Yá át' ééh Késhmish

 When Christianity was introduced to the Southwest part of the country during the latter half of the 19^thcentury, some Navajos became believers and they (and others) adopted Christian customs such as celebrating Christmas. 

The Navajo Nation celebrates Christmas much the way it is celebrated throughout the United States. Families gather for special foods and gifts are exchanged. Some attend services and sing traditional Christmas carols, but in their native tongue accompanied by the one-two beat of a drum or  rattle. One might see Navajo versions of the Nativity scene or beautiful wreaths bedecked with baskets and wrapped in woven scarves. The children love to dress up in their traditional clothing and moccasins for parties and programs.

Along with familiar songs, there are unique songs such as “Grandma’s Navajo Christmas” and “I’ve Journeyed Far to Dance a Beautiful Dance” sung in the dance style.

Mary and Joseph and "baby Jesus" on a Navajo blanket.

Emmanuel - God with us!!

The students at Hilltop Christian School presented their program too, which did not include a mention of Grandma. The script and songs emphasized God’s plan of salvation from the very Creation. The guitar and piano players accompanied many of the songs; there were banners, and scarves, and pom-poms! And of course, the little pre-schoolers were amazingly cute around the manger.

It has seemed like a long month. With Mr. M. being gone to take care of his dad and Mrs. N. in the  Midwest to help care for her dad after her Mom passed away, we’ve all been helping to hold things together. We are so grateful that the Lord sent people to help during this time. Other teachers have encountered serious illness in their own families also, which required absences and prayer to keep us focused on our goals and ministry here. This vacation surely going to help us rest.

Right after Christmas, we will be leaving for the Urbana Missions Conference in St. Louis. Ten thousand students are expected to be there is hear the challenging speakers, attend break-out sessions, and visit the exhibits of the various mission organizations. We, along with C and C and SS, will be representing WIM. (WIM is currently undergoing rebranding, and will be called Across Nations in the future.) We’d appreciate prayers for our time there, that it would be fruitful. We pray that many young people will commit to going on the field, even if for a short time, and God’s Word would continue to be spread across the globe powerfully.

Have a Blessed Christmas

Read to Praise Baby Jesus.

 12.23.18

November 11

President-elect Nez and VP Lizer

We have been following the Navajo Nation election closely for the past few months.  To us, the choice seemed clear. Jonathan Nez is the current vice-president and has become a good friend and an advocate for the cause of Christ out on the campaign trail and here at Western Indian Ministries. He frequently visits our Proverbs Book Store and shares on the Radio Station. He is a solid believer and an experienced leader.

We were delighted to hear on Tuesday evening that he had won the election with his running mate Myron Lizer, a local businessman. Nez at 43 is the youngest man to hold the office of President. People commented in the Navajo Timesthat they voted for him because he ran a positive campaign and seeks to be a unifier despite the montage of spiritual beliefs seen across the Rez.

Cow peeking around the corner.

We live in a time and in a nation that is so divided. Polarization, anger, and power struggles are at an all-time high. One medicine man said that he didn’t like Nez simply because he was a Christian. But as followers of Christ, we need to lead the way in doing everything we can to walk in humility and repentance.  

Obviously politics will not heal us and the government will not fix us. We thank God that He is sovereign and will bring glory to Himself. And we will continue to pray for Nez and Lizer as they are entering the arena with huge targets on their backs. Pray for their safety against attacks and lies from the evil one and for wisdom and love as they govern their people.

Cows roamed the property much to the delight
of  the children.

The girls have some rainy day fun with little bears.

This season floods us with projects and programs besides the regular classroom duties. We always pray that the salvation message of Jesus Christ rings clearly in our programs for the parents. 

Thank you for your prayers. Prayer support encourages and upholds us every day.

Happy Thanksgiving,

R and S

The boys surely enjoyed the birthday cupcakes.

Children are holding little carved cars donated by a men's
group in CA.

