It seems with each passing week, God does crazier, more God-sized things. This week we had a group of only 9 people and the awesome thing is that since it’s a small group, it’s been really intimate.
Tuesday night, we had just had our first day of work for the week, and we had a great evening service and as everyone was heading to bed, the women folk upstairs were still chatting away. We had been talking about angels and demons and spiritual warfare and everyone was sharing their weird encounters with spiritual forces. One of the girls, Gabby, shared that there was a room in her house that always made her scared and she felt like something was there. Kelly, one of the leaders, asked her if she ever prayed when that happened to claim Jesus’ power. She said no and later as we were talking about the Lord, Kelly who was surely sensing the Spirit moving, gently asked Gabby if she had ever accepted Jesus into her life. Now, I was fully expecting her to say yes for many reasons- she was brought up in church, was in 9th grade, had Godly parents, and her mother was sitting right next to her! In the south, you always say yes to that question simply because it is expected of you. Anyway, she said no. The conversation continued and I realized that Kelly was not going to say anything else and my heart started pounding and I realized that it had to happen that night. I asked the Lord to provide the right opportunity for me to speak up, and a minute later, the conversation quieted. I told Gabby I didn’t want to pressure her at all, but that if she wanted we could pray for her to accept Jesus in her heart. She said she wanted to! All the women gathered around and laid hands on her as I prayed for her and then she prayed for God to rule her life. It was so incredible. I was in awe of God’s perfect timing and His divine appointments.
I have been praying for Gabby all week, that God would strengthen her walk and allow her to develop a relationship with the Lord when she goes home and not to just forget about it. I made her a little book full of Scriptures and had everyone to write a note in it, encouraging her in her new walk. I've decided I'm going to write her this summer and keep in touch to see how she is. What a great girl.
I'll write more tomorrow. I get internet two days in a row! Unheard of!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
the unknown culture
The last few days I've been musing about the Navajo people. I've met some of the smartest, sweetest, and most genuine people. They are all well educated and yet, still live at or near the poverty line, living in shanties with no water or electricity. So why?
Here's what I've learned.
Most of the people from generation X and younger are college educated. Higher education is completely paid for by the government, either at the Navajo university, Dine' College, or at another state school, usually U of Arizona or U of New Mexico. They all go off to school and then come right back.
Through a bill passed by Bill Clinton, they get pre-paid cell phones, or commodity phones as they call them, with minutes loaded each month so that everyone would have a phone, even where land lines wouldn't be possible.
No one owns land out here. Technically, the Chapters own it (the individual city-like divisions of the nation) and passed down through families are the Grazing Permits. These are large chunks of land that one family "owns". Each additional family that wants land has to go through the Chapter and get a land lease, where they will get a one-acre plot. BUT first they have to contact the person who holds the Grazing Permit and get their permission to squat on the land. Very interesting. AND- yesterday as I was talking to Geneva, the wonderful woman we are staying with, she was telling us all about these permits and stuff and I said "Oh, so even Herman and the church building had to find the guy with the Grazing Permit and as for land?" She said, "Well, he had to ask me" Geneva has the permit for the land from Shiprock all the way out to the road! It's like 10 square miles! She's just so humble and it's crazy!
So back to my original question- why do smart, educated people stay out here in the desert with nice trailers and big televisions and still have to carry water from the spigot outside? The truth is, I don’t really know. I think it probably has a lot to do with comfort. If they moved off the Rez, they would become the minority. White people aren’t allowed to live out here. So when I go to the grocery store or the city flea market every Saturday, they think I’m just passing through or a tourist. They do react differently when I greet them in Navajo or they find out I’m living here all summer.
Additionally, many people are educated and cannot work because there are no jobs because there are no cities, or end up working labor in the coal or uranium mines. There’s a lot of land and not as many people so everything is spread out. Every 50 or 100 miles is a “city” which is more like a town, usually with a local grocery store and one gas station. There’s one hospital every three hours. If you live outside of the city and your house is on fire, it will probably take the fire truck 45 minutes to get to your house. Police or ambulance? Same thing.
