August 25, 2024
Dear Friends,
She saw a shadowy figure hanging around her workplace. Other staff had seen it near a closet, so it wasn’t just her imagination. They were on edge and fearful. It was time to bring in the big guns. She called her parent, who is part of the Across Nations Staff, and requested prayer.
Across Nations staff hustled over to visit with the workers. They discovered that the workers believed the building was ‘haunted’ because they were at fault for someone’s death. Later that week, Across Nations was requested to come and pray over the area because the employees had tried everything they could in their ceremonial ways to get rid of the “shadow.” KA took three other Native American believers with him, and they prayed over the entire building, room by room. They reported they were like Joshua, driving the evil influences from the land.
Yes, we know there are cultural differences between us and the Navajo, but this is not the equivalent of my students telling me that if you touch a bug, you will break out in red dots or that owls and snakes are not acceptable topics of discussion because they bring evil and bad luck. The spiritual world is real, as you know, and the battle belongs to the Lord.
Hilltop Christian School has been working, saving, and accepting donations for several years to buy playground equipment. Just when we were ready to make the purchase, the funds were taken by fraud. It was a sophisticated scam, and the amount lost was huge. Of course, we are doing all we can through law enforcement and insurance to recoup some of the loss.
We’re angry and heartbroken, but it reminds us that if Across Nations and Hilltop Christian School were on the wrong path, the enemy would ignore us instead of disappointing children and stealing the Lord’s money.
We have started the school year with a full staff. Our administration situation is interesting. We have Dr. John as our part-time principal. He’s on campus several days a month, and is always available through e-mail, text, and Zoom. Dr. John was the principal at Hilltop many years ago, and he is delighted to see the improvements to the campus. We all want this to be a workable solution, and we pray for him as he travels back and forth from southern New Mexico and as he assumes the leadership of Hilltop Christian.
When Jesus sent out the twelve, He sent them out with nothing. I take too much when I go on vacation: clothes, OTC meds, books, cash. But Jesus said no staff: nothing to lean on or to protect you from wild animals; no bag: nothing for emergencies; no bread: no extra food because He provides; no money: something tucked away to get me out of a jam; and no extra clothing. We are to be what they see. We are just servants of the Lord copying Him by teaching and healing and proclaiming the Kingdom. We teach, we love, we protect, and mostly we proclaim the love of Jesus, the Truth of the Word of God, and the reality of the spiritual realm where God is sovereign and Jesus is our Savior.
Though we have enough teachers, we are sorely lacking substitutes. Pray that more people would be willing and available to substitute for us. We’ve already had two teachers catch colds, another had an infected hand, one is missing a few days due to cataract surgery, and one missed a week because of a death in the family. Don’t tell me there isn’t a spiritual battle going on.
Thank you so much for your encouragement and support in many ways.
In Service of the King of Kings,