September 2018

Vehicles of all descriptions speed past Western Indian Ministries and Hilltop Christian School on Highway 264, also known as the Code Talker Memorial Highway. Just past the mission, the highway enters the town of Window Rock, Arizona, which is the capital of the Navajo Nation. Just a few minutes north of the Code Talker Memorial Highway is a towering sandstone formation called the Window Rock, home of the Navajo Veteran’s Memorial Park. It is a small, solemn park dedicated to all Navajo war veterans, but in particular to the Code Talkers of WWII.

The history of the Code Talkers is very interesting. It all began in 1942 with a WWI veteran named Phillip Johnston whose parents were missionaries on the Navajo Reservation. After reading an article about the Army’s use of Native American soldiers as signalmen, he realized the Navajo language might be used as a military code. He was fluent in Navajo and knew that it was unlike any other tribal language. Amazingly enough, it turned out to be understood by fewer than thirty non-Navajos in the early 1940s and was not a written language at that time.

Code Talkers Memorial at Window Rock

Johnston convinced a major in the Marines of the value of his idea and over the next month the code-talking program gained momentum. Shortly thereafter the Marines authorized the recruitment of twenty-nine Navajos for communications work and formed the 382^nd Platoon for the Navajo specialists. 

These 29 men created the initial code, which grew to 411 terms during the course of the war and an alphabet system using Navajo words. The Navajo language had no military terminology, so most of the code used familiar objects, animals, and ideas known to the Navajo, instilling them with military meaning. The code was genius in its simplicity.

The Navajo Code Talkers’ primary job was to transmit tactical information, orders, and other vital battlefield information via telegraph and radio. The Japanese never broke the code.  It saved countless lives. The Code Talker program was highly classified and remained that way until 1968. Code Talkers returning from WWII were not welcomed home by parades and were, in fact, not allowed to speak of their duties as Code Talkers. But in 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared August 14 as National Code Talkers Day. In 2000, the ‘Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act’ was signed into law, and by 2001 the Navajo Code Talkers were honored with Gold and Silver Congressional Medals.

On August 14^th, the annual celebration for Navajo Code Talker’s Day was held at Veteran’s Memorial Park under the shadow of the mighty Window Rock. Only nine Navajo Code Talkers remain. (There were several classes of Code Talkers.) They are the indisputable evidence of the history that surrounds the Navajo people of this generation and a testimonial of the bravery of this Native American tribe. They are evidence of how God works things for good. You will enjoy doing more research of your own on the Code Talkers.

School has been going for a month, and we are thrilled with the robust enrollment and the way the Lord has provided for the staff. We are still in need of substitute teachers, so we’d appreciate prayer for that. We see our friends putting up their children’s back-to-school photos, and we want to do the same! 

The Talking God

Dear Friends,

Navajo Talking God Mask

Imagine a deerskin mask painted white surrounded by a bristling crown of eight eagle feathers. The mouth, fashioned of a narrow tube of rolled leather, protrudes out an inch, and the eyes are black dots surrounded by painted brows. The lower rim of the mask is a ruff of fox fur.  

You are looking at the Navajo Talking God (yebichai), the one who speaks for the pantheon and calls the gods (yeii) to the Night Ceremony.

Talking is indeed important to the Navajo culture. Their written language was given to them through the work of Wycliffe translators, and they didn’t even have the entire Bible in their own language until 1985. Because it is an oral culture, many things, including stories and laws, remain unwritten. In fact, the best way to get my class’ attention is to start with, “One time David and Joshua were….”

Girls enjoying the sunshine. We need some rain desperately.

When one attends a Navajo gathering, one can expect to hear speeches. Usually I feel like a first grader listening to Mrs. E. drone on, 

but we were at our Western Indian Ministries chapel meeting last week, and the speeches (everyone had a lengthy one) were quite wonderful! We were sharing how the Lord had blessed us through the summer and brought us back to this place for the new school year.

