It doesn't look like mom and I are going to be traveling much this summer with my dad.  Because of that, we are reflecting on the past year of travel and the things we've learned.

- Because Latin America is predominantly Catholic, we have had the opportunity to visit many Catholic churches.
- We learned that Catholic churches are built in the shape of a cross and are much more elaborately decorated than churches we're used to seeing.

- Because my mom drug me to a grocery store in every city we visited, we learned that Coke is universal, as is rice, bread and pasta.
- My dad loooooves tortilla soup and would order it at every restaurant we went to in Mexico.  He even had a rating scale for the different places.  I enjoyed ordering spaghetti, and of course my mom ordered nachos every chance she got.
- I enjoyed drawing on napkins on the plane flights.  Some napkins even had Sudoku puzzles on them, which my mom loved!  She also liked doing the Sudokus in the airline magazines.
-I learned how much I loved big cities, especially Mexico City, Madrid, and Istanbul.  My parents didn't like them as much as I did, probably because they were envisioning trying to drive in those crazy conditions.
-We visited about 15 museums, everything from stamps (the picture I'm looking at is made entirely of postage stamps) to Alaskan wildlife to ancient sarcophagus to intricate wood carvings.

-The different currencies we used on our trips were: pesos, dollars, euros, lira, and nuevo sol.
- We have done school everywhere from on the hotel beds to the Bible Society offices to tables to libraries.
-We spent approximately 65 hours in buses and combis (mini buses).  We haven't figured out how many hours we spent on airplanes, but we did have over 40 flights.
- We learned that some airline personnel are very friendly (like this Alaska Airlines employee who volunteered to take my parents' picture), and others weren't so friendly.

-We have gone through airport security more than 30 times.  Sometimes we had to take our shoes off; other times we didn't.  I got searched once even though my parents didn't!  I almost got in trouble once for having my school scissors in my carry-on.  And my mom got yogurt and my contact solution taken away on different occasions.
- With all of our traveling, we never missed a flight, but we did have to run through the Houston Airport once.  We never lost any luggage, but somehow my mom lost her computer cables, my dad lost his nice headphones, and I almost lost my iPod.  I left it in the seat pocket, but thankfully that plane was still at the gate and my dad could run over and get it before our next flight left.
- After going back to Oaxaca in May, we realized how much we miss Mexico!
Thanks for being our faithful readers!  We've really enjoyed writing about our adventures.  Rachel

Highlights of Oaxaca

Last week, we had the privilege of going back to Oaxaca. We had been there in January when Brian worked with the Mixe translation team. This time, it was the annual meeting of the Bible Societies of the America Region. We got to stay in a hotel very close to the downtown. That was fun and convenient because we could walk to different places after we finished our school work. These are a few of the things that we did:
- went to the Zapotec ruins Monte Alban. It was a very different visit from when we went in January. That time it was just Rachel and myself, and it was a cool and rainy day. This time Brian went along and it was hot and sunny (as you can tell in the picture above!)
- visited the Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church, Zocalo, and a former convent turned into a museum
- shopped at the Benito Juarez indoor market for souvenirs like leather goods, bags, and food
- saw a demonstration of beautiful black pottery being made by Don Vicente (see picture) who has been working on this craft for 60 years.
- enjoyed the Cinco de Mayo festivities happening throughout the week including speakers and singing groups.
- ate at several different restaurants serving traditional dishes like tlayuda (Oaxacan pizza), tasajo (beef), and salsa de chapulin (grasshopper salsa).
- celebrated the 60th birthday of one of the Bible Society Consultants, complete with a mariachi band
- Rachel got her daily fix of frozen coffee to offset the 95 degree daily temperatures (sometimes even drink two at a time)!
Brian enjoyed the meetings during the week. He was in charge of several hours of Paratext training, and he felt that it went well. He also gave a report on Paratext deployment in the Americas this year. It was exciting to report on all of the places we had gone the past 10 months to help get this software to the various translation teams.
We don't have a lot of travel planned for the coming months. Brian will be going to Panama in June for 10 days, but Rachel and I won't be accompanying him. It's a relief to be "home" again, but a bit sad to think of our year of travel coming to an end. Thanks for coming along with us on this journey! Donna and Rachel

Bethel!

My dad, mom and I were very excited to be back in Alaska again.  We spent two weeks in Bethel and a couple of days in Anchorage.  Last Sunday in Anchorage, we wanted to take one of the day or half-day cruises to see wildlife and glaciers.  But none of them had started yet, so we rented a car so that we could drive around and sight-see.  Even though it was cloudy, windy and rainy, we got to see many beautiful views of the mountains. During the whole ride, we saw four moose, two bald eagles, and a mountain goat in the wild.
The three of us went to an outdoor wildlife center where they rescue hurt animals and those in danger of extinction.  It was a very convenient place to visit. You could stay in your car the whole time to view the animals, or you could go out and walk around. It was very exciting to be a couple feet away from moose, bison, and bears. We also got to see a bald eagle. It was sad to watch it because it only had one wing, so when it tried to fly, it fell down. :(

We also went to an aquatic sea life center in Seward (about two and a half hours away from Anchorage). They had sea lions, puffins, fish, octopus, seals, and a lot more.  The museum had interesting facts on different kinds of salmon, the Bering Strait, changes in fishing, sea anemones, and a ton more. One of the male sea lions on exhibit was gigantic! It was about 8 feet long, and it weighed around 1200 pounds.

