Diné Wedding

Dear Friends,

We were blessed to attend two weddings this summer (one virtually). I thought it would be interesting to share a few details about a Navajo wedding.*  The Diné (Navajos) have a traditional wedding ceremony, which is generally used with variations by traditional families even today.  It is still a sacred ceremony.

 

Not so long ago, the groom’s family “hunted” for the right bride for their son. Sometimes the young man was not even told until the wedding was going to take place. The couple was to remain pure until the wedding.

 

The groom’s family took him to the Ceremony and stayed with him in the Hogan. When a couple married in a Hogan with cornmeal mush, it meant that the man and woman were joined together. Now they could have children. Therefore, the wedding was not for entertainment. It was to continue the human race. 

 

In the Hogan, the cornmeal mush in a basket was the most important element in the traditional wedding. Blue cornmeal mush was most often used. The dowry was different from the Western dowry where the bride was “paid for.” In Navajo, the dowry was paid to purchase the cornmeal mush and basket, not for the marriage or the bride.

 

A water container with a single spout was used to wash each other’s hands as the couple wedded. The bride sat facing east on the south side and the groom sat to her left on the north side. The medicine man sat in front of the bride.

 

Traditional weddings are done at sundown as the bride is not to be seen by the sun. The sun is “jealous” of the human race and cannot see the bride. She covers her head as she approaches the Hogan to be married – these days with a Pendleton blanket.

 

There were many teachings to the couple during the ceremony. Teachings about life, about family planning, and about taking care of each other were important topics.

 

The bride’s family prepared a meal for the groom and relatives outside the Hogan. The groom was to move to the bride’s family’s homeland where he was expected to make a home for his future family. 

 

School started on August 11^th. We are happy to report that the enrollment at Hilltop Christian School has bounced back to pre-Covid year levels. Pray for wisdom for the teachers as we navigate the great divide between students who were in school last year and those who did not receive face-to-face instruction.

 

Pray for the health of the students and teachers.

 

*Kawano, Ruth, A Diné wedding or not?, Navajo Times, 7/22/21

Summer 2021

The end of the school year provided a time to count God’s blessings and to look ahead, hopefully, to a more “normal” school year. Hilltop offered face-to-face instruction all year, with a packet option for students who chose to remain isolated.

 

Teachers cheered when chrome books arrived on a cart so 2^nd through 6^th graders could continue with computer class. Through a contact of Teacher Mapes, we also received several donated computers, so the old computers can be retired. The students enjoyed art class with Teacher G and delighted in the projects displayed on the hall bulletin boards. Hilltop did not let Covid interfere with our chapel program. Teacher N hosted chapel via Zoom every week and included all of the children who were doing Hilltop at Home. The children were happy to be in school, and students and teachers had a healthy year.

 

As the staff shared their year’s highlights, spiritual highlights outranked them all. We saw how God’s perfect timing enabled Fallon’s Aunt who had spiritual questions to open up to staff members. Mary, and Lia approached their teachers privately to confide that they had asked Jesus into their hearts. Older children, Rivers and Ed, shared their decisions publically in class and made progress in their personal Bible reading and devotions. For many students, choosing to follow Jesus creates tensions because parents follow their own traditions. 

 

As the children were learning their Bible lessons and verses, parents confided that they were being influenced to re-think their own obedience to God and whether they should continue Navajo Ceremonies. Because of our unshakable faith in God’s provision and sovereignty, we at Hilltop believe the children became more focused on God’s power and lovingkindness. In fact, one of their favorite songs this year was called “Jesus, Strong and Kind.”

 

Before we know it, the 2021-2022 school year will begin. We plan to return all students to face-to-face instruction. We hope that enrollment will increase and we’ll be running a robust program next year. 

 

 

 

*Students’ names are changed.

April 2021

 Greetings from windy Tse Bonito:

 

Good News! Across Nations held a drive-through Share-a-Thon to raise money for the Radio Station last Saturday. The goal was $15.000, and $12.000 was raised! I helped greet the cars, pass out gift bags, and collect donations. Over 100 cars drove through. Many radio fans stayed to listen to the music performed on the outdoor stage. Because the old radio building is condemned, we are in the process of building a new one from shipping containers. If you want to contribute towards this project, feel free to send a donation to Across Nations and designate it for the Share-a-Thon.

 

Good News! Hilltop Christian School has continued to remain Covid free. We praise God for the protection of students and staff.  Of course, we continue with the protocols and cautions commanded by the health agencies.

