DAY 71: Monday, June 25, 2007 (Gallup,
NM)
To begin with, I must wish my dearest friend in the whole world (someone I have been
friends with since I was in kindergarten and she was in preschool) a very happy and
luminous birthday! Bean, I love you and miss you very much~ and I hope you  had a
glorious day. I wish I could have been there with you to celebrate!! (Hope you
had a big piece of cake for me!!!).
Today was a very special (and very long) day in Gallup, New Mexico. It was our first
day of actually working on a house project in the Navajo community called Tohlakai.
We woke up at 6 am to begin our day, which consisted of having breakfast, attending a
freestyle Bible study lesson, and heading to the morning devotion meeting. Every day
here starts and ends with a meditation and lots and lots of prayers.  Afterward, we headed to
the Tohlakai church to set up THE TENT.
Let me just preface this tent construction paragraph by saying that this tent is
absolutely enormous (picture a giant circus tent). About twenty people were needed
to put it up. We had to first lay it out in three sections on the ground, hand
"sew" the connecting loops together (which Jonathan was VERY good at), pound in
about  a
million stakes into the ground to keep it from flying away, fasten about a
hundred-thousand knots (somehow I got a reputation for being able to fasten a pretty solid
slip knot- thank you very much!), and hoist the whole project into the air on three huge
center beams. Then the entire thing needed to be steadied by readjusting the stakes
and the ropes. A skirt was attached...And, voila, there you have it- a giant
Lutheran revival tent. It only took us about three and a half hours to build it, but
it was right and tight when we were through. (Let's hope guardian angels are going
to take it down for us!).
After tent building (Jonathan and I will never again complain about setting up our tiny
camp tent), we had lunch. After lunch, we headed out for the real work project of
the day. A local Navajo woman named Helen needs a lot of work on her trailer home,
including: sanding, priming and painting the outside of it, fixing two porches, and
replacing the wooden skirt around the base of the trailer. We were able to get
through sanding, and almost finished priming the whole thing. Tomorrow we will go
back to finish the priming and begin the painting. Hopefully by the end of the week,
the entire project will be done for her, and her home will be beautiful.
One thing our fearless leader, Wayne (pictured here, with Lynn in the background),  keeps
reminding us is that the outcome of the work projects themselves is not the goal.
The goal is to fall in love with the Navajo people, to build relationships with
them. This is easy to do at Helen's place. She is generous, friendly, and very
happy to have us helping her out. At other sites, folks are not always so glad to
have upper middle class, white, Christian missionaries (and a nice Jewish boy!) in their
community. Understandably, many of them do not trust us and do not feel comfortable
having us there at all.
Upon arriving at Helen's place (below on left), one very obvious thing jumped out and hit
me full force in the face: the Navajo people are living in extreme poverty, like I have
never seen before, in our own country. The vast majority of folks live on  small
plots of land with their extended family members very close by. Many of them have
small sheep or goat farms, and the animals roam freely ~ there are no fences. Helen
and most others live in tiny trailer homes that are in shambles, falling apart all around
them. Nearby septic tanks are broken, and some live in actual garbage waste
lands. I heard that Jonathan and I didn't even make it out to the places where the
poverty is considered to be the worst.
My heart aches for these Navajo descendants of ancestors who once were Chiefs and
Princesses of this land. Those who lived here now are living a life very different
from that of the original natives. I am very conscious of not wanting to come across
as a white, Christian woman coming in to "rescue" them. This is not our
goal at all, even though a large part of the Lutheran's mission work  is about bringing
the Navajo people to church and to Christianity. Personally, I believe the original
native religions, customs, ceremonies and culture were perfect as they were, and should be
honored and respected as such. Sometimes as I'm watching the little ones play, I
picture them in their native outfits, and imagine them as they "should" be
(according to my opinion only), as little princes and princesses, living abundantly with
everything they need. It is beyond heartbreaking to see their beautiful faces, and
know that they have been so neglected and forgotten by the rest of us. Despite their
poverty, they are incredibly loving, open and joyful. It is amazing to be around
them.
