Shannon Yee

Our missions journey to date has been full of lots of waiting and unknowns. That is sure to continue.

We started to have a clearer picture of what the future might hold in November 2015 when we became members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. December marked the official invitation for us to go to Cameroon. And so, we ended the year with a lot more answers than we started with.

In January 2016, we attended the orientation course, Equip, in Orlando. We learned a lot. Among the lessons we learned that we can plan, but God has the ultimate plan, which may not match ours exactly. Then in February, our Partnership Development (PD) began. We sent out our very first newsletter and began to tell people about what we planned to do (because we finally knew some of those answers!)

Early in March, it became clear that we would have to go to France for language study and so we began researching and learning about that.

As we began to try to learn more in preparation for our move, we were connected with a family in Cameroon and got our buddies in April. (We really do wish this had happened much earlier, maybe if a full year earlier!)

We sent out another newsletter in May and reached the halfway point in our monthly financial partnership promises. This cleared the way for us to attend a required training in NC in the fall.

In June, we decided to attend language school in a small village in the French Alps. From the CCEF, we learned that our classes will start on January 3, 2017.

Now it is July and we are the missionaries of the month at our home church. That means that we are talking in front of the church one Sunday, doing a presentation with some families from our church and that we are being prayed for specifically each Wednesday at prayer.

August and September will be more PD work for us and hopefully our Wycliffe ministry will have a full partnership team. We will send out information to our prayer partners about a specific day to pray for each other each month. We’ve already been praying for each of our partners and this will help us to be more orderly about it. This is also when we will have a garage sale and possibly put our house on the market.

The Intercultural Communication Course (ICC) is another training for Brian and I. So, we will be going to JAARS in NC for the month of October (and one week of November) to study and learn as much as possible to help us in our transition. The plan for the kids is to stay in school and live with their grandparents while we are gone. Brian will likely leave his current job in October as we will be working full-time as missionaries (in training).

We will all need to go to Chicago for a visa interview in November. If all goes according to our plan, we will have our visas in time to leave for France at the end of December 2016. I am also going to try to make a last trip to LA to visit my sister and her new baby girl that should be born at the end of November!

So, January-June 2017, we will be studying French in France and then if everything works according to my plan, we will be fluent and ready to return to the US for a quick visit with family and friends in July 2017. Then we will move to Cameroon by August 2017 so that the kids can start the new school year in our new home.

While in some ways the waiting to figure out what we are doing is over. In many others, it has just begun. As of November 1, Brian and I became official employees and members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. We are currently in training. We are taking several weeks of online classes and then our family will head to Orlando, FL for two weeks where we will enjoy the warmth and sunshine. Oh, and also attend more classes and training sessions to prepare us for the next step in our adventure.

The immediate next step is to gather a team of people who will partner with us in obeying God’s call for us to go. We need prayer partners and financial partners and those who will encourage us no matter where we go or what we do. We need people to come alongside of us, to lift us up and encourage us, especially when our close family and friends won’t be alongside us physically.

Our first assignment: advocates for the Bibleless peoples of the world and team building. This part will probably be the most uncomfortable for my introverted husband, as we’ll be talking to lots of people and answering questions about the world, and also about our lives and how and why we are doing what we are doing. Which begs the questions: What are we going to be doing?

Well, the short answer we are going to be working with minority language groups to further the cause of Bible translation. Brian will be doing much of the same work that he has done for the past 15+ years. He will be working as a computer programmer, coding and developing tools for others to use. The difference for Brian will be the end result, instead of lining the pockets of Coca-Cola and the like, he’ll be working on programs for linguistics and others involved in Bible (and health, education) translation to use in their work.

For me, after many years of using my linguistics degree to teach ESL, I will be moving in a different (and very welcome) direction. I will be working with a team of linguists to train locals in linguistic fundamentals so that they can work on their own translation projects. I may work in developing dictionaries, writing systems, and/or grammar and text analysis. I am excited about the possibilities as well as doing hands-on linguistics research and language development.

Our kids will be working on all the same things they are now (and hopefully making great progress, especially in responsibility and kindness!) They will be continuing their education at school and playing hard in their free time.

Now, you might be wondering where we will be doing all of this… well, so are we. God is working it all out (we are trusting and praying for that!) and hopefully, we’ll know that by the end of this year. We won’t be going to our next assignment (in that yet undecided location) until we have a great team partnering with us and all the other details are in place – probably at the beginning of 2017.