It’s an interesting place. And don’t dare get me wrong- I LOVE it out here. The people, the landscape, it’s amazing. But it’s very different from what I know, because even in the cities everything looks like home, but go down one of the dirt roads and there are hogons with dirt floors. I've learned so much. It really is a forgotten culture, not in America's backyard, but in her living room!
Aside from all that, the team just left this morning and things are still crazy for us. The next team misunderstood the 6 emails they surely got and is coming a day early. They get here tomorrow night. That means we have one day to buy all the food, get the supplies, send out budget reports and media from this past week, find work sites for this week and get Kids Club ready. One day. But it will be good. The coming group is small- only 9 people! And I'm sure we will have a great time. Keep praying that we have strength and get enough rest- sleeping in the same room with the team is definitely a change. It's a 24-hour job, and unfortunately, we are tired. God has been so faithful though, and the last couple of days with the last team were really neat. We're leaning on the Lord and resting in His peace. All is well because He's just that good.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
Here's what I've learned.
Most of the people from generation X and younger are college educated. Higher education is completely paid for by the government, either at the Navajo university, Dine' College, or at another state school, usually U of Arizona or U of New Mexico. They all go off to school and then come right back.
Through a bill passed by Bill Clinton, they get pre-paid cell phones, or commodity phones as they call them, with minutes loaded each month so that everyone would have a phone, even where land lines wouldn't be possible.
No one owns land out here. Technically, the Chapters own it (the individual city-like divisions of the nation) and passed down through families are the Grazing Permits. These are large chunks of land that one family "owns". Each additional family that wants land has to go through the Chapter and get a land lease, where they will get a one-acre plot. BUT first they have to contact the person who holds the Grazing Permit and get their permission to squat on the land. Very interesting. AND- yesterday as I was talking to Geneva, the wonderful woman we are staying with, she was telling us all about these permits and stuff and I said "Oh, so even Herman and the church building had to find the guy with the Grazing Permit and as for land?" She said, "Well, he had to ask me" Geneva has the permit for the land from Shiprock all the way out to the road! It's like 10 square miles! She's just so humble and it's crazy!
So back to my original question- why do smart, educated people stay out here in the desert with nice trailers and big televisions and still have to carry water from the spigot outside? The truth is, I don’t really know. I think it probably has a lot to do with comfort. If they moved off the Rez, they would become the minority. White people aren’t allowed to live out here. So when I go to the grocery store or the city flea market every Saturday, they think I’m just passing through or a tourist. They do react differently when I greet them in Navajo or they find out I’m living here all summer.
Additionally, many people are educated and cannot work because there are no jobs because there are no cities, or end up working labor in the coal or uranium mines. There’s a lot of land and not as many people so everything is spread out. Every 50 or 100 miles is a “city” which is more like a town, usually with a local grocery store and one gas station. There’s one hospital every three hours. If you live outside of the city and your house is on fire, it will probably take the fire truck 45 minutes to get to your house. Police or ambulance? Same thing.
It’s an interesting place. And don’t dare get me wrong- I LOVE it out here. The people, the landscape, it’s amazing. But it’s very different from what I know, because even in the cities everything looks like home, but go down one of the dirt roads and there are hogons with dirt floors. I've learned so much. It really is a forgotten culture, not in America's backyard, but in her living room!
Aside from all that, the team just left this morning and things are still crazy for us. The next team misunderstood the 6 emails they surely got and is coming a day early. They get here tomorrow night. That means we have one day to buy all the food, get the supplies, send out budget reports and media from this past week, find work sites for this week and get Kids Club ready. One day. But it will be good. The coming group is small- only 9 people! And I'm sure we will have a great time. Keep praying that we have strength and get enough rest- sleeping in the same room with the team is definitely a change. It's a 24-hour job, and unfortunately, we are tired. God has been so faithful though, and the last couple of days with the last team were really neat. We're leaning on the Lord and resting in His peace. All is well because He's just that good.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
Saturday, June 13, 2009
...phewf! What a day...
