Journal

Posted on

September 8, 1997

Not much happened this weekend.

There was a rummage sale on Saturday in the Kawawa church basement. I bought a small electric piano for a dollar, and a winter coat worth 2$ for three dollars, and a pair of mittens for two dollars.

I wish I had known about the rummage sale!

I helped paint the sides of our stairway on Saturday (we’re going to put a stairway carpet down).

What did you think of the party? I thought it was pretty boring. I had to be “babysitter” to about 20 screaming kids.

I got there as everybody else was leaving. We spent a pleasant hour or so hanging out and chatting.

There was an accident on the way to school, a small trick tipped off the road before John Lake.

I saw that.

 

Hi Ben–

Ahhh– I have a lot to respond to here! I was going to stop and read your story once and for all– Well, by now you know, I’ve misplaced it. It’s probably at school. Blah! Regarding having the class do a response–That’s a possibility. I don’t think you should hide your authorship. However, George Eliot did it, as have a number of authors… Let me finish reading it. I’ll see where we can fit it in.

Hmm– your desire for the extraordinary and unordinary helps me understand your aversion to Slash. Ben, I often find (maybe I’m wrong!! There’s always a slight chance!) that you resist things tried in English class without giving them a second chance. No, Slash is not about a sole non-Native, American-born guy attending a Native School. However, as with any other character (unless, perhaps, it’s from sci-fi) Tom K. is a human being, fictitious yes, but created by a real live human Jeanette Armstrong, who created Tom K. out of her own experience and the experiences of those around her. The same is true for your characters– there’s a little of you in each one. (Take that a step further – The biggest Creator – God – left quite a bit of Himself in each of His characters!)

Don’t look at the surface of everything. Meaning can be found at so many levels. You want your readers to consider the possibility that Leonardo Da Vinci was extra-terrestrial. Armstrong wants people to consider the possibility of Tom K. being a real person. Take some time to do this. I’m sure, even though your specific experiences are not the same, you will find commonalities between Tom K. and the great author, Ben J. Also, the book will teach all the students a little about fairly recent Canadian politics and history which may otherwise go unaddressed. People are not politically aware enough these days– That’s a generality and not true for all. I just want to shake people’s thinking in Sec IV-V.

Hey, to be honest, I’m not keen on sci-fi. I’ll give you a chance and read your work if you give me a chance and read my selection.

Well– as Forest Gump would say– “That’s all I got to say about tha-at.” (at least for now)

G.S.

Posted on

August 29th, 1997

Hi Miss!

Miss, what did you guys do while I was in the hospital? I hope they liked West Side Story. Did you act out anything?

Looks like I might be writing a lot of stories this year (I hope). Mr. Leach in MRE suggested I do a story in my MRE journal. I’m going to do a story titled the “Imagineers”.

I can’t write that small. The story is going to be about aliens coming down who are trans-morphable and telepathic. Whoever saw them would see what they thought aliens would look like to them.

Gabrielle Stanton’s Response:

Ben – a question (oops, it was more than one)… What makes you so interested in “outer space” and aliens? I’ve never known someone so keen on the topic– (at least I don’t think I have!).

Do you write your stories for fun or do you want people to learn something from them? What kind of audience do you hope to attract? Is there any other genre (non-science fiction) that you write in?

–While you were away, we worked on the exam. I’m not too sure how kids liked “West Side Story”. I think most find the singing a bit much. They seemed to enjoy the general story line. It was good for the girls who went to Quebec City for Drama Fest because they knew the basic story line and recognized some of the music. I’m glad I got to see it.

Ciao for now– G.S.

 

I guess I like science fiction…

Cheez-Whiz you ask good questions! I guess I like reading about situations completely out of the ordinary. Ordinary lifestyles bore me to bits.

Most of the time I write stories just for fun, but I’ve just started to write stories that make people think. “Leonardo Kirkmeister” = for instance, forces one to think about the possibility of Leonardo Da Vinci being extra-terrestrial.

My range of audience I guess is pretty general. I would like to hear reader’s responce to the story: what they thought of it, what they would change, etc.

Hmm! I just had an idea. I wonder, would it be possible to put a different author’s name and give the class a copy of “Leonardo Kirkmeister” and have them do a response. It might be interesting.

Although Sci-Fi is my favourite “genre”, I can write in other genres, but nothing ordinary. I tried once, but got so bored, the story got abandoned and thrown away. I just couldn’t help putting something totally weird right smack-dab in the middle of it.

I think the music (in West Side Story) is a bit much too. Maybe they could update it to modern city streets.

Posted on

Zerflin, Farg, ᐱᓐᒋᐱᓐ

Hi Miss!

I guess I should tell you about myself. I’m 13 years old, I’m an America, um, I’m an inventor, uh, cartoonist, what else… uh… missionary, um, bookwriter (sci-fi, mostly), computer expert (IBM, mostly), bookworm, and musician.

I like History, English, Gym, Home-Ec, ITT, I hate Math, and I’m not sure about Biology & Geography. Oh yes, I like Computers.

