by Elisabeth Jones, EM Summer Staff on the Navajo Reservation
A big part of our summer has been moving. Each week so far my fellow EM Summer Staff-ers and I have been at a different location working with different community partners. This provides us the privilege of meeting new people and constantly seeing new aspects of the Reservation. Each of our hosts so far have been a blessing, each in their own very unique way.
We started our time on the Rez with JR in Black Mesa, AZ.
JR pastors a church called The House of Joy. There really couldn't be a better name for this place and this man. JR has shown me that there is joy everywhere, if we only let ourselves accept it. Just today, we got to spend some time with him and though our team was absolutely worn out after a long week, JR had us just sit around a table and enjoy each others company. Whether it was laughing at a silly joke of his or simply listening him share about his life, he always leaves us with uncontrollable smiles.
Next, we moved over to Bisti, NM, and met Rhonda.
Rhonda is a complete ball of energy. It's amazing.
She's the wife of the pastor at Roger Deal Memorial Church in Bisti. One of the first things she taught us to do was ask her, "Rhonda, how big is your God?" if she was ever in a place of difficulty. This is a question I need to ask myself more often. This summer has challenged me to take on a ton of responsibility, there seems to always be situations where I'm not 100% sure what the next step is, and that can be stressful. But really that puts God into a box. It's His work we're doing, and He is big enough and great enough to work all things together for His good.
Then we moved onto Twin Pines, NM, where we met Harry and Blanche.
Harry and Blanche both work full-time jobs in addition to running a church. Harry is a school bus driver, and Blanche is a hostess at a restaurant in the local casino. Due to this, our time with them was sparse, but incredibly valuable. Katy and I got to spend time with Blanche on one of her off nights while she helped prepare Fry Bread for our team. She explained a lot about herself and her current situation, but out of all the hardships she has endured and is enduring, she asked us repeatedly and specifically to pray that she would be able to spend more time with her church. Her desire to be there for her husband and her congregation awed me. She truly desires to serve God above all else. She knows wholeheartedly that He will provide for her if she follows him completely. I can only hope to have this much faith as I grow in my relationship with Christ.
Finally, we spent this past week in To'koi, NM with Herman and Marie.
Herman and Marie were both incredibly hospitable to us, but what stood out to me was their faith in prayer. Herman was constantly talking about spending time with the Lord. This struck me because this summer I feel that I have sometimes sacrificed time with the Lord because of skewed priorities. Herman taught me that there is absolutely nothing more important than being intentional about talking with God. He shared countless stories of God's provision, and all of them included a conversation with God. I've been reminded that prayer is a crucial building block of our relationship with God. If I desire to grow, I must pray.
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