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Yesterday, two of the kids in my carpool of many were complaining that they were hungry and thirsty shortly after I picked them up.  Over and over I heard the complaints.  So today I left early and purchased healthy snacks and a six pack of bottled water.  I distributed the snacks and water throughout the truck before I picked them up.   The kids can see me coming down the dirt road and they run out to me and seem excited.  It makes me happy and reminds me why I make the 45 minute trip to pick them up.   They were sharing with each other and the food and drinks had vanished within a couple of minutes. 

We picked up a cousin who lives nearby.  He was a big 12-year old boy; quiet and sweet.  His name is King and he seems to take care of the smaller kids.  He told me that he gets into a lot of fights, but he was really a pleasure to talk to and my heart is heavy for him.  He’s going to school but has only made it through the fourth grade; the kid is bigger than me!  The parents don’t come out of the houses when we pick the kids up.  Apparently the native kids have made arrangements for us to pick up others and they are waiting outside or come out of the house when we pull up.  Then they cram themselves into my truck and we take off.

Ashkii is three years old and part of this family.  He’s small and super active; the long drive is a challenge for him.  When we finally made it to the turn off, I let him steer the truck on the dirt road to church.  We both had a great time with that. 

Making it to 2:00 was a little easier today and I have learned to back off of the kids a little.  Instead of trying to make them behave I try to do something to alleviate the root cause. 

Ashkii is disruptive and his sisters don’t let him out of their sight.  Because they take care of him, they aren’t able to participate in most of the activities.  I tried to take him from them and they wouldn’t let me.  I assured them that I would stay close so that they could see him and they let me hold him while they participated.  He resisted at first but then I just put him on my lap and whispered in his ear that I loved him and I was going to stay close and we could watch together.  He became calm and held my hands and rubbed my arms.  They think my hairy arms are funny.  Then he rubbed the whiskers on my face as I hadn’t shaved for a few days.  He finally just held my hands and was so still for such a long time.  I was thankful for the opportunity to be in touch with my heart.

We had a blowout on the way to the highway on the way to take them home for the day.  The roads are rough and some of the rocks are pretty big and my tires were pretty old.  Thankfully it was not a big deal, but it changed my schedule for the next day as I would have to get new tires before another one failed.  This was neither in the time budget nor the financial budget, but thankfully it all worked out.  I had to let the kids know that I wouldn’t be able to pick them up the next day as I would have to drive an hour in the opposite direction to get tires for the truck.  They were so disappointed.  I received a voicemail from their grandmother on Friday and she told me that they were going to another VBS at a church much closer to their home and I wouldn’t need to pick them up.  Thinking long term, they really would never be able to make the 45 minute trek to ‘our’ church on a regular basis, but this other church was closer to their home so there would be a better possibility of their regular attendance.  It was bitter sweet.

The church is on a dirt road about three miles off the highway.  When Cindy and I left for our child pick up we didn’t know we would face a fifteen minute wait at the road construction on the highway – both when we left and when we returned.  Cindy was about 30 minutes late for VBS with her 11 kids and two adults packed in the Yukon while Cathy and I were about 45 minutes late with our six kids and four adults.  We got a late start, but we caught up by the end of the day.  Part of Cindy’s car included a 12 month old baby with a bottle.  She and her older sister were waiting on the front porch when Cindy picked them up.

Six of the kids in my carpool are part of a household of eleven that live in an old metal trailer with no running water and a solar panel for electricity.  Two of the residents live in the old Chevy van which sits beside the trailer.   They live with their mother who I’ve not seen – she just sends the kids out. 

Overall, the kids are getting a little more familiar with the schedule and I would say the chaos level was a little improved today.  There were 37 kids in attendance.  Several sibling groups will not separate and the older kids watch after the younger.  I keep reminding myself that God is bringing these kids and they are here for His purpose.  There is such a need and the workers are few.  Thank you Lord for being in control.

