August 15, 2020

The topic that is on a lot of minds these days is the opening of the schools. On the Navajo Nation, this question becomes even more complex as there are state schools (Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) BIE (Bureau of Indian Affairs) controlled schools (Federal), and various types of private schools. Parents may choose to keep their children home and pursue alternate learning strategies, but many districts are requiring teachers to report back to work. 

 

With a summer that has shuffled between plans A, B, and C, we here at Hilltop Christian School are now down to a plan with a letter towards the end of the alphabet. We have tried to follow the CDC, New Mexico (where the school is physically located,) Arizona (where the students live), and Navajo Nation (what the students are) guidelines.  It has been a challenge to create a module of learning amidst all the changing advice and approaches. 

 

So, we are starting school Monday with face-to -face instruction, although we have given the parents the option of having instructional packets to study at home.  The majority of students will be on campus. Our enrollment is currently down by a third. (Approximately 50).  This is a very difficult decision for parents as there is great fear of the virus here on the Reservation, and many students live with grandparents or others with compromised immune systems.  

 

It’s weird to see the classrooms with only six desks which are spaced two sheep-lengths apart. We should be grateful for the small classes, making social distancing easier. In order not to mix up the students, we’ll keep the students together, and the music and art teachers will visit the classrooms. With a temperature check each morning, lots of handwashing and sanitizing, mask-wearing, and social distancing, it will certainly be a different and challenging year.

 

We are convinced that God wants the school here. In fact, with churches still closed, this will be an opportunity for our school to “be the church” to people who are fearful, needy, and confused.  We were searching for several teachers and staff members at the end of the school year in May.  God has again miraculously provided a staff for us so we have the positions covered.  Pray for the new staff members. We have two new teachers in the Preschool. Also, pray that we won’t be overwhelmed because of the extra work of providing packets and lesson plans to the Hilltop at Home families.

 

Please be praying for the health of the teachers, staff, students, and the families.  The parents and students are fearful.  We want them to be careful but also have the peace that passes understanding. We want God’s work to continue here at the school, so pray that Satan will not hinder with an outbreak of the virus. As always, pray for open hearts and open minds to God’s truth.

 

It was great to see our CA supporters. We enjoyed picnics with them in backyards and parks. What fun it was for us to see friends after so many months of lock-downs and curfews here on the Navajo Nation.

 

We pray that you all stay well also. 

Love,

Roger and Sara

Serving with Across Nations at Hilltop Christian School

Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse helped with organizing food distribution and setting up a temporary hospital for Covid patients.

Mike Lindell is with others at NNCRT (Navajo Nation Christian Response Team) food site.

A child plays alone with her dolls.

Code Talkers Day was last week.

Tim Tebow is pictured here with Vice President Lizer and his wife.

 

Photos: The Navajo Nation has received many donations and helpful visitors. 

We are grateful for all who have helped.

News May 2020

 It's pretty amazing that we left NM to visit friends on March 6, and we returned a week later to a whole new world. The Navajo Nation has been hard-hit by the virus.  Part of this might be due to the fact that Navajos are communal and live in large, close-knit family groups. They also have not stopped gathering together even though President Nez has mandated "hibernate” in place to stay safe. Many believe they will stay safe by boiling sage and juniper to drink as a tea to combat respiratory ailments. As everywhere, the elderlies are dying, along with alcoholics and diabetics. Those are two other severe health issues on the Rez, which create pre-existing conditions

We have had nightly curfews for ten weeks and weekend (57 hour) curfews for about seven weeks. The Navajo Nation government will be closed until mid-June. A large part of the nation still lacks running water, and they wash hands in a common bowl. The unemployment rate has shot up to around 50%, which has made it very difficult financially for some of our school families. 

President Jonathan Nez and VP Myron Lizer are outspoken Christians. We pray that they have wisdom and good counsel and remain bold for the God of the Bible. The darkness of the Native Religion comes against them. People are fearful and blaming others. Christians get heavy blame because one of the first major outbreaks came out of a Nazarene Regional meeting. The Nazarene church has lost many pastors and pastor’s wives. White people get blamed too. Perhaps this is because they previously introduced diseases and inflicted privations on the indigenous communities. Blame also goes out to the Navajo people for falling away from their traditional religious practices and not taking care of mother earth.

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We have remained at home and are not sick. No one on our staff is sick, though some have extended family that have gotten ill or have passed away from the virus. The Navajo Nation Christian Response Team (NNCRT) delivered several hundred boxes of food and supplies right away.  Now the Federal dollars have arrived, and the Navajo Nation is doing the job of taking care of its own. 

We didn't have school in the building for the last quarter, but we worked really hard at getting on-line right away. Roger and I had a lot to learn!  The situation is less than ideal because the Internet services are definitely substandard.  One of my families had to drop out completely because they live on a remote ranch with no connectivity. 

Now that the year is over, we are cleaning up, organizing, and preparing for next year, even though we have no idea how that will look or what restrictions will be placed on all of us. We plan to start in August, but can't imagine teaching a class where we have to stay six feet apart all day long and wear masks. 

As for this summer, we won't make any plans to travel in June. 

