August 27

August 27

It's been three Sundays since we heard about the toxic spill from the Gold King Mine in Colorado.

The "abandoned" mine where the EPA itself (unintentionally) caused a spill of more than 3 million gallons of wastewater turned the Animas River system orange and flowed into the Navajo Nation, threatening the source of irrigation water in the Shiprock area. Some 750+ families rely on farming for food in this area. Fortunately Farmington and Shiprock share a reservoir with about a three-month supply of clean water, so the drinking water is safe.

The EPA didn't alert the Navajo Nation about the spill until 24 hours after the incident.

Water that the EPA shipped in arrived in tankers apparently used for carrying oil, and oil drops were found floating in the water. President Bagaye deemed it wise to send the tankers back rather than to use the water.

A week after the spill, the Animas River was tested in Colorado and deemed ready to be reopened to the public for recreational purposes.

The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency gave the green light to use the San Juan River for irrigation on Monday, but President Russell Begaye stated that he decided to keep the canals closed because a non-profit group has found heavy metals including vanadium, titanium, and barium in its samples. The riverbed sediment should also be tested because each time the soil is disturbed, the water could be re-contaminated. The farmers are overwhelmingly concerned about contaminated fields and crops, which people will not want to buy.

Cleaning this up is more than an economic problem, though that is an important impact. The Navajos have a cultural and traditional connection to their land; water is the elemental basis of the tradition of their religion. For the river to be harmed in this way, the damage is beyond description. You would understand this feeling when you think about how you react to the desecration of a church or a satirical picture of Jesus on the Cross. There is a sense of mourning in the Nation over the damage done to the river.

The Bible also uses the image of the Holy Spirit as the Living Water -- the water that refreshes and cleanses our souls as Jesus revealed to the woman at the well – the water that flows from our beings to bless others.

Pray for the Navajo leaders as they solve these problems.

September 12

 We have a fascinating group visiting Western Indian Ministries and the Navajo Nation this month. They represent UniSkript – a way of picturing any language without using a Latin or symbolic alphabet. Their goal is teaching literacy very quickly, so illiterate peoples can read a Bible (written in UniSkript) in their mother tongue. (Uniskript.org)

In an initial meeting with the team we were discussing the conundrum of the Navajos having to reject most of their culture when they become Christians because the traditions are shaded with demonic meanings.

Suzuki (YWAM linguist from Brazil) told us this most remarkable story. Suzuki and his wife, Marcia, had worked for 20 years with a tiny tribe in the interior. This tribe was controlled by the witch doctor who went off periodically to commune with the spirits. The people lived in fear of displeasing the deities. Suzuki and Marcia learned the language and preached the gospel faithfully to the tribe, but their simple, direct words of God’s love did not touch the hearts of the people.

Many years later, they returned to the tribe after having been in the city for a break. The witch doctor was singing and chanting a song about eating cashews, and he seemed like a different person. Suzuki and Marcia couldn’t make heads or tails of the cashews or why the man was so changed on the inside – full of peace. They probed and questioned until they figured it out.

The witch doctor said that Jesus had met him as he was seeking the spirits and contemplating taking his own life. He said that Jesus had met him and had eaten the cashews for him. Understand that green cashews are very bitter and when someone eats them, it is believed that they not only poison the person’s stomach, but they poison the person’s soul. The witch doctor had been given the key to the gospel in a vision that he understood. Jesus takes away the sin—the bitterness that poisons your heart—and He eats it for you, so you are clean!

Partner Reading

To that tribe, Spiritual truth is not supposed to be plain and simple. It is best understood in a metaphorical way. To them, the words “Jesus Loves You” is too simple to be a spiritual truth! Salvation has come to that tribe. And the remarkable thing is that they had not really changed on the outside. They still did the same rituals, but the people are more kind and peaceful and not fearful. When the government officials came through inspecting to make sure that YWAM was not changing the culture of the tribe, they could not tell any outward difference. (In Brazil, Christians are persecuted if they try to change the culture of an indigenous tribe.)

Beautiful Children

Perhaps we should worry less about what the saved Navajos will do with their culture and pray for the Key so they understand Redemption.  What helps them to truly take in God’s gracious gospel?  Then let God direct them in the cultural things.

I hope to write more on UniSkript later. There has been a book written about the Suzukis and the daughter they rescued and adopted. It is called A Way Beyond Death: A Brazilian Couple’s Fight Against Fear, Suffering, and Infanticide, by Jemimah Wright.

Please pray for one of our faithful construction volunteer families – Keith and Denise. They lost their home and their cats in a California wildfire this week.

Thank you for your prayers, love, and gifts,

Learning number words and order

August10

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

I Thessalonians 5: 11

Dear Friends,

This portion of the group worked on a building project.

A group providing wonderful encouragement for us here at Hilltop just returned to Pennsylvania. A week ago weeds had overtaken the playgrounds. Roofs had leaks. Ramps were warped and stairs lacked handrails. We looked around the school and sighed, “School starts in ten days, and this is impossible.”

The Nehemiah Project: building a dorm for work teams and retreats.

 

Here it is a week later. Weeds are hacked down, roofs repaired and leaks stopped. The classrooms are decorated, clean, and orderly. Ramps are restored. Books are organized and extra texts are stowed. The crew worked cheerfully and incredibly hard. Teachers can now sit behind their desks and start composing schedules and lesson plans for Wednesday.

