From the Stars to the Trails

This is the week the Lord has made, let us rejoice and continue to be glad in it. This is my version of Psalm 118:24. What a fun week it has been but let's start with old business. Thanks for participating in the snow survey. Here are the results from my friends -- all 11 of you. Two people reported getting no snow whatsoever -- those must be my friends in Florida and California. Four people said they had more than 10 inches -- those must be my friends in Indiana and Washington and maybe Colorado. Four people had less than 4 inches and one person had 4 to 10 inches -- those must be my friends in the middle -- Oregon, etc.

More old business. Last blog I mentioned I would start keyboarding a new translation on Monday. Well, I did... for about 12 verses. Then Sharon (the lady in charge) asked me to keyboard 2 Corinthians in Mixe -- the one with all the crossed i's and double dotted o's. So that is what I have been doing. I found out 1 and 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter have not been finished. So this week (I think) it will be all finished except for 1 Corinthians -- and I don't know how far along it is. Okay, that has been the work week for me. Joyce has continued with the stamps; she is learning more about stamps than she even imagined there was to know.

Now let's jump right to Friday evening because that was the really fun day... err, evening. We went to Kitt Peak for the evening star show with Jim and Joyce. Kitt Peak is the mountain near Tucson with all the telescopes. Joyce is a docent there during the day one day a week. We went up in the evening so we could use one of the telescopes.

It had been a little cloudy so there was a question whether or not we would even be able to see anything. In fact they gave us a $5 discount because they thought we might have an abbreviated program. The first thing they did was take us out to observe the sunset. What a magnificent display God gave us! The picture at the top is an example. The two people in profile are Jim and Joyce and the others are part of our evening group. The clouds disappeared and we did get to see various heavenly things through the 20 inch telescope. Saturn is my favorite; you can really see the rings!

Then I went from the stars to the trails. Saturday the two Joyces and another friend went to Tubec so I went hiking in Catalina State Park. I was surprised to discover there is actually a

creek there! A couple of the trails are really, really long. I chose the 2.3 mile Canyon Loop Trail (along with about a jillion other people -- it was a busy Saturday in the Park). I had my backpack, water and some snacks for lunch. Now understand, when you hike in Arizona you hike in the sun. Pretty soon I came to a creek and then to an artist painting a water scene (this is a picture of him). He and I talked for awhile and I moved on. Just around the next bend was a beautiful place under a tree to sit and eat my lunch in the shade. I probably spent 45 minutes there watching the hikers pass by.

Lots of cactus in Arizona. I think I never get tired of photographing cactus. The trail back to the parking lot was along -- and across about 6 times -- the creek. They say the water is from snow melt in the Catalina mountains and will dry up later in the summer.

Oh, one other "old business" item. I have been driving the pickup and it runs like it always did. What was the problem? I don't know. Maybe the Lord healed it. Does he do things like that? I think he healed our washing machine once when we didn't have any money to hire a repairman. I know some people who are certain the Lord heals broken cars. I do know he cares about us so he must care about the things that are important to us.

Today we attended church at the Mountainview Assembly of God. It is a small church but very friendly and the pastor preached a good message. Afterward we came back to the hacienda to change clothes, then ate lunch at the Sunnyside Up Cafe. These are both here in Catalina. We were planning to go up Mt. Lemmon the back way but found out that road is closed due to snow and ice. So we went to Sobino Canyon instead. We rode the trolley to the top and back, only hiking a short way. This picture shows this canyon also has a creek... and a couple suspicious looking tourists.

The Good, The Bad, And The Funny

Well, let's start with the good and end with the funny. Several good things happened this week. One is that I finished the Book of Acts on Thursday. That was a personal goal so I could begin the new translation this week. I'm not even sure how to pronounce the name but I'm sure I will learn. I know I will be keyboarding 1 Corinthians. There are just a few chapters left in the Mixe language and then it will be off to the editors and finally onto the internet. In connection with keyboarding, our "boss" invited all the keyboarders and their spouses to her house Saturday for a Mexican potluck. It was fun to get together like that but the special treat was that the man and wife who translated Mixe was there to tell us how it was when they started. The process began in the late 1940s when they went by mule and on foot to the village where Mixe is spoken.