In jr. high, my faith first became my own and I chose to follow Jesus, not just go to church or do what I thought was right (though, I did continue to do those things too.) It was also in jr. high, that I was challenged to start reading the Bible on my own. Read it daily, think about what you read, write down some thoughts and then live out what I was learning. I always excelled when given an assignment, this was no exception. The goal was measurable, achievable, and I was held accountable. There was a small blank for number of days in a row, that I filled in every day for almost a year before I missed one, and that was only because I went to an amusement park and didn’t get home until the next day. I didn’t stop then though, I was hooked on reading the Bible and getting to know God and His ways. I can’t imagine how I would’ve survived as a teen without that. It is through God’s word that I came to truly believe in Jesus as my Savior and Lord.

I was discipled by ladies in the church, who taught me how to study God’s Word and patiently answered my questions and asked me hard questions about choices I was making. In high school, I went on trips to various places in the US and abroad to serve and sing and share the gospel. These things were growing in me a desire to travel the world and live any and everywhere, serving and living for Jesus, so that others might know Him too. One of the trips that I did was a mock-missionary camp. We went to the jungle and lived a rustic existence far from modern civilization. At JAARS, Jungle Aviation And Radio Service, a support branch of Wycliffe Bible Translators, I learned about the great need for people to go and translate the Bible into thousands of languages that did not have the Bible in a language that they could read or understand. They might not even have a written alphabet at all. This was very interesting to me, someone who took all the language classes offered at her high school (include computer ones!) I came home from this trip sweaty and stinky, but excited about the mission field.

As I was deciding where to go to college and what to do with the rest of my life, I attended a huge missions conference, Urbana, and was challenged and encouraged by so many options and ways to share the good news of Jesus around the world. Also, the great need, especially in the 10/40 window, was impressed upon me. It was here, that I first got hold of a book that I’ve used ever since, Operation World. This is a book that details the nations and needs for prayer around the world. Now, I get a daily email reminding me to pray. At Urbana, I connected with some folks at Wycliffe again and also with some other missions agencies. I felt pretty certain that God was calling me into full-time missions, but needed to get educated first. So, I started applying to colleges and intended to study something international. I applied for received a scholarship from our church for students who would go into missions after university.

When my first international course of study, business, was a complete failure for me, I transferred to the University of Michigan to pursue a degree in Linguistics (Language Science). I became involved with the campus ministry now known as Cru. Through this ministry, I was discipled and learned to disciple others. When I studied abroad in the south of France, I met two girls who were doing a year internship with Cru and we partnered together in ministry there. I traveled with them and several others to Tunisia where we prayed and met with staff at the universities in Tunis. During my time in France and at U of M, God taught me to love and teach women and children, especially those of Muslim background, to study His word and to know Him through the Bible. It was also during the time in France, away from my long-time boyfriend and best friend, Brian, that we grew certain we wanted to get married.

As we spent our senior year of college, engaged to be married, we had a lot of talks about our future together. The couple who mentored us made us hash out a lot of our dreams and expectations before we got married. So, it was discussed that, at some time in the not too distant future, we would go into full-time missions overseas, or at least we were willing to go.

Time flies when you’re having fun. We must be having a lot of fun!

I think we really are, but we’re so busy it’s hard to be certain. School, church, sports (basketball for Josiah and gymnastics for Eila, plus exercising for me too), and home make up the routine of our days. We are trying to keep Sundays as our family day and play games, take a walk, or watch a movie together. Brian has been traveling for work about once a month, so that adds a little variety to the schedule. Eila’s gymnastics competitive season is in full swing and we are traveling at least a few weekends each month with her. In January, we went to Toledo and then on to Columbus to visit my family. It was so much fun for all of us – playing games with our cousins, shooting pumpkins, eating well, and just catching up with each other. At the beginning of February we enjoyed a long weekend in Chicago where Brian and I celebrated all of our special occasions for the year with a most delicious and fabulous meal at Moto. We also loved exploring the Museum of Science and Industry as well as doing a little shopping. One of the highlights of that trip was the stop we made on the way home to visit some dear friends. This weekend, Eila and I will take a girls’ trip to Holland; we’ll probably try to squeeze in a little shopping during our time away.

I imagined that when I had more than one child in school, things would slow down. I would be able to get so much done around the house and provide great meals for our family. I figured that with only one kid, we would be able to have fun and get our work done and also have time for naps or relaxing each day. I don’t know what I was thinking!

As I write this, I’ve just realized that I only have 5 hours of time between the dropping off and picking up times instead of the 8 that I imagined I had. This might explain some of why I’m not as productive and fun as I thought I’d be. In reality, after playing with Josiah until he has to leave for school, Thad and I usually get the grocery shopping done, have one fun outing (like the zoo or park), help out a school (go to a playdate for TJ) and make a few meals each week. Each afternoon, he naps while I work on Bible study or ESL lesson plans or connect with people or maybe do a bit of a house project. Then I wake him up to go get Eila and we go, go, go until bedtime. Each evening is different, but they are all the same too: eating, playing, working, talking, laughing, crying, cleaning, reading, sleeping.

