and Turkey next week Friday (Sept. 18). Donna