We were greatly excited to hear how God had put together people to fill the 2^ndgrade and the 4^thgrade teaching positions. The second grade will be taught by two part-time teachers, with others helping out for a class here and there. And Mary, a retired educator, came out of retirement to teach our fourth grade. She’s quite excited that God isn’t finished with her yet!

The garden has been growing all summer. It's a short growing
season at this altitude.

Others shared about their trips and safety when things could have gone very badly. The summer interns were excited about the growing program for reaching the youth on the Rez. Our newest bookkeeper praised God that, though her great, great grandparents trudged back on the Long Walk from the camp at Fort Sumner, it was then that they heard the Gospel, and there have been generations of Christians in her family ever since. 

All dressed up and ready to graduate.

We love talking about our Talking God --Jesus Christ, the Word of the One True God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  

Prayer Requests:

·     For a smooth start to the year. With all of the last minute changes, there is a lot to do. 

·     For the staff to have unity and work well together. 

·     For the many new students to immediately feel loved and find friends. That they and their families would be eager to learn about Jesus.

·     Praise for our robust enrollment. This is the highest number (80) we’ve had since we arrived here.

June 9, 2018

Students receive awards at the end of the year in scholarship
 and character.

One thing we like to do at the end of each school year is to have a Blessing Ceremony at which we bless and pray for each one of our students. We would like to share a couple of the individual blessings with you:

Pauly, God has given you much. You have family, friends, and most importantly a relationship with God.

May you be like Abraham, who trusted God. His faith wavered at times, but he did put his faith into action by embarking on a journey into the unknown. God was always with Abraham and God will always be with you in your life journey. Follow and trust Him.

I pray you will trust God fully with every aspect of your life. Follow God. He is able and He will do it.

May God enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Roy, your life has been filled with disappointments, struggles, and losses. Do not ever forget God has chosen you, and God has chosen these trials in your life to mold you into the man of God He wants you to be. This process, at times, will be painful and difficult. Remember God is with you every step of the way.

May you be like Jacobwho wrestled with God and left with a new name, a new destiny, and a great promise. May you see God work in your life and richly bless you with His presence.

I pray that as you wrestle with the details of your life, you will cling to God your Father, trust Him, and let Him refine your character. May you forever be completely secure in His love, compassion and mercy for you. May you see the world as God sees it and respond as God responds.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers… I always pray with joy… being confident of this: that He who began a good work in you, Elijah, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Arlyssa, I see in you a great friendliness and a lot of energy. I think in the future you will have many friends and probably be fixing their hair for the prom.

May you be willing to be giving and loving and enable others to fulfill their own potential. --1 Timothy 6:18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

It has been great having you, LoRenzo, in class this year. You are the best participator. You tried to participate even when you weren’t feeling well. You are a quick learner and have a special aptitude in math. I think you will do well in school and have many friends.

God has endowed you with special talents. May you be surrounded with many opportunities to use those talents for good works.

Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

They're ready for second grade.


We’ve finally wrapped up this school year at Hilltop Christian. The school building will be full of teens from Youth Works this summer. They stay at Hilltop by night and work on various projects around the Navajo Nation during the day. https://youthworks.com/trips/navajo-nation/

As we travel this summer, we appreciate prayers for our meetings with churches and individuals and for safety.
We thank God for all of you,

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Students had fun skypeing with students in CA.

May 28

Treaty of 1868 - 150th Anniversary

Runners are greeted by supporters with snacks and water.

The Lord has filled up the month of May with opportunities to interact with Diné history. June 1, 2018, marks the 150th year since the signing of the Treaty of 1868,and many events have been organized in the days leading up to it to celebrate and commemorate the event.

The Navajo Nation President and Vice President have requested that the original treaty document be taken out of storage at the Smithsonian and brought back to Window Rock for the commemoration ceremonies. The document hasn’t been back this way since the year it was signed. It will be on display at the Navajo Nation Museum.