Another good thing: The Center had a Volunteer Appreciation dinner for all the volunteers. It was very humbling to be honored for a few weeks work by the people who gave most of their lives to translating the New Testament into a foreign language. The food was good -- not spectacular -- but the whole evening was really great.

How about the bad? Okay, maybe it isn't so bad, I don't know yet. The story begins Thursday evening when I started the pickup to drive home. It ran really rough and the closer to home, the worse it ran. It would hardly climb the hills getting into Jim's place. We borrowed Jim's car to go to the Volunteer Dinner. Friday I took Jim's car over to the Center to plead my plight. They have an auto repair department and do a little work on diesels. The diesel "expert" was leaving Saturday morning for a couple weeks but he was willing to take a look if I could get the pickup over there. Problem was it wouldn't even pull up the hill to get to the main road. So they sent a guy over with an old rebuilt Suburban and a short rope to toe me in. Fred spent a lot of the afternoon on it. The computer codes indicated problems with cylinders 1 and 5 -- probably either rat damage to the wires or injector problems. He eliminated the rat theory but they don't have the time or expertise to go into the injectors. But when he put the wiring back together and started it up, it ran almost perfectly. So today after church, I dumped a double doze of injector cleaner in it and drove it to Oracle -- about a 40 mile round trip. Ran great. So this week, we'll check the computer codes again and maybe change the fuel filter. The pickup is still at the Center and I'm driving Jim's spare car but tomorrow I'll start driving the pickup again and see what happens. Pray for us diesel dummies.

Speaking of church. We went to the Vistoso Community Church. It was good. Remember what church was like back in 1955? That is what it was like. Except they had a computer and projector. Hymns, suits, ties, older people, etc. But they are reaching their community.

Now for the funny part. You have to put on your grin and understand that I'm baring all to tell you this story. A few days ago Joyce and I got ready to go someplace. I pulled on some fresh underwear, a fresh shirt, and a pair of pants. After I tucked in the shirt and begin to move around I noticed a distinct sharp stab in my backside -- in fact quite a few of them. S0 -- now this is embarrassing but I'm willing to tell you -- down came my pants and Joyce began pulling little short cactus spins out of my ... well, you know what. I made it through the day and that evening I lay on the bed with my face pointing down and my derriere pointing up. Joyce, with tweezers in hand, began pulling anything that looked suspicious -- cactus, hair, pimples, anything. Ouch! That mostly solved it, except that we went through the same thing the next night. After that, I decided to let the rest wear themselves out. Where did I pick up such a wondrous assortment of Arizona flora? I have no idea. We think maybe off the carpet. I like to put my socks on by sitting on the steps leading up to the bathroom level. If we happen to have cactus spins on our shoes when we come in, they could be transferred to the carpet and then to my ... well, you know what. So, go ahead, laugh at my expense. It's okay.

I love you anyway. And I put on my socks somewhere else.

Snow and Flying

Those are the two biggies that stand out this week -- snow and flying. Tuesday morning we woke up to about 4 inches of really wet snow. Other areas had less; over at the Center they had only an inch or so. The temperature was only down to about 38* and the snow was mostly gone by noon. The roads were clear so traveling was not a problem. It was really beautiful around here. Snow is not unusual, yet seeing snow on a cactus seems kind of strange. The Santa Catalina Mountains were spectacular. These have a rugged beauty to them -- not real trees, just brush and cactus. It has been almost down to freezing at night but up into the 60s during the day. Cool, but not like some areas of the country.

The flying part. Well, Wednesday morning I flew to Portland, got a rental car and drove to Salem for a MEG Board meeting. The board meeting was Thursday morning with a couple more meetings in the afternoon and evening. Our MEG Board meeting was very productive with some of the decisions we made and the interview we had with a prospective pastor. The reason I did this was that these were important sessions with our Bishop. Friday, I flew back to Tucson. It all went off without a hitch except my plane out of Portland was canceled so I had to wait around for a later flight and got into Tucson later than planned. Going to Salem meant I got to see Ginger (in fact, spent the two nights at her house). We went out to dinner Wednesday evening and had a great time visiting together. The rest of the time we didn't see much of each other.