Now here are some facts about Bethel and Alaska in general.
- Right now the daylight increases five and a half minutes everyday in Bethel until the summer solstice when the sun never sets.
- It's also interesting, because the sun there rises in the northeast and sets in the southeast.
- Because there are so many small airplanes in Alaska, many of the roads are used as runways. 
- In places in Anchorage, an earthquake made the ground sink down. Since the ground was lowered, salt water from the sea came up, and killed all the trees. But the interesting part is that instead of knocking the trees over, the salt from the water preserved the trees dead.  Now many different types of birds nest in those trees.
- We learned that "hello" in the Yupik language is "cama-i" and "what's up" is "waqaa."

Back in Bethel

Yes, we're back in Bethel, Alaska. We flew here from Anchorage on Wednesday afternoon. We had a new experience while we were boarding the plane for that flight. Just as we were standing in line to board, the airline personnel told us to have a seat because there was an emergency situation. They called several passengers up to the podium to give them new seat assignments. Brian saw an ambulance go to the plane along with several TSAs. We eventually found out that someone was being transported from Anchorage to Bethel on a stretcher, and that isn't a quick or easy task! There was no jet bridge for this plane, so all of the passengers needed to go outside and climb the steps into the back of the plane. This obviously wouldn't be possible for someone on a stretcher. In addition to that, many commercial planes in Alaska have passengers in the back half of the plane and cargo in the front. So the cargo needed to be unloaded, the individual on the stretcher was taken into the plane through the cargo area, then the cargo was reloaded. Three rows of seats were "flattened" to allow the stretcher the lie flat. All in all, the process took about 40 minutes, and we were soon on our way.
When we got to Bethel, Peter, one of the pastors of the Moravian Church, was there to pick us up. He had told us ahead of time that we would be staying in a house that his family is moving into in May. But we didn't really know what to expect. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to find a fully furnished house with a full kitchen, family room, and two bedrooms for us to use. The one thing the house doesn't have is internet access, so we're making good use of the public library's free wireless internet!
The work with the translators seems to be going well. Even though Brian just worked with them six months ago and has gotten some updates of their progress, it's always a bit of a mystery to know exactly what work they've done. There are always surprises (both good and bad), but all in all he feels they should be able to meet their deadline of finishing the project this year. Bob Bascom is here as well this week, and it's been fun catching up with him and getting together for meals.
Speaking of food, we've been buying quite a few groceries and cooking at the house to avoid having to go out to eat all of the time. I know I wrote about this last time, but it always amazes me how expensive food is here! I'm just not used to paying $7 for a box of cereal, $2 for a pound of bananas, $8 for a gallon of milk, or $7 for a small bag of chips. We pretty much just buy whatever is on sale and eat that! But that's better than going to a restaurant and paying $12 for a hamburger!
The weather has been cold and windy everyday with some snow. Good thing we were prepared and brought along mittens, boots, stocking caps, and winter coats. I know no one in the Midwest feels sorry for us having to deal with blizzard warnings right now after we avoided most of their awful winter! Despite the cold, the days are incredibly long already with over 14 hours of daylight. It seems so strange to have the sun still shining at 10:00 p.m. I can't imagine being here those months when the sun never sets.
Well, the library is about to close, so I better close as well. We're looking forward to attending the Moravian Church tomorrow morning (see picture), relaxing in the afternoon, and then preparing for a full week with the Yupik. Please be in prayer for Mary Jane, one of the translators who was admitted to the hospital here in Bethel yesterday with possible pneumonia. We constantly see how the devil does not want this work to be accomplished! Thanks for your support of Bible translation! Donna

On the Road Again

After being home for a little over two months, Brian, Rachel and I are traveling together again! Since we came back from Mexico on February 2, Brian has gone to Guyana and Paraguay in recent weeks. He was supposed to go to Pakistan this past Thursday, but he didn't receive his visa on time. He was disappointed that he wasn't able to help with the translation workshop taking place in Lahore. But there's a possibility he may travel to Pakistan at a later date for a follow-up to the training they're receiving this week.
Since that trip was postponed for now, we were able to go to Alaska earlier than expected. So yesterday (Tuesday) we woke up at 3:20 a.m., drove to the Omaha airport, and after a connection in Minneapolis, made the 6-hour flight to Anchorage. We checked into our hotel, then headed over to The Sourdough Mining Co. This restaurant housed in an actual gold mine is a popular Anchorage destination. We shared a delicious meal of salmon and halibut, did some browsing in the gift shop (and Rachel made some friends, as you can see in the picture below), and made our way back to the hotel. By 10:00 we were ready for bed - after being awake for nearly 22 hours!
This morning we woke up to over 3 inches of snow on the ground and snow still falling. Our flight to Bethel is at noon, and Brian will start working with the Yupik team tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how much progress they've made since our last visit in September, and also exciting to think that they plan on finishing their translation this year.
By the way, Brian has been in contact with two of the computer consultants in Pakistan that did get their visas. It sounds like the training is going well despite the change in plans. It was reassuring to see how God put other people in the position to assist the Pakistan translators.
Thanks for your prayers as we spend the next two weeks in Bethel and as we prepare for other trips this spring and summer. Donna