In addition to the love we have received from the Navajo people we've met so far, we have
also been welcomed most graciously by our Lutheran hosts. We've been given front row
seats at the devotional meetings, have been asked to share our "testimony" (our
cross country road trip story) with the group, and have been spoken to and about by the
local pastor at the Sunday church service, as well as this evening in the tent meeting
service. It is clear that these people who just met us and who barely know us
already love us and have taken us in as two of their own. We've already been offered
invitations to stay with folks in Des Moines, Iowa (or Tucson, Arizona)  if we make it there on
our return trip home (and we've only known each other for two day!).
So it's been a long and very insightful day. We get up early tomorrow to do it all
over again, and I have to say I'm pretty excited about it, not that all of my discomforts
and anxieties have diminished. I'm still struggling with feeling like the work we
are doing is merely like sticking a Band Aid over a very deep and infected wound that
needs to be cleaned out and healed properly. If all of us could commit to reaching
out to others and really seeking to end poverty in this country and around the world, so
much could be done. I'm going to do my best to keep focused on the light and love
all around us, and hope that our time spent here will remind Jonathan and myself to
continue reaching out long after our work here is finished.
As a side note, one of the most welcoming members of the group, Ed, lost his father
today. It has been really touching to see how this group has rallied around him and
his family in support. Ed and his family, especially his five year old son, have
been so kind and gracious to us. Josh (the little one) says the most hilarious
things all the time. My quote of the day came from him yesterday. We were all
walking to the evening devotional meeting, and he shouted out to Jonathan and me,
"I'm going crazy about skipping!" as he skipped happily down the walkway. It
also makes me feel kind of special when he yells out to Jonathan and me when he sees us,
"Hi Jonathan! Hi Elena!" This kid is TOO cute.
We also got to meet some other really great kids tonight at the Vacation Bible School
program (they refer to it as VBS). We saw the local Navajo kids, timidly at first,
learn some new songs, make arts and crafts, and run three-legged relay races- Jonathan and
I couldn't resist joining in on that one! It was really heartwarming to see the shy
kids open up and make friends by the end of the evening. And even the kids who
really aren't interested in the religious aspects of the program were happy to have a meal
at the end of the day. All in all, it was a good day.
Tomorrow, it's back to Helen's place. Stay tuned... ~
E
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DAY 77: Sunday, July 1, 2007 (Grand
Canyon North Rim, AZ)
Almost a week since either of us last wrote. Working with Lutheran missionaries sure
keeps a person busy, but everyone probably already knows that! Waking up at 6:30 to
be at breakfast by 7:00 to be at devotionals by 7:30 to be at your project sites between
8:30 and 9:00. Needless to say, when we did have a spare moment to write, we felt
more like napping than writing. So we may have lost out on the momentary feelings of
the week except for what we can remember now, for we are now in Arizona at the North Rim
of the Grand Canyon. We got here yesterday as we drove through Lees Ferry and Marble
Canyon (where we came across the Navajo Bridge, built in 1927-8, about 622 feet above the
Colorado River). We decided to camp, and as a few of you might know, there are
minimal amenities close to the canyon on the north side. The campsite in Grand
Canyon National Park was full, so we are about 18 miles outside of the park at De Motte
Campsite, a "dry" campsite (i.e., no drinkable water, no electric hookups, and
no showers!). We spent the day exploring the canyon, but before I go there, I'd like
to recap, as best as I can, our week with the Lutherans and the Navajos.
Elena and I spent the week at various project sites, so we were able not only to see
different places and meet different Navajo Indians, but it gave us a chance to get to know
many of the volunteers a little better as well. We did everything from priming to
painting, shingling a roof to installing kitchen cabinets, tearing down a worn-out porch
to putting up metal skirting around a trailer. All of this was done with little
cover from clouds as the sun shone down and the dust storms blew by (occasionally).