While I was gone, Joyce went to work one day, then got a lot of work done and talked on the phone a lot. She lamented being all alone at the end of road with nothing but rabbits and roadrunners. It wasn't quite that bad but I think she missed me!

Yesterday she and I went to a lunch and auction at the Center. This was to raise money for Center needs. It was a lot of fun and we managed to not spend very much money. Some items went for a lot less than expected; others were a lot more. A quilt made by a lady special to the Center made over $500. Then we bought pizza to bring back to the hacienda for our Valentine's Day dinner. Really romantic, huh?

Today we picked up Uncle Ken and went to The Road. That is a church we attended once last year. It is growing and very much on the cutting edge of ministry. After, we stopped at The Waffle House for lunch. Good food and very busy.

Please give me a response on the survey question. Let's how much snow everyone is experiencing. Take care. Love ya.

Life At The Hacienda

Out there among that sea of roofs is where we live. I know the picture is small but if you double click on it, it will enlarge (usually... sometimes). Look real carefully just above the top of the post, you can see my white pickup partially hidden by the tree. Our little RV hacienda is behind the tree. Jim's house is the one to the right -- not the white one more in the foreground. That is his closest neighbor. Actually the houses are not as close together as they appear in this picture. Except for the ones way in the background. Those are a small part of a VERY large development called Saddlebrook. It has a golf course, club house, tennis courts, small lake, and a small shopping area with a mini-market, gas station, post office and few other offices. In fact Saddlebrook almost surrounds the 80 acres where Jim's house is located. The road in the foreground is the one we drive in and out on. When I took this picture I was walking to the mail box for the exercise of it. It is about a 2 mile walk -- uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill. I rode my bike once and I thought I was going to die. Going downhill was fun but the uphill part about did me in.

I hope I didn't overwhelm anyone with all that information in last week's blog. Someone might ask about the other people that volunteer here. There are 200 to 250 winter volunteers, but not all at the same time. Some are here for only a week or two, others stay 4 or 5 months. They are almost totally from the cold northern states and Canada. Quite a few are from Oregon. One lady I work with used to live in the Grants Pass area and her husband knows some of the people I know. They live in Boise, Idaho now. I estimate there are 150-175 volunteers here right now. Here are some the jobs they do: sewing, quilting, book assembly, office work, furniture refinishing, upholstery, rug-making, operating the boutique, auto repair and maintenance, building/carpentry, grounds maintenance, keyboarding (what I do), and stamp ministry (what Joyce does). There are probably other things volunteers do because the need arises and there is a person who can do it.

We do have wild critters around us. We hear coyotes at night and have seen a couple walking down the road. There are a lot of doves, quail and rabbits. We also have havalinas in the area. So far we've only gotten a glimpse of them. My goal is to get a picture! Pack rats are also in the area. And they can be a nuisance. Last week I decided to clean the air filter on the pickup. It is a big K&M designed to give the engine lots of air. It is one I clean, not replace. So I opened the compartment, took out the filter and discovered rats had made a nest in there. They got in thru the intake and had a nice bed of what looked like rabbit fur and cactus buds (for food, I guess). By the time I got it all cleaned I had cactus thrones in all my fingers -- I carried tweezers in my pocket for two days. Now I leave the hood up at night because that discourages them and I also put a board over the intake. I'm looking for the right kind of wire to make a permanent barrier.

Jim left Saturday to join his wife in Bellingham so Joyce and I have the run of the place. We picked up uncle Ken and took him the Oro Valley Church of Nazarene today. The pastor is a good preacher -- not eloquent, but very personable.

This has not been a week filled with "excitement" but it has not been boring, either. I switched computers and have been keyboarding the Book of Acts. It is actually fun to do. I may be on something else next week and that is okay. Trust your week is filled with stuff that is "okay." Love ya.

Wycliffe and SIL

It's been a fun week. I think I could start all my blogs this way. But really, our weeks are fun and interesting. Last time I closed by saying I would tell a little about Wycliffe Bible Translators. The following is partially quoted from their web site (http://www.wycliffe.org/) and partially paraphrased.

