I'm writing this from my dorm room at the University of North Dakota about to start my first day of classes for the summer.  The last month has been crazy in finishing up the school year, packing up all my things to store for the summer, and getting ready to come out here for the next two months.  As I was deciding to spend my summer here at UND I struggled with leaving my community at home so I invited key people to process the decision with and allowed them to speak truth into my life.  After I made the final decision of coming, there was SO much to get done, that I didn't really have the chance to talk to many of my friends and family to let them know exactly what I will be doing during my time here.  Since I already had this blog I thought this would be a good way to explain what I will be doing and learning here, as well as keep you all updated while I am 1,200 miles away from most of you.
So here it goes.  As many of you know the Lord has given me the desire, passion, and skill to work with the Deaf.  Over the last couple of years the Lord has really opened my eyes to the global Deaf community, the lack of gospel influence within the Deaf Community, and the importance of the Word of God to all believers.  As the Lord has been gracious in continuing to open my eyes to things I was previously blind to, my mind and heart has stirred with many questions about how can the Deaf know Jesus if the Word is not in their heart language? How can translated stories serve as making effective disciples of Jesus if there is no context within to define abstract concepts?  or Even if there is a full Bible translation in a Deaf persons heart language how do you teach them to study a visual language inductively?  These are just some of the questions that have been on my heart and mind the last year or so.  As I have contemplated these things, I have sought out people to ask, as well as places to train.  In my research and through various people I have spoken with I came across a program called Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) which works closely with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  Many students who go through SIL want to be on the field as Bible Translators.  As I continued to do research I found out that they have special courses which focus on Deafness and the linguistic features of sign languages from around the world.  The neat thing about this program is that even though many people here want to work in Biblical Translations, it is really just a linguistics program and also attracts people of other faiths and backgrounds to learn more about linguistics.  I am excited about the classes that I am taking because I know that it will not only push me more towards things I want to be doing in the future, but also will benefit me in my current job as an interpreter going between spoken English and American Sign Language on a regular basis.  I don't really know where the Lord will be leading me the next few years, but I do feel like this training and networking opportunity will be a catalyst towards where ever I end up being. 
I will be posting here through out the summer as an update on what's going on and how everything is going.  On a side note, my dorm room here does not have AC and I'm on the 3rd floor (heat rises)!  I swear I have sweated more here than I ever do in Texas!  Definitely not as cool here as I was expecting!
Will be posting more soon! :-)
If you are interested in learning more about SIL and what it offers here is the link to their website.
 http://arts-sciences.und.edu/summer-institute-of-linguistics/index.cfm