Ha Ha Tonka!

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No, it’s not funny, and no, it’s not about a truck. 🙂 (well ok, I still think it’s a little bit funny…)

Ha Ha Tonka is the name of the lovely state park just a couple miles away, where we explored a bit last weekend. Our girls, Naya (4) and Jocellyn (almost 2) are really enjoying their new home here in Missouri. We’ve really been blessed to take a step back and look at what their lives really consist of— it is not a sad and deprived life. On the contrary, they have met so many new friends and have consistently been surrounded by people who love and care for them. Not to mention when we visit home and they are eagerly wrapped up into the loving arms of family and old friends. 🙂 But God has been SO good to us in providing so many comforts and happy seasons for the girls!

You already know what we look like…
At Castle ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Our house! Always looks like this…

Our classes are going very well. Noe and I, and a friend named Mary, are preparing to teach our assigned Bible lesson in the Foundational Bible Teaching class. I believe our day to present it is next Wednesday. We’ll write again after that takes place. We are also in the middle of the Child Protection course. The textbook for the class is excellent, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It was written by the leader of Compassion, International, Wess Stafford, and the title is Too Small to Ignore. Not only has it opened our eyes to the world around us, but it has also been a great resource for our own relationships with our daughters.

This week we will begin a class called Form and Meaning. One of the several important concepts of this class is to understand the importance that meaning has over form… “contrast over-contextualization, under-contextualization, and appropriate contextualization in Bible translation.” We’ll have more to share about that once we’ve taken the course. Looking forward to it!
We’d love to hear from you if you find a chance!
With love,
The Martinez Family




Comments

  1. Um I wrote a comment long ago on this and it was both witty and encouraging and would have made anyone feel happy… not sure what happened to it tho! *sad face 😛

    Anyway thank you for the updated blogs – we continue to pray for you!

  2. Hi Lisa and Noe!

    I just wanted to drop a note and say what an encouragement this blog is for me. : ) It's neat to follow your journey and hear about what you're learning about. Your dedication to your studies and family makes me want to be more dedicated to my own daily tasks. I'd love to chat sometime about how school is going and what you're learning! I'm kind of getting interested in doing something similar myself!
    ~Julie Barsi