In the 1930s William Cameron Townsend was a missionary to Cakchiquel Indians of Guatemala. One day one the Cakchiquel-speaking men asked him why God did not speak their language. This began Townsend's quest to translate the Bible into this language. Soon the concept grew and in 1934 he founded the "Summer Institute of Linguistics" to train other missionaries in translating the Bible into the languages they were working with. In 1942 Wycliffe Bible Translators was founded as the organization to recruit and send translators. This name "played" better in churches than something "linguistic." However the Summer Institute of Linguistics worked better at getting missionaries into countries that were not especially interested in "Bible" teachers. He borrowed the name "Wycliffe" from the Reformation hero, John Wycliffe, who first translated the Bible into English in the 14th century.

Translation work means going into an area that has no written language -- at least in their native, or heart, language (the national language would be written but not the heart language of each of the tribes or villages). The missionary translator has to learn the language, the nuances, the tonal inflections -- everything about how those people communicate with each other. Then, with the help of local people, he/she makes an alphabet following general linguistic rules. From this alphabet will come a vocabulary and from that, a New Testament (maybe an entire Bible). All this takes years and years -- 20 to 30 years in most cases.

Translation work has been going on in Mexico for many years. There are 295 dialects, or heart languages, in Mexico (I gave an inaccurate figure last week). In the 1970s, the Mexican government was canceling missionary visas and not allowing new translators into the country. People concerned with the translation work in Mexico began looking for property in the U.S. but close to the border where they could establish a Mexican work center. They considered anyplace from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico but gradually began to focus on the Tucson area (I don't know why). Some men and women in this area found property in the Catalina area. They purchased 40 acres where the center is located, 80 acres here in the area where Jim has his house, and 29 acres where a retirement home is built. Part of the center acreage is also for private homes. The housing area was divided into small parcels and resold to translators so they would have a place to "come home to" when their work in the mission field was completed.

The top picture is the center from the street. In the far left is a "U" shaped building where I work and where a lot of other volunteer work happens. The people are on break, enjoying the sunshine, coffee, cookies, and other fresh-made goodies. On the right is the volunteer office, the stamp room where Joyce works and some other rooms. To the right, out of the picture, is the chapel, administrative offices, mail room and the room where Jim works. The other picture is Joyce and a lady she works with on their break.

So... Joyce and I work at the Mexico Center and we actually work for SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics was abbreviated as S.I.L. for many years but now has become simply SIL -- and you are supposed to pronounce the letters, not say "sill.") Joyce is still doing stamps. I am still doing keyboarding. Last week I did 1 and 2 Timothy, and got a few verses into James. Except on Mondays. Last Monday and today I worked in the stamp office putting a lot of numbers into a computer program so the leader can more easily determine the value of a stamp.

Now that's what we did for work. What we did for fun was... well, fun. You have heard of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on TV. They are doing one of those houses in Tucson, so on Friday we decided to go see it. We had to park in a city park and hop a shuttle to the site. On the way, it stopped at a big field being used as a staging area to pick up volunteers. They have it SO organized, and SO secure -- security guards and police everywhere. They use over a 1,000 volunteers plus the professional builders. The pictures show they have put up the walls and are working on the roof trusses. I can't begin to explain the organized chaos they have going. The house is on a corner so the entire intersection is being used, they are using some of the neighbor's property for incidental work, and the street is reduced to a narrow alley. Buses, trucks, and cars come and go at a snail's pace. It is fun to watch the way it all works together.

Now to make this interesting. I work with a lady named Shirley. She and her husband have a daughter who lives two doors from this new house. Shirley invited Joyce and I to the house Sunday after church to watch the Superbowl -- and of course, get a close up view of the work. We had to take the shuttle up and then walk a few feet to the house. We dropped off our stuff and then went back to watch the work (before the kickoff, of course). Come to discover, the Makeover people were serving lunch to everyone -- EVERYONE, including us observers. So we sat a hundred feet from the house eating their food. Not a bad deal, huh? From Friday to Sunday, they finished the roof and began the stucco on the sides. It is going to be a Spanish style house like all the others in the neighborhood. The "reveal" will be tomorrow but we will miss it (Shirley is going to be there). The program will be on TV March 22. Don't forget to watch.

Too bad the Cardinals couldn't keep that strong defense going in the last 2 1/2 minutes. They came sooooooo close. Oh well. It was exciting watching it with about 15 other people. Maybe this week will be a little more boring. We'll see. Love ya.