Madaydayaw ti Apo (Praise the Lord!)

Thursday we began our Ilokano lessons. One of the SSM students, Rengie, will be coming over a couple times each week to tutor us. Fortunately we are generally able to get along in English, but we have already sat through a couple meetings without understanding more than a few words.

Language is an interesting thing here. Most people speak some English. Everybody understands Ilokano. But there are also the numerous dialects, even within this region. Several of the YWAM staff are working closely with Wycliffe on the One Story Project which translates New Testament stories into local dialects which are designed for oral presentation. People are involved from various communities to create a version of the story for their local dialect. As far as I know, most of these communities are within 2 hours of our home. Each community has its own way of handling different words, sounds, and concepts.

In addition to spoken language are the differences in body language. One day we may be able to master the subtle eyebrow communications around us.

Grace,
Tom