January 20

Dear Friends,

Love those Peeps.

The Navajo Nation swore in its President, Mr. Ben Shelly, this week; but if you’ve seen anything on the news, you’ll know that he badly lost his re-election bid.  He is serving temporarily until another election. However, the election is in limbo until the lawmakers and the courts have sorted it all out.

They don't notice the cold when they play soccer.

Last August during the Primary, one of the winners was disqualified because he didn’t speak Navajo fluently.  The tribe’s high court ruled that the election between the two other highest vote-getters should be held by January 31^st, but the lawmakers approved a do-over where all of the previous 17 primary candidates would face off in a special election in June. You can imagine how the court deems this legislation as contempt, so it’s unclear what is really going to happen.

Recess

(If you followed that, that’s pretty good. It’s confusing.) The new council members were sworn in also, and because of a tie, the role of Speaker went to the fellow who won the coin toss. The New York Times calls this ‘the greatest political challenge in a generation: a power vacuum caused by a requirement that the President be fluent in the Navajo language.’ Many are wondering how they can move forward.

Central government is not a Navajo concept, but it was imposed on the Nation in the 1920s. The existing system has been in place since 1990. It is also interesting to me that there is no official constitution, but instead the nation is guided by a set of codes and a document outlining traditional values. The Medicine Men and their counsel are very much a part of the basis for government.

This situation seems to create more uncertainty and instability for a nation that is about the size of West Virginia. Many jobs are subject to the winds of politics, so people have some reason to be nervous. The Navajo Believers are praying for God’s sovereign will to be done. Pray with us for Christians to be elected to leadership and for the nation to seek the One True God.

* Here’s some gold from my class. One of my children started writing the words of the National Anthem (on his own). He erased the first copy, which was even more precious, but the “corrected’ copy is fun too.

Oh see can you see by the darts wood be light

What’s so prise wood we helled at the twise lass a swedee

Oos a stripe and wide star

Threw the pears a as spian

Or the rass wood speed was

Wor so glad wor we squeezie

And the rass get’s were breres

Of the Lord get’s rere grains

Gets threw of the thys

And the flag was still there

Oh see a that’s Star Spangled Bender then yard and pr---ay

Or the now then yard the pre---e

And the hol-----e of the bra----ve

Anyway, I love it that “The flag was still there”! That’s the point of the whole song!

Elementary students

*Pray for my new student to be able to catch up quickly.

*Pray that Roger will know how best to help those who are struggling in his class.

Thank you for your prayers.

Have a good week.

After-Care fun