Back in Sioux Center

    Living in Sioux Center again has been quite different than the past few months when we were gone.  The weather is very cold here compared to Mexico.  A lot of the snow has melted now, but huge piles of snow covered the ground when we got back in February.  No more going for long walks in the afternoon to Spanish tutoring, restaurants, or the grocery store.
It's also a big change that we can speak English to people in restaurants, stores, and church.  It's a relief to just hear English and understand it instead of hearing Spanish and always having to mentally translate.  We miss the market places in Mexico and being able to buy the handmade items such as bracelets, necklaces, and belts.  We also miss the tortillerias where we could get fresh tortillas everyday, and being able to buy homemade tamales every Saturday night.

For the five months we were traveling with my dad, we did not have a car.  So we got very used to traveling by buses, taxis, and combis (mini buses).  The picture is of me waiting in a combi to go back to San Cristobal.  Most of the buses we rode were very comfortable with movies, snacks, restrooms, and three or four reclining seats in a row.  The bus rides we took varied from one hour in length to six hours.  That gave us lots of chances to watch Spanish movies!  Now we drive our car to get to different places, and we don't have to depend on public transportation.
While we were gone, I mostly just talked with my mom and dad and a few other missionaries.  But now since we've been back, I've been able to spend time with people my age again.  It's been fun hanging out with them at our house or at church or school activities. 

Even though we're back in Sioux Center, my mom is still home-schooling me.  Sometimes when we were traveling, we didn't have a desk to study at, so we studied on the bed, like the picture of us in Oaxaca.  Now we have a big table in my bedroom where we study.  Homeschooling is fun and everything we do is related to school. :) My mom and I are reading The Little House books together; we are on The Little Town on the Prairie  right now.  One reason I'm not attending the local school is that for some of the classes, we're using different textbooks than they are.  So it would be hard to transition into the books they're using.  And for the books that are the same, we're at a different place than they are.  Another reason is that we plan to travel again soon, and this way we don't miss any schoolwork.
I got started with my school's band, since homeschoolers can go too.  Last week we had a band concert that I got to participate in.  I am also taking piano lessons again while we're here.  That way I don't lose a whole year of practicing.
So all in all, it's been great to be home, even though we loved the traveling.  We look forward to going back to Alaska next month as well as Mexico in May.    Rachel

Left Behind

That's a little how Rachel and I felt this week - left behind. Brian actually went on a trip without us! Even though that has been the norm for the past 14 years, it seems strange not to accompany him after traveling together for the past six months.
He is spending the week in Georgetown, Guyana. Many people are not familiar with this country. It's in South America and borders Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil.
The official language of Guyana is English, having been a British colony until 1966. It's very unusual for Brian to work with translation teams in English. On previous trips to Guyana, he has actually started training in Spanish, and then quickly realized the translators didn't understand what he was saying!
Brian is working with two different New Testament translation projects in the languages of Wapishana and Patamuna. There are approximately 10,000 speakers of Wapishana and 5,000 speakers of Patamuna. Both projects will be completed by 2011. It's always exciting to see projects coming so close to completion.
After Guyana, he will be home for one week and then he's off to Paraguay - again without us! This time he will be traveling with our home church's pastor, Rev. Mark Heijerman. Brian is very excited to show Pastor Mark first-hand the work of translation and his role in that exciting ministry.
If he gets his visa approved, in April Brian will be spending almost two weeks in Lahore, Pakistan, assisting with a translation workshop. He began work on the visa in February, but was told it could take 3-4 months. So please pray that the process goes more quickly than that, and he is able to participate in this very worthwhile training event.
As always, thanks so much for your continued interest in and support of our ministry! Donna