By the end of the week, most of the projects had been completed, and a labor-intensive one
needed a little extra work on Friday afternoon, the day before everyone was to head on
home.
Every night, after dinner at the Rehoboth cafeteria, Vacation Bible School  (VBS) was held at two
 churches:
Tohlakai and Church Rock (Elena and I did most of our project work with families living in
the Tohlakai community). Church meetings held under that huge tent we helped put up
were also held nightly at Tohlakai at the same time as VBS. Most of the teenage
volunteers led many of the VBS programs for the Navajo children, which sometimes totaled
80+ children! This consisted of teaching "hip" Christian songs
(accompanied by clever and fun interpretive dance moves), arts and crafts, games, and
dinner. I give a lot of credit to those teenage volunteers; they worked extremely
hard to entertain and educate - and, at times, reign in - the Navajo children, who ranged
in age from preschool to high school (I think).
For the most part, I'll let the pictures of the past week do most of the talking, pictures
of our new friends, both Lutheran and Navajo, of our projects, of the
region (did I mention that this is the second or third poorest county in the country?!),
and of other miscellaneous things I can't think of right now. What I want to mention
here is mostly what I mentioned at our last devotional meeting on Friday night, the night
we said goodbye to everyone. Wayne so graciously asked Elena and I to give our
impressions of the week first (thanks Wayne!). Despite having differing religious
beliefs, there were many similarities to my own personal beliefs, such as the sense of
service to others. Not that I'm always acting in the service of others, but I
believe it should be a top priority in people's lives (my own included), and it seems to
be that way for most, if not all, of the people involved in this trip of service.
What I also admired was their sense of community among themselves, and how they would
rally around each other when a single member or a particular family experienced hardship
in one form or another (e.g., a death in the family, physical pain, or emotional
upheaval). Everyone seemed willing to lend a hand when needed, either physically or
simply with prayer.
Wayne (pictured at the right, with Jane), the man whom we met at the Four Corners National
Monument and led us to our week of service, was the project leader of the whole shebang,
and I want to give him special recognition. Not only did he  work very hard to
make sure all projects were on task and going according to schedule, he never hesitated to
give us a spare moment of his time to ask us how things were going, to make sure we had
everything we needed, or to get our take on the experience as a whole. Of course, he
had lots of help from everyone around him who were surely praying for him, for the success
of the projects, and for the betterment of the Navajo people. Wayne's
"mantra" throughout the week was, "It's not about the projects, it's about
the Navajo people and the relationship you form with them" (or some variation of
this). This helped, I believe, the people focus on the Navajos themselves,
interacting with their kids, learning about their culture, and finding out about their
family histories. Everyone's commitment to the Navajo people and the projects was
surely enhanced by Wayne's own commitment; I know mine was.
As Elena mentioned in the previous entry, many of the Lutherans offered their homes to us
if we ever visited Des Moines, IA, or Tucson, AZ, and this was after only two days of
knowing us! This was again reiterated on our final day as we all said our
goodbyes. It goes without saying - though I'll say it anyway - that our home,
wherever we may "land" is also open to those we met, if they (you) ever happen
to be traveling our way. This is the kind of generous spirit that surrounded us
during our week with the Lutherans, just to give you an idea. I will admit that I
was a bit concerned after our first devotional meeting, when Ed had us give our
"testimony" to the group (i.e., our cross-country road trip story), that
someone, or even the group as a whole, might try to convert me to Christianity in some
way. This probably stemmed from not knowing what to expect when Wayne invited us to
help his crew, though I certainly didn't expect that morning and evening devotionals would
be part of the schedule! My concerns abated, however, as the week went on, as I
accepted their faith (how could I not? It was 50 against 1!) and they seemed to accept me
with mine.
