by Emily Wagner, EM Summer Staff on the Navajo Reservation
It's so awesome that so many people from all around the country have felt the call from the Lord to come work and live on the Rez with us this summer. What a blessing it is that this summer is filled with teams coming to serve Pastor JR, House of Joy Church, the Navajo people and the community out here. I can see joy shining through him that he has so many individuals out here working and partnering with the Navajo people, and that many teams this year are returning teams that have come to serve Black Mesa before. We love seeing these teams form bonds and deepen relationships with JR and the community members here. It's such a representation of how Christ loves us: continuously and relentlessly. We're just excited as a staff team to be a part of sharing our hearts for Black Mesa and the Rez with those who come each week, hoping that they see and experience our love for this place and leave a part of their hearts here as well.
This week was such an awesome depiction of how Black Mesa takes hold of our hearts. Our Summer Staff team mate Shelby left us for the week, so it was just Kyler and I over here in Black Mesa, Arizona. Everyone on the mission trip team worked so hard on the construction projects and served people with a cheerful and willing attitude. For one team, some of their members had been to Black Mesa before and were eager to return to the area to serve JR and the community. For the other team, most of the group had never even been to the southwest U.S., so coming here was a radically new experience for them.
Outhouses, no running water, rattlesnakes, dry heat, and dust. These were some of the unknowns that became known last week. For some of the students, it was tough. They mentioned that some of them had never left their home state, had never used an outhouse, had never gone without a shower for a day. But oh, did we change that.
One of my favorite things about having teams come serve out here is sharing with them a life of simplicity, and challenging them to focus their hearts and minds on other things besides what they might eat or wear, or how fast they can get things done.
Rez life is challenging and uncomfortable.
It's hot here, we're without running water and have to haul all our water in 5-gallon buckets, and the Summer Staff store all of our belongings in two small plastic bins. We have very few possessions here: we re-wear outfits on the reg and take one shower a week. We use outhouses and eat the same eight meals each week (two different breakfasts, the same lunches, and five different dinners). It's not easy, but it gives me the chance to focus on the more important things in life, like the people I'm with and the way that I spend my time.
There is a beauty in the simplicity of Rez life.
Simplicity in unimportant things makes room for greater depth and intricacy in relationships. Material simplicity is uncomfortable, especially when society drives materialism deep into our psyches. But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to be intimate in our relationships, intentional in our conversations, and intense in our love. That means uncomfortable. We are certainly not going to be comfortable if we follow the Lord's call for our lives, but we can be content. We can find joy and peace in uncomfortable circumstances when we rely on the Lord's strength, provision, and protection, and in this the Lord is also pleased with us.
Coming to the Navajo Reservation this summer was not comfortable, nor was I at first content with the Lord's placement for me here. But I have found a sort of peace here, a joy in trusting the Lord and delighting in the unknown and unexpected blessings that come along with it. I ask God each day to make me content, but never comfortable. Comfort is a place that we land when we are focused on ourselves and our own abilities. It is in the uncomfortable, the unexplored, where God moves through us to do amazing things. He will give us peace and fulfillment when we go out to meet him in the deepest waters of life.
God is working and doing big things here in Black Mesa, but he also works right in front of us—every day, every moment is an opportunity to hear and respond to his call. It is a chance to live out the mission of everyday life: loving God and loving people.
LEARN MORE | Bring your team on a 2016 Mission Trip to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona
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