Victor and Patti Labutes Your connection to tribal missions Linguistics Class
These are the students that were in my class this past semester. They are currently on a summer break. We will all be getting together in August in Oklahoma to begin a practicum. They will use the skills they learned in the classroom to do a preliminary analysis of the Cherokee language. We will all be living at a Bible camp with fairly rustic facilities. Please pray that our fellowship would be sweet as we work together and live in less than ideal circumstances. I have gotten to know and appreciate these men and women and am confident that God is going to use them very effectively in planting tribal churches around the world.
Congratulations Lee!
We are all so proud of him.
A major event in our family recently was Lee’s graduation from high school. It was so nice that Dora and Andrea and their families could be here to celebrate with us. Lee is now working at a construction job and looking forward to attending Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar Missouri this fall. He will be playing on their football team and taking courses towards becoming a coach or physical trainer. We are happy that is only going to be a little over an hour away and are expecting to see him often.
Our Latest Granddaughter!
Dora and Jonathan blessed us with a beautiful new granddaughter on Jan. 31. Shaddai Hadiah was 8 lb. 9 oz. and 21 1/2 inches. Patti was there for the delivery and for some time while Dora recovered from her c-section. I can hardly wait to see her but it probably won’t happen until May. I will be uploading more pictures soon. 
A proud grandma.
Christmas ’09
The whole family at Christmas '09
The last time that all of our kids and grandkids were with us was back in 2006. It was so much fun to have them all here again and who knows when it will happen again. If you are interested, I plan to upload some more pictures soon.
Good News from Daniel!
Daniel - soon to be a TA
We were talking with Daniel the other day and heard some good news. He is doing very well in his 4th and final semester at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in training to be a chef. The school approached him recently and asked him if he would like to work as a Teacher’s Assistant. What an honor! He agreed and is planning to work for NAIT for the spring semester.
The Adoption is Complete!
Mike, Tania and Katelyn
It was almost a year ago that Katelyn came into Mike and Tania’s home. Since then, they have been working through the process and paperwork necessary for an adoption to take place. Yesterday, that happened! Katelyn is now officially a Labutes. We are so pleased to have this sweet little girl as our granddaughter. Thanks to each one of you who prayed that this would happen.
Katelyn Asia Labutes
Cherokee to Cantonese
Helping a student in language analysis.
One of the Linguistic students, Matt was not able to go with the rest of his classmates to Oklahoma to do his practicum. Since there are no Cherokee speakers available here, we arranged for him to do an analysis of a different language – Cantonese. Another student, Lisa speaks Cantonese and is meeting with Matt regularly to give him the information he needs. One of my responsibilities is to sit in on their sessions once a week and coach Matt as he works on the project. It is always a blessing to see the progress Matt is able to make in a week.
A One-Eyed Summer
I only wore the patch for the first few weeks.
This summer has not turned out as we had planned. Near the end of May I noticed a new distortion in the vision in my left eye and was diagnosed with a macular hole. This was treated with a surgical procedure called a vitrectomy. Then, there were several complications and more surgery followed by numerous visits to 3 eye specialists.
This meant that we had to cancel our trip to North Asia to visit Andrea, Ben and the Grandkids. And, since my right eye is not quite good enough to handle driving on its own I have been grounded. Thankfully, Patti has been willing to chauffeur me around. I do miss my independence but am thankful that there is hope that it will return. I have at least 2 more minor surgeries to go before I can be re-fitted for a contact lens. By the end of the year it should be all over.
I am so thankful for the Lord’s grace and for my family and coworkers that have been such a blessing during this ordeal. Please pray that my sight will be restored to the point that I can drive again.
Ben & Andrea are Home
On September 9th our daughter, Andrea, her husband, Ben and their 3 children arrived in Florida. This was not an expected trip.
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From Cherokee to Cantonese
According to our original plan I was supposed to be in Oklahoma at this time. I was to be assisting the students that I taught last semester in a practicum. Since my responsibilities would have involved quite a bit of driving I had to ask a coworker to go in my place. He and the class are currently near Tahlequah, Oklahoma involved in a preliminary analysis of the Cherokee language. This is to help prepare the students for analyzing a tribal language.
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