Arabic?! What would I need that for?!

I think God has a sense of humor. One day a few weeks ago, I was simply brushing my teeth when all of a sudden I remembered my oral rehydration spoons!

Now what on earth, you may be dying to know, is an oral rehydration spoon? Well, I'll tell you!
An oral rehydration spoon is a clever little invention used to help caregivers in the developing world accurately measure sugar and salt with water to make an oral rehydration solution (ORS)to prevent and treat dehydration in their young children. It's a simple solution that literally saves children's lives, as dehydration due to diarrhea is one of the biggest killers of young children in the developing world. The spoons are made of plastic and have a bigger scoop on one end for sugar and a smaller scoop for salt on the other end. The directions for how many scoops and how much water are written on the middle of the spoon.

Anyway, last year as I was ordering my health resources that I wanted to take to Africa from this amazing organization called TALC (Teaching Aids at Low Cost), I saw some oral rehydration spoons on the list, and thought, "Cool, I'll have some of those" and ordered a pack, ticking "English".

When my order arrived at my house, I discovered that they had indeed sent me ORS spoons but they were in Arabic! I was all annoyed, because I thought I was going to Sierra Leone, where the people speak an English-based Creole. I tossed them back into the box thinking they'd be useless.

Anyway, as I was brushing my teeth a few weeks ago, all of a sudden I remembered, "Arabic! Oral Rehydration Spoons!" You see, I now know that I'm going to Sudan, a country where the common language between the tribes is, you guessed it, Arabic. Call it a coincidence but I think God has a sense of humor and it reminded me that He knows where I'm headed even if I don't. And I will be able to use my ORS spoons after all!

I will need to learn the tribal language Mabaan as I will be living amongst this people group, but in order to communicate across tribes in Sudan I also need to learn Arabic. Amazingly, I have been given the opportunity to start learning a bit of Mabaan right here in Canada! A retired Canadian SIM missionary who translated the Bible into Mabaan has written and recorded some basic Mabaan lessons with a native speaker. Someone at SIM got me in touch with her and she has now sent me these so I can get a little head start before hiring a language tutor when I arrive in Sudan. God always provides what's needed!

I've also been told of a fantastic way to start learning Arabic with Rosetta Stone Language Learning Software. I would really like to get ahold of this and start my language learning. Right now I don't have the money for it, as I'm just beginning to raise support for my ministry in Sudan. So I wanted to raise awareness of this as a specific "project" that someone or several people together could help with. I found the best price so far on www.amazon.ca
. The Rosetta Stone Arabic Levels 1 and 2 along with a book that teaches the Arabic Alphabet costs $381.35 CDN and shipping is free. I also saw it on ebay so bidding for it on there and getting it cheaper is a possibility. Also, for those of you who are praying for me, could you please lift this up as a request, to help me learn the language I need to learn. Thanks!

En route to Sudan!

I would just like to announce, for those of you who haven't heard, that on November 1st, 2006 I officially became a member of SIM (Serving in Mission) and was approved to go to South Sudan to join the medical team that will be setting up a primary health care center and a training school for community health workers among the Mabaan tribe. I'm very excited about the prospect and will be keeping you posted as developments occur!