This progress was encouraging beyond words to us as a staff. And we are incredibly grateful.

The classroom is almost ready to go!

As we sent them off, we encouraged them to pray for us here at Hilltop and WIM, to read the blog, and to think about coming back. WIM has opportunities for work groups to stay for a week, individuals could work as summer interns, or young teachers might even apply to do student teaching here.

We were also encouraged by a group representing five churches in the Dallas area who hauled a couple of tons of clothing and food to give away to needy families here on the Rez through the church and radio station. We had great joy taking them on a tour of the school and telling them stories about God’s work in various Navajo families.

Churches from Texas brought clothing and food.

We are also encouraged by answered prayer. Our Hilltop staff is ready to go for the first semester. Though we don’t have full time administration, we do have people to help and give advice. Mr. Tiger will continue as a consultant while he works to raise his support so he can be involved in WIM full-time again. Pastor Eugene (Bucks County, PA) is encouraging his people to pray faithfully for our ministries. Yes, finances are a part of it, but the main and more powerful resource is prayer to the Almighty God.

Join me in savoring these words written by a member of the group on a card of encouragement:

Welcome to Hilltop! We pray that God will give you the grace each day that will enable you to serve and teach and love well. Blessings to you as you serve.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

 

Support: Western Indian Ministries, PO Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515

Aug. 4

August 4

Dear Friends,

Ready or not, here they come.  Hilltop Christian School starts on August 12. We have almost got the teachers in place: a couple of veteran teachers came out of retirement to team-teach the 5^th-6^th until Christmas. So that is a praise for answered prayer!

Rainclouds over the school garden

Where do they come from? At least two families drive over an hour to school and three others drive a half hour. Most come from nearby communities.  Because the rural address system is not completely in place on the Rez, many families don’t have street addresses. They give directions by landmarks.

Here are some of the “physical addresses” written on the student applications. (Some parents drew maps that were detailed and beautifully illustrated.)

Follow the winding road past the police department, past the education building, and it is near the school.

1 ½ mile north of Springs Chapter House. Take the road between mile markers 84 and 85. It’s the beige trailer in front of the two houses with brown roofs and the hogan.

Playtime at Summer Care

Go southwest from the Chapter House. When the road turns west, there is still a mile to go to our trailer.

Across from the Conoco station, turn south and follow the road three blocks. Then turn east for one block. Then continue south for one block.

Go 5 miles north of the town. Turn left and follow the road around. Brown trailer.

Who is coming? So far we have 62 students enrolled a week before school starts, which is the highest number for many years.  44% have two married parents, 33% live with a single mom or day, and 23% live with unmarried couples or grandparents.

What type of religious backgrounds are represented?

65% claim a church (15% of the 65% are Catholic.) 30% claim no church, and 5% state that they follow the Navajo Traditional Religion.  Several noted two religious preferences such as Catholic/Traditional or Christian/Traditional.

Double rainbow over WIM

* Percentages are approximate.

We are so excited because almost all of our students from last year are returning, and they’ve recruited cousins to join in. Pray that Hilltop continues to be a Lighthouse for Jesus in the Community and the Navajo Nation.

Blog: everettnavajo.blogspot.com

Support: Western Indian Ministries: westernindian.org

P.O. Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515

July 27

Navajo Nuggets

Children are not a distraction from more important works. They are the most important work. – C.S. Lewis

Dear Friends,

The Chess Sets find a new home.

It all started in the spring with homeless chess sets. My brother Don, while down-sizing, asked me if we wanted chess sets for Hilltop Christian School. We don’t have an active Chess Club, but I read in the Navajo Times about a school on the Rez that had sent two boys to the state chess competition. So, a couple of clicks later, I was able to e-mail the chess coach, Dave, and offer the chess sets.

His response came quickly and enthusiastically. Yes! As we continued to correspond, we learned that the coach and his wife were born again Christians living in Ohio but working with Navajo children during the school year.

Yesterday, we handed off the sets along with three chess time-clocks. Dave expressed amazement at the quality compared to the cheap plastic sets and tablemats the children were using now. We fellowshipped with them for a long time, comparing our life-journeys and reveling in our Unity of the Spirit. We were so excited to make some “forever friends.”

* And here’s a God sighting… While we were giving Dave and his wife a tour of Hilltop, my brother called, which is a rare occurrence, and Dave was able to thank him personally. They felt an instant connection and plan to keep in contact also.

I was reading in Micah 7:18-19: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

When I think of the amazing, inimitable God, I reflect on God’s creation, His control of the oceans, or His power over the storms and earthquakes. But this passage doesn’t go there.  God is wonderful and powerful because He forgives sins and does not stay angry forever. He delights in showing mercy and compassion to His people. That is the Awesome, Amazing thing God does. The Forgiver is Who God is.

Joe from the Radio Ministry talks with the
Navajo Nation President and Vice-Prez.

Tomorrow is a Campus-Wide Day of Prayer and Fasting here at Western Indian Ministries. Thank you for praying along with us for financial and personnel needs. Also, continue to pray that Western Indian Ministries and Hilltop Christian School are effective in bringing Christ to the Navajo People.

Blog: everettnavajo.blogspot.com

Support: Western Indian Ministries: westernindian.org

P.O. Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515

Linda's heirloom Navajo blanket.

A student and dad pose by a hogan near Canyon De Chelly.