The Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church had an amazing experience at the Navajo Mission this summer. We had Jen Heisey give a summary of our trip and we'll share that with you...
It is Tuesday the 26th of July and my head is still spinning between the 2 hour time difference, the lack of sleep and the absolutely best time in New Mexico one can ever imagine. The trip was a great learning experience for us. I shall attempt to fill everyone in on the beautiful New Mexico trip but words and pictures are hard to describe it.
It all began at a little before 5:00 am on July 16, 2005. Bright eyed and bushy tailed we arrived at the church to pack up the vans. After a short prayer, we were off. On the way to the Philly Airport, we ended up hitting this big dip in the road and got a flat tire (Number 1) on the van that held our luggage. Between the works of the men they were able to put on the spare and we made it to the airport. We boarded the plane and arrived safely in Albuquerque. Most of us picked up our luggage (except for poor Amy who’s was lost) and packed ourselves into 3 rental vans for a 3 hour drive to the Mission where we met our hosts Duane and Diane. We also met the other people that were on the mission. Sharon (who was from Indiana) and helped us whenever needed. Art (with Tom from our group) was in charge of led us in worship most of the nights. John floated between the groups, helping anywhere. Then there was Tim and his wife Peggy. Tim was the “handy-man” on the mission. He kept after the goats and yard work for Duane and Diane.
The next morning we were invited to go to Duane’s church for service. We packed our lunch because there is no real ending time for church. The Navajo believe that it is over when it is over. We got to watch them play a big drum that is the only instrument used. We then handed out fliers to the communities to invite them to the Superhero Camp.
The third day was interesting. This was because first we did not have any running water and electricity. So we had to work around that till about late morning. Then it was the first day of the Construction Crew putting up the barn and the VBS with Superhero Camp. The kids started coming at 10:00am and by 10:30am we had around 65 kids. We never thought we would have that many on the first day. At first all the kids wanted to do was run, be spun around or given piggy back rides. But when we started the skit, they enjoyed the story of David and the faith stones we made in crafts. The Construction Crew by the end of the first day got all the poles in the ground.
The fourth day ran much more smoothly for VBS. We were prepared for the kids. Another good thing that happened was that we had running water all day long! The Construction Crew was moving really fast, already having half of the roof trusses up by the end of the second day of work.
On the fifth day we got our second flat tire (Number 2) of the trip. It was before we went out to pick up the kids. To work around it we had the other vans make second trips to pick up all the kids that came to VBS. We tried another schedule change that would have us ending at 1:00pm instead of at 2:00pm. The kids were disappointed but the rest of us were really tired and were having trouble keeping up with the Energizer Bunny Navajo kids. The Construction Crew was really tired. They were putting on the roof of the barn in 96°F heat. We decided to have an early dinner and cake (Erin’s Birthday Cake that is) and drove over to Angel’s Peak for hiking, devotions, singing, and watching the sunset.
Thursday was the last working day for the Construction Crew and for VBS. The Construction Crew finished the barn by evening which was beautiful. For the last day of VBS we did the Jesus story. The kids all watched the skit and did salvation bracelets and different types of crosses which they enjoyed very much. When it was time to leave we were sad to say goodbye. We had for dinner that night Navajo tacos. Some native women came and made them for us. For dessert we took the left over fried bread and put powdered sugar on them for funnel cakes. It was delicious. By the way Arts’ van had a flat tire which made it Number 3 for the trip.
Friday was our first day of sightseeing. We decided to go to Canyon de Chelly which was in Arizona (about a 4 hour drive from the mission). We stopped half way to see Four Corners. When we got to Canyon de Chelly we stopped at the over looks to take pictures. We went down the White House Trail to the bottom of the canyon to see the ruins in the wall.
The morning of the last day of sightseeing some of us (who did not want to sleep in) went to Chaco Canyon to watch the sun rise and to hike through the canyon. It was very refreshing and beautiful. We then went to Crow Canyon to see the Petroglyphs carved into the canyon wall. It was amazing to see that. When we got back Duane said thank you to us and prayed for our safety going home.
The last morning we were sad to say goodbye to our friends but we had an easy and loud (no one was quiet!) flight home. Even though several things seemed to go wrong, our trip was successful. We had more children at the VBS than any other time that summer and the pole barn was successfully built and already being used. Even though we do not know the long term impact of our trip, we do know that the children were very interested in the stories of Esther, Moses, David and Jesus. It prompted some very personal and insightful questions from the Navajo children. We are thankful to our church congregation and to everyone at the mission for your support and prayers to enable us to leave what will hopefully be a lasting impression on the Navajo community (and in our own lives).
