Into the Jungles of Chiapas, Mexico: Main Base

Next it was time for Wycliffe’s biggest training ground—the "next" final frontier: Jungle Camp. We left Oklahoma and headed back to California to pack up for our next move to the jungles of southern Mexico.

We planned to take a train from the border down to Chiapas where we would meet up with other new recruits. My sister drove us to the border at Tijuana in our little VW bug and dropped us and our luggage. I was pregnant and rather emotional. It really helped in the following cross-cultural encounter.

In a nutshell we arrived at the border without proper documentation. Bill discussed options with the border police with no success. Here we were at the border with no transportation or anyone to call for help. The officers would not give us any leniency. They gave Bill a phone number to call. The person who answered gave him another phone number. This continued for a while. Finally the person who answered the phone told Bill to call Ponce de Leon and gave a phone number. Ponce de Leon was a famous early Spanish explorer and we finally understood we were being given the run-around. At this point, I sat down and cried. It was then that they weakened --when they saw the tears. They stamped our cards and let us pass through.

So we were out of the frying pan and heading into the fire. We made it to the train station, boarded the train for the three day train ride to southern Mexico. Thinking there would be food available, I only packed about a dozen peanut butter sandwiches, without jelly or jam, to hold us between meals. However, there was no food service and we had to grab food at the various stops. We ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. It was a very long and challenging trip down, but we finally made it to San Cristobal de las Casas.

Along with the other recruits we were oriented for a day and night while we recovering from the trip and then we moved out to Main Base in the jungles of southern Mexico, close to the border of Guatemala, for our first eight weeks of training. Here we were provided a small hut with bed and desk in which to live. The picture below shows what  they looked like. (All photos from Jungle Camp were kindly shared by good friends Carl and Sharon Kotapish.)

There was a common dining area where we all took turns preparing meals. Below, you can see Bill on the right, with Carl and Sharon, preparing a breakfast meal.

We ate very simply and whatever was cooked—even when someone forgot to put salt in the oatmeal! At Thanksgiving we had a wonderful turkey and at Christmas time when we were living in our champa at Advanced Base, we were generously given the gift of a tin of butter. What a treasure that was.

During this first eight week period we were taught skills of survival in the jungle. Two of the instructors were Spence and Lee Ann Wimer. They were very good friends from my Biola days; I was a bridesmaid in their wedding. During this time, I learned woodworking and the mechanics of a working engine. Bill recalls that he also tried to learn woodworking, but he could not plane a block of wood into a perfect square. He kept trying till all that was left was a splinter. I, on the other hand, came out with a nice perfect square.

We all had lessons in navigating a cold rushing river in a canoe, including managing capsizing skills for survival. Bill became quite capable at canoeing us out of danger. The river was called the Hatate (ha-ta-te). We dubbed it the Coldtate (cold-ta-te) because we had to bathe in it and it was icy cold! Learning to survive in a jungle environment on our own was one of the main goals and no small assignment.

We also made a three day trip to a local village, walking and by mule. We had to spend the night on the trail sleeping in a jungle hammock, tied to trees. To make it stable, we had to secure it to the ground. We tried. But we ended up falling out of it! Repeatedly. Not the nicest sleeping arrangement. We walked through rivers and a lot of mud. They had donkeys that they graciously let the pregnant women ride ... at times.

At one point there was so much mud, the shoe on my paralyzed foot came off and the mule stepped on it. We rescued and cleaned it and made it so I could wear it again. When we got to the village we were each assigned a village home to spend the night in. We slept there, but didn't do much sleeping. Besides trying sleep on a bench, we watched overhead as the herds of rats in the rafters made their nightly vigils. We were very glad to be back to our little huts in the campsite.

By now I was about six months along in the pregnancy and getting larger and larger. One of the other trainees was a doctor. He heard two heartbeats with his stethoscope and thought I was carrying twins. We later joked that our firstborn had the energy of twins and we were very glad he was only one! There were no ultrasounds back then, so we didn't know until his birth whether it would be one or two.

