the many ways Oklahoma is preparing us...

This training in Oklahoma is helpful in too many ways to count!  But here are just a few...

#1:  Linguistics.  "Figuring out" a language.  Haha, this is the main purpose of our time in Oklahoma!  So, it does seem obvious, but I wanted to highlight it.  I can see so many ways that this Ling training will help us with our tribal language that we go to in Papua New Guinea.  I am so thankful that New Tribes does such a great job of training their missionaries!  

Nathan and Craig (fellow classmate)--looking at Cherokee data many nights...

who knew Lego guys and Little People could be helpful in learning language?  :)

At a language session with my Daisy girl :)

Cherokee verbs...what a headache!!

#2: Culture.  Nathan and I grew up in small town Indiana.  So we haven't had many other cultural experiences.  But being here in the Cherokee capital of the US, on our "campus" out in the middle of nowhere--it has been so good for us!  Great practice as we are moving to a completely different culture in just 3.5 months!!

A multi-tribal pow-wow.  Amazing.

Learning (or observing) how to weave baskets!  Our language helper is an amazing basket weaver!

Encountering all kinds of interesting things!  

p.s. our girls are crazy :)

#3: Many new ways of living life.  I am not kidding when I say--this way of living (here in OK) has been very different for our family!  Which is SUCH a good thing!  Again, we are moving across the world in a few short months, so this is such a great experience for us and our kids!

No dryer.  Now, this is definitely a first world problem!  But I have never had to hang laundry before!  I know, I know--I've been very spoiled.  And at first, I thought it was kind of incovenient, but after the first week, I really came to like it!  And value it as a good experience!

Daisy enjoys it too :)

Homeschooling in not-ideal quarters :)  We live in a dorm room!  Which makes it interesting.  But it has really been going well.  I know when we are overseas I won't have my "dream homeschooling room".  And that is okay!

(speaking of homeschooling...Halle wrote me this letter the other day.  She melts my heart--what a sweetie!)

Getting educated about essential oils!  We haven't bought any oils yet, but we have considered it for the tribe and many have recommended it to us.  Steph (a classmate of ours here in OK) has helped to educate us!  Kaine has been extra interested in them--so funny!

Learning to fix vehicle problems on our own!  We won't always be able to take our van into Family Ford (love that place!)--so Nathan has been practicing.  Here in OK, our van wouldn't start one day, and Nathan checked into it and figured out our starter needed replaced.  I was so proud of him--he did it all on his own!  Great job, babe!  A complete success :)

Learning to cook a whole chicken.  Lol.  I am almost embarrassed to admit it, but I have never done this!  It's a cheaper way to use chicken, so we have done it multiple times here in Oklahoma.  Thanks to Anna for teaching me! (she also taught me to cook dry beans--another good thing to learn!)

So much good sibling time.  This will be their future in a remote tribe in the jungle!  Less peer interaction, more sibling interaction.  It has been so good! (not perfect, but good!)

We have one more week here in Oklahoma!  Then, it's back to the missionary training center in MO.  We will finish up our Linguistics paper, and clean our apartment and move out.  Then, our stateside training is OFFICIALLY OVER!