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.