Yesterday was…interesting. We left the Mission in Farmington this morning to head into Toko’i to meet up with Herman to talk through the work projects. Once we were about 10 minutes from the church, near Shiprock, Chris pulled the Van into a parking lot and Molly and I pulled in behind him in my car. The engine was smoking.
Let me pause for a moment to tell you about THE VAN. (which is exactly how we say it) It is a 1990 Dodge 15-passenger piece of metal. Now, when I found out it was a ’90 I was floored because by the looks of it, it’s been through 30 years of HELL. And it pretty much has. You should see it on these dirt roads. Anyway, it has zero interior anything, all the back seats are gone so we can haul materials and stuff and it’s just the most incredible hunk of junk you could ever hope to ride in. I actually really love it. : )
Back to my story: It had overheated two days ago and we figured out it was bone dry on engine coolant so we got some of that but by this morning it was half-full and gurgling out. We called Herman and he sent one of his friends to check out the van and he said he thought it was the radiator. He put some kind of Stop Leak in it or something to hold it until we got back to Farmington and we hunted down Johnny’s Radiator Service. After many phone calls to headquarters in Washington (how cool does that sound?!?!) and a talk with “Johnny” we are getting the radiator replaced for $500. So Johnny’s fixing it Monday and until then it’s parked at the Mission and we’re back in Toko’i with just my little car.
So we met up with Herman and worked out one work site of the three or four we will need for the week, and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. We made ourselves some dinner and unloaded our things into the church and sat down to watch a movie. Chris had gone outside to talk on the phone and at the door two feet from Molly and me, comes a loud knock on the church door. She got up to answer it and in steps a large Navajo man about my father’s age who is very, inescapably drunk. Now, Molly and I are alone in this building and although internally freaking out, we offer him water and Molly made him a sandwich. He sat down on the alter and started to pour out his story to us. He had been fighting with his son, also inebriated, and came to the church to talk to Herman because he knows he’s not supposed to be doing this. We listened to him for a long time and prayed for him before Chris drove him home.
What a day!
Today we met up with Geneva- the woman who is offering us her home for the next three weeks for the groups to stay at! She is so wonderful. Her life has not been easy; her husband began to build this nice house (that would be a smaller or midsize home in our culture) and then before he could finish it, he ran off with another woman. Geneva was brokenhearted but she has continued to serve the Lord and is constantly giving to those in her community. She showed us around to some of the potential work sites and there is some work we can certainly get done this week! It was an answer to prayer.
Molly and I are currently in Farmington about to get groceries for the week and Chris is at Home Depot getting supplies for the construction projects. All is well. Keep praying for the week. We have new and interesting obstacles to overcome here in New Mexico and I'm sure it will work out, but we need the Lord's anointing and divine appointments for sure.
Love and Blessings,
Laura Marie
Let me pause for a moment to tell you about THE VAN. (which is exactly how we say it) It is a 1990 Dodge 15-passenger piece of metal. Now, when I found out it was a ’90 I was floored because by the looks of it, it’s been through 30 years of HELL. And it pretty much has. You should see it on these dirt roads. Anyway, it has zero interior anything, all the back seats are gone so we can haul materials and stuff and it’s just the most incredible hunk of junk you could ever hope to ride in. I actually really love it. : )
Back to my story: It had overheated two days ago and we figured out it was bone dry on engine coolant so we got some of that but by this morning it was half-full and gurgling out. We called Herman and he sent one of his friends to check out the van and he said he thought it was the radiator. He put some kind of Stop Leak in it or something to hold it until we got back to Farmington and we hunted down Johnny’s Radiator Service. After many phone calls to headquarters in Washington (how cool does that sound?!?!) and a talk with “Johnny” we are getting the radiator replaced for $500. So Johnny’s fixing it Monday and until then it’s parked at the Mission and we’re back in Toko’i with just my little car.
