God will use all if they will be used.

"In this closing work of the gospel there is a vast field to be occupied; and, more than ever before, the work is to enlist helpers from the common people. Both the youth and those older in years will be called from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, and sent forth by the Master to give His message. Many of these have had little opportunity for education; but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to fulfill His purpose. If they put their hearts into the work, and continue to be learners, He will fit them to labor for Him.      
     He who knows the depths of the world's misery and despair, knows by what means to bring relief. He sees on every hand souls in darkness, bowed down with sin and sorrow and pain. But He sees also their possibilities; He sees the height to which they may attain. Although human beings have abused their mercies, wasted their talents, and lost the dignity of godlike manhood, the Creator is to be glorified in their redemption.   
     The burden of labor for these needy ones in the rough places of the earth Christ lays upon those who can feel for the ignorant and for such as are out of the way. He will be present to help those whose hearts are susceptible to pity, though their hands may be rough and unskilled. He will work through those who can see mercy in misery, and gain in loss. When the Light of the world passes by, privilege will be discerned in hardship, order in confusion, success in apparent failure. Calamities will be seen as disguised blessings; woes, as mercies. Laborers from the common people, sharing the sorrows of their fellow men as their Master shared the sorrows of the whole human race, will by faith see Him working with them.  
     "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly." Zephaniah 1:14. And a world is to be warned."

 

Education 269, 270

Camp 2011

This year camp seemed to turn into "conquering fears" camp. It started off, as planned....but then, oh my...major change of plans.(For those of you who don't know: I am deathly afraid of last-minute changes of plans...okay, I may have exaggerated a bit, but you get the point). We had planned to ride horses all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from location to location. Camping at two different places before finally reaching our destination for the weekend. Well.....the horses were acting strange. Riders were getting scared. One by one, each kid decided they didn't want to ride. Okay...so what to do. We have 8 children depending on us to provide them with camp.
Enter brainstorming session.
After approximately 15 minutes we came up with an alternative plan. Four of us would ride the horses that were behaving to our first campsite and the rest of the kids would stay with Pastor Charlie and help him get water and set up the camp. The two days we would conduct horse lessons, hiking, etc. and then on Sabbath and Sunday we would go ahead with our original plans.
So that's what we did. Or at least attempted to do. (Oh, and I'm obviously still alive....)
Thursday went well. We had some work time, horse time, hiking time, game time. And then came Friday. Bright and early we were informed that there had been a change in Pastor's plans. We needed to move camp. A flurry of activity followed. We broke camp and then left the kids (again) while the four of us rode the horses to the new location-our property up on Anvil Mesa. After we got there, we had to set up camp and get ready for Sabbath. When all work was done, we let the kids indulge in a water fight, which turned into a bucket fight, which turned into a mud fight. It was great fun! And of course, after everyone got muddy they all got to get clean again!
Sabbath, our families and friends joined us for church. We had a potluck lunch (where those who were camping didn't bring anything) of Navajo tacos (sort-of like haystacks). Then in the afternoon, we went for a walk and had fun throwing juniper berries at each other.  After everyone left, we managed to collect our kids and close the Sabbath with some games and a campfire.
Sunday we broke camp and everyone went home.
Camp was a great blessing this year. Watching lives change for the better brings joy unspeakable. It may have been challenging. It may have removed our comfort zones from us for that time, but it was worth it. To see Christ working in the lives of young people, to watch them begin to realize how much they are loved, to be able to love them.....That makes all the pain, stress, agony, leaping-off-the-edge kind of faith, worth it.

Thank you for your prayers!

Camp. Is. Over.

Camp is over and it's time to give you all some pictures. :) So....here goes!

Hadassah

Song Service for church

Hermus Poorthunder, speaker for church

Ulrica

Denny, our most capable helper

Musical Chairs

Serena

Tamara

Nefe

Talia

Mark

Chanlynn

Talia

Denny

Nefe

Joanna

Water tank

Tamara

Sorry guys, no pictures of me....I was taking them.

Turning the Page

It’s time, once again, to turn the page. School is finished, well…not for me. But school, as in the MV Mission School, is done for the summer and that means…….yip, yip, hooray….

I don’t have to cook for thirty-plus people two days a week.

Yes, I’m rejoicing. It’s a lot of work and I now have a lot of sympathy for those who do it every day. The responsibility is enormous. And it’s really hard to cook appetizing food, and a variety of it, on a limited budget.