During this period at Main Base, we were assigned a paper to write (that was graded). I wrote mine on "How to Survive and Thrive While Pregnant at Jungle Camp." I know I survived, and the thriving was only by God's grace and goodness to meet me in my weakness.

Once the eight weeks were over, we were "ready" to move on to Advanced Base where we would learn and practice more advanced skills. All this was to prepare us for our field assignments in whatever country and village we were placed. Later during permanent field assignments, many lived in even harder situations than jungle camp, and some less difficult, but equally challenging. I'll tell you about our assignment in Nepal soon. But first we need to complete Jungle Camp ... in the next blog!

The UC Berkeley Year: Between the Wedding and the Jungles of Mexico:

Yes, we were some of those who lived through the 60's and survived! We witnessed a decade of key changes in our culture and country, some of which are described below. It was an exciting time. I'm grateful that God allowed us to experience what happened and that now we can reflect back with the eyes of faith. Romans 8:28 explains the view through which we see life with His perspective.

During Bill's year at UC Berkeley, to complete his BA in math, we lived in a small apartment very close to campus. During this year I learned to cook, though another of Bill's favorite cooking stories involves the lunches I would pack for him. We were on a very tight budget so sometimes I would buy and cook chicken necks. Guess how much meat you find on chicken necks? Not too satisfying. So we did find other foods like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

During this year, I substitute taught for the Berkeley Public Schools. This "happened" to be the first year of integration in these schools and there were often fights between blacks and whites on the playground. I was (am) short and was very young looking then. I was sometimes mistaken as a student. Once I was shoved around by some of the kids there, and another time was stopped by a faculty member who wanted to see my hall pass. But I loved the teaching and at the end of the year was offered one of 20 position openings for the next year. I was told there were 2000 applicants. I declined as we were heading towards Wycliffe, but felt quite honored.

It was a great year full of new and old friends. Bill had planned to room with John Watters that year before we were engaged, but of course that changed. Nevertheless, during that year, we spent many wonderful Sunday afternoons and evenings with John and Kathy discussing interesting philosophers and thinkers, eating fresh baked bread, and watching The Smothers Brothers and Goldie Hawn.

It was also the year of the political riots at UC Berkeley, 1968-1969. The flashpoint was an empty lot that the University had planned eventually to use for building. It was taken over by student radicals and named "People's Park." The University wanted it back and the police accommodated, violently. The result was a wave of riots. We lived on the same street as the park and and one day I came back to find our apartment street barricaded. I had to show my driver’s license to prove I lived there and get though. When I got home I was shocked to find Bill there quite different. He was clean-shaven! His mustache and beard were gone! The police had been rounding up and arresting anyone looking like a hippie and he didn't want to join them in jail.

OK, here's another example that reminds my husband of Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) who said "I make lots of mistakes but I never make the same mistake twice."Out of my experience of this this year in the “integrated” schools I wrote a couple of articles about substitute teaching that got published. Being naive, I submitted to 2 different magazines and got accepted by both. The first journal, Grade Teacher, sent a $10 check which I promptly I cashed (a lot of money back then, especially for us). Then I wrote the other magazine to have them withdraw my submission. They replied by slapping my hand: it's bad manners to submit to two places at once. It was already being prepared for publishing though they had neglected to tell me. I learned my lesson.

After this year, we headed back to Oklahoma for Bill to take his first semester of linguistics and for us to apply to Wycliffe as a couple. We were very grateful when we passed the rigorous application process and were accepted to Wycliffe as Bible translators!  We would soon be headed to the jungles of southern Mexico for Jungle Camp.

During this summer I taught Phonology to first year students under the leadership of Dr. Dow Robinson and his wife Lois. Little did I know then what a key role they would play in the rest of my life.

Something else VERY big and important happened during this summer. I became pregnant with our first child who would soon be named Jonathan Milo Leal. We were excited, expectant parents! You’ll hear more about him soon.

