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| Come on ring those bells! |
One of my favorite activities of the whole year at Hilltop Christian School is the Christmas program. The smallest scholars dress in their traditional finery. The girls have beautiful dresses, hair tied up Navajo style, and moccasins on their feet. They look like little dolls, and you just want to take them home with you.
In addition to all the cuteness, they sing about God and His special gift. “The best thing about Christmas is that Jesus was born for me” and “I’m so glad it’s Christmas. Jesus, I love you.” Seeing beautiful children singing whole-heartedly about their love for Jesus to an audience of mostly traditional families, who have come to see their children perform, reminds me of why we are here and generally leaves me with a lump in my throat.
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| 1st & 2nd grade girls were characters in the play. |
It is a great feel-good moment, but then reality hits. I am reminded of the environment these kids live in. They have parents who care enough to invest financially in their education, but most of the students come from broken families, and have extended families with multiple reservation-related dysfunctions. Unemployment, alcoholism, corruption, broken people and hopelessness abound. Our goal is to raise a generation of Christians who can serve their people and advance the Kingdom of God, but the odds are so against them.
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| "The Best thing about Christmas" is that Jesus was born for me. |
Then I am also reminded of the Christmas song we sing in third grade: “Love Crashed into the World” https://vimeo.com/54176139 . (Thank you Crossroads Church Cincinnati Kid’s Club.) The song is about a long-expected baby who arrives in a very unexpected way. As the song says, “God does things differently.” The people were waiting for something they did not get, but what they got was better.
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| The Wisemen seek the King. |
God is working here in the Navajo Nation. He is calling out a people for His possession. He may not be working as we expect or in our time frame, but He is working. We will continue to trust Him for what He will do in the lives of our students and in the Navajo Nation.
Thank you for your prayers and support. Continue to pray for our students that God will become real to them. Pray for the health and safety of the mission and school staff. Continue to pray for the Navajo Nation President and Vice President, who as evangelical Christians try to serve the Lord and the Navajo people
Merry Christmas, and may you experience God’s richest blessings this`` coming year.
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| Little Sheep showed up at the manger. |
