October 10, 2016

Dear Friends,

Time for some schoolhouse funnies:

I was informed by my first graders that the four oceans are the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Arctic, and …..the Navajo. (Indian)

The boys were singing, “Oh, do you know the Mutton Man?” That makes perfect sense if your people eat mutton more than muffins.

Here’s something I learned about Abraham Lincoln: Because he couldn’t go to school often, he learned everything on his phone.

And Squanto was amazing. He showed the Pilgrims how to make corn out of fish!

We enjoy such chuckles often, but things happen daily that concern us. The Navajos are a spiritual people. When things go wrong, they seek to restore hozho (Navajo concept of balance and beauty) in their lives through Ceremonies and prayers to their holy people.

The VP and a Navajo Beauty at the Parade

One child has an older brother in jail and other family members sick. She’s a sweet child, but she wears a sad look. Her father attributes the stress in their family to a snake and a coyote. Then they reported seeing skin walkers. The father went to the Medicine Man to get relief from the situation.

Another child’s relative was taken to a Ceremony to help her do better in school. Whenever this child has trouble learning and paying attention, the grandparents, who attend church sometimes, threaten to take her to a Ceremony too. This is very frightening to her.

Parade

A boy was very sick with a flu-like illness. The uncles took him to the forest, taught him how to build a sweat house, and performed a healing Ceremony.

An uncle of two of the children died in a motorcycle accident, and the children attended the funeral Ceremony. This can take a few days, depending on how traditional the family is.  I was told by the niece that the adults had to stay up all one night.

(I could not discern precisely why.) They also participated in a practice called smudging, purification using sage smoke.

Parade Dancer

It is difficult to separate religious practices from cultural practices. We don’t expect Navajo Jesus Followers to do things the way we would. Jesus came to fulfill their culture as much as He completes all of the peoples of the world.  It’s hard for the true believers to know what to give up and what is OK to keep or allow to take on a new meaning. Some Navajos upon becoming Christians give up everything, even their own language. Some try to maintain a foot in both worlds, and others assign new meaning to their special practices by incorporating the teachings of the Bible.

In this religious confusion, we teach about our loving God and the Savior Jesus every day praying that the children will put their trust in Him.

See You at the Pole

Prayer Requests:

Western Indian Ministries has had extra expenses with the Leadership Summit, and the arrival of new missionaries.  Pray God will abundantly meet the financial needs created by these ministry opportunities.

Many of the school staff are struggling with personal family issues.  Pray that God will work and give wisdom in each situation.

See You at the Pole

Pray that God will give us great wisdom in responding to our kids as they share their struggles with us, and that He will keep them from the evil one.