My favourite food is macaroni, and I cook it my own way. Such as, um, say adding processed cheese to it, or adding a cheese packet to it, or, after it is cooked, adding milk to it, or Parmesan cheese, or just eating it plain, but NEVER putting sauce on it. I HATE tomatoes. The only time I eat them is either at the cafeteria or on pizza.

My house has a huge video and book library, if you want to borrow any.

So Miss, what do you like to do?

I have a dog named Sam and a cat named Katy.

I am going to be moving soon to another part of town. There we will have a fenced in yard to protect the pets (we have had a number of pets, mostly cats that died, Katy’s kittens) and that house will be ours (we are renting now). You will have no trouble finding our new house, because it will be the only house in town with 3 dormers, an add-on on the back, a connected garage, and a LARGE greenhouse. The dormers are already built, they were done this summer.

I have a crush on Shannon Uniam, across the hall in Secondary 1. She’s not in Secondary 3 because her birthday is October 29, and I skipped a grade.

Whew! Now I’ll let you write.

Dear Ben,

(Do you prefer Ben or Benjamin?) Well! This has been a very detailed description of yourself. Hmmm… It’s great to have a dish that you know how to cook just so. I like the way I make scrambled eggs. I add vegetables, herbs, and a bit of spice. I also make a pretty good spaghetti sauce—I guess you wouldn’t like it, though. Another specialty I used to have was chocolate chip cookies. My room-mate’s Dad loved them!

Pets… My parents have a very cute dog, Milo. I love them visiting them ad having her to walk and hang out with. They also have a cat. It’s O.K.—Fluffy—but I’m not usually a big cat freak. My sister’s cat, Ed, has lots of personality so my aversion to cats is put aside with her. Yes, the cat is female and yes, it’s named Ed. I want to get a puppy. I need to finish fixing up my “pad”. I should be ready to receive a pup in a couple of weeks. Your new house sounds great! Moving into a new place can be really hectic but a lot of fun too, especially when the new place has character!

As for crushes… I don’t have one on anybody right now. I imagine I’m too busy getting set up. Also, I haven’t met anybody I’d really want to have a crush on! Oh well, life goes on.

Write again—G

Posted on

Wycliffe Bible Translators Commence Work – Quebec Diocese Gazette, Oct 1988, by Lynn Ross

This is a black-and-white photo of a family of four. The father, on the left, has a beard and glasses and wears a light-colored sweater. The mother stands next to him in a dark jacket and white shirt, holding a young child in a winter coat on her hip. In front of the mother is a young boy, Benjamin Jancewicz, smiling slightly and wearing a vest over a long-sleeve shirt. The family stands close together, appearing outdoors near a wooden structure or wall.
This is a black-and-white photo of a family of four. The father, on the left, has a beard and glasses and wears a light-colored sweater. The mother stands next to him in a dark jacket and white shirt, holding a young child in a winter coat on her hip. In front of the mother is a young boy, Benjamin Jancewicz, smiling slightly and wearing a vest over a long-sleeve shirt. The family stands close together, appearing outdoors near a wooden structure or wall.
The Jancewicz family, Bill, his wife, Norma Jean, holding their daughter Elizabeth, and their son, Benjamin, at Kawawachikamach, near Schefferville, in Northern Quebec. Photo: Lynn Ross

Wycliffe Bible Translators, with over five thousand members, is one of the largest mission, non-denominational, Bible translating ministries in the world.

In June, Mr. Bill Jancewicz, his wife, Norma Jean, and son, Benjamin, aged five, arrived at Kawawachikamach, near Schefferville, as representatives of the Wycliffe Bible Translators, to work with the Naskapi people in translating the scriptures into the Naskapi language.

The work of this missionary society began over fifty years ago, founded by Mr. William Cameron Townshend who went to Guatemala to sell Spanish Bibles and discovered many could not speak Spanish.

In response to this challenge, he settled there and began to translate the scriptures into the language of the people. This work made him aware of other cultures which did not have the scriptures in their own language so he founded a school in Arkansas called “Camp Wycliffe” to begin training volunteer translators.

“Wycliffe” comes from John Wycliffe who was one of the first translators of the scriptures into the English language.

Mr. Jancewicz said that members of the Wycliffe Bible Translators believe that the Bible is “the Word of God and every man should have it in his own language.”

Translators volunteer and spend their first two years learning the language, then the actual translation of the Old Testament commences. At the end of two years, there is a re-evaluation and the decision is made to continue the work or to leave.

The presence of the Jancewicz family in Northern Quebec is already making an impression. Mr. Jancewicz who is a mechanical illustrator and a civil servant with the United States Federal Government but who has been led to commit his life to what he believes is eternal and God’s Word is something that is eternal.

Following training in theology and nine months of training in the French language they arrived at Kawawachikamach to continue work which had begun with the efforts of two individuals, Lana Martens and Carol Chase who came in 1979 to Matimekosh, the former Naskapi village.

Volunteers who commit themselves to translation work must arrange for their own remuneration. The Jancewicz family has their financial support from three churches and receive whatever amount is donated to Wycliffe Translators in their name.

This ministry is indeed an act of faith and commitment. For further information write Wycliffe Bible Translators, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, U.S.A.