I agree with Elena that it is very sad to see how many of the Navajo people are
living. The philosophy that "everything in the world is at it should be"
seems a bit off when you see how these people are living (or when you see how any
impoverished people in the world are living, for that matter). This is also true
when looking back at how they got to be this way and the injustices they've endured (or
looking at any other injustices endured by people throughout history, like slavery, the
holocaust, misogyny, etc.). How can this possibly be "the way things should
be?" When discussing this with Elena,  I was reminded of one of
Wayne Dyer's philosophies (if it can be called a philosophy), that, in fact, these
injustices are as they should be, and so is your desire to do something about them!
(I'm paraphrasing, so forgive me if I've got the quote wrong, Mr. Dyer.) So the
Lutherans, among many, are trying to do something about it. Whether or not it's like
putting a Band Aid on an injury that requires surgery, I don't know. There may be
other things going on behind the scenes that I'm unaware of that may be attempts to help
the Navajos on a higher level. Regardless, our desire to help people led us to
Gallup, Rehoboth, Tohlakai, and Church Rock. Elena and I hope to maintain this
spirit of helping where we can as we may look for divine intervention to help lead us to
where we are needed.
Before I sign off, I'd like to tell one more story, if you'll indulge me. (You
will? Thanks!) Last Friday night, Elena and I drove back to our home base in
Rehoboth from Tohlakai to make sure we were on time for our last devotional meeting.
We drove Lynn back as well (Lynn was the second person we met after Wayne, back at Canyon
De Shelly). Lynn was also serving as a project liaison throughout the week, getting
necessary supplies and giving his know-how and physical help when necessary to each
project. Lynn, like most everyone in the group, was also very welcoming of Elena and
I to the group. When the three of us got back to Rehoboth, no one was there.
It was 9:30 (devotionals usually started around 9:15, when people started getting back
from VBS), it was dark, and there was a blue moon out (the second full moon of the month,
which apparently happens once every two years). (It turns out that we learned that
the blue moon wasn't officially blue until the next night, on June 30, but it was blue
enough for our purposes!)
Lynn went off on his own as he took a walk to enjoy the night air and the almost-full
moon.  Elena and I sat on a bench just outside the dorm where
devotionals were held, waiting for everyone to return. It was quiet. It was
also our one-year anniversary from the day we told each other we liked each other more
than friends, and our first kiss. (Ain't we romantic?!) We had also just
finished a hard but extremely rewarding week with the Lutherans and the Navajos. The
moment seemed to be right (even though I didn't have a ring to give her yet), and to
Elena's surprise, I proposed. And, oh yeah, she said YES! As we relished the
moment, Lynn came walking by and, without knowing what had just happened, offered us a
gift for our trip, an unexpected and truly heartfelt surprise. We then told him of
our engagement and joked that his gift was our first engagement gift! Who knew that
Lynn from Des Moines, IA, would be the very first person to know?! When we met for
devotionals about 20 minutes later,  Elena and I gave our
impression of the week and, with Lynn's silent urging from across the room to "get on
with it," we let the group know of our engagement. I thought it was very
fitting that these people, whom we shared sweat, bread, fun, and more throughout the week,
were able to share a very special moment for Elena and me.
So we are officially engaged! It was too late to call people that night to let them
know, so we called people the next day as we drove to the Grand Canyon.
Unfortunately, their is very little phone service on the way from Gallup, NM to the Grand
Canyon, and virtually none here at the canyon. So if we were not able to let people
know personally with a phone call, we apologize if you're finding out as you read this or
if by second-hand from someone who knows. We are now here at the Grand Canyon, as I
mentioned way back in the first paragraph, and before I hog the whole stage (as if I
haven't already), I think I'll let Elena expand on the previous week (if she wants), and
let people know what we've been up to since we got to the canyon. I know we'll be
here for a few days more, then we're planning on heading to Utah, to Zion and Bryce Canyon
National Parks (unless divine intervention gives us yet another detour!). Until
then... ~J
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