August 18

Dear Friends and Family,

This is Window Rock.

Wednesday was our first day of school here at Hilltop, and things could not have gone any more smoothly! We now have almost 50 enrolled. Our principal was comparing his ‘first day of school’ stories with his associates back home, and they admitted that he had won for the best story. Right outside our window, we could see a sheep being slaughtered for the Camp Meeting feast on Saturday! Actually, the children did not bother to watch because they’ve all seen this before.

Preschool Playground.

Our classes have been cooperative and fun the first few days. Naturally we know about “honeymoon” periods, but we are encouraged because many of them have been through our preschool and kindergarten program. They know about Jesus. We have been told that the Navajo tend to compartmentalize what they believe, so it is OK for the children to believe in Jesus and go along with the teaching while they are here, but to participate in Navajo ceremonies when at home. In fact, one girl already told me that she would be absent a few days for a ceremony.

We love the Navajo fry bread.

About that sheep, the Navajo pastor told us that they dress it very quickly so the meat stays tender. The innards are used immediately. The women stretch out the small intestine and make sausages. They froze the rest of the meat in large hunks for the mutton stew. The church women made the stew on Saturday. They started by boiling the frozen meat and veggies then added dumplings. R* went over and tasted it. The stew was served with blue corn meal mush, which was procured from the bottom of the canyon, and fry bread.

We attended the first Friday evening camp meeting. They served Navajo burgers (beef) at 5pm, and we finally left at 10 pm, after the sermon but before the altar call. They always joke about the Rez cars being held together with wire and duct tape. The pastor’s two Bibles were so well-used, they were also held together with duct tape. He effortlessly swung back and forth between English and Navajo, getting two laughs for each punch line of his jokes. The sermon was about taking discipleship to the next level. I noticed that the men and women dressed up, most wore turquoise jewelry and some of the women wore traditional footwear.

I was reading yesterday in Proverbs 16.  Verses 1 and 9 talk about how we make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. We are grateful that He has determined that we be here at WIM and at Hilltop Christian School, and we’re excited about the weeks to come. Please pray for our young ones, that they will see Christ in us and want to follow Him exclusively. Also pray for one of my precious students who is recovering from cleft palate surgery.

Love in Christ

Canyon DeChelly: pronounced Canyon De Shay.

Canyon DeChelly. They grow the blue corn at the bottom.

August- Back to School

Dear Friends and Family,

HCS is part of Western Indian Ministries.

God is Good. We packed up a U-haul and trailer and moved to New Mexico last week without incident, and we’re starting to get into a rhythm now. We have two major tasks: to organize our house (trailer), and to organize our classrooms. Both involve billions of boxes. Hilltop Christian was closed last year, so the previous summer, the teachers had boxed up their classrooms. R opened all of the 3^rd and 4^th grade boxes to determine what he would need for his classroom this year. I did the same with the 1^st and 2^nd grade boxes. We’ve finally gotten our rooms looking ready, so tomorrow we will start preparing lesson plans and schedules.

School starts officially on Wednesday. We welcome the parents and children back with an Open House on Tuesday, so please be praying that it goes smoothly. I already have 11 enrolled in my 1 – 2 combo. I’m so excited! R has five enrolled so far, but has been assured that class sizes grow and shrink throughout the year, and many students don’t come until after Labor Day. Kindergarten and Preschool enrollment is very strong.

Another view of WIM.

We enjoy the staff here. It is different for us because Hilltop is not just a school; it is part of a Mission Station. We also have a Radio Station, Teen Ministries, and other community outreaches going on.  www.westernindian.org  When we arrived, the mission was hosting a work group from PA. Some were remodeling a dorm, but others were quite willing to help us in our classrooms. We are grateful for the hours they saved us! We loved hearing their stories about how God provided for them to come on this trip and how He blessed them abundantly while they served the Navajo people here.

This is part of our trailer. I love the background rocks.

Our music teacher is a fireball for Jesus. When she is not teaching keyboard and guitar, she is driving all over the Rez leading Bible Schools for the Navajo children. Her enthusiasm brightens my day. She was recently at a church service and two of her former students led worship. She got emotional as she related how Bud and Matt hadn’t been such star pupils in music, but now they were up in front boldly playing and singing. And that is what it’s all about – teaching the way of salvation and shepherding the young ones so they will be leaders in their own communities for the Lord.