Fall is here and I don’t want to miss it, but it is tricky taking time to enjoy and experience life as we live it. If you have any tips, please share!

Eila has been complaining on and off for several months about stomach aches at school. Mostly after lunch, but sometimes in the morning too. At first, we thought it was nerves. Then we wondered if it might be something else, so we took her to the doctor, who said she is fine and that lots of young kids complain and it’s usually anxiety. Well, we were wondering if she might be having some indigestion or maybe something she is eating is upsetting her stomach. Our doctor recommended trying to eliminate some common problem foods (first gluten, then milk, then both, then eggs, soy, etc.) and see how she feels.

So, I thought that making stir fry would be one of the meals that we ate that was already gluten-free, but then I realized that the oyster sauce and the hoisin sauce that I usually use in my sauce both contain wheat flour. This recipe that I made up turned out to be better anyway.

Easy Stir Fry Recipe
3 T. peanut or vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 t. grated ginger root
1/2 small onion, diced
8 oz. firm tofu, cubed
2 packages frozen stir-fry veggies
1/2 c. chopped toasted cashews

sauce:
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. sherry
2 T. honey
3 T. soy sauce (gluten-free)
1 T. corn starch
pinch white pepper

1. Mix sauce together in measuring cup or small bowl; set aside.
2. Heat large pan or wok over high heat and add 1 T. oil, when hot add aromatics (garlic, ginger and onion) and quickly cook them until fragrant then remove from pan and add to sauce mixture.
3. Add 1 T. oil (if needed) to pan and heat until just smoking. Add tofu and fry until browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside (on paper towel-lined plate).
4. Use final 1 T. oil in pan, reheating until smoking. Add vegetables and stir frequently until heated through.
5. Add sauce and tofu to veggies and simmer 3-5 minutes until thickened. Add cashews and serve over rice.

I’ve been enjoying days, weeks, ok, months in the sun and warmth of summer. But, now, alas, fall is just about here. I can’t sum up all the great fun we’ve had this summer in one simple post. Nor can I highlight the many things we have in store this fall in a single post. Suffice it to say, I laugh, cry, dance and struggle through everyday and yet am blessed beyond measure; I look forward with great joy and trepidation to what lies ahead for our family and will try to share a bit of it (with the few readers I have – thanks for sticking with me and please forgive me for my long absence).

I love the idea of neighbors helping each other and people coming alongside to support one another. I just hate to be the one to need the help. More accurately, I hate to have to ask for that help. I don’t like to inconvenience people, but mostly I don’t like to talk to people that I don’t know really well. I especially don’t like to ask acquaintances for favors.

Today, though, I did it. TJ was sleeping and I really didn’t want to wake him up to take Eila to school. So, I ran over to my neighbors house and asked her to come over and stay at my house while I took Eila to school. She was more than happy to oblige and it was a huge blessing to me. Maybe she’ll be more inclined to ask a favor of me now… for some reason that would make me feel better.

We are now two and a half weeks into the school year. I am struggling to adjust to all the changes in our family life. The amount of homework for parents of Kindergartens is astounding. I had no idea that teachers and schools needed so much documentation from parents. I am glad that Eila’s teacher keeps us informed, but really can’t believe all the things that need to be acted on and sent back by the deadline.

One of those things is fundraisers. I am drowning in fundraisers between the PTA and LGA, there is no end in sight and this week there are four separate fundraisers going on. I know that I don’t have to participate in them all, but I feel the pressure just knowing about them.

Eila, of course, loves school and gymnastics. Josiah, of course, loves being a big four year old. Thaddeus, of course, is only napping during lunch, but he is happy and doing well on his new schedule. I, of course, am working hard on being the calm, loving mom who has it all together – at least some of the time.

It’s the day we’ve been counting down to for weeks in our house. It’s all we’ve talked about. We’ve been planning all kinds of festivities and even strangers have been talking about it with my kids. And, finally the day is upon me. Zero days left. Can you believe it!?!?

Tomorrow is Josiah’s 4th birthday and Eila’s 1st day of school. So exciting!

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Also, sorry that I forgot to update with Eila’s status for school… We got our letter in the mail last Saturday. She will be going to afternoon Kindergarten and her bus stop is a good distance from the house, but she’ll ride it home most days. And once she learns how to get home from there, she’ll walk on her own – I hope. The boys and I will drive her to school after lunch and Thaddeus will return to a life of two naps or a morning nap and a very early bedtime. All will work out wonderfully!