It was a good day at VBS and the kids were loved.  I wish that I were more patient and compassionate.  I’m amazed at the patience of our team and the love that they are able to produce for these kids.  We are growing closer as a team too.  It’s nice.  Billy and Rose stayed with us at the church this afternoon.  Billy cleaned up and visited with the guys while Rose and the girls made beaded jewelry and got to know each other.

It’s just before 11:00 pm Monday night and I have half an ounce of energy left so I’ve decided to write about the last few days. It’s 75 degrees tonight and the air is still. Tonight is the warmest night yet. The pastor’s sister Joyce and her husband Harley live about 100 yards from where we are camped and we can hear their sheep dogs barking every once in a while. Cindy, Jessi, Grace, Rebekah and I sleep in the trailer; Steve, Brien, Luke and Ben sleep in tents outside and Tom sleeps in the church. We’ve been sleeping with all of the windows and doors open with the screens keeping the bugs out. Sometime last night we woke up to high winds shaking the trailer and it sounded like the tents were going to be blown away. It was pretty exciting to wake up to such extreme weather and we were thankful that everything was fine after the storm passed. It’s great to be somewhere new and experience another lifestyle if only for a week.

Our road trip here was lots of fun. We left Friday afternoon and drove about four hours to Lee Vining. We rented a place with three bedrooms Friday night and we were able to prepare and eat dinner together. We went for a walk in town after dinner, stopped at the local grocery store and got some ice cream. We made plans for the week, spent some quality time together and prayed together. It was great.

We left Lee Vining early Saturday morning and drove through Nevada. It was a long day, but it was uneventful and we all had a good time. The truck is only getting 7-8 mpg towing the trailer and the towns are really far apart. I almost ran out of gas between Tonopah and Caliente, NV and it was a matter of prayer to get over the last pass and coast into town. Thank you Lord. We made it into Page, AZ about 6:00 for dinner and met up with Cindy’s sister Cathy with her daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer who had flown in from Atlanta. We all drove to the church where Billy and Rose were waiting for us. They had purchased a new refrigerator earlier in the day and had it set up for our food. I was amazed. They helped us set up camp and were so very hospitable. It was REALLY nice and they were so welcoming. Billy and Rose went home while we finished setting up camp and we prayed together and were in bed by 11:00 pm.

Sunday we ate breakfast together and then walked about 40 feet to church. Again, everyone was welcoming and it was a nice service. It was different than at home and we didn’t understand a lot of it since the Pastor speaks Navajo. I was so thrilled to see people from home meet people from Arizona. Cindy put the quilts and blankets that were made by the ladies at our church on a table in the back. They were well received and went to good homes.

We were all thankful for this great experience. We made lunch after church and several of the locals stayed around and ate with us. At about 5:00 we met up with some people from church and they took us on two hikes; one where there were historic petroglyphs on the rocks and another hike on top of a mesa where a meteor had made a small crater. The weather and driving conditions were extreme and it was really fun. We made it back to church in time for dinner and to make some final plans for VBS. 

It’s really nice to be a like minded group. We have been praying that God would allow us to make the trip to Arizona and bring just the right people. It’s so great to see God answer prayer. We pray as a group that we won’t act like we are here to ‘fix’ or ‘help’. We are here because God asked us to be here – both the locals and we see it that way. We are so blessed by the people here and strive to be a blessing to those around us. We are here to advance God’s kingdom and we pray that we will see that happen.

Today we woke up early and ate breakfast together. Cindy and I left around 8:00 am to start picking up kids. The pastor’s sister, Joyce, rode with Cindy, and they went door to door in Gap picking up kids. I met Cindy’s sister Cathy in Cameron and we picked up five kids there. We all made it back near enough to 10:00 when VBS started. There were over 30 kids in attendance today and they were pretty evenly split in age between preschool and 8th grade. We have been praying for God to bring us children who will be blessed. I kept telling myself that throughout the day. I like to paint rosy pictures whenever possible, but I also need to confess that I had some real struggles today. Around the middle of the day I wanted to pack up and leave. I was really frustrated. ‘Why are we here?’ The kids aren’t paying attention; they’re running around and not getting anything out of this. We were all working so hard and it seemed like nothing was being accomplished except chaos. It’s hard to understand what’s going on at home when one wonderful little girl mentally shut down and gazed into the distance when barely reprimanded. Lord, show me how to love.