Resting on the rocks behind our temporary lodging
in Holbrook

Thank you for your prayers and gifts.

We went on a hike just outside of Flagstaff.

www.hilltopchristian.net

May 31

So, it’s spring here and that means sheep shearing time. Those sheep, no matter how uncomfortable they are with all that wool-weight, do not want to get caught. Mr. N somehow corralled them away from the watchful llama, ‘Tia,’ who protects them from strangers. Still the wild-eyed sheep elude capture.  Mr. N knows that by patient coaxing, he can get a sheep into the smaller pen.  Yes, that crazy running is funny, but that’s the way we sometimes look, ridiculously trying to avoid God’s best for our lives.

Mr. N challenges any of us (teachers and students) to wrestle the sheep and set her upright in the shearing position. First a brave 5^th grade girl tries, and though she might know the technique, she lacks the strength. Then Mr. C, the 7^th grade teacher, steps up and manages to roll the woolly creature into a couch-potato position. And amazingly, all the fight leaves the sheep, and she becomes docile. (It reminds me of the verse that says Jesus was like a sheep before the shearers; He allowed them to do what they were going to do.) So, am I like a sheep, ready to stop protesting and patiently endure the process of snipping off the weight I’ve become accustomed to?

Wool class was scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday. Ms. K led the children through the long process of turning the wool into a rug. For some of them it was very familiar as they have grandmothers who weave Navajo rugs. For others, it was new, but fun.

[If I may, I would like to continue the metaphor through the process.  (My friend, A, will be speaking at various churches this summer, and she shared some of her thoughts with me… Thanks, A.)]

First the children carefully washed the wool. Frankly, it stinks and is sticky with lanolin. The scrubbing is gentle, but hot (140 degrees).  Jesus purifies us, delivering us of our own filth and the smells of the desert.  The wool cannot be used unless it is clean, just as I cannot be used in the Kingdom while refusing His cleansing.

So, we surrender to the washing; and the drying in the Arizona sun actually feels pleasant. Maybe God will let me stay out here toasting in the sun for a while. But no, the next step is cleaning.  It takes hours to pick the wool of unwanted material and field debris. There’s pulling and stretching in my life.  Hey, Lord, you’re throwing away some good stuff there, aren’t you?  I not only want this to be over because it hurts, but I’m not sure the Cleaner is leaving me anything. So much for that little hoard.

 

So, now the wool is cleaned up. Thanks, Lord. But here come the carding combs. These two wire-tooth brushes straighten out the stuff of my life, pulling back and forth. More debris surfaces and must be discarded. Are you sure, Lord? I thought I had things pretty organized on my own. Finally, though the carding is done, and my life lies in untangled puffs in the basket.  Surely, it is time to be useful for God’s Kingdom.

 

But no, the gentle hands grasp the wool and draft it, creating a spider web appearance. Is this transparency and stretching necessary? Can’t I just keep doing the things I am used to doing?  Then on to the spinning. Though this looks so homey and somehow traditional, it involves twisting the threads. Twisting and twisting. Perhaps the worry about the future and my abilities is this twisting. I feel like a wrung-out dishrag. And as I am spun, a feeling I don’t like at all, I am being joined to other gossamers. We are strengthened as we are mingled. Whether we like it or not, relationships with people matter. How we treat God’s people matters.  God has gifted us differently, so together we form the strong threads.

Finally, the yarns are wound on bobbins, and the weaving can begin. Each student chose his/her own colors and pattern, as the Maker orders our pattern and path. Even then there is pulling and pressing on the threads. He knows the end result, and I must trust Him to make the product beautiful. Then, whether I am a rug or a placemat or a coaster, I am ready to be used by the Lord.

 

Thank you for your prayers. We are unsure of our next step, but we want to trust in God with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. We trust that He will make our paths straight.

Love,

The Coasters

May 25, 2014

Dear Framily,

This was a huge week for our students who were kept busy every waking minute. The team from MNU brought lots of energy to the campus, along with Theater Camp, Vocabulary Games, Basketball Camp and evening activities.

