On Friday we finished out the third session at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. Here we are with our Yoruba language consultant, Abi. We’ve been meeting with Abi three times a week for the last two months, learning about his language and culture. For our final Yoruba test we had to do language demonstrations which required us to comprehend and speak Yoruba for ten minutes. To fill the time in our individual tests Emily and I both acted out a meal invitation, rejection and eventual acceptance. I used part of my time to tell the story of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8.

While we both ended up receiving A’s, Abi remarked that Emily had a perfect Yoruba accent and would be understood by any Yoruba person. As for me, I guess I had a little bit too much West Virginian twang coming through in my Yoruba!

With the completion of Second Language and Culture Acquisition, the class in which we learned Yoruba, Emily is now finished with classes–at least until next year when we’ll start French school. I’m  so proud of my wife: she has not only withstood a move to America, a move to Texas, nursing school, birth of one child, but also three introductory linguistics classes in the midst of the birth of our second child! What a woman! I love you, Peanut.

I now have a short break before session four starts up. Starting on Wednesday I’ll begin my final three classes, after which I’ll only have one more qualification to meet before being fully qualified to serve with Wycliffe as a linguist/translator. The remaining qualification? French school. Since we’ve taken an assignment in Cameroon, we need to hit the ground speaking the national languages fluently. Cameroon has two languages of wider communication, French and English. We’re continuing to brush up on our English–Texas isn’t helping any–but we need some help getting to fluency in French. That’s why in January we’re beginning French school in France.

As if parenting and classes weren’t stressful enough, for the last several months we’ve been making preparations to move to France in January. We booked our flights this past week and will leave from Pittsburgh on December 29 after spending Christmas with my family. French school starts on January 3. It’s amazing to see everything come together as we move on to the next stage. Thank you for your continued love and support!

We want our study of linguistics to be an act of worship. We, of course, don’t worship academics, but rather see these academic preparations as yet another mode of life where one’s focus must be firmly fixed on God. I think of the words of Paul to young Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It’s always easy to grumble and complain and moan about those things that make us uncomfortable. At times like these–and over these past four weeks–I’ve had to remind myself of the goal of presenting myself to God as one who need not be ashamed. Hard work, long hours of study and concerted preparation bring glory to God and can and must be done with a worshipful heart. That’s why we’re here.

More pictures are available in the the photo gallery for your viewing pleasure.

It’s thrilling to think what all I could do while on a week-long fast from class, but basically it comes down to a careful tension between doing something or doing nothing. Should I take this opporunity to sleep, read (for pleasure), peruse the Internet, dj, and sleep (yeh sleep twice)? Or, should I be a good boy and get a headstart on my upcoming papers due and therefore make my life easier in the long run?

I think I’ll go downstairs, watch a movie, and eat a bowl of ice cream and think about it. =)

So I’d taken them up on the play equipment and they wanted to do some tag races – (not that they really get the idea of the game but they were so keen I gave it another go – you see what normally happens is I get them in groups and explain that one person runs, touches the post and runs back and tags the next person but when I say “on your marks get set go!” the whole team runs off – only to find that when they run back there’s no one to tag!).

Anyway eventually some of them were getting the idea and they are all running around when Danny runs up to me jumping up and down shouting “Miss hayes, Miss Hayes Alfie’s hurt his tentacles!” I couldn’t quite hear because some of the girls had given up on the tag races and decided to form a little cheerleading group. “Say that again Danny” I say. “Alfie’s hurt his tentacles!!” Wondering if they had also given up on the racing and decided to play an underwater game of squids and octopuses I say “Alfie’s done what?” Danny getting a little frustrated that I’m not grasping the urgency and importance of what he is saying says with arms waving “His tentacles! He ran into the post!” It then dawns on me “Oh his tes..” I suddenly stop mid flow as I realise what I was about to announce to the whole class. “Right, right I get it..oh is he alright?” by this time Alfie had hobbled over with a pained look on his face with tears rolling down his cheeks holding the area of pain. Sometimes its too hard not to laugh!

21749I, on the other hand, was a little bit more pessimistic and wouldn’t believe it could and would actually snow.  Then at around 11 o’clock last night I got a call from a school friend who told me we were on a 2 hour delay instead of going in at 8am (we were expected to be there by 10am)

OK, I thought, an extra 2 hours sleep is better than nothing, still not quite convinced that it was gonna snow after all. At this point it was raining outside!  So I go to bed listening to the rain totally giggling to myself at how everyone goes crazy for the mere idea of snow falling.  When lo and behold, I wake up on the dot at 6am, go to my bedroom window and it has snowed!!!!!!!!  Not even like a little sprinkle but a considerable amount!21773

I hate to admit it but I went to the bathroom (my usual routine at least once during the ungodly hours of the morning), got back in bed and thought, I’ll wake up in 2 hours and it will have melted.  When lo and behold my alarm wakes me up at 7:45 and I hear this loud scrapping sound?  “Ahhh whats that!” I say as I stumble out of the bed.  It was in fact a neighbour scrapping the snow away from his front door making a clear path to his car.  The funny thing was, there was only like 2 inches of snow…not really enough to be scrapping if you ask me.

Well the snow was still there and it had now begun to snow again. Kids were running around already with their sleds in hand (I later plan to go and kidnap a sled and take it to the golf course) and no one was leaving for work.  Excitedly I text my school friend to ask if school is cancelled and in her sleepy daze she tells me she has no idea and that I should just call the school.  There was a recorded message saying school was cancelled!!!!  Yippeeee!  My first snow day!!  But now what?  A walk in the snow?…I can’t get Drew off his butt to come for a walk with me.  A movie under the snuggly covers of my duvet?….possibly but not as exciting as being out in the snow!  Well we’ll see…I’m just excited its my first snow day!!

I call this one “Aftershave for Miss Hayes”

I’d been talking to the class while they were all sitting on the carpet and Danny sticks his hand up (as he often does) “yes Danny” I say “I’m wearing aftershave today.” “oh lovely” I say trying to keep a straight face “thanks for sharing that with us.”  So he tells me this for a few days running (always at the most random moments – obviously so captivated by what I’m teaching!) then his mum says to me one day that in the mornings he asks her if he can put aftershave on for Miss Hayes. (!!!)

This one I simply call  “orm”

ok… so there we were again sitting on the carpet (as we often do) we’d just done the register and we had begun to read a book when Lewis suddenly stood up. “Lewis why are you standing up?” I say, a little put out that he has interrupted the story and is standing in the middle of the class. He put his hand into his pocket (never a good sign!) and pulled it out. “I sound a orm” he said (Lewis finds initial sounds a little tricky!) Whilst trying quickly to decode what he had just said he proceeded to open his fist to reveal a squished up, screwed up, mushy worm lying lifelessly on the palm of his hand. “i sound it at laytime.” he said. Trying very unsuccessfully not to laugh I suggested to him that he should put it back outside where it came from. He open the door and launched it back out onto the playground.
Lewis age 4.

If you like these little snippets of  complete cuteness and want to hear more then leave a comment and we’ll make it a regular feature of maustsontoast.