So we met up with Herman and worked out one work site of the three or four we will need for the week, and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. We made ourselves some dinner and unloaded our things into the church and sat down to watch a movie. Chris had gone outside to talk on the phone and at the door two feet from Molly and me, comes a loud knock on the church door. She got up to answer it and in steps a large Navajo man about my father’s age who is very, inescapably drunk. Now, Molly and I are alone in this building and although internally freaking out, we offer him water and Molly made him a sandwich. He sat down on the alter and started to pour out his story to us. He had been fighting with his son, also inebriated, and came to the church to talk to Herman because he knows he’s not supposed to be doing this. We listened to him for a long time and prayed for him before Chris drove him home.
What a day!
Today we met up with Geneva- the woman who is offering us her home for the next three weeks for the groups to stay at! She is so wonderful. Her life has not been easy; her husband began to build this nice house (that would be a smaller or midsize home in our culture) and then before he could finish it, he ran off with another woman. Geneva was brokenhearted but she has continued to serve the Lord and is constantly giving to those in her community. She showed us around to some of the potential work sites and there is some work we can certainly get done this week! It was an answer to prayer.
Molly and I are currently in Farmington about to get groceries for the week and Chris is at Home Depot getting supplies for the construction projects. All is well. Keep praying for the week. We have new and interesting obstacles to overcome here in New Mexico and I'm sure it will work out, but we need the Lord's anointing and divine appointments for sure.
Love and Blessings,
Laura Marie
Thursday, June 11, 2009
On the road again...
Today we left our home and friends in Arizona and made the four hour drive back to New Mexico. We're staying at the Mission tonight instead of at the church because here we have beds and running water and bathrooms and internet. :) A good choice.
The last couple of days have been really great. The team left Tuesday morning and we spent the day cleaning and getting everything back to normal. I had invited the entire family over for fry bread and burgers and it turned out to be more than I had signed up for. Molly had just left for the Grand Canyon to visit her twin sister, and Kristy had just left to fly back to Washington, so it was just Chris and I and boy did those people eat. It was interesting doing all the cooking and cleaning and eating all at once and trying to keep everything clean that we had just worked all day to get that way. It turned out fine and it was a great time to spend with everyone. To me, that's always worth it. Felix made more jokes about Staniel. OH WAIT- I haven't talked about STANIEL!!! haha oh heavens....how do I start this. Mom---hold your breath.
Staniel is Sarah's (pastor's wife) older sister's son. So, her nephew. He's 26 and a couple of years ago (I actually have no idea when) his wife ran off with another man. They have a daughter that he sees once a month. The one time I spoke to him this is what he told me. Upon first meeting him, he was a bit reserved, quiet, and when he spoke of his ex-wife, rather sad. Anyway, that night at dinner one of the women were joking about me and all my boyfriends and I said "Yeah, I came to the Rez to find a husband!" And Felix said "How about Staniel!" So all night they joked about that and he didn't hear about it until he was about to leave and Grandma (the family matriarch) heard about this and jumped up and I thought she was going to have a heart attack at the prospect of having a white girl in her family, but they told me she was telling him to come back and talk to me. haha So I played it up and waved all sweetly and said "hagooonneeee!"- everyone died laughing. :) So ever since then, Felix has been very serious about it and asked me what I thought of him and everything. Very funny. He's quite attractive and they say he is brilliant and has a great job as some type of engineer. Thankfully we left Arizona before it could get too out of hand! haha
We had dinner with Felix and Rachel last night (Rachel is Sarah's youngest sister). They made us a traditional Navajo meal of soup with mutton, dumplings, and potatoes. And fry bread of course. It was wonderful. I love being with those two. They are so open and easy to talk to. And Felix is always getting into some deep Spiritual conversation asking what we think and it's always very thought provoking.
