This morning the team had a lighter schedule compared to the rest of the week. The main difference was that for part of the team it was early up as a 6:30 a.m. departue for six of us to Lukachukai. This was a community that we were blessed to land upon thanks to an encounter earlier in the week with the pastor of this church in town to explore future mission endeavors. This was roughly a 90 minute drive one way.
The other half of the team spent the morning at various trading posts in town and delivering the donations that were gathered prior to our departure.
The team gathered in Gallup for lunch but not before a scenic driving adventure back reaching heights of 8000 feet in altitudes on the way back from Lukachukai. From snow capped hills to breath taking views of the canyon we encountered along the way.
The afternoon consisted of reaching out to more organizations with our donations being graciously accepted. Connections continued to be made that will lead us on in for future trips.
We then retreated back to base camp where we had a smorgasbord of food from chicken to pasta salads finishing with some ice cream to top the night off.
A praise and worship time was then held and a debriefing occurred where everyone was able to share their experiences from during the week. The night was topped off by a communion service to allow for reflection time.
A slide show of various pictures allowed for a final time of laughter and reflection.
With this being the final full day of our mission trip we ask for continued prayers and blessings as we depart for Iowa tomorrow afternoon. This was truly a life changing experience for many of us and we are grateful for the relationships that we were able to build.
See you soon,
Robert Pitlock
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mission Navajo Wednesday Update
The warm high desert sun refreshed us on Mission Navajo today. We (Rod and I) got up with Steve and Colette Wall, and drove north from Ft. Defiance at sunrise, leaving the church where we are staying at 6:15 a.m. Yep, kinda crazy. But the dramatic, high red cliffs backed up against the rising sun made me remember Who led us here, and made me wonder if I'll ever grasp how huge my God is. As a side note, we did have to watch for cars to make sure Steve and Rod would not get hit whenever they got out to take pictures. Fear not, all is well.
After a passionate group prayer, the whole team gathered at Window Rock for a group picture taken by Pastor Will of the CRC church. Try getting about 30 people to look at the camera and smile at the same time. But he got a good one!
The team broke up into three teams, and one worked at a church several miles away, on land next to that of Janelle's family. They painted a picket fence, and worked on their computer.
A second team was right on Janelle's family's land, blessing her uncle by cleaning an area around an old church there. Janelle and her family hope to restore this old, white stucco church building - and I for one am curious and hopeful to watch this project over time. (it's pretty safe to say we are all curious.) The restoration is a great idea, and great stewardship to bring this intriguing, cute building back into use.
A third team went to St. Michael's Special Education Association - really a school campus for special education kids on the reservation. It includes several group homes, which happen to be traditional hogans, classrooms, social, nursing and physical therapy services, and a bunch of great people.
The school lost a longtime student right before we came here, and his funeral service was today. Hearing a staff person there talk of this child moved us to tears, even though we had not met him. She spoke of how he would touch his hands to his lips and make kissing sounds. Sherilyn Rittgers and I were not the only ones to cry. We helped the staff clean up after the service, handed out Global Cafe coffee with introduction labels for the nearby CRC church, and shared hugs with some sweet students there.
The youth and children on the trip have worked so hard, bonded with each other and touched lives around them. We are all proud of them. A trip to McDonald's tonight for ice cream was a nice break! After that, we got to hear tonight from a friend of Janelle's, Ramon, who travels around the reservation, attending powwows, and speaking of Jesus Christ as the Greatest Warrior. So true, and perfect way to say it to his Dine` brothers and sisters, isn't it?
I am praising God for this opportunity to serve Him, see people and help them in any way. Thankfully, I will not be leaving the Navajo Reservation exactly the same way I came. Blessings in Christ and love to all of you. - Helene Bergren
Quick hello from Janelle Allen, Mission Navajo Team Leader - Today, I looked at sunburned faces, hard workers, and light givers. It's been a blessing.
After a passionate group prayer, the whole team gathered at Window Rock for a group picture taken by Pastor Will of the CRC church. Try getting about 30 people to look at the camera and smile at the same time. But he got a good one!
The team broke up into three teams, and one worked at a church several miles away, on land next to that of Janelle's family. They painted a picket fence, and worked on their computer.
A second team was right on Janelle's family's land, blessing her uncle by cleaning an area around an old church there. Janelle and her family hope to restore this old, white stucco church building - and I for one am curious and hopeful to watch this project over time. (it's pretty safe to say we are all curious.) The restoration is a great idea, and great stewardship to bring this intriguing, cute building back into use.
