We wanted to share with you an overview of our year! Just click on the photos to see an enlarged version.
"Out there" with the Allens
2007 – The Year in Review
We returned to the New Tribes Missionary Training Center (MTC) in January and were welcomed back by a huge ice storm! We were out of power, classes were cancelled and many trees, like this one across the street from us, broke from the weight of the ice. We were unable to leave the campus for two weeks!
February found us beginning our Dobu practicum. Every day for several weeks we would go to Kinosi our language helper‘s "house". We investigated his tribal culture and worldview, learning how to get to the core of a person’s understanding. Just one more step in understanding a little more of what we will experience someday in a tribe.
March – Titus turned 2!! Bart also continued recovering from a badly sprained ankle.
April was filled with the beginning of our Linguistic studies, a visit to friends in Kansas City, enjoying the spring weather, and camping with our friends the Gundersons and Laniers.
We officially became members of New Tribes Mission in May! Following our graduation from the Missionary Training Center we were off to PA for the summer.
June was a month busy with travel – our church in Jersey Shore – a side trip to Hershey, PA – NY state to visit cousins – a little get-a-way to a water park for our 8th anniversary – visiting Grandma and Grandpa Allen on furlough from Bangladesh – And on top of all that, working at our home church!
July – visit to Niagara Falls, the birth of our niece Olivia, Emily’s birthday, family reunions, visits from the Howell girls and preparing curriculum for Backyard Bible Clubs in Meadville, PA.
At the beginning of August, Luke turned 5 and the next day we headed back to Missouri for our final exciting semester of Linguistics.
Our days (and often our nights) in September were filled with figuring out the grammar of many different languages – all to prepare us for working with an unwritten language someday. Both sets of grandparents also came for visits!
October started with Bart’s birthday. For the rest of the month and then half of November we were in Tahlequah, Oklahoma studying Cherokee each day – putting into practice what we learned in the classroom and analyzing how the Cherokee language works. Flo was our language helper. Two new nephews – Daniel and Judah – also joined the famiy in November.
December was a whirlwind of activity – our final classes in the training, packing up our things to move back to PA and saying goodbye to friends and classmates who will soon be scattered around the globe serving the Lord.
Thanks so much for your support and prayers this past year. We are grateful for 2007 and are excited about what the Lord has for us in 2008!
Bob says
That hairy guy wearing a skirt sure looks familiar! LOL
Bob aka Kinosi