We are praying for those who have become infected and the grieving friends and families who have lost loved ones. We are praying that we Christians will pay more attention to God and live humbly before Him, knowing that He is providing for us and has everything under control.  The Lord is teaching us to use our gifts in different and creative ways. 

 

Staff Meetings on Zoom

April 19

Dear Friends,

A month ago, Roger and I visited friends in Iowa over our Spring Break. We left Tse Bonito with certain expectations, one of them being we’d soon be sharing our classrooms with our Encounter Team friends from Pennsylvania, Arkansas, California, Colorado and other places.  A week later, we returned to a completely different place, a twilight zone where one didn’t dare cough to ease an allergic tickle. Businesses and schools were temporarily closing up shop. And our co-workers from all over the United States weren’t coming after all.

On Monday morning, March 16^th, the Hilltop teachers and staff met as usual for morning devotions, knowing that no students would be scrambling out of their trucks to hug their teachers and bounce to class. We prayed and determined to charge fearlessly into a new era. Not knowing how long this virus would last, the teachers prepared work packets for the next few school days. We didn’t want to lose any precious time caring for our children’s academic needs.

Parents picked up the packets and transitioned to becoming teachers. It wasn’t easy for many families. And as this disease stretched out, we knew we’d have to leap from a 1970s classroom to a technology-based 2020 classroom. We have old, donated computers in our classrooms, but most of us switched to using our personal laptops. Two teachers borrowed Kindle Fires from a classroom.  And off we Zoomed.

Yes, Zoom is now a verb. We all  (I’m talking all – from the Millennials to the Octogenarians) climbed the steep learning curve; and if the Lord hadn’t sent our student-teacher  (Joy) from Pennsylvania, we would have struggled even more. She was able to help us with technological advice. We now Zoom every morning and afternoon for staff meetings and collaboration. Every one of the classes meets daily in a Zoom meeting. The Preschool is also posting classes biweekly on YouTube. Mr. Naas prepares a chapel and Mrs. Naas has done a Library Reading time for the students.

A month ago, we didn’t even know what an LMS was. Now the whole world knows. We’ve been using Schoology (Learning Management System) and e-mails and an outside mail drop for those with no technology to continue the children’s learning.  Miss Rubanenko, second grade teacher, said, “I’m right on pace with the curriculum, and we should be finished at the end of May.” Mrs. Nelson, kindergarten teacher, stated, “They all come to the morning meeting, and I feel that they are making great progress between the lessons I teach them and what they work on at home.”

The teachers struggle to make the lessons creative and relevant. We spend extra time meeting with individuals to tutor them. And though it has been more work than classroom teaching, our hearts are even more burdened by other loads. We worry that our children are safe. We pray about the traditional teachings children are hearing and the garbage they are allowed to watch to fill the long days.  People who are fearful and are looking for answers surround us. We know some of our families have lost their jobs and are in desperate straits. The children are lonely, and some call or text our teachers or stay on the Zoom meeting as long as they possibly can. Some parents are still working, but they are now required to teach their own children too. Added to either no Internet or substandard on-line services, this has not been an ideal situation.

What can you do? Continue to do what you have been doing. Pray for the Navajo people and their leaders. We’ve been under quarantine for two weekends and will face two more stay-at-home weekends. Pray for the students and for their safety and health. And pray for the staff and teachers at Hilltop. We strive to serve the Lord using the gifts and weapons He gives us. 

Virtual hugs to you all,

Roger and Sara 

“Navajo Jeans” by Hyatt Moore

Merry Christmas!

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.

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.

"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.  

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.

Little Sheep showed up at the manger.

August 2019

School has begun again at HCS. Though enrollment is down, and we didn’t get a 4^thgrade teacher; with some creative scheduling, things have gone smoothly so far. So, I’ll begin the year with some elementary school funnies.

Coloring contest winners

Geography lesson: Mrs. E: When we go north from the United States, we go up on the map and get to Canada. Where will we end up if we continue going north? 

Jay: Heaven!

Recess conversation: Reliah: What do you have in your little pink purse?

Mrs. E: (The answer is a phone and keys.) Why don’t you guess?

Reliah: Candy?

Mrs. E: Nooo.

Reliah: Wallet?

Mrs. E: No. I’ll give you a hint. It’s something that your mom always has with her.

Reliah: Two babies!

Fun Field Trip to a camp.

Librarian: What did you learn in class today?

InaJean: We learned about water safety.

Librarian: What did you learn about water safety?

Bryan: We learned “Don’t jump in the water with your head on or you will drown.”

Miss R: As you leave, you may give me a high five or a hug. You choose.

Chase: I only want to hug someone soft.

Hezra: Anyone would want to hug me, I’m a pillow. 

Waiting inside the building after school, little Jim suddenly got up and trotted to the door, “I hear my dad’s truck.”  Surprised, I followed him. I couldn’t hear anything. But sure enough, he had correctly identified his Dad’s truck by the sound.

Unacceptable Nonsense!

In May, when we had our last snowfall, I urged the children to run outside and revel in the snow. Neelah held back and wouldn’t leave the shelter of the building. I heard her mumble, “This is unacceptable nonsense.”

