October 26

Dear Friends and Family,

I don't know. I think you can tell who this is.

Thank you for praying for our initial conferences with our students’ parents. Each teacher reported some positive experiences. One of the pre-school teachers shed tears of joy in telling how one young mom was saved because of seeing the reality of Christ in our school and teaching. Another preschool mom said that her daughter asked who this Jesus was and was He coming to visit our school because “we sing about Him all the time!” The grandmother had explained that Jesus is the Creator God.  I pray that this youngster is understanding Jesus of the Bible and not some amalgamation with the Native Religion.

The parents were very open to me about their own lack of faith in their lives, but they were all happy with their child’s learning about Christ. Interestingly, when there is a second parent in the house, he/she came also. I offered to pray for each family, and the reactions were positive: the unbelievers, Mormons, and Traditionals quickly responded that they would like prayers.  Yes, I have some of each, as well as a couple of Christian families. I feel so much better equipped and challenged at the same time.

Playground fun.

The conferences in some of the grades were also difficult because of the children having unaddressed problems and behavior and learning difficulties. We continue to pray that the parents know we care about them and their children and that they will learn to trust us and our God.

The Navajo Culture is so broken: only one of my families is an intact family with a mom and dad together in their first marriage. Other families lack mother or father or both, and some are complicated with step-children and former spouses. One boy lives with his Grandma, who is responsible for five other children, in a tiny home.  One boy is bouncing back and forth between a dad, a mom, and a grandpa. No wonder he can’t get his homework done. We heard stories of alcoholism, unemployment, rampant diabetes, and cheating and abuse.

We had fun with a volunteer from Kentucky.

Our principal, Mr. T., wants to draw the fathers into a men’s group, which would include social time, basketball, and Bible teaching. Let’s pray that this can come together soon, as these fathers do not know about the Lord and that He has power to help them overcome in their lives.

We are so grateful to you for your prayers.  Pray for the school finances.  We are considering raising some support that would help the school pay our salaries. We’ll let you know how you can be a part of our ministry if this is how the Lord continues to lead us.

Thank you.

We learn about rocks.

Decorating a Pumpkin as a teamwork project.

Selling pumpkins.

October 12

Dear Friends and Family,

This week one of the students came to school late and asked permission to eat her breakfast in class after a certain time. When asked why, we learned some of the taboos concerning the eclipse (October 8^th).  According to Navajo tradition, the moon and the sun are sacred in the way they were created, and you are not supposed to watch the moon or stare at it for any length of time.  It is a sacred time when the heavenly bodies line up and everyone is called to show reverence – people are not allowed to eat or drink water. They just go into the house until the eclipse passes to show respect for the sun and moon. In addition, if a pregnant woman sees an eclipse, it will affect her and the baby, and a special ceremony must be conducted to rid them of the influence.

Playground fun

Generally, the children run around on the playground playing various games. Last week they spotted a tarantula, which they followed around – probably stressing it out. These hairy spiders come out this time of year for mating. There will be hundreds of them for a month or so, so we are told. Then they will retreat to the crevices in the hills for the winter.

Then one boy caught a cute little horny toad about the size of a quarter. There is a taboo against harming horned lizards because they are traditionally called “grandfather” or guardians of the arrowheads. If you kill one, you will have a stomachache or a heart attack. Some even have a taboo against picturing a horned lizard in a rug-weaving design. One of the girls told me (as they were gathered around the lizard) that it was “shicheii,” which means grandpa. Another voice in the crowd said, “It’s just a lizard.”

I love the rocks in the background.

Still, the tradition is that when you pick one up, you rub it on your chest and say, “I will be in good health and harmony.”  The armored body and spiky horns represent arrowheads, which protect it from predators.  As far as the classroom, horny toads should be handled with respect and must be released in less than a day. Students are allowed to read and write about them and draw pictures of them. We have this kind of traditionalism permeating the belief system of the people. Think how confusing this can be for the children.

 Authentic moccs with leggings

I was listening to my children as they were singing “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus.” Because of vocabulary limitations, here is what I heard: (real lyrics in parentheses)

Stand up, Stand up for Jesus,

Be (Ye) soldiers of the cross.

Lift high His royal banner;

It must not suffer loss.

From victory unto victory,

His army shall believe (He lead)

‘Til every foe is vanished (vanquished)

And Christ is Lord in me. (Indeed)

Somehow, I like theirs better. Let’s pray that the foe is vanished and Christ is Lord in me!

Have a great week! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

My birthday!

Art Project - painting beads.

September 28

Beautiful New Mexico

Singing 500 Miles

Recess Fun

Dear Framily,

Greetings from a very wet New Mexico/Arizona. The rainy season here is the late summer - fall, so we expect a little bit of moisture each day, but last night was a deluge. As the drops bounced off of our mobile home (dink, dink, dink) all I could think of was “water torture.” Not a lovely way to spend the night.

Our 50 schoolchildren participated in an All School Assembly on Friday. Of course, the parents were welcome to attend also, and many 

of them did! The children sang, recited Bible verses and poems, and Roger’s class performed a skit about the Prodigal Son. We were afraid they were going to call on the teachers to display a talent, but mercifully we ran out of time. The children did an excellent job and seemed to have shed most of their Navajo natural reservedness in front of crowds.

Rainy Day Game 

I had the wonderful privilege of attending a Gardening Workshop in Albuquerque on Saturday. We have a fine garden here, which was donated mainly by a student who did it for a doctoral project/paper. But I had no idea how to make our garden into an outdoor classroom rather than a play area. My head is now spinning with ideas from the seminar and from the free resources we were provided.

Speaking of provision. I neglected to mention the Lord’s gracious provision during the funeral last week. Several of the teachers wanted to attend because they knew the young lady and the family, but we don’t have any subs. But, the Lord gave us two teachers from Colorado who were here on a work-trip to cover the classes during that time. Isn’t His timing always right on?! And concerning my student: He came back to school and had a little trouble settling down. We will continue to pray for him ad his family as they work through the grief and turmoil.

As you pray for the elections, also pray for the Navajo Nation elections. We know not many Christians will be elected (because there aren’t that many), but we can also pray for principled civil servants who will be wise in their decisions.

The Elephant (poem)

Pray also for our radio station’s Share-a-thon. When doing pastor visitation this week on the reservation, WIM missionaries discovered that many of the pastors didn’t even realize there was a Christian Radio Station, much less had tuned in for a message or music. We have just opened up a station in Tuba City (further west) in order to reach that part of the Reservation. People will be welcome to drop by the big tent to share their testimonies.

Awards for Responsibility

Our goal is to raise $25,000 for operating expenses and to purchase a new FM transmitter so we can 

better reach Native America with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Pray for changed lives and that Radio will be a powerful way to bring hope to the Navajo Nation.

As always, I enjoy collecting my thoughts each week and connecting with you all.

We pray our Good God will bless you,

P.S. Because of my tardiness in getting this note out, I already know that the Share-a-thon raised $30.000!! Praise the Lord!