To Wed or Not to Wed

Up to the day we were married, I wondered if I loved this man enough, like I "should." I wrestled with the whole idea of making such a big commitment to love someone deeply all my life. In the end, I acknowledged that it was Father who brought Bill and me together--it wasn't by my making. He, not me, arranged all those serendipities to bring our two lives together. And so by faith I embarked on the greatest adventure that two people can take together....to follow Jesus into the future and trust him through thick and thin.

Our wedding was very small and special. We wrote our own vows and took communion long before it became common to do so. Our music was only a beautiful horn, played by Wycliffe friend Dottie Herzog. We were married in a Plymouth Brethren church south of Oklahoma City. Only 18 people were present. The date was July 12, 1968. Bill was only 20 (and had to have his parents sign off on our marriage license) and I two years older. We were SO young. And now only three more years until our 50th anniversary!

You can see some of those present here. Janet Barnes, the friend who introduced us, is helping me with the veil. My sister, my bridesmaid, came out from California along with my mother and step-father.

 

 

We honeymooned in a small cabin at Lake Carl Blackwell. I wasn't a very good cook at the time and could only make spaghetti. So here’s one of Bill’s favorite stories: One night I tried to make instant mashed potatoes. However, first there was too much water, so I added more flakes. Then it was too dry so I added more water. This went on back and forth for several minutes. Soon we had a huge heap of potatoes to eat. After that we ate real potatoes and I learned how to cook some good recipes. Bill had studied Russian in college, thinking of going there for Bible translation. So finding a Russian tutorial on the TV in the cabin, he decided I should learn too. It's safe to say that not much Russian learning happened during that time.

So now I was Dotty Leal instead of Dotty Munroe. I guess nomads can change names. And this wasn't the first time I'd changed my name either. Much earlier, I had moved again, this time from Glendale to LaCrescenta right before seventh grade. I was wanting to be popular, so I told everyone my name was Dotty. I went by Dotty for the next 25 years. Later, during a season of inner healing, the Lord said my name was Dorothy, that I was a “gift of God,” something hard for me to believe. For me Dotty had been a people pleasing name and Dorothy is a God pleasing name.…and person. And "Leal" is Spanish for "Loyal". How special is that! Bill reports that he's deeply pleased to have received God's loyal gift. I think it was the other way around and since I'm writing this blog, I get the final word!

Dr. Kenneth L. Pike and Me

My first encounter with Dr. Kenneth L Pike was during the early morning class I had with him as professor. It was the morning after Janet and I had arrived at SIL that first summer. You may remember it was 3 a.m. when we got in, so we hadn't slept much. Somehow we managed to make it to class on time, but the only seats left were in the front row.

Dr. Pike lectured my very tired brain all about tagmemics. I’m sure he gave a thorough foundation for the whole grammar process. Then, five minutes before the end of class, he announced a short quiz. I panicked and quickly looked over my notes. I hadn't noticed that Dr. Pike had turned on the overhead projector with the quiz questions lit up. Just as I closed my notebook and picked up my paper and pencil, he walked up to my desk, took my piece of paper for answering the questions and tore it to pieces in front of the whole class (about 100 students). He said, “We’ll have none of that in this class!” I was horrified and just sat and waited for class to be over. I never got to take that quiz.

What happened next is forever etched in my mind and heart. I knew I needed to apologize so waited until after class. Then I went up and told him I hadn't been cheating, but was very, very sorry for not closing my notebook quickly enough. He looked up at me with a gentleness and sincerity that overwhelmed me, and said, “No, it is not you, but I who must apologize to you. I have such a problem with my temper. Please forgive me.” Forever after we were friends for life and Ken gave the wedding prayer for us during our marriage ceremony. And I learned over the years of his deep faith in Jesus that was the foundation for this man's life.

Kenneth Lee Pike

Wikipedia has a fairly accurate description of the man and his accomplishments.

