An Answer to Prayer

Note: This was supposed to be written the end of August, but the nature of life has delayed it till now.

"If it's your will for us to keep investing in this school, please send some students by the end of the week," dad prayed. "That's not possible," I thought. "We've been trying for so long. We've put a lot into it these last few days. There's been no response. Maybe God hasn't sent them because there's still too many things that need to be worked out. Whatever the case, maybe He'll send some next week. But not by the end of this week."

Oh me of little faith. The next day I prepared to work in my garden (though a little garden only takes a little time), not for school. But nearly as soon as my head popped off the pillow in the morning, the phone began ringing off the hook (wait, cell phones don't have hooks) with people calling about the school. And by that evening we had two children enrolled.

Playing with the kids

- - - -

I'm still in awe just writing about it. Our God is good. Unfortunately, about two months later they went to stay with another relative and haven't been able to come to school. But let's continue to pray for them, and for the others God will send in the future.

Impossible Possibilities

We said it was impossible; that it would take a series of miracles. 

But after years of seeing the need, God said, "Now is the time." So, we cautiously stepped forward in faith. And Kayenta Christian School is opening this year. 

God has worked countless miracles to already to make this school a reality, but now we are up against what could be the biggest challenge in opening this school: getting the children. 

It's always hard to start something new here, and due to scheduling difficulties, we missed the best time to advertise and so many of the children that were probable are enrolled in the public school. But it's not too late. 

Please join us in praying that God will send the children. 

Another long time between posts.  We just get busy and forget to update.  Here are some pictures from this years VBS.  We are so thankful for Patsi Beaven and Katheleen Collins from the Prescott AZ area for heading this up.

A Quick Update

WOW! It's been almost a year since anyone wrote on here.  This will be a brief update on what's been happening here.  Judi has been continuing the cooking class.  We have had a few people do a '30 day challenge'.  This means that they eat 'vegan' for 30 days to see how their health changes.  They all say they feel so much better, blood pressure goes down, and glucose levels become normal (or closer to normal).  They also get more exercise.  We also had a Vacation bible School this summer, put on by some people from Prescott, AZ. They always do a good job and we are very thankful that they come and do it.  We will try to do another update in a few days.
Here are some pictures from VBS.

Teaching

I felt crazy enough to belong in a mental asylum. I had carefully thought and prayed the matter over, and I was sure it was what God wanted me to do this year. Still as soon as I said yes, I began wondering if that really was the right choice. Is this really God's will? Or was I misinterpreting the 'signs'? Was it my idea? Was I deceived? These and many other questions filled my mind.

I had just agreed to teach at the Mission School.  I can't say that it's been easy. But it has been worth it. The things I'm learning from these kids (and this experience) far surpass anything I can give them. It as taught me to depend on God more. And though it is discouraging at times, I know it is all for my good. 

"New" Church and More

Many things have been happening around here these last few weeks. My apologies for not giving you more frequent updates. But anyways...heres the update, with lots of pictures.

A group of the guys from around here aalong with a visiting contracter, Jim, did a bunch of much-needed repair work. It looks so much better!

They redid that whole wall and several other things.

They retiled part of a bathroom, too.

Our new sign! And yes, it is up. 

We got some gravel even (even if it was mixed with a good measure of dirt!)

And even more exciting: we are about halfway done with an evangelistic series! The devil has been attacking these meetings since before they begin, but God's been blessing, and we've been having remarkable attendance. But please continue to pray for these meetings. This weekend we are going to be presenting the Sabbath and other sensitive topics. Here are a few pics:

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.