It was over at 2:00 and many parents who had stayed all day were packing up their kids to go home. Cindy and I looked for the kids that we were to take home and they were already in our cars waiting for us, which was a surprise and made us laugh. I love the kids in my car. They are so precious. They also had a lot of sugar and I had to pull over twice to get them to re-buckle their seatbelts and stop fighting. My truck was packed with seven people and it was a 45 minute drive to their home. I kept praying for patience. I envisioned them later in life having a testimony of hearing about Jesus one time by a creepy guy who yelled at them all day. I really don’t want that to happen. We met in Tuba City tonight and took showers at Cathy’s hotel room. We discussed the day and how we can make tomorrow better. We ate dinner in town and had fry bread with ice cream at a local gas station / café for dessert. Then we drove back to camp listening to a CD of piano hymns while observing the Painted Desert in the evening twilight. I was so encouraged. PRAISE YOU MY LORD.

“Thank you Lord for bringing just the right servants. Thank you for Tom who is so upbeat and gives me a new perspective. Thank you for Steve who is so patient and loving with the kids. Thank you for Brien who is incredibly reliable and organized and generous to the children. Thank you for Cathy and her wisdom as a teacher and encouragement. Thank you for Jessi, Elizabeth, Jennifer and Grace who love the kids and are so very helpful. Thank you for Ben and Luke and letting them have patience and a guiding hand with the younger boys. Thank you Lord for Cindy and her genuine desire and ability to serve You. Thank you for all of the kids to pick up and for working out the logistics tomorrow – I can’t wait to see how you’re going to do that. You are great and greatly to be praised.” We have sharing and prayer time together every night. I cherish it. It’s after these times of prayer that I realize that children are precious and I love them.

I can’t wait to see them tomorrow. I really want to build relationships with them and for our lives to be changed by a perfect and generous God. Now it’s after midnight. It’s starting to cool off and I’m getting tired.

Sunday morning we woke up and were really missing the kids.  We ate an early breakfast at the hotel and Cindy started crying because the kids around us reminded her of our four angels at home that we hadn’t seen for two whole days.  We checked out early but the hotel couldn’t process our credit card because the internet was down.  No problem, but the internet had been down since the night before so the charge on our credit card would be delayed.

We made it to Gap in about 30 minutes.  It was another beautiful day in the high desert.   The dry, non-vegetated plain was becoming familiar.  We were noticing lots of hogans with their east-facing doors.  We went to Gap and hung out at our little gas station again.  We were going to get the phone number of the church that we wanted to attend but the VBS poster on the ice machine was gone.  As we walked in the convenience store we noticed a hand written sign on the door; “Cash Only; No Credit or ATM.”  It made me think that the internet service had been interrupted around this whole area on the nation, and I confirmed this with the cashier whom I recognized from Friday.  It made me wonder if the pastor at Cedar Ridge Baptist Church never received my e-mail due to the lack of connectivity in the area. 

We bought a couple of drinks, sat in the car and observed all that was going on around the community hub somewhat early in the morning.  There were several dogs that I also recognized from Friday.  They were napping on the concrete around the building; I noticed one dog laying down, not moving at all, but opening one of his eyes as I walked by as if he were in hopes of a treat from me, the tourist, who was starting to feel like a local.

We got back in the car and prayed for directions from our creator.  We continued north on the highway toward Cedar Ridge.  We were climbing in elevation and then we were in a high valley where there were homes and small farms on the right – this was Cedar Ridge.  There must have been water in the area because the small valley was mostly green and was being used for agriculture. 

We continued about five minutes until we came to the Cedar Ridge Baptist Church; or at least the sign for the church.  There were several homes that were accessed by a single driveway with the sign.  One of the homes must have been the church, but we couldn’t really determine which one.  We parked off the road at the driveway, got out of the car and walked closer to the sign to see if we could read the service times.  The Sunday service started at 10:00 and t was about 9:00 at the time.  We had an hour.  So we prayed.  We still weren’t feeling very comfortable in this remote area.  We weren’t used to the buildings and homesites; we couldn’t tell which building was the church.  Did God really want us to attend here?  Or should we just head for Phoenix?  It wasn’t clear.