Chiapas

A few days before we left Chiapas, we had the opportunity to visit the Tojolabal village of Saltillo. Or more accurately, the Annex of Saltillo. Almost 20 years ago, five families from Saltillo made the decision to become Christian. Because the village was very resistant to the Gospel, these families were expelled from Saltillo and forced to live elsewhere. Not only were they forced to leave their homes but also their farms and way of living.
When we lived in Chiapas in the early 90's, we had the privilege of visiting these believers as they lived in various locations, including three storage buildings behind a local church. During that time, more families became Christian and were also forcibly removed from Saltillo. One believer was even shot and killed as he walked back from his field with two of his children. After several years, all of the expelled were eventually allowed to settle in the Annex of Saltillo. This meant the people were able to resume working their farmland and provide a living for their families.
Fast forward 15 years and our recent visit. The believers in the Annex are doing well. There are two churches in the village, and the original church is being expanded (see picture). The pastor was out of the village the day we were there, but we did visit with one of the original five believers and his son. Juan told us about going to a nearby village to do mason work. No one in that village was a Christian; in fact the entire village supported the Zapatista movement. But Juan began sharing the Gospel with one of the men he was working with. Little by little, the man became more interested and asked to have the pastor come along as well. Over time, the entire village turned away from the Zapatista beliefs and turned toward the Lord.
Saltillo still does not allow Christians to live in their village. In fact, Juan told us that just a few days before, several men living in Saltillo who had recently become Christians were jailed for their beliefs. Please pray for these new Christians and their families as they face imprisonment and likely expulsion. Also please pray for the Tojolabal believers living in the Annex as they continue to witness in Saltillo and other neighboring villages. Donna

Back Home

The last few weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind. That's one of the reasons we haven't posted as many blogs as usual. In mid January, Bob Bascom, a Translation Coordinator with the Bible Societies, came to Chiapas for a week. He and Brian worked together with the Tojolabals for three days and with the Chols for two days. My sister Kim also came for a visit in January which was a very special time for all of us. We were able to visit the ruins in Palenque (see picture) as well as do other sight-seeing in and around San Cristobal.
The end of January we made one final trip to Cheranastico to work with the Purhepecha project. We had spent a week with this team in November, and it was great to be able to see the progress they had made in those three months. They are very close to completing the New Testament, which is scheduled to be printed this year. (The picture shows Brian working with four of the five translators.)
After a couple of long, very intense days of work with the Purhepecha team, we flew back home to Sioux Center, Iowa, on February 2. All of our flights went well, and we were able to be reunited with Jon, Lori, Alec, and Becky that same evening. (We'll make a trip to Ankeny to see David and Amy as soon as possible!) Just a few days after we got back, on February 5, our first grandchild was born! Alec and Becky had a beautiful baby boy, Tekoah Yates, here in Sioux Center. We are so excited and grateful that we could be here for this blessed occasion, and Grandpa couldn't be prouder!
We're planning to be in Iowa for the month of February so that Brian can work on visas for trips he'll be taking to Paraguay and Pakistan. In March Brian will be going first to Guyana and then to Paraguay. Rachel and I will not be accompanying him on either of these trips, nor to the translation workshop in Pakistan in April. This spring and summer the three of us will be traveling together again to projects in Alaska, Mexico, Curacao and Panama.
We ask for your prayers for Brian's visas, and that he will be able to get both of them without any problems or delays. We also appreciate your prayers as we re-acclimate to life in the U.S. Thanks for your support! Donna

Our Special Visitor

Last week my aunt Kim Kooima, my mom's sister, came to visit us.  Besides Bible Society people coming to work with my dad, she was our first visitor!  Yay!  During her week here, we went to Palenque for two days to see the ruins.  To get to Palenque, we rode a bus for almost six hours.  The day after we got there, we headed for the ruins.  It was a lot of walking around and climbing stairs, but it was very interesting and beautiful.  That's Kim in front of the Temple of Inscriptions.  The next day we went to the museum that was by the ruins.  We learned even more about the Maya culture.  There was a huge tomb of King Pakal that had a lot of carvings on it and it was pretty cool.
We took another bus back to San Cristobal.  This bus went very fast on the curves, and we got back in five hours!  Back in San Cristobal, we did touristy things.  We went to the markets, the Ambar Museum, different restaurants, climbed to the churches, and rode a tourist tram around the city (see the last picture).  We had a lot of fun with Kim, and we hope she enjoyed her time (and the food!) as well.
While she was here, I interviewed her about her first-time experience in Chiapas.  Here is what she had to say.
 
Q: (by Rachel) Hello. How are you enjoying your stay?
A: (by Kim) I'm loving it! The weather has been great. I'm also enjoying seeing a lot of new sights.

Q: What did you see here that you expected?
A: The tortillas, narrow and hilly streets, shops close together, and the green vegetation.

Q: What did you see here that surprised you?
A: I wasn't expecting to see all the villages, the different types of clothing, and the people here were quite short.

Q: What was your favorite food that you have had here?
A: The chilaquiles, breads, and pastries.

Q: What was the most interesting food?
A: Again, I'll have to say the chilaquiles, but I would like the recipe for that green stuff on my plate!

Q: What was the best part of the trip?
A: Getting to spend time with family, but the most exciting (tourist thing) was Palenque.

Q:  Were the different cultures and sceneries you saw interesting? Why, or why not?
A: Yes, because it's so different from what I'm used to. I felt like I was learning more and more about the culture.

Q: Were the ruins in Palenque fun to go to? Why, or why not?
A: Yes, they were really interesting, historically and also fun (but tiring!)