Somehow tagmemics must have got into my brain that summer anyway. But before telling you my strange etic-emic dream, let me give you the background--read ahead if you don't want a mini-linguistic lesson! That summer I learned that etics deals with each individual part of a language (for instance, in phonetics it includes each individual sound that the human mouth can make), and emics is the system of how the parts work together to make meaning (in phonemics it's how all the sounds work together). Here's an example in English: when we say dogs, the s says the zzz sound because the g is voiced (we're using our vocal cords). And when we sat cats, the s says the sss sound because the t is voiceless (no vocal cords involved). As English speakers, we naturally think of both as just an s at the end. But a linguist hears the difference.

So, now back to the dream. One night that first summer (before Bill and I were dating), I was still confused about the difference between etic and emic. I tried to get many people to explain it clearly. Then one night I had a dream in which I was about to get married. But in the dream I suddenly realized that we couldn't get married! When I told my finance, he asked why. I simply said, “Because we get along fine etically but not emically.” When I awoke I understood a bit more about tagmemics and the difference between etics and emics. And I’m grateful to report that Bill and I get along fine emically.

Two summers later, after the proposal, I ended up working as Ken Pike's secretary. He, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was still a very intimidating man, and I was afraid to ask him for some days off for our honeymoon until a week before the wedding. He was very gracious in his gentle rebuke that I should have asked sooner. It would have been professional and respectful. He knew about the wedding because his wife Evie, and Bill’s mother, Mary, were helping to organize the wedding for us and gave us a great shower—we still have the complete set of stainless silverware we were given!

Later after we were married, when Bill was at UC Berkeley, Ken and Evie were living in the area. Ken had a sabbatical year studying at Stanford. During that year we were able to get together and share lives. He even read us some of his poetry! It was interesting, and rather like the man, a bit intriguing and challenging. Several years after that, when we were working in Nepal, Ken came to help us and our SIL colleagues figure out and analyze the unwritten languages with which we were working.

How grateful I am for how God has populated my life with amazing people. He wrote many books, published many things, made some incredible monolingual demonstrations, but I will forever remember his kind and humble heart.

The Boy, the Kiss, Another Tree, and a Proposal

I became physically sick and anxious about my whole life, and ended up with a high fever and stomach pain. My mom, the nurse, suggested I take time off from teaching and come home to get better. She had just remarried and moved to Santa Barbara where her new husband worked at Westmont College. 

Westmont College also just happened to be where that boy Bill was going to school. Here we were, many months later and halfway across the country, both in the same town, unplanned by us. 

After a few days, the doctor thought it best to admit me to the hospital for further testing. He put me in an ambulatory ward so I could leave the room and the building for brief periods with family or friends. My mom let Bill know where I was and he began showing up at my hospital room … every day ... with flowers. Different flowers every day.

Now you might remember from my account of summers in Oklahoma that Bill was rather different than what I had imagined I wanted in a husband. I was about to have my perspective dramatically and permanently reoriented. He would sit and talk with me, walk me in the sunshine outside, and just listen to my heart and share his. Every day for three weeks he kept coming.

One day, we walked to a nearby park. We found a tree to climb and sit in and again talked seriously about life. Somewhere in the talking came the first kiss ... and the proposal. It all happened so very fast and was so very unexpected. But after those three weeks in Santa Barbara we were engaged ... and married three months later. (In this drawing you can see where the proposal happened. The branch was really a low branch, but I love Ethan’s picture below anyway!)

So God reached into my heart to heal me and gave me His biggest gift since Jesus--someone else who loved me when I didn't deserve to be loved, someone else who would protect me all my days and love me more than my human heart craved. He gave me a man with whom I would spend my life, one that I needed if I were to do His will on earth: His biggest provision, my husband Bill.

During this time and forever after, Bill loved me, accepted me and even when he saw my broken box, he loved me and believed in me. More than all that, He saw the good that God had put in me and rejoiced that I would be his. From him I learned of the Father's love for the bride, and for the prodigal son. And in the years that have followed, I continue to learn from Bill of the constancy of the Father's love--ever caring, providing and loving.

2 songs describe this season: Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus (starts at 1;07) and Amazing Grace

Exodus 34:6-7: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands,and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."