Mr. E. was having a class ‘discussion’ about responsibility, and Daniel asked, “What does it mean to throw someone under the wagon?” 

Every day we find the fun, but we don’t lose sight of our purpose to spread the gospel of Jesus and the truth of the Bible. Pray for the new students as well as the students who didn’t return. We appreciate your prayers for us and the Hilltop staff (especially the new teachers) and for the Navajo families we encounter. 

July 2019

I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.
Exodus 19:4

We knew the diminutive guy with thinning hair because we’d met before; others in our congregation had no clue. But when he rose to speak, there was no doubt. They recognized Ron Hutchcraft from his radio voice. He told of how in 1992, he was invited to speak at a banquet for KHAC (WIM/AN radio station), and the Lord completely captured his heart to reach the Native American people. After 400 years of missions, still only 4% are Christians. He calls this the “unfinished business of the American church.”

He told the Lord that his plate was full enough already. But God nudged him saying, “But your hands aren’t.” Thus formed the idea of mobilizing Native and First Nations believers to reach their peers, and through his ministry https://www.hutchcraft.comand Warrior Leadership Summit  https://oneagleswings.com/wlsto train and mobilize Christians to communicate to their lost world. 

“There’s a lot of pain, a lot of loss, a lot of death… and there is a tendency to ‘stuff it’ rather than face it,” observed Hutchcraft. “I’ve been on about 100 reservations and [On Eagles Wings has] been in Canada and Alaska, and all over the continental US. Wherever you go, it’s true: Jesus is perceived to be the white man’s God.” 

“Tragically, His name has been associated with so many of the things that they’ve lost… so much was taken from them in the name of Christianity,” said Hutchcraft.

He added, “No people on this continent have lost so much. They lost their land, their language, their family unit – and their lives. The estimated 10 million Indigenous people here when Columbus came had shrunk to only 200,000 by 1900.”

An On Eagles’ Wings team worshipped with us on Sunday and stayed in Fort Defiance for three days, inviting the young people 15+ to play basketball, participate in other youthful challenges such as making sandwiches blindfolded and cup stacking races, eat pizza, and most important, listen to the Hope Stories of the aqua-shirted team members. 

I watched their intense faces as they leaned into the testimonies of Lance, Tsarina, and Dustin.https://oneagleswings.com/dustin.  They wondered how this kid from another Reservation knew exactly what they were going through in their own lives. We prayed on the sidelines that some would receive the Words and the Savior to fill the void in their lives. And we rejoiced to watch youth stream to center court when the invitation to follow Jesus was given. 

Even now, in recalling yesterday’s gathering, I’m overwhelmed by God’s work and God’s Word. Pray with me for those who received Jesus to be wrapped in His arms of Hope and become true followers and lights to their own peers.

As we approach the beginning of a new school year, pray that God will provide us with a fourth grade teacher.

Students plant the last week of school in hopes
of vegetables in the fall.

Kindergarten Graduation is always a fun event.

You don't want to get stung by this!

April 2019

The last three weeks at Hilltop have been anything but normal. We had two teams of teens visiting to work on various projects and to help in the classroom. We appreciate their energy and enthusiasm and the one-on-one teaching that transpires, but we are also glad when the children return to a more normal state. We also spent time rehearsing for our Easter Programs, so that required extra flexibility. 

Just when I was hoping for a return to a calm day, the doorknob jammed in my classroom, and we were locked in for over an hour. Removing the doorknob didn’t help, so the Principal resorted to unhinging the entire door, which required a good amount of banging. Fortunately the children were freed just in time to go home.

The Easter Programs garnered good reviews from parents and teachers alike. The younger children performed Come and See: The Life of Christ. Each class presented special songs, poems, and verses. The costumed 2^ndgraders showed the Bible stories of Lazarus and Palm Sunday. One of the other unique things we did was a stick routine to the song Glorious Dayby Casting Crowns. Not one stick was dropped!

The older elementary children also provided a multi-faceted program entitled The Promises of Easter. The fifth and sixth graders played bells and did skits about Christ being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The third graders presented the Easter Story using Resurrection Eggs, and the 4^thgrade elaborated on the last 40 days after Jesus’ Resurrection. One of the dads shared his testimony of when he committed himself to Christ and how this completely changed his life.

The facts about Christ’s life and sacrifice were clearly presented, and we pray for hearts to be turned to accept Christ’s gift of atonement. We still know that many of our families are locked in places of hopelessness. One mother indicated that she didn’t know anything about the Bible, but she was willing to learn. Some families put on a good front, but we know they are imprisoned in pain and guilt. Several families have an incarcerated member. Some are overwhelmed with sorrow and stress and feel trapped with no place to turn.

Thank you for your prayers for the people of the Navajo Nation and for the spread of the truth that sets men free.

May you all have a wonderful, blessed Easter.

Love,

Roger and Sara

Stick Routine with Glorious Day.

Pre-K is ready for Spring.

Hiking with teen friends from CA.

Resurrection Eggs

Arise, My Love!