A third team went to St. Michael's Special Education Association - really a school campus for special education kids on the reservation. It includes several group homes, which happen to be traditional hogans, classrooms, social, nursing and physical therapy services, and a bunch of great people.
The school lost a longtime student right before we came here, and his funeral service was today. Hearing a staff person there talk of this child moved us to tears, even though we had not met him. She spoke of how he would touch his hands to his lips and make kissing sounds. Sherilyn Rittgers and I were not the only ones to cry. We helped the staff clean up after the service, handed out Global Cafe coffee with introduction labels for the nearby CRC church, and shared hugs with some sweet students there.
The youth and children on the trip have worked so hard, bonded with each other and touched lives around them. We are all proud of them. A trip to McDonald's tonight for ice cream was a nice break! After that, we got to hear tonight from a friend of Janelle's, Ramon, who travels around the reservation, attending powwows, and speaking of Jesus Christ as the Greatest Warrior. So true, and perfect way to say it to his Dine` brothers and sisters, isn't it?
I am praising God for this opportunity to serve Him, see people and help them in any way. Thankfully, I will not be leaving the Navajo Reservation exactly the same way I came. Blessings in Christ and love to all of you. - Helene Bergren
Quick hello from Janelle Allen, Mission Navajo Team Leader - Today, I looked at sunburned faces, hard workers, and light givers. It's been a blessing.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday Mission Navajo Update
This morning half of us went to SMASE, which stands for St. Micheals Accosiation for Special Education, and the others went back to the Window Rock Christian Reformed Church. At SMASE they continued to interact with the kids there. They also continued to paint and take inventory. At the church we finished painting the fellowship hall and the entryway. We all met together again at SMASE to eat lunch. From there some of us went to Tohlakai. There we painted a fence and sealed the log cabin. Later in the evening we all met up in the log cabin to eat spaghetti with some of the people we have served. We then returned to base camp, took cold showers, and went to bed. Haha just kidding about the cold showers.
Kyle (Bucky)
Christian (Bulldog)
Toby (T-Dub)
Kyle (Bucky)
Christian (Bulldog)
Toby (T-Dub)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Monday Update
The four amigas.... 1. Kylee Thiner 2. Jess Bergren 3. Sydney Allen 4. Kate Haven
Monday was one of the best days I have ever had. I got to paint a church here! It was sooooo....messy, but fun. It is sooo amazing to see how God is using us, also how different people are reacting to our work here in AZ. Its my first mission trip! One of the Best things of the day was spilling a gallon of paint in the van, and spending three hours in the car wash with K.J, my dad (greg), and Jeff Kennel wiping off all the paint. That's about all that happened in my day. IT ROCKED!!!! I met my four amigas
-Sydney Allen (Amiga 3)
We had so much fun today! Kylee and I went to the church and painted, along with the other dos amigas. We had paint handprints on our jeans from people throwing paint at us. It was pretty funny. The pastor of the church (Will) came by a couple times and was amazed by the amount of paint we put on the walls. (2 coats baby!) We had tons of fun making jokes and builing friendships. At the end of the day, Janelle and Kyle had a kinda surprise birthday party, and it was awesome. Yummy ice cream and we basically sang a book of songs at the end. I felt so connected to God while we were singing: the Holy Spirit was so there. With everyone singing, it was amazing!
-Jess (2nd amiga)
Today was really fun. I met new people and made new friends. We started off the day painting a church. It was soo much funn :). We got the work done in no time at all.People that came to see our work were very surprised to see how much a bunch of teenagers and two adults got done painting so much in so little time. At the end we kinda had a paint fight with some of the other guys that were also there helping. Jess and i made hand prints on our pants lol hahhahhah. Now I cant wait for tomorrow to go back and finish painting the room. With Love,
- Kylee Thiner (#1 amiga)
My name is Kaitlyn Haven and I am Sydney's cousin who lives in Arizona. Today was a really fun day. I met alot of new people such as Jess, Kylee, and Courtney. When I went to the church to help paint, my Auntie Janelle tricked everybody by saying ",This is navajo chocolate" when it was really a normal Sneaker Bar. When we went back to the church we got ready for a surprise birthday party.When my Auntie Janelle came in, she was surprised. After that we ate navajo tacos for dinner. Then we cut the cake and ate it. Afterwards, we sang songs. Then everyone went home.
-Kaitlyn (fourth amiga!)