We got out the map that was given to us by Steve Thompson, and I focused in on the area that included Cedar Ridge, Gap and the Bodaway Mesa.  I observed on the map that the Bodaway Mesa was accessible by Nation Road 6110 which we must have passed on our way up to Cedar Ridge.  Since we had about an hour before the service, we decided to find Road 6110 and see if we could find the Bodaway Mesa.  I wanted to see it before we left Arizona and the hour of spare time that we had should be plenty to make it there and back.  As we headed down the hill, I wasn’t sure we would actually go back for church, but at least it was our intention at the time. 

We found road 6110 and pulled off.  There was a sign at the entrance of this road.  “Cedar Ridge Full Gospel Church.”  The sign was near the cattle guard which we had recognized throughout the nation as the bridge between smooth pavement and dusty, rocky ruts.  The sign mentioned that the church was three miles west on road 6110. 
 
I looked at Cindy with a raised eyebrow.  Hmmm.  Three miles on this dirt road?  Is there a town out there?   I just want to see the mesa.  We continued on and were greeted by a formal ‘No Trespassing No Hiking No Hunting’ sign as our wheels bumped over the cattle guard.  In my mind I was worried.  Was it ok to be driving on this road?  We continued about a mile and noticed some native home sites that we were passing by.

Then we noticed the Bodaway Mesa on our left.  It was a beautiful plateau!   I wanted to climb to the top, but not today.  We continued up the road.  We passed a car on the side of the road with a native woman inside – it looked as if she was watching the sheep grazing nearby.  She didn’t wave or even acknowledge the fact that we were passing by in this remote place.  According to the odometer we had almost traveled the three miles and had enjoyed the views of Bodaway Mesa along this bumpy trail.  Just before the three mile mark we noticed two buildings up ahead between us and the mesa.  We soon came to a sign on the road to our left.  Once at the sign we could read that this was indeed the church and that the services start at 9:30.  I glanced at the clock in our rental car.  9:29 turned into 9:30 as I looked at the clock. 

No way!  I laughed out loud.  “REALLY?”  God led us to a church at the exact time service was beginning. 

I looked at Cindy in disbelief.  It was too obvious that this was the place for us.  We could see the Bodaway Mesa and a little church.  God brought us right here, right at 9:30.  We prayed. We slowly crept up to the church in our Jeep. 

We walked in the double doors which were at the back of the building.  A real church…pews, a sound system, lights, tile, and white walls.  Wow – amazing.  There were about 12 people in attendance scattered throughout the pews.  There were two people in the back left pew; a man and woman.  I approached the man and asked if he thought it would be ok if we joined the service.  I must have startled him because he looked at me in shock; he had been crying.  He motioned to some empty pews and mumbled something.  I understood this to be a positive sign, so Cindy and I sat in the back pew on the right; not wanting to interrupt the man at the pulpit speaking in Navajo echoing through the church.

I know the pastor noticed us but didn’t acknowledge us.  We were still nervous because we didn’t know if we would be welcomed or not.  People continued to trickle in as the service continued.  They were all speaking in Navajo and we were the foreigners with no idea what was being said.  Then the pastor sat down and a woman that we would soon find out was his sister walked up to the pulpit from the front pew with a tambourine.  She led the congregation in singing in the Navajo language.  The first song was Amazing Grace; a song that means so much to so many people.  This was the point where God allowed me to cry.  I looked at Cindy and she was crying too – we were blessed to be here in God’s presence with a people who we didn’t know or understand – but it didn’t matter because God was with us and we were worshipping Him together. 

