March 17

Dear Friends and Family,

Dodger Fan

 Roger was eager to see his Dodgers play on their spring training field, so we “played hooky” on Saturday. It was a pleasant day of relaxation. I overheard a young man sitting behind us telling the family next to us how he had gotten in. He didn’t know that the game was a sellout, so he waltzed up to the ticket window and asked for a seat on the lawn. The cashier told him it was a sell out, but it was his lucky day! The man right before him had left a ticket at the window for the next person who asked! Take the gift, my friend, and tell the story.

Speaking of free. Contributions have been down this winter, so SVIS has paid its bills, but the paychecks have been held up until there are funds. Three of us teachers had already scheduled a trip to Pizza Hut to celebrate our readers Book-It accomplishments (reading incentives that rewards the kids who read with a pan pizza), but the other two single gals live basically from paycheck to paycheck and are paying off school loans. They were wondering what they were going to cut back on in order to do this field trip. Well, a mistake was made in the kitchen, so our pizza had to be remade, and it was complimentary! We were so excited about the Lord’s provision. (I went ahead and laid down a tip for the poor harried waitress.)

I found a cute art project on line – making snakes out of TP rolls, but when Roger asked one of his boys, he was told that drawing snakes was not done by the Navajo. There are some sand paintings with snakes in them, but on the Internet I found 25 taboos for snakes. So, I guess we’ll think of some other art project for those rolls—maybe saguaro cacti or armbands.

Here’s something else: One of my girls mentioned she had been thrown in the snow, so I looked it up. In the Navajo way, you roll a baby (naked) in his first snow so that he can grow strong and healthy. You roll him towards the east, because the sun rises from the east.

Also, another of my girls said she didn’t want to be the first to make her little niece laugh. I learned another tradition: The first laugh of a Navajo child is a very significant event. It marks the child’s final passing from the spirit world to the physical world, meaning he or she is now fully human and present with us. This milestone warrants a party, and what a party it is!

The honor of throwing this party, including covering the expenses, falls to the person who made the child laugh first—a parent or someone else. That person takes charge of butchering sheep, preparing food, gathering rock salt, putting candy and gifts into bags, and inviting friends from near and far.

Once a baby has laughed, training in generosity begins immediately—a value held in high regard among the people. At the party, where the baby is considered the host, the parents or person responsible for the first laugh help hold the baby’s hand as he or she ceremonially gives the rock salt, food, and gifts to each guest (Mark, Charles. "A Laughing Party.)

Those were just some interesting cultural lessons. The “drama” continues in the school, but things have settled down with my girls who have been in the news recently. Thank you for your prayers.