Monday was one of the best days I have ever had. I got to paint a church here! It was sooooo....messy, but fun. It is sooo amazing to see how God is using us, also how different people are reacting to our work here in AZ. Its my first mission trip! One of the Best things of the day was spilling a gallon of paint in the van, and spending three hours in the car wash with K.J, my dad (greg), and Jeff Kennel wiping off all the paint. That's about all that happened in my day. IT ROCKED!!!! I met my four amigas
-Sydney Allen (Amiga 3)
We had so much fun today! Kylee and I went to the church and painted, along with the other dos amigas. We had paint handprints on our jeans from people throwing paint at us. It was pretty funny. The pastor of the church (Will) came by a couple times and was amazed by the amount of paint we put on the walls. (2 coats baby!) We had tons of fun making jokes and builing friendships. At the end of the day, Janelle and Kyle had a kinda surprise birthday party, and it was awesome. Yummy ice cream and we basically sang a book of songs at the end. I felt so connected to God while we were singing: the Holy Spirit was so there. With everyone singing, it was amazing!
-Jess (2nd amiga)
Today was really fun. I met new people and made new friends. We started off the day painting a church. It was soo much funn :). We got the work done in no time at all.People that came to see our work were very surprised to see how much a bunch of teenagers and two adults got done painting so much in so little time. At the end we kinda had a paint fight with some of the other guys that were also there helping. Jess and i made hand prints on our pants lol hahhahhah. Now I cant wait for tomorrow to go back and finish painting the room. With Love,
- Kylee Thiner (#1 amiga)
My name is Kaitlyn Haven and I am Sydney's cousin who lives in Arizona. Today was a really fun day. I met alot of new people such as Jess, Kylee, and Courtney. When I went to the church to help paint, my Auntie Janelle tricked everybody by saying ",This is navajo chocolate" when it was really a normal Sneaker Bar. When we went back to the church we got ready for a surprise birthday party.When my Auntie Janelle came in, she was surprised. After that we ate navajo tacos for dinner. Then we cut the cake and ate it. Afterwards, we sang songs. Then everyone went home.
-Kaitlyn (fourth amiga!)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Mission Navajo Saturday/Sunday Update
After a safe trip from Ankeny to Ft. Defiance AZ we quickly settled in to our new home, and enjoyed a dinner at a local landmark restaurant called Earls. We enjoyed the evening getting to know some of the local people we would be working with through out the week. We were all quite exhausted from the long drive, and excited to curl up in our sleeping bags that night.
Sunday was a great day for our team as we enjoyed our second day in the southwest. In the morning, we helped out with a local church service. We led the worship with a makeshift band comprised of 6 of our team members, and Jeff Kennel gave the message. It was a good experience for us as we were able to encourage this small local church. After worship we had a potluck lunch with the church members. We were treated to Navajo Tacos (a homemade fry bread topped with beans, beef,and traditional taco toppings.
After a quick change of clothes we all went out to the canyon in Tohlakai. We stopped by a place called Window Rock and had a chance to walk around and enjoy the rock formations. It was a bumpy ride on dirt roads, but it was worth it. The view was incredible and we got to spend the afternoon riding horses, and hiking in the bluffs of the canyon. It was easy to see God's hand in the landscape. We ended the evening cooking burgers and dogs over a campfire as the sun went down.
We will all sleep well tonight after a day of playing in the sun. Tomorrow we begin work at several local churches and agencies. More updates to come.
Check out some of our favorite pictures so far.
Sunday was a great day for our team as we enjoyed our second day in the southwest. In the morning, we helped out with a local church service. We led the worship with a makeshift band comprised of 6 of our team members, and Jeff Kennel gave the message. It was a good experience for us as we were able to encourage this small local church. After worship we had a potluck lunch with the church members. We were treated to Navajo Tacos (a homemade fry bread topped with beans, beef,and traditional taco toppings.
After a quick change of clothes we all went out to the canyon in Tohlakai. We stopped by a place called Window Rock and had a chance to walk around and enjoy the rock formations. It was a bumpy ride on dirt roads, but it was worth it. The view was incredible and we got to spend the afternoon riding horses, and hiking in the bluffs of the canyon. It was easy to see God's hand in the landscape. We ended the evening cooking burgers and dogs over a campfire as the sun went down.
We will all sleep well tonight after a day of playing in the sun. Tomorrow we begin work at several local churches and agencies. More updates to come.
Check out some of our favorite pictures so far.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Mission Navajo READY TO GO
The mission Navajo Team is ready to go. We leave Friday Night at 5:30 and drive straight through to Window Rock, AZ. Please be in prayer for our team as we seek to serve the Navajo people and show them the love of Christ through our actions.
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