The pastor’s sister started making eye contact with us and started speaking in English, although it took us a moment to sense the change.  She looked at us and asked where we were from.  I stood up and told her we were from Northern California and she insisted that I go to the front to use the microphone and speak.  “Oh Lord, this is uncomfortable.”  I talked as if everyone could understand me although only a few could.  There happened to be a missionary there that day who was bilingual so he came up to the front with me and interpreted my story.  I shared with them where we were from, the word from God and that we pulled up exactly when the service was starting.  One native said something that sounded like “Praise the Lord.”  I went back to my seat and the worship continued.

We were there for about three hours.  The service was a series of songs led by different people who would go up from the audience and testimonies.  If the person could speak English they would speak first in Navajo, then look at us and say the same thing in English.  We were moved by the ‘sister’ that spoke of her brother, the pastor, as having never attended school and had been an alcoholic.  How they were given the building by a church in Texas and they just used it as a place to come and worship.  How basic and refreshing, I thought. 

Sometimes we were just sitting there listening to a testimony in Navajo.  It was a privilege to be there and we were thankful.  The visiting missionary gave the main message.  Like some others, he spoke in Navajo, then English.  The service ended with a time of financial giving and prayer time around a member who was struggling with her health.  But we didn’t really know what was going on because they were speaking only in Navajo.  The missionary came to us and told us we could leave.  We were shocked as we really wanted to stay and get to know some people. 

On our way out we talked with a few people who had already left the building.  They could speak English and were visitors.  It appeared that many in attendance were adult children of the locals.  They had moved off of the nation but came to the area on Sunday to attend church with their parents or grandparents.  We learned about other ‘untouched’ natives not far from the church.  I wanted to know more, but it was time to go.

We don’t know what’s next.  We don’t know if nothing is next.  Many people have heard our story and responded with comments that they believe the journey has ended.  “God said Bodaway, He has shown you the place, that’s a beautiful story.”  I feel like there is more to come.  Again, I’m struggling with being able to determine the difference between waiting on God without becoming complacent.  I’m learning more about the natives, more about giving my life to God, and being willing to give up everything in complete submission.  I’ve got lots of worldly baggage but we’re both coming to the point of understanding that we will not be content until our Lord has our all.

Saturday morning I woke up and went for a run.  It was early and beautiful.  I ran along the rim of the canyon praying the entire time.  

“Lead me Lord.  Open my eyes.  Thank you for the room.  Thank you for this great place.” 

I imagined the oceans of water that had passed through this canyon making mile-high cliffs.  How amazing.

We enjoyed a long morning at the Grand Canyon and then drove back to Flagstaff to meet with Steve Thompson and his family who were camping there.  It was a blessing as we sat around the campground with them.  Steve’s wife Becky is a physician and he is a full time missionary.  He has a jail ministry and builds hogans for the natives.  They were encouraging as we all shared.  Steve gave us a map that included the reservation roads which was nice.  Even though we were ready to head back toward Flagstaff or Phoenix, he encouraged us to go back to the Bodaway area and continue to pray that God would open our eyes.  This was a tremendous visit. 

Steve and Becky told us about some ruins about 17 miles from the campground and that there was going to be an evening tour later that night.  Cindy had wanted to see these ruins so we went back to town for a quick dinner and then drove to the Waputka monument for the evening tour.  It was another amazing night…in a volcanic crater touring the ruins of a native clan from hundreds of years earlier. 

The Thompson’s were there which was nice.  They went back to their RV and we headed North; encouraged to spend the night at the Cameron Trading Post so that we could be in the Bodaway area on Sunday.  We had planned on looking for the church that was mentioned on the vbs poster on the ice machine at the store in Gap.

After a very dark hour-long drive heading out of a crater, we arrived at the Cameron Trading Post; only to find that there were no rooms available. 

“God, are you kidding?” 

There was almost no one staying at this place the night before and now they were completely booked?  We were discouraged.  I hadn’t heard from the pastor from the church we had planned on attending and now there was no room at the only place we thought would be safe to stay.  So I called the airline and found out that we could fly home first thing the next morning.  We got back in the car and started heading south toward Phoenix.  It would be a long and late four-hour drive but we were missing our kids and it seemed that God had closed a door.  Since the flight home was readily available it seemed like this would be an open door for us to go home.