Tonight we loaded the van with all the supplies for Tokoi and Twin Pines and tomorrow we head out to Tokoi to meet up with the pastor Herman Harrison and try to set up some work sites for our next team. They come Monday so we've only got a couple days to get a lot done. And things on the Rez definitely work on Rez time. If he says he'll meet us at 8am, he means any time before dinner. Let's hope for 8 though. :)
More soon, I hope.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
The last couple of days have been really great. The team left Tuesday morning and we spent the day cleaning and getting everything back to normal. I had invited the entire family over for fry bread and burgers and it turned out to be more than I had signed up for. Molly had just left for the Grand Canyon to visit her twin sister, and Kristy had just left to fly back to Washington, so it was just Chris and I and boy did those people eat. It was interesting doing all the cooking and cleaning and eating all at once and trying to keep everything clean that we had just worked all day to get that way. It turned out fine and it was a great time to spend with everyone. To me, that's always worth it. Felix made more jokes about Staniel. OH WAIT- I haven't talked about STANIEL!!! haha oh heavens....how do I start this. Mom---hold your breath.
Staniel is Sarah's (pastor's wife) older sister's son. So, her nephew. He's 26 and a couple of years ago (I actually have no idea when) his wife ran off with another man. They have a daughter that he sees once a month. The one time I spoke to him this is what he told me. Upon first meeting him, he was a bit reserved, quiet, and when he spoke of his ex-wife, rather sad. Anyway, that night at dinner one of the women were joking about me and all my boyfriends and I said "Yeah, I came to the Rez to find a husband!" And Felix said "How about Staniel!" So all night they joked about that and he didn't hear about it until he was about to leave and Grandma (the family matriarch) heard about this and jumped up and I thought she was going to have a heart attack at the prospect of having a white girl in her family, but they told me she was telling him to come back and talk to me. haha So I played it up and waved all sweetly and said "hagooonneeee!"- everyone died laughing. :) So ever since then, Felix has been very serious about it and asked me what I thought of him and everything. Very funny. He's quite attractive and they say he is brilliant and has a great job as some type of engineer. Thankfully we left Arizona before it could get too out of hand! haha
We had dinner with Felix and Rachel last night (Rachel is Sarah's youngest sister). They made us a traditional Navajo meal of soup with mutton, dumplings, and potatoes. And fry bread of course. It was wonderful. I love being with those two. They are so open and easy to talk to. And Felix is always getting into some deep Spiritual conversation asking what we think and it's always very thought provoking.
Tonight we loaded the van with all the supplies for Tokoi and Twin Pines and tomorrow we head out to Tokoi to meet up with the pastor Herman Harrison and try to set up some work sites for our next team. They come Monday so we've only got a couple days to get a lot done. And things on the Rez definitely work on Rez time. If he says he'll meet us at 8am, he means any time before dinner. Let's hope for 8 though. :)
More soon, I hope.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
Monday, June 8, 2009
Rat Race: Round One
I’m not even sure how to begin this post. So much has happened. The team of 38 middle schoolers leaves tomorrow, and surprisingly, I will be sad to see them go.
We got here last Tuesday night and met up with Kristy, who is indescribably amazing. She has helped us from the first minute getting acquainted to the place. Wednesday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tate’s house, which are the pastor’s wife Sarah’s parents. Got it? Sarah has 8 other siblings and every single one of them and their families all live on this one road, at the end of which live the patriarchs- the Tate’s. So there was a huge birthday party for Sarah’s son Christian and her brother-in-law Felix. We grilled and ate and talked and played and it was crazy trying to get the family straight and who’s mother is who.
Relevant Cultural Tangent: With the clan structure the way it is- you also call your mother’s sisters your mother, and your father’s brothers are all your fathers. All of your cousins are called your brothers or sisters. So by the end of it you think that everyone has 6 grandmas and 17 brothers, and while that’s not entirely accurate, it’s just the way it goes. ☺
So the next night Sarah and James (pastor and wife) came over to discuss the coming week with us. It was a hard meeting. James is….well….particular about how he wants things. They were very vocal about their opinions about the mission and sometimes it was hard to hear, knowing we’ve been working with them for the last 6 years. They have a lot of pride in their people and their land and made no mistake about dispelling the “white man Savior” mentality, because their church has been active and involved in helping the community for long before we came here. So we have to be sensitive to knowing that they are very autonomous in their ministry and we are here to serve alongside and lead the groups that come. We already felt that way, but it was certainly humbling to hear it from them.
