Tuesday, April 24, 2018

April 25, 2018

Caleb helping lead worship.


               Language Study.  That’s the story of our life right now!  Everyone knows that learning a new language is hard work, but what about learning how to learn a new language?  In the USA we take French, German or Spanish classes in middle and high school, and maybe college, where we learn using printed materials and classroom lessons.  In Lohutok, learning Lopit, there are no printed materials, no classroom lectures, and with a language like this one which is learned and passed on orally, those things wouldn’t even be helpful!  Everybody pronounces things differently, phrases things differently, uses different words for the same object…and when you learn something from one person, everybody you talk to wants to tell you that it’s wrong and you should say it their way! 

               We have a set of material that we’ve decided to use, and are just sticking to that one for now, there are a lot of options out there.  I spend the first half of every day just pointing to things and listening to Michael say the Lopit word, and then switching to him saying things like “Where is the frog?” or “Put the comb under the bench.”  I then respond by pointing to the object he’s asking for or doing the command he’s giving me.  We’re a few weeks into the process and it is working, but sometimes it’s stressful trying to decide what to do each day!

               We had a visitor this month from the USA.  We met a single girl at the Pioneers headquarters who is interested in moving to the village, learning the local language, and doing discipleship/church-planting.  That’s perfect for our team, but we are not using her name or any specific information until we know for sure that she is deciding to come and join us.

               Ezekiel and Caleb have also been working a bit on learning Lopit.  They run around the house and point to things and Teresa or Susanna will say the Lopit word.  Caleb will listen to us doing our language lessons and try repeating what we say.  Keep praying that God would free us from distractions and help us learn to speak the local language well so that we can effectively communicate the gospel!

Thanks!

Justin, Amy, Ezekiel and Caleb

Caleb was mad that we wouldn't let him play the drum!