Runners can enjoy the NM scenery.

They have also asked church leaders to get their churches involved in praying for forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing. Many of the leaders they have called on to help are the same ones that have been networking at the Christian Summit meetings these last two years. 

One of the most monumental events is a RUN from Fort Sumner (also called Bosque Redondo --where thousands of Navajos were encamped/exiled for four years) to Window Rock — a run that is equivalent to more than three 100-mile Ultra-marathons (Google Maps suggests that this trip, just shy of 350 miles, would take 115 hours of walking!)

Add caption

Christian leaders from all over the Navajo Nation gathered to pray on May 13th, the night before the runners departed, and will meet again on May 31st, the day before they arrive back in Window Rock. 

Western Indian Ministries is hosting an all-day prayer service for the Navajo Nation on Thursday. This is sure to arouse some opposition from our enemy who prefers to keep nations and individuals in the grip of bitterness rather than promoting humility and confession and seeking forgiveness and peace.

Please ask the Lord to work powerfully at these events — both the prayer meeting coming up and the other events planned surrounding the return and display of the Treaty that gave the Navajos back their homeland. 

Photo by I.Torez taken at Monument Valley.

April 2018

Let me tell you about Nasmith. For the first quarter, he seemed immature and academically unready for his grade. He shouted out constantly and broke out loudly into video game songs randomly throughout the day. Though he passed most of the subjects, he was failing Bible because he had no background and because, according to his mom, he had no interest in learning about the Bible.  

The next few months, the parents made a real effort to help Nasmith with his math and reading, and those hours have paid off with higher grades. But most heart warming is the change in the music that flies out of his mouth. These days, it’s mostly songs from music class or Bible class that burst out. One of his favorites is “Hallelujah to the Lamb.” 

The parents, one “Christian” and one Traditional believer thought his Bible grade was worth working on too, so they asked for the list of Bible stories for each week and a children’s Bible. It’s been so encouraging to see his grades rising and his parents learning the Bible stories along with him.

The children asked for seconds on the smoothies served
by the Tiger Tots Program workers.

As kids do, sometimes they get the words of the Bible verses mixed up. When Nasmith was reciting John 3:16, he said, “For God so loved the world he gave his only forgotten Son…” We’re excited to see that although little Nasmith doesn’t have the words right, he and his family have softened to God’s Word and God’s love. Nasmith processes information by talking and asking questions, so these days he bursts out with a concoction of golden facts that he is trying to internalize such as: “Jesus loved us so much that he died on the cross for us” Or “They put Him in the grave, but he didn’t stay there.” God’s Son has not forgotten Nasmith and his family. 

We’ve only a few weeks left of the school year, and the busyness never ceases. 

Reuniting with friends from a previous school.

Spirit Week: each class made pompoms, hats, pennants,
and a cheer. 

and I had a wonderful time at the “Breathe” Retreat. It was designed for Native youth workers, and Ron Hutchcraft taught the main sessions. Actually Roger and I went along to help with the cooking, but since the kitchen is situated in the back of the meeting room, we listened in on the sessions and joined in the worship. Ron Hutchcraft has been in Native youth ministry for many years with the Warrior Leadership Summit and with the On Eagles’ Wings ministries. https://oneagleswings.com/wls

Thank you for your prayers and gifts. We ask for you to pray that we remain strong and energetic until the end of this school year.  We are also working on summer plans, but more about that later.

This is what I look like.

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January 28

We didn’t expect to be attending another funeral so soon, but last weekend we joined 200 others in bidding farewell to the father of one of our third graders.

RS was only 36 when he passed away from cancer. He graduated from 8^th grade from Hilltop Christian School, and his son attends here. Hilltop made a difference in RS's life, so much so that he insisted that his son attend here despite a 30 minute commute.  About a month ago as he was getting weaker, he asked John, the former principal of HCS and a friend, to do the eulogy. John shared stories with friends and family honoring the character and faith of RS as a young man.