Q: What are some random facts you can tell us?
A: The sidewalks are not handicap accessible; the traffic is very wild; all the food here is very good and inexpensive. I really like going to the market; there was almost too much to see there! Everybody is trying to sell something; almost like everyone has their own little business.                               

Thanks again, Kim for coming and sharing the joy of Chiapas with us!    Rachel                     

General Oaxaca Stuff!

Last week we spent four days in Oaxaca.  We had a lot of fun there!  We stayed in the house of the translator my dad was working with.  Most of the days we had school.  Yes we still had full school.  :)  But my mom and I still had some time to walk around.
One day we went downtown to do some shopping and sight-seeing.  We went to 3 churches, 2 museums, and 1 market.  Our first stop was an anthropology museum in a former convent.  It was a huge museum!  I don't even think we saw everything in it.  Then we went to a very beautiful church. Almost all the decorations were gold or a gold color; it was very bright!   (Even though you can't see it in the picture, imagine the entire wall is bright gold.)

After a while we got hungry, so we went to Cinnabon. Yes, we were very cultural. ;)  The market we went to was very large! There were t-shirts, belts, food, and a lot of other things for sale.  One aisle of the market was filled with leather sandals and shoes.  There were a lot!!  We didn't buy any shoes, but we did buy grasshoppers (which is a popular food in Oaxaca), mole (sauce), a yarn belt, and some wooden bookmarks.
The second museum we went to was called The Palace Museum because it was in a former palace.  When we went in, they gave us a very generous portion of hand sanitizer.  We pretty much bathed our hands and arms with it, and soon after we were very sticky.  And we still had some left to wipe on our jeans.  It had the biggest tortilla in the world!  But you couldn't eat it.  This museum was very interactive.  The displays were about music, clothing, food, inventions, animals, languages, games around the world, and many others that we didn't get a chance to see.  I liked that you could learn a lot from the activities even though you didn't know Spanish perfectly.

The next day it rained, although apparently it hardly ever rains in January.  But we still went to some ruins on the top of a hill called Monte Alban.  This place was huge!  We were so high up that the clouds were like on the ground.  That was cool!  In the drizzle, we saw a lot of tombs, stone carvings of swimmers and dancers, and the ball court.  We learned that the ball court wasn't so much about sports as it was about religion.  I can't really express how large this place was and how tired I was from walking all around it and up the steep steps. 

Dia de los Reyes

There are many fascinating and interesting things about living in another culture. The people, of course, the language, food, history and customs. This past week we had the opportunity to learn more about a traditional Mexican custom. January 6 in the U.S. is Epiphany, and in Mexico it's called Dia de los Reyes, or Day of the Kings. It refers to the wise men who visited Mary, Joseph, and Jesus and presented Him with gifts. Even though I'm familiar with Epiphany, I can't say I've ever really celebrated it. In Mexico, however, Dia de los Reyes is a very important event. It's the day when children receive most of their presents, as opposed to Christmas Day.
A crucial part of the celebration is the Rosca. This colorfully decorated, oval-shaped bread is bought and shared by the family. During the days leading up to the Dia de los Reyes, the bakeries were over-flowing with stacks of Roscas. On the 6th of January, each person in the family gets to cut their own piece of the Rosca. Inside is hidden any number of tiny plastic dolls. If you're "lucky" enough to get a doll in your piece, the tradition says that you then have to supply tamales for everyone on February 2. Some people take this quite literally, spending a great time of time and money preparing tamales for friends and family.
Wednesday evening we celebrated the Day of the Kings in Oaxaca with the family we stayed with. Cosme, Isela and their daughters were gracious enough to not only invite us into their home, but to allow us to celebrate this custom with them as well. They granted me the privilege of making the first cut, and as luck would have it, I cut into one of the dolls. I invited the family to come to San Cristobal on February 2 for homemade tamales - not necessarily homemade by me, but by someone with more tamale expertise! Rachel also got a chance to cut her own piece of the Rosca as Isela and her daughters anxiously look on, but she didn't find a doll.
What an enjoyable experience as we continue to learn more about this fascinating country.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! We trust and pray that this be a very special year for you and your family. It's been a unique experience celebrating the holidays here in Chiapas. Instead of being buried under a foot of snow from the blizzard, we've been enjoying warm and sunny weather. Instead of a house full of family, it was just the three of us. But despite the differences, we could still celebrate this very special time of the year.
On Christmas Eve, we attended the service at the Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal. The church was festively decorated with lights, pine cones, hanging greenery, and a thick layer of pine needles covering the floor. The 2 1/2 hour service included a message from the pastor as well as singing from several different groups. After the service, everyone was invited to stay for tamales, punch, and pastries. It was a very enjoyable evening.
It seemed strange to have no church service on Christmas morning. We had a late breakfast, then the three of us opened our presents. We had to be somewhat creative with the gift-giving because we didn't want to buy anything large that we would have to take back to the U.S. in a few months. So basically we gave each other clothes and food (Rachel's showing off her futbol t-shirt and Dr. Pepper.) In the afternoon, we got together with three other couples for Christmas lunch. We had a great time of fellowship together.