About five minutes into the drive I pulled over and we prayed again. As we prayed I thought about Jonah being called to Ninevah.  He really didn’t want to go or have a heart for the people.  He had chartered a boat which was a readily available escape; God could have allowed no boats be available for Jonah and force him to Ninevah.  But He didn’t.  He allowed Jonah to make a mistake; to take the easy way out.  I felt like I was taking the easy way out.  So late at night, on a deserted highway, we turned around (once again) and headed north…for Tuba City…to spend the night.  As it turned out, we found a hotel which was in Tuba City.  We were thankful.

We had an uneventful flight to Phoenix.  We arrived around 9:00 am on Friday and started driving toward Flagstaff and then Bodaway.  Phoenix was hot – no surprise.  But as we climbed out of the desert and into the mountains it cooled down.  We drove through some heavy rains during our two hour trip to Flagstaff.  We stopped to see some Indian ruins built into a hillside at Montezuma.  We made it to Flagstaff for lunch and noticed that many of the people around us were Native Americans. 

We left Flagstaff for Bodaway even though it wasn’t on the map.  The town on the map was called Gap and it would be about another hour and a half North.  As we left the beautiful forests and green valleys in Flagstaff, we dropped elevation into the high desert.  It was barren.  The only signs letting us know that we were entering the Navajo Nation were the house trailers in the distant sand baking the sun.  It was typical to see a trailer and several outbuildings encircled by many old cars off in the distance. These home sites were so spread out.  We didn’t notice at the time but many of the structures in the distance were actually hogans; small octagon-shaped homes which seem to be the traditional shelter design for the Navajos.

About an hour from Flagstaff was an intersection which led to the Grand Canyon.  Not far from the intersection was a place near a dry river named Cameron Trading Post. We stopped and walked around.  It was mostly a tourist stop for native arts and crafts and lots of Grand Canyon items.  I asked two natives about Bodaway.  The responses were:

“Oh…you mean Gap.  Up the road about 30 miles.”
 and “The only stop is at Gap but don’t blink or you’ll miss it.”

We continued on.  The 30 miles was more of the same.  We found Gap. 

 Gap consisted of a gas station on the right and a Laundromat/small store/post office all in an old building on the left.  We followed a small road to the Bodaway Gap chapter house and continued further to a newer school.  We parked at the store for awhile and just observed.  Then we drove down to the chapter house and parked, observing a series of portable buildings around a mobile home / office with several cars and people and dogs.  We were on the prowl for signs from God regarding this place called Bodaway – something that may indicate why we were there. 

We went back to the store and Cindy noticed a VBS poster taped on the ice machine outside the store.  The VBS had been held at Cedar Ridge Baptist Church.  We looked up the church on line and found an e-mail address for the pastor.  I e-mailed him to see about church services and really to see if we would be welcomed to join their Sunday worship.  I would wait for a reply.

We continued North about 10 miles to the place called Cedar Ridge.  Nothing about Bodaway there.  We visited the closest native ‘town’ near Bodaway / Gap called Tuba City.  Nothing about Bodaway there.

We ended up driving about an hour and a half to the Grand Canyon to spend the night.  We arrived just in time for a sunset at the first observation area.  What a nice time!  We enjoyed the cool wind and incredible views.  We visited a gift shop in a historic building just before it closed and then drove to the Grand Canyon Village for a room.  I had called ahead and there were plenty of rooms but upon arrival they had no vacancies anywhere in the park.  What a disappointment.  We ate dinner in one of the old lodges there and were planning a dark drive for about an hour and a half to the nearest vacancy in Williams, AZ.

After dinner we went outside and walked around.  Even in the darkness, this was an incredible place.  I was in awe at the moon lighting up the incredible sky and I praised God for His creation.  I told Him how nice it would be to stay at the park.  I assured my Lord that I was thankful because we were fortunate to have enough money for a hotel – He has blessed us.  But I couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be to stay at this great place and not have to drive away in the darkness.  I decided to go back in the hotel and ask if, by any chance, something had become available.  I found that a room HAD become available.  One room…in the entire park.  It was to be ours and we were praising our Lord.