September 21

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for the family of the young girl who took her life. The funeral was this week, and we have been told that it was a Christian funeral where Salvation through Christ was preached, hope was spread, and admonition was expressed to the young people who are going through hard times: God is sufficient, and suicide is not the answer. Please continue to pray for the family and for the little boy who has now missed six days of school. Pray that it won’t be awkward, and he’ll be able to catch up on his work.

Speaking of admonition, I’ve been having to “watch and pray” because my young ones like to look around while we are praying. When they know I’m watching, they have darling little praying countenances. The picture is a posed one, lest you think I took a picture during prayer.

Short Notes:

One student who is struggling with reading is finally making a little progress. We know the enemy does not want people to learn to read, so we pray for him to learn so he can read God’s Word.

One student, when assigned to write the numbers 50 – 1 backwards, took the assignment literally. Imagine how long it took him to write all of his numbers backwards!

When asked to define “spacious,” one boy thought it meant no gravity. That was an interesting connection, don’t you think?

One child makes her bed on the living room floor, another sleeps in the same bed as her sister, and another reports that there are nine people living in the house. There is so much going on that he (and his homework) get lost in the cracks.

One of my boys reported that his father sings at Hogan “things” in the evenings. He says he never goes with is father and his father is a hired singer. The child seems to have a real faith in salvation through the blood of Christ, but I am concerned that he is getting conflicting messages.

Riddles of the Week:

What do the children like to play on the teeter-totters?

What do the children like to play on the playground benches?

Love to you all

September 14

Dear Friends and Family,

I had some “cute” things to write to you, but a tragedy struck one of our school families – a sibling of one of our students took her own life. When our Principal asked me to step outside, I couldn’t imagine why his eyes filled with tears. Each of us had a different reaction, from a horrible sinking sensation, to feeling like we’d been socked in the stomach, to nausea. And with God’s help, we made it through the day.

This precious daughter had struggled. She was being raised by a grandmother because of an unhealthy home life. (In Navajo a grandmother could also be your grandmother’s sister because the family ties are so intertwined.) The daughter was making emotional and spiritual progress.  She had enrolled in a small Bible college in September and appeared to be happy and doing well.  We rejoiced to see God working.

The enemy is very real and evil. Our student struggled when he first came, but has made significant  strides academically and socially. We have seen improvement in the areas of responsibility, attitude, and listening to God’s Word. But as we rejoiced to see these steps of progress, the enemy sought to steal his peace by destroying a life.

Suicide is recognized as a huge problem on the Rez, and many programs have been established to raise awareness and offer help and prevention services. The death of so many young people is blamed on their feelings that their prospects are limited (due to poverty and unemployment and family pressures) and an increasing threat of drugs and crime. According to what I have read, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest rates of suicide compared to other ethnic groups. There is not a word for suicide in their native language, and often the problem is not addressed honestly.

Our Pastor encouraged us to rally around the family with love, comfort, food, and prayer for comfort. I couldn’t sing “Blessed Be Your Name” because my heart was aching at seeing the grandmother and the student crying as they heard the words: Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering...when the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say, “Blessed by the name of the Lord.”

Please pray for our student, and his family, and for the students at the college where the young lady attended. We do not understand, but we do have a loving God who is more than capable of bearing our burdens and struggles.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come   by Glenn Robertson

All who are thirsty

All who are weak

Just come to the fountain

Dip your heart in the stream of life

Let the pain and the sorrow

Be washed away

In the waves of His mercy

As deep cries out to deep

We sing, come, Lord Jesus, come

Thank you for your ministry with us,

Sept. 7

 Dear Friends and Family,

A little singer from Winslow area.

It’s been an interesting week here in Window Rock with all the excitement surrounding the Navajo Nation Fair and parade. Two weeks ago, people started marking out their spots along the parade route, which we discovered weren’t only for viewing, but also for vending (mostly breakfast burritos and sandwiches). They closed the roads at 6 AM to line up the three-hour parade.  Everyone gets into the action with floats, queens, businesses, and politicians from across the Navajo Nation. As we walked the parade route looking at the entries, we got our picture taken with our NM United States Senator Tom Udall and a Code Talker.  Lots of goodies (everything from candy to bananas to water) were handed out to the sun-drenched spectators.