It is Tuesday the 26th of July and my head is still spinning between the 2 hour time difference, the lack of sleep and the absolutely best time in New Mexico one can ever imagine. The trip was a great learning experience for us. I shall attempt to fill everyone in on the beautiful New Mexico trip but words and pictures are hard to describe it.
It all began at a little before 5:00 am on July 16, 2005. Bright eyed and bushy tailed we arrived at the church to pack up the vans. After a short prayer, we were off. On the way to the Philly Airport, we ended up hitting this big dip in the road and got a flat tire (Number 1) on the van that held our luggage. Between the works of the men they were able to put on the spare and we made it to the airport. We boarded the plane and arrived safely in Albuquerque. Most of us picked up our luggage (except for poor Amy who’s was lost) and packed ourselves into 3 rental vans for a 3 hour drive to the Mission where we met our hosts Duane and Diane. We also met the other people that were on the mission. Sharon (who was from Indiana) and helped us whenever needed. Art (with Tom from our group) was in charge of led us in worship most of the nights. John floated between the groups, helping anywhere. Then there was Tim and his wife Peggy. Tim was the “handy-man” on the mission. He kept after the goats and yard work for Duane and Diane.
The next morning we were invited to go to Duane’s church for service. We packed our lunch because there is no real ending time for church. The Navajo believe that it is over when it is over. We got to watch them play a big drum that is the only instrument used. We then handed out fliers to the communities to invite them to the Superhero Camp.
The third day was interesting. This was because first we did not have any running water and electricity. So we had to work around that till about late morning. Then it was the first day of the Construction Crew putting up the barn and the VBS with Superhero Camp. The kids started coming at 10:00am and by 10:30am we had around 65 kids. We never thought we would have that many on the first day. At first all the kids wanted to do was run, be spun around or given piggy back rides. But when we started the skit, they enjoyed the story of David and the faith stones we made in crafts. The Construction Crew by the end of the first day got all the poles in the ground.
The fourth day ran much more smoothly for VBS. We were prepared for the kids. Another good thing that happened was that we had running water all day long! The Construction Crew was moving really fast, already having half of the roof trusses up by the end of the second day of work.
On the fifth day we got our second flat tire (Number 2) of the trip. It was before we went out to pick up the kids. To work around it we had the other vans make second trips to pick up all the kids that came to VBS. We tried another schedule change that would have us ending at 1:00pm instead of at 2:00pm. The kids were disappointed but the rest of us were really tired and were having trouble keeping up with the Energizer Bunny Navajo kids. The Construction Crew was really tired. They were putting on the roof of the barn in 96°F heat. We decided to have an early dinner and cake (Erin’s Birthday Cake that is) and drove over to Angel’s Peak for hiking, devotions, singing, and watching the sunset.
Thursday was the last working day for the Construction Crew and for VBS. The Construction Crew finished the barn by evening which was beautiful. For the last day of VBS we did the Jesus story. The kids all watched the skit and did salvation bracelets and different types of crosses which they enjoyed very much. When it was time to leave we were sad to say goodbye. We had for dinner that night Navajo tacos. Some native women came and made them for us. For dessert we took the left over fried bread and put powdered sugar on them for funnel cakes. It was delicious. By the way Arts’ van had a flat tire which made it Number 3 for the trip.
Friday was our first day of sightseeing. We decided to go to Canyon de Chelly which was in Arizona (about a 4 hour drive from the mission). We stopped half way to see Four Corners. When we got to Canyon de Chelly we stopped at the over looks to take pictures. We went down the White House Trail to the bottom of the canyon to see the ruins in the wall.
The morning of the last day of sightseeing some of us (who did not want to sleep in) went to Chaco Canyon to watch the sun rise and to hike through the canyon. It was very refreshing and beautiful. We then went to Crow Canyon to see the Petroglyphs carved into the canyon wall. It was amazing to see that. When we got back Duane said thank you to us and prayed for our safety going home.
The last morning we were sad to say goodbye to our friends but we had an easy and loud (no one was quiet!) flight home. Even though several things seemed to go wrong, our trip was successful. We had more children at the VBS than any other time that summer and the pole barn was successfully built and already being used. Even though we do not know the long term impact of our trip, we do know that the children were very interested in the stories of Esther, Moses, David and Jesus. It prompted some very personal and insightful questions from the Navajo children. We are thankful to our church congregation and to everyone at the mission for your support and prayers to enable us to leave what will hopefully be a lasting impression on the Navajo community (and in our own lives).
posted by Nate Shumaker @ Monday, August 08, 2005
1 Comments:
At Tue Aug 09, 10:31:00 PM,
Duane said…
Thanks guys! Because of dedicated folks like you, this summer made quite an impact on our community. We're still hearing good comments!
Blessings!!!
Duane
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