Since then, things have been great. The team is from Mountain View Presbyterian Church from Scottsdale, Arizona, and the middle schoolers are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen! Yesterday, we were able to split into four groups and work on John Watson’s house, a home in Kayenta, a graffiti-ed water tower, and some odd jobs at the church. I went with the team to Mr.John’s house and we painted the entire exterior of the house and got to spend some good time with John and even made friends with a few of his cows! He invited us to eat our lunch inside with him, and the kids really enjoyed it. At the water tower, the group was able to cover the graffiti and is painting a beautiful mural of a sunset with some Navajo artwork. The group in Kayenta painted some rooms in a family’s home and at the church, a group built some new picnic tables and then dug a trench to lay a water line close to the outdoor kitchen where we cook! No more hauling water! Praise the Lord! On Saturday the entire group went to Tuba City to de-tag many of the city buildings and spending time with some of the Navajo that have come out to work with us.
Yesterday, I’m sure it was an interesting feeling to wake up in the same pew they would be attending church service a couple hours later. Church was great and afterward allllll the family stayed around to make the famous NAVAJO TACOS. These go on the aforementioned fry bread. Sarah declared that it was tradition for the red-headed intern to learn to make fry bread. So I was shuffled over to the fire where Ericka and Priscilla were hand molding the lumps of dough that Liz had been preparing. It was amazing being the one trailblazing white-girl out there doing it. ☺ They taught me that the thickness was vital because too thin would make it crunchy and too thick would leave it doughy on the inside. Finally, after doing about 6 or 7 and one by one dropping them into the pan of Crisco over the open fire, I asked Priscilla to inspect my most recent one and her eyes lit up! “Usually it takes a week of practice to get it right! This is perfect!!” I was so PROUD!!! :D What a treat to get to cook with them. That afternoon the team had the day off and had gone to Lake Powell, so all the teens (Navajo) decided to make a lake day too. We went to Antelope Point and swam in the frigid water, which I was thrown in viciously by sneaky boys, and basked in the sun. We didn’t get back til midnight last night, which did make for a very hectic morning, but it was well worth it.
AH! I forgot to mention- after church on Sunday, I was talking to Rachel, Sarah’s youngest sister who I guess is about 30 or so, and complimented her on her beautiful brown beaded necklace and earrings. The stones were really unique and shimmery. We were talking about jewelry and I mentioned that the one thing I would love to find is a silver hair barrette with turquoise stones in it. Well, later while I was making fry bread, she came over to me with a white box. Inside, she had placed her brown necklace and earring set as well as a silver barrette with turquoise stones. It was precisely what I had described!
Another Relevant Cultural Tangent: In Navajo culture, if someone compliments on how much they like a piece of jewelry you are wearing and shows a special love for it, it is fitting to take it off then and give it to them. (which I promise I didn’t know- my motives were clean) ☺
She was so thoughtful and giving, and even sitting here now, I am amazed at the blessing these people have been in my life already. Not just with beads and gifts, but enriching my life with meaningful relationships built on our commonalities in the Lord. Lovin’ it.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
PS: There is a rat in our house. Maybe a mouse. I don't honestly care. But sometimes, at night, we see a blur fly across the baseboard and immediately Chris runs and gets a bowl or a mop or something ridiculous and we all stand ready to attack the thing if we see it again. We got really close a couple of times, but have not been successful. haaaaaah!
We got here last Tuesday night and met up with Kristy, who is indescribably amazing. She has helped us from the first minute getting acquainted to the place. Wednesday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tate’s house, which are the pastor’s wife Sarah’s parents. Got it? Sarah has 8 other siblings and every single one of them and their families all live on this one road, at the end of which live the patriarchs- the Tate’s. So there was a huge birthday party for Sarah’s son Christian and her brother-in-law Felix. We grilled and ate and talked and played and it was crazy trying to get the family straight and who’s mother is who.