With a Beauty.

We also enjoyed our time at the fair, which isn’t large according to Southern California standards, but was just the right size for us. Hilltop Christian won a ribbon for its garden vegetable display.  We saw three students and some parents at the Wooly Riding Event, a unique combination of cuteness and danger for children under 7. The children are allowed to wear whatever equipment their parents wanted them to wear, so a few of them wore helmets, which seemed wise to me. They had to stay on the crazy sheep for six seconds. The scores are based on the skill of the rider and the energy of the sheep.

Blue Ribbon Veggies

A float in the parade.

We felt a little “white” at the fair, but were always treated with courtesy. When looking at the Navajo art, we commented on the difference in perspective, especially in a beautiful painting showing an arrow-pierced U.S. Cavalry soldier lying face-down in the creek surrounded by 

Thanking a Code-talker for his service.

warriors. The fair emphasized tradition and culture, and we could sense that Jesus-seeking individuals do not easily abandon this culture that is steeped in nature and natural law and the traditional ways and worship. With individuals in the border towns (borders between Rez and state lands), who have accepted much of the U.S. culture, the spiritual resistance doesn’t seem as bold, but that is the enemy’s deception. Everyone of every culture must recognize his sinful state before a holy God and accept His way of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The kids practice rodeo on the playground.

With our State Senator.

As exciting as the week was, this next week should settle down a bit. We’ll have fewer people in town, no sirens, and five days of school. One of my students is struggling so much that we’re trying him in a different grade level of work. Pray that he adjusts to this and the kids don’t tease him.

Pray for us as we are having a difficult time getting the New Mexico title to the mobile home we purchased from a retiring missionary.

OK, so here’s the riddle of the day…R* was asked by the school secretary if she could have his old ties. Guess why she wanted them.

Wild and Wooly.

Sept. 1

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s a big week here at the Navajo Nation: It’s fair week. Schools take off one day for the fair, but we expect lower than usual attendance for the rest of the week. We were interested in the Miss Navajo contest. Here are some of the events the young ladies compete in: Butchering and Fry Bread competition, Contemporary Skills (such as sheep shearing, weaving, and speaking Navajo), Talent, and Meet and Greet. Quite a difference from a fluffy beauty contest!

Three of our students rode in the Junior Rodeo this morning. Two of the first graders did calf riding. Ignorantly, I asked if they did “wooly riding,” but was immediately informed that riding the sheep was for babies. Nope, they have achieved the next step. Another older girl was in the barrel racing event. As we drove down Hwy 264, we noted that practically the entire street was already staked out by people saving parade spots. There were even a few tents. The parade isn’t until next Saturday!!

View from the top of the hill.

We have a good-sized preschool.

Playground. School is background right. 

Waiting patiently.

Overheard Nuggets:

Said in prayer by a 1^st grader: Help this lunch to make our brains work and make us healthy. Let us obey. Let us be safe.

Said in conversation in 4^th grade: B – God is such a Good Father!

E. Yes, He is.

Said by a young snack eater: Look, I see a mushroom in my granola bar. (I think she meant marshmallow.)

One of the parents in R’s class returned a textbook with all the pictures of snakes covered with yellow stickies. Yes, there is an acknowledgement of Christianity, but many are controlled by “powers and authorities” such as snakes and coyotes. “Christ has disarmed all such powers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross!” Col. 2: 15. Pray for us as we persuade our students and parents that Jesus is more powerful than “elemental spirits.”

We have a busy week because we are also hosting a Hilltop Christian School reunion. The school has been around for 50 years and has made quite an impact on the community during much of that time.  We’re praying for the school as it took last year off and is beginning again this year, seeking to again impact the community for Jesus Christ.

Love