On Thursday we had a Baptism. We enjoyed a typical Arizona sun and wind combination as we surrounded the children in the “pool” on our cross-sentineled hill. Seven students confessed Christ and vowed to follow and obey Jesus. Two were Roger’s students, and two were mine. Though we have a sense of isolation here, we could hear and see trucks on Interstate 40. It reminded us that we, and these students, must leave this refuge and live for Jesus wherever we go. For some of these children, this is an extremely tall order, as they will be bombarded by all kinds of evil when they go to their homes. We pray especially for our four that were baptized because we know how they waffled on their beliefs and wavered in their commitment to follow God’s Word all year. We pray that this baptism was a very meaningful and life-changing moment in their young lives.

The Promotion Program on Friday was also memorable. We enjoyed the rehearsal because we were able to award each child in our classes with some type of recognition. In the evening, we only presented a very important award such as straight A – honor roll or One who displayed the Character of Christ. The program was mostly devoted to the Graduation of the eighth graders, which went smoothly. All of the eighth graders gave a little speech, and their teacher wrapped up the year wonderfully.

As for us, we are on the Internet daily looking for jobs or areas of ministry where God might have us go. Thank you for you prayers on our behalf.

We love you all.

  

 

  
 

May 18

Dear Friends and Family,

We got some new chickens.

What an adventure it has been this year in Sun Valley, Arizona! And now we are down to the last week of school.

The eighth graders just got back from their trip to San Diego area. The chaperone reported that they were like tourists – just looking around and taking it all in. Most of them were hesitant to try new, unfamiliar things. They camped, went the beach, enjoyed an amusement park, and strolled around the area. She said as they got closer and closer to home, they became chattier and more animated. They obviously were relieved to come back to their safe little world here at SVIS. Our school also sent a Quizzing Team to Point Loma, CA last weekend. They did very well also. Two of the girls (from my class) scored in the 90%.

Eighth graders in Cali.

This week we have the team from Mid America Nazarene University on campus. They will do theater camp and vocabulary games in the morning and basketball camp in the afternoons. (We’ll do our own Bible class before the special events begin.) We’re looking forward to a different kind of week, hopefully more relaxing in a way.

Young staff members camped in CA over break.

Promotion will be on Friday. Promotion here is also the Awards Ceremony. We have prepared 

“fun” awards to give out during the rehearsal in the morning, and then the real awards for academic achievement and character will be given out when the parents come in the evening. Here are some of the awards I’m giving: Story Problem Queen, Makes me Laugh, “Oh, I get it now!” Friendship, “I Made a Game!” Most Expressive Reader, “Tell Me a Story,” Kindness, and Joy in Jesus. Yep. They were a fun group, and the magic started 

happening when we bonded early in the year.

R. has been walking and talking (with the Lord) a lot these days. It seems that we came and liked it here, and then we did what we would naturally do – got comfortable. Getting comfortable does not seem to be in God’s plan for us. God has given us resources and gifts for His Kingdom. Perhaps our Kingdom work is elsewhere, and God needs us to be off-guard and dependent on Him. Thank you for your prayers and notes this past week. Your input has been a real blessing.

Quizzers celebrate. Well Done.

May 11, 2014

 Dear Friends,

This is our last week of real academics. We pray mostly that the spiritual lessons we’ve been teaching will be taken in by our children. Then the following week, we have special activities provided by a team from Mid America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. They will add some vocabulary activities and theater fun to the morning and basketball camp to the afternoon. The baptism will be on the 20^th, and we don’t know how many will be baptized. Promotion ceremonies are scheduled for the 23^rd.

Much to our surprise, our contracts have not been renewed for next year.  We felt we had a good year of ministry to both students and fellow staff members.  We are comfortable here and were looking forward to long-term ministry.  Needless to say, we are distressed because we have super enjoyed working with the staff here and have really come to love the Navajo people. We are struggling with this news and with knowing what God has next for our lives. We don’t have a plan B, and waiting for the new plan A is always difficult.  Pray that we have the attitude that Paul had -– to allow God to do whatever He wanted to glorify Himself through Paul. And please pray that we are given open doors and clear directions for the future.

This past week in third grade we studied God’s faithfulness.  The 3^rd grade verse probably applied more to the third grade teacher than to the 3^rd grade class.  Lamentations 3:22-24:Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.”

We love you all.