Relevant Cultural Tangent: With the clan structure the way it is- you also call your mother’s sisters your mother, and your father’s brothers are all your fathers. All of your cousins are called your brothers or sisters. So by the end of it you think that everyone has 6 grandmas and 17 brothers, and while that’s not entirely accurate, it’s just the way it goes. ☺
So the next night Sarah and James (pastor and wife) came over to discuss the coming week with us. It was a hard meeting. James is….well….particular about how he wants things. They were very vocal about their opinions about the mission and sometimes it was hard to hear, knowing we’ve been working with them for the last 6 years. They have a lot of pride in their people and their land and made no mistake about dispelling the “white man Savior” mentality, because their church has been active and involved in helping the community for long before we came here. So we have to be sensitive to knowing that they are very autonomous in their ministry and we are here to serve alongside and lead the groups that come. We already felt that way, but it was certainly humbling to hear it from them.
Since then, things have been great. The team is from Mountain View Presbyterian Church from Scottsdale, Arizona, and the middle schoolers are some of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen! Yesterday, we were able to split into four groups and work on John Watson’s house, a home in Kayenta, a graffiti-ed water tower, and some odd jobs at the church. I went with the team to Mr.John’s house and we painted the entire exterior of the house and got to spend some good time with John and even made friends with a few of his cows! He invited us to eat our lunch inside with him, and the kids really enjoyed it. At the water tower, the group was able to cover the graffiti and is painting a beautiful mural of a sunset with some Navajo artwork. The group in Kayenta painted some rooms in a family’s home and at the church, a group built some new picnic tables and then dug a trench to lay a water line close to the outdoor kitchen where we cook! No more hauling water! Praise the Lord! On Saturday the entire group went to Tuba City to de-tag many of the city buildings and spending time with some of the Navajo that have come out to work with us.
Yesterday, I’m sure it was an interesting feeling to wake up in the same pew they would be attending church service a couple hours later. Church was great and afterward allllll the family stayed around to make the famous NAVAJO TACOS. These go on the aforementioned fry bread. Sarah declared that it was tradition for the red-headed intern to learn to make fry bread. So I was shuffled over to the fire where Ericka and Priscilla were hand molding the lumps of dough that Liz had been preparing. It was amazing being the one trailblazing white-girl out there doing it. ☺ They taught me that the thickness was vital because too thin would make it crunchy and too thick would leave it doughy on the inside. Finally, after doing about 6 or 7 and one by one dropping them into the pan of Crisco over the open fire, I asked Priscilla to inspect my most recent one and her eyes lit up! “Usually it takes a week of practice to get it right! This is perfect!!” I was so PROUD!!! :D What a treat to get to cook with them. That afternoon the team had the day off and had gone to Lake Powell, so all the teens (Navajo) decided to make a lake day too. We went to Antelope Point and swam in the frigid water, which I was thrown in viciously by sneaky boys, and basked in the sun. We didn’t get back til midnight last night, which did make for a very hectic morning, but it was well worth it.
AH! I forgot to mention- after church on Sunday, I was talking to Rachel, Sarah’s youngest sister who I guess is about 30 or so, and complimented her on her beautiful brown beaded necklace and earrings. The stones were really unique and shimmery. We were talking about jewelry and I mentioned that the one thing I would love to find is a silver hair barrette with turquoise stones in it. Well, later while I was making fry bread, she came over to me with a white box. Inside, she had placed her brown necklace and earring set as well as a silver barrette with turquoise stones. It was precisely what I had described!
Another Relevant Cultural Tangent: In Navajo culture, if someone compliments on how much they like a piece of jewelry you are wearing and shows a special love for it, it is fitting to take it off then and give it to them. (which I promise I didn’t know- my motives were clean) ☺
She was so thoughtful and giving, and even sitting here now, I am amazed at the blessing these people have been in my life already. Not just with beads and gifts, but enriching my life with meaningful relationships built on our commonalities in the Lord. Lovin’ it.
Hagoone!
Laura Marie
PS: There is a rat in our house. Maybe a mouse. I don't honestly care. But sometimes, at night, we see a blur fly across the baseboard and immediately Chris runs and gets a bowl or a mop or something ridiculous and we all stand ready to attack the thing if we see it again. We got really close a couple of times, but have not been successful. haaaaaah!
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