Bodaway

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.