RS was struggling with the disease two years ago when I had his son in first grade. He was taking treatments then and was doing his best to bless his son by participating in his activities such as coaching his little league team and holding his family together with his gentle leadership.

The family is a mixture of Christians and traditional Navajo. RS trusted only Jesus even though friends and family members insisted that he call in the Medicine Man. 

RS wanted John to give the Eulogy because he knew that John would present the gospel of Jesus clearly, which he did. The pastor also extended an invitation for people to receive Jesus, and eleven people raised their hands. We could hear their murmuring as they repeated the words of the pastor’s prayer leading them to confession of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior.

One of the songs Roland chose was 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman

Playing a walk-about (drum)

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul, Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before, Oh my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name

Verse 3) And on that day When my strength is failing
The end draws near, And my time has come
Still my soul will Sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years And then forevermore

I can visualize RS there with Jesus singing like never before and worshipping God.

The service lasted two hours, followed by the viewing, the procession to the graveside and the graveside service. In typical Navajo fashion, speeches were extended and emotions were not hidden.

The children in the class wept together because of their friend’s loss and sadness.  They encouraged him that he would see his dad again. Pray especially for wisdom for the teacher as he works with this young man. We realize that each day we have with these children is a gift. We pray that we will make each day count for the Lord, drawing these children (and families) to a faith in Christ like RS displayed to his family and coworkers.

Please also pray for Western Indian Ministries. We’ve had a major plumbing issue in the main offices, and the leaders ask for wisdom and resources on how to proceed.

Snow on the Window Rock

January 2018

It seems that Dickens was right: the best of times can also be the worst of times.

Last week we were privileged to attend a sadly-joyful event: the memorial service of a precious saint. Larry Harper, father of Western Indian Ministries’ current director Chuck, passed away in December after six decades of service in and around the Navajo Nation.

We knew Larry as a gentle, hospitable person. Others told of his involvement in numerous capacities at WIM including Bible School teacher, pastor, mission director, and radio manager. It was under his direction that the mission established three Christian Radio stations.

Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez reminded us that because of Mr. Harper, we have Navajo pastors on the Rez shepherding the flock. Larry exuded hope, which encouraged his family, the community, and the Nation. Nez said the Navajo and the Hopi Nations are grateful for what Larry has done for the people.

Chuck Harper inserted a brief note that he’s heard Larry pray for the Navajo Nation leadership for 50 years, and V.P. Nez is an answer to that prayer.

The many testimonies of Larry’s integrity, ingenuity, thrift, gratitude, and hospitality touched our hearts, but I was most impressed by the choir composed of fifty+ Navajos who were blessed and changed by Larry’s fervor to talk about Jesus with everyone he met. They sang “No Dark Valley” and “Satisfied” in Navajo.

Hallelujah! I have found Him—Whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings; Thro’ His blood I now am saved. (chorus of Satisfied)

We want to honor Larry by faithfully continuing the service he began here and by exhibiting the character qualities he lived.  Larry’s last words were, “Thank you; you’re doing a good job.” And he has been greeted by Jesus with the same words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

On Friday tragedy struck a family from our church. Their house burnt to the ground. Thank the Lord they all escaped safely, but they have lost everything. Right now they are crammed into their mother’s home, but you can imagine their feelings of devastation and loss. In times like these, the Lord brings out the unity and love of the body of Christ. The church is helping as they are able. One of the missionaries here, Emily, has set up a “Go Fund Me” page:  https://www.gofundme.com/6g2t4-house-fire-relief where you can see the photos of the damage. Pray for the Christensen family: Mark, Antoinette, and their six children.

We pray you have a blessed New Year.

Photos:

*We had a great time at the Grand Canyon.

*Standing at the Code Talker’s Memorial by the Window Rock.

*We are blessed to have known Larry Harper, pioneer missionary on the Navajo Nation.

*The second grade loves the new curtains in their classroom.

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515

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