This past Wednesday, Brian, Rachel, and I went to Las Margaritas. It was the first time since 1995 that I'd been back to where we lived for almost three years. Many things had changed, of course, including several more paved roads inside the town! We walked around the center plaza and past two of the houses we lived in. Since Las Margaritas isn't exactly a tourist town, twice people stopped to ask us if we were lost!
Our first stop was to visit Alberto Gomez and his family. Alberto is a Tojolabal paramedic who moved to Las Margaritas from the jungle area back in 1992. We got to be good friends with Alberto and Virginia and their children, attending many church services and prayer meetings together. Our girls spent many hours playing with their daughters. We hadn't told them we were coming, so they were very surprised when we showed up at the door! It was great catching up with them and hearing about Alberto's on-going medical ministry (the picture shows Alberto, Virginia, Virginia's mom, and three of their eight children in front of their kitchen.)
Our next stop was to visit Francisco and his wife Candelaria. Francisco is a 75-year old Tojolabal man who over the years has done an incredible amount of evangelizing among the Tojolabals. When we lived in Las Margaritas, Francisco would accompany us to different villages every Sunday to preach and encourage the believers. Unfortunately, Francisco wasn't home when we stopped - he was out working in his cornfield. His wife said he loves working in his field and plans to continue as long as he's able. She also told us that their three sons all serve in various capacities in the church, as elder, youth leader, and lay-preacher. Sometime in the next month we'll make another trip to Las Margaritas to visit with these dear friends once again.
Once again, we hope that 2010 is a year filled with blessings! Donna

Christmas Letter 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! What an exciting time of the year this is as we celebrate the birth of our Savior! As always, the past year seemed to fly by and was filled with a number of exciting events.
On August 7, David McAlpine joined our family as he and Amy were wed at Carmel Church. What a privilege and blessing to welcome another member into our family.
On Father's Day, we found out that our family will be growing again! Alec and Becky are excitedly expecting a child in February. Amy informed us that now we are officially old, but we can't wait for our first grandchild.
In 2009 we had three daughters and two sons-in-law in college. In June Lori received an Associate's Degree in Accounting from Colorado Tech University and will receive a Bachelor's Degree in December, 2010. Amy finishes this month at Central College with majors in Linguistics and East Asian Studies. David also completes his degree this month, with a major in Banking from Iowa State University. Alec is attending Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon for Computer Science, and Becky is studying photography through the New York Photography Institute.
In the spring we began to make plans for Rachel and I to travel with Brian for a year. I received a leave of absence from my ESL responsibilities at school, and we left home in August. So far our travels have taken us to Alaska, Spain, Turkey, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. It's been an incredible experience to work with so many translation teams as they work to put God's Word into their own languages.
Because of our travels, I'm home-schooling Rachel for her 7th grade year. We enjoy incorporating our travels into our studies, learning about Alaskan landscapes, Muslim beliefs, and Peruvian history. Since we're based in Chiapas, Mexico for 2 1/2 months, Rachel is able to experience where our family lived for five years before she was born.

Although it will be strange not to be "home" for Christmas this year, we can still celebrate the Reason for the Season - Jesus's birth. May you be filled anew with awe and wonder of this miracle. Brian, Donna and Rachel

Guadalupe Day

Today, December 12, is Guadalupe Day in Mexico. I have to admit I knew very little about this holiday before coming here. I knew that the city of San Cristobal had been preparing for it for several weeks, but the actual history was not something I was familiar with. But in school this week Rachel and I have been doing some research and study on what some consider to be Mexico's most important religious holiday.

In 1531, an indigenous man named Juan Diego had two separate visions of the Virgin Mary in a remote area outside Mexico City. After the second vision, during which the Virgin Mary instructed Juan to build a Catholic church in her name, the Catholic officials demanded proof of the visions. When Juan gathered roses in his blanket from the spot of the visions and then showed it to the church officials, there was an imprint of the Virgin Mary on the inside of his blanket.
Since San Cristobal has a church named after The Virgin of Guadalupe, there have been a number of festivities the past few weeks. The area surrounding the church is filled with vendors selling churros, fried bananas, pizza, other foods, toys, and CD's. The church itself is decorated and lit up for the hundreds of people who come to visit it each day and night and worship there.
Another aspect of the celebration includes parades. Several times a day there are a variety of small parades throughout the city. Last Saturday we saw a parade made entirely of candy and potato chip delivery trucks. Other parades include torch runners, replicas of the Virgin de Guadalupe, and musical groups.
A final part of the celebration is fireworks, which have been going off at all hours of the day and night for over a week now. Unfortunately, these are not the fireworks that explode in a colorful shower of lights. These are the fireworks that simply make a loud bang. Hearing these fireworks during the day isn't a huge issue, but at 2:00 A.M., we're not particularly enjoying this part of the festivities!
It's been very interesting learning first-hand about this part of the Mexican culture. Especially since Guadalupe Day is considered to represent the essence of Mexico, the fusion of Catholic Spain and indigenous Mexico.

