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