 

Good News! We frequent a certain fast-food place in town and have made friends with the staff there. They know we are teachers at Hilltop, But I was still surprised and delighted when a worker left her station behind the counter to come out to ask me to pray for a situation in her life. Wow! 

 

Bad News. A young child talked about the commotion at her house and the involvement of the police. I asked her teacher if it were true, and the teacher confirmed that her life is in turmoil. But she said that the Lord had provided a relative close by where the children could run when things got weird at home.

 

Bad News. The children in our class often share prayer requests about their parents leaving or drinking or behaving in other ways that cause disruption to their lives. These requests cause distress in our hearts. Continue to pray for a specific family. I believe the stress of Covid has contributed to this battle in the home. 

 

Fun Facts from First Grade: A girl asked me how old I was, and a boy quickly piped up, “You can’t ask an OLD lady her age.” 

*When we studied insects and butterflies, a girl told me that when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it is like when Jesus comes into your heart. What an unexpected blessing to share with the other children.

*One boy told his dad that it was OK to phone me at 9 PM because I would still be at school. (Though some workdays are long, I rarely stay that late.)

 

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers.

·      Continue to pray for good health through these last six weeks of school.

·      Pray for enrollment for next year.  Many of our school families are on the fence regarding reenrollment.

·      Pray for our staffing needs for the coming year. I don’t know exactly what they are right now, but we usually are looking for staff.

·      Our library/computer building is unsafe, so we need a solution for that. This year because of Covid, we have kept classrooms intact in one room. But hopefully, we’ll be able to have Special Classes next year in their own separate area.

·      Pray for our families. Many have lost several members to Covid and their homes are not havens for the children.

 

 

January 15

This week we completed the editing of the Christmas Program, so that might be a great place to start playing catch up. 

            The Nativity is a beautiful story, and even though we’ve enjoyed the reading of the Scriptures and the pageants numerous times in our teaching careers, each time brings joy.

            Due to Covid, creativity in filming rather than performing on a church stage became the important issue. But, preschoolers dressed as sheep and kindergartners re-creating the Nativity scene are delightful any time. Fortunately, the weather held, so angels and shepherds were filmed outside singing The First Noel, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, and Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.

            I caught the children singing incorrect lyrics, due to their vocabulary limitations, but they made sense anyway…

            A preschool teacher reported that one little sheep sang, “Jingle bells, Batman smells. Robin laid an egg.” But God didn’t. Just at the right time He sent the Savior.

            Hark, the Herald Angels Sing seemed especially prone to lyrical expansion: The little angel belted out, “Hark, the Carol Angels sing, ‘Glory to the New York King.’” Aren’t you glad, Jesus is everyone’s King (especially now)? Then one angel urged us to “Join the trial of the skies.” Triumph didn’t make sense to him, but certainly two sides drew lines in this Spiritual battle that Night. I also heard this: “Light and life to all He brings, Risen with waiting in the wings (healing in His wings). Tell me, does that not make sense to you as you eagerly await the Lord’s return?

            The second graders added a delightful twist to We Three Kings when they sang, “We three kings of ba da da dar. Bearing gifts we travel so far!” There you go, the point is made that wise people from all over the earth will recognize the Messiah.

            Kindergartners who have no idea what an inn might be said, “For there was no room for Him in the end.”  But there is room in any believing soul; and as the fifth grade sang, we must, “Haste, haste to bring Him love, the babe, the Son of Mary.”

 

Zephaniah 3: 17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” Jesus is our Emmanuel – God with us.

 

            We feel blessed that Hilltop is in the third quarter with no huge outbreak of Covid. We continue to operate with most students face-to-face, but about 10 families working on packets at home. True, some on our Across Nations staff have contracted the virus and are still struggling with the after effects. Our kindergarten teacher lost a sister and her dad to the disease. Most families have experienced trauma and death. 

            The Navajo Nation is basically closed. They have experimented with different kinds of curfews and lock downs, but it is the same here as elsewhere. Positive cases still push up the count, and people are tired of sheltering in place. The government would like to open more businesses, in a safe way of course. Because of the regulations, we as a school will not be able to welcome very many groups to contribute at the school. But some construction crews will arrive in March to help build the Radio building. 

            Please continue to pray with us that the virus stays out of the school and that families will regain some normalcy during this time of fruit basket upset. We also pray that Across Nations will be a beacon of light for a people floundering in fear and financial hardship.

 

May God Bless You All,

 

Unfortunately, I have no adorable children's photos to post for you...

 

 

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