Misc!!!!

   Random things we have learned the past weeks in Chiapas........

-We can walk one block and get freshly made tortillas. :) Yum!

-Coke is very popular in Mexico; Pepsi not so much. You very, very occasionally see Dr. Pepper and 7-Up, and never Mellow Yellow, Mtn. Dew, or Mr. Pibb.
-Sunday brunches happen a lot here, but they do not start until 1 or 2 pm.
-You can find a lot of places selling tamales on Saturday night.  Some of the kinds are mole, azafran, chicken, pork, frijoles, and many more. My favorites are azafran and chicken.
-Occasionally there are loud bursts of fireworks going off, and it scares me a lot!
-The streets and the sidewalks are not even, and so it makes walking very difficult.
-There are a lot of bakeries selling all different kinds of bread. A bread that is very popular here is Pan Coleto, a sugary, cookie type of bread.
-Most of the streets are one way because they are quite narrow. If there is red arrow, then the cross street has the right of way. If there is a black arrow, then you go first.

-There is one big grocery store, a couple medium sized ones, and a lot of little ones, including lots of fruit and vegetable stands.
-If you hear a clanging sound going by, it's the gas truck. It goes by several times each day.
-If you hear the "Mission Impossible" song, it's the water truck selling big containers of drinking water. It also goes by several times a day.
-If you hear a cow bell, it's the garbage truck. This goes by only once a day, and it's in the morning.
-Graffiti is on a lot of the houses and stores around here.  I'm not very observant, but my mom thinks there's more graffiti every day! 

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Voces para la Paz y la Fraternidad

Last night we had the privilege of attending a concert entitled "Voices for Peace and Brotherhood". As many of you are aware, there has been a great deal of unrest in the state of Chiapas the past several years, coming to a head with the Zapatista uprising in 1994. Since that time, various churches throughout the state have united to heal some of the divisions that exist. One result of these efforts was last night's concert. For the past nine years, a number of Chiapas churches have worked together to put on an incredible musical concert. For two hours, we worshipped with groups from Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Baptist, and 7th Day Adventist Churches; groups ranging in size from three to 96; groups accompanied by piano, guitar, marimba, and violin. There was Christmas music, praise songs, English hymns sung in Spanish, and songs that we were hearing for the first time. (The picture is the choir from the Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal.) Each group was talented and brought a meaningful message, with the final group being a fitting climax to the program. This all-male choir of almost 100 included boys as young as seven, three men playing guitar, two playing trumpet, 32 boys and men playing violin, and the rest singing. The entire concert was an incredible example of different denominations working together for a single purpose - raising their voices in praise to God.

One of the blessings of the past few months has been getting to know people from so many different countries. That thought struck me last week as we met with the Ch'ols and individuals from the Mexican, Netherlands, and Norwegian Bible Societies. It also struck me last night when we went out for dinner after the concert. Just yesterday we met a young couple from the Netherlands who are teaching at the John Kempers Seminary in Berriozabal. They had come to San Cristobal to hear their friend Rogelio sing in the concert. (Rogelio and Becky live in the basement apartment of the house we're staying in.) At dinner there were 14 of us sitting around the table with Spanish, English, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Dutch all represented. What a great time of fellowship we had over tacos, chalupas, and tortas. Our prayer is that wherever you live, whatever language you speak, and whatever foods you may be eating, that you find fellow Christians who can encourage and uplift you in your faith. Take care! Donna

Chiapas Week #2

It was another great week in San Cristobal. On Monday, Brad Olson came for an eight-day visit. Brad is an RCA missionary, secunded to the United Bible Societies. Brad is one of the main computer programmers for the translation software Paratext 7.
The first two days Brad was here, he and Brian worked together on various issues of Paratext. On Thursday, the four Ch'ol translators came to San Cristobal to work with Brian and Brad for a couple of days. One of the translators had had dengue fever just a few weeks ago, but was feeling well enough to come. Soon after he arrived, however, he got a phone call that his wife was running a high temp and was possibly coming down with dengue as well. So Thursday morning he caught a bus back to Palenque to be with her.
Brian and Brad worked with the other three translators for several hours on Thursday, getting Paratext 7 installed on their computers and teaching them how to use it. The Ch'ols already have the Bible in their language, but they are in the process of revising the text and adding introductions for each book of the Bible. The translators are all full-time pastors and do the translation work in addition to their pastoral responsibilities.
Friday the translators returned for another day of training. Unfortunately, Brad came down with a bug of some sort during the night and was unable to work with them. In fact he was unable to do much of anything for two days! Brian worked with the team quite a bit, with the plan being for us to make a follow-up visit to Palenque at some point in the next month to continue the training.
Friday evening we had a very interesting meeting. Two employees from the Mexican Bible Society, as well as a man from the Norwegian Bible Society and a woman from the Netherlands Bible Society came to meet with the Ch'ol translators. Both Norway and the Netherlands are huge contributors to translation work being done in the Americas. The two individuals had come to visit the Ch'ol and Tojolabal translators to investigate the possibility of providing support for both projects. It was a unique and interesting conversation as they discussed with the Ch'ols their language usage and translation needs. We found out that the man from the Norwegian Bible Society had lived for several years in Canar, so it was exciting to relay to him the good news that the Quichua translation was now completed.
The original plan was for Brad and Brian to go to San Pedro on Sunday to work with the Tojolabal translators for a few days. But since Brad only started feeling better Sunday morning, that didn't seem like a wise decision. So on Sunday we went to a Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal, then did some walking around and resting in the afternoon (and Brad did a little shopping, as you can see in the picture). We continue to appreciate your prayers as we work with various translation teams here in Chiapas. God bless! Donna