And besides that,

I’m rejoicing because three young people, despite challenges and difficulties,

have successfully graduated from 8th grade.

And yet, on the heels of this ending of school….

….comes major stress.

Yep, guys. No relaxing allowed for those of us on the Navajo Nation. At least, not until camp is over.

Camp.

Think: deadlines, craziness, stress, time running out.

Yep, that’s right.

Turns out, I’ve got months worth of preparation work to do in a week and a half. Schedules to create, camp codes to print, a route to ride, permission slips for land use to get signed, etc. etc.

And on top of all that, I’ve still got to keep on top of my schoolwork.

So ya’ll,

Don’t feel sorry for me.

I love it here,

I love my schoolwork,

I wouldn’t be doing anything else (except maybe sleeping, and I wouldn’t do that anyway).

But, please,

Please pray for the staff of Diné Youth Camp and

the Monument Valley SDA Church and Mission.

Please pray for the young people we are striving to reach.

And oh,

If I have time to post, I will.

But, if you don’t hear from me for awhile…

It’s probably because I’m busy….

….doing something.

May God bless all of you!

And for more information on Diné Youth Camp:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Din%C3%A9-Youth-Camp/123909730958158

www.dineyouthcamp.com

If you have questions:

info@dineyouthcamp.com

Or, you can simply leave a comment here on this blog. If you want a personal reply, from me, that’s not done here at the blog, email me at kezzia@dineyouthcamp.com

Waterflow Campmeeting

 The hand-dug baptistry.

 Special Music from La Vida Mission

 Playing for the Baptism

The newly baptized with Pastor Charlie Whitehorse and David Boatwright.

Presenting the Gospel

The gospel is to be presented, 

not as a lifeless theory, 

but as a living force to change the life. 

God would have His servants bear testimony to the fact 

that through His grace 

men may possess Christlikeness of character 

and may rejoice in the assurance of His great love.

He would have us bear testimony to the fact 

that He cannot be satisfied until 

all who will accept salvation are  

reclaimed 

and reinstated 

in their holy privileges as 

His sons and daughters.

(MH 98, 99)

 

New Shadehouse

One of the mission groups (Ohana) that came in March built this shelter for us. It will be used as a picnic shelter, a meeting location, and during Diné Youth Camp. It is especially appreciated as the property it is on has no other buildings and the only shade provided is by little tiny juniper ceder trees.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank you to all that have helped our projects progress through gifts of your time. Thank you everyone for your prayers.

May God richly bless you!

Evangelistic Meetings

Starting on April 15, we began holding as series of evangelistic meetings in the town of Shiprock, NM as a joint effort with the Waterflow Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Monuement Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church. 
Pastor Charlie Whitehorse, of Monuemtn Valley, UT is conducting the adult meetings and people from Waterflow are doing the children's meetings.
This is a four week series, mainly based on prophecy.

Shiprock is a town with a Population in July 2007 of 8,746. There is no Adventist presence in this city. The closest Adventist church is 10-15 miles away (and off the reservation). Think of all the people who do not know Christ, think of all the people that are within our power to reach. That is the purpose of these meetings.

We are having a good attendance of around 20 non-Adventists each night. Please pray that God's Spirit will move mightily and will convict hearts, both of Adventists and non-Adventists, to surrender their all and prepare for the soon coming of Jesus. Pray that these people will continue coming even when they hear the messages that usually turn people off. Pray for the guidance of the Spirit of God on the people conducting these meetings and pray that God will speak through them.

We fight: but not against nations, we fight: but not against the principalities and powers of this world. We fight against sin, against the powers of the devil, and yes, against Satan himself. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

His truth still marches on

Even though we may not post often, even when silence seems long, God's truth still marches on. We'll try to do a little better on updates, but when we can't just remember God's work is full time.

At the end of February we completed a series of seminars on depression. We had a few regular attendants and some who made the appropriate lifestyle changes have improved health-the relief of headaches, less fatigue, etc. We used the program by Neil Nedley.

March was filled with mission trips. Gem State Academy, Laurelbrook Academy, Weimar Academy, Daystar Academy, Hoolbrook Indian School, and others have made a major difference. Construction on the octagon has progressed quickly and we're looking to see completion soon.And we now have a shadehouse/picnic structure on the mesa where we hold youth camp.

God is good all the time. Thank you for your prayers and support.

"Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24