First Week in Chiapas

It was a very good week here in San Cristobal. The first few days we unpacked, did a little furniture rearranging, set up our bedrooms, school room and office, and just plain got settled in. Rachel and I are in a pretty good routine with school and spend most of the days studying together. We also have gone for lots of walks around the city to figure out where the grocery stores, tortillerias, taquerias, and bread stores are (as well as the best places to buy candy!)
Last Tuesday was a little like Christmas in November. Before we left for Acapulco, we had three of our big suitcases shipped to Chiapas. We didn't want to take them with us to Ecuador, Peru, Cheranastico and Acapulco. And it was a lot cheaper to ship them ($23) then to pay the airline's extra baggage fee. So last week Tuesday, Brian went to the shipping company office, and there were our suitcases! It was fun seeing what we had packed and having a few more changes of clothes, books, and some kitchen goodies.
This past weekend seemed somewhat strange, and at first we couldn't figure out why. Then we realized that it was the first weekend since September 5 that we hadn't been traveling! So instead of packing, checking out, catching a bus or plane, checking back in, unpacking, and getting accustomed to a new place, we were free to do something else! So Saturday morning Brian and I went to the market. Now that was the San Cristobal that we remembered! What a reminder of years ago as we walked past stalls selling tomatoes, papaya, avocado, chayote, several variety of bananas, as well as chickens, spices, rice, beans, and hundreds of other things.
Then for lunch we grilled ribs, chorizo and beef with the family that is living in the basement of the mission house, Rogelio and Becky. Actually Rogelio did the grilling and we did the eating! After lunch Rachel and I went to the movie theater at the shopping plaza (not the San Cristobal that we remember from before!) and saw "New Moon". I have to admit that I am not a Twilight fan, but Rachel is and I was curious to see what all the hype was about. The movie wasn't too bad, but I don't think I'll run out and read the books anytime soon.
After a little shopping at the mall, we got home in time for tamales. On Saturdays in San Cristobal, various people make tamales in their homes and then sell them in the evenings. You can tell who has tamales for sale by the red light they hang outside their house. So we went to a few different "red light" houses and picked up tamales de mole, azafran and de bola. Yum. We made sure to buy plenty so we'd have leftovers.
Rachel already wrote about Sunday and our visit with Vern and Carla Sterk to Nuevo Zinacantan. This Tzotzil village is made up entirely of displaced Christians. Vern said that there are 50 villages throughout Chiapas for Tzotzils who have been forced from their own villages because of their Christian beliefs. It was amazing to worship with the people and see the Sterk's reconnect with friends from the years that they lived here.
Now as we prepare for Thanksgiving, we are reminded of how thankful we are. Thankful to God for being so loving and faithful; thankful for this opportunity to serve Him in the area of Bible translation; and thankful for family and friends who mean so much to us. We pray that you will all have a very meaningful and blessed Thanksgiving! Donna

Sunday morning

   We had a very fun day Sunday! We went to a church with Vern and Carla Sterk. They were missionaries  for several years in Chiapas. They are now retired, but they come down here a couple times a year. The church service was in the Maya language, Tzotzil. It was very interesting going to church and singing some of the songs in Tzotzil. They had some familiar hymns like "Holy, Holy, Holy" and some other ones that my parents knew. Almost all the people were dressed in their traditional clothes. Also, they were seperated by men on one side and women on the other during the service.

  After a while my mom and I got to go to Sunday school with Carla, which was really fun. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" in English to see if anyone knew it. There were about 35 kids there, and they were sitting on long wooden benches. The benches were quite tiny and close together! The lesson was about Muslims and different facts about them. For example, they are called to prayer 5 times a day and they don't pray on their knees, but on the ground. The kids thought it was really funny when Carla acted that out. (We knew those facts, of course, because we had been in Turkey.)  We could pick out some of the stuff Carla was talking about from the hand motions she did, but otherwise, she talked all in Tzotzil. It was very cute after Sunday School because all the kids wanted their picture taken.

  After church, we went to two people's houses because they were sick and wanted to have someone pray for them. On the way back to San Cristobal, we stopped and got some wood for our fireplace. All in all, we were gone from "home" for 5 hours. Even though we didn't understand Tzotzil, we could still interact with each other. Of course we stood out with our height and our clothing. But we were also very welcomed.