So I know that in the blogging world, I’ve been a little MIA lately…. These past 3 weeks have been indescribable. If I tried to put every experience, moment, relationship, and struggle into words, I know I’d in no way do my time here justice. There have been days where I’ve been discouraged and hurt, there have been times where I’ve questioned my sanity… but without fail, I’ve daily felt the presence of God pressing me on, whispering that I’m where I need to be. Although it’s a bit early to think about looking back on our time spent on the Rez, I am confident that besides all the friendships that I have formed, one day in particular will jump out from my memory. Telling you about that day is how I’m choosing to sum up the past three weeks.
Tuesday, July 24
Our whole team travelled to Bisti, New Mexico to spend time with people from Rodger Deal Memorial Baptist Church, who now seem like old friends. Instead of spending time serving their needs, Rhonda (the pastor’s wife and glue of the church) took us sight seeing to get a new perspective of the Rez. We started the day at a genuine trading post, stocked with everything from Coke to hand-crafted Navajo rugs to jewelry. Though it was very modernized, it gave me a view of what things could have been like not too long ago. Not to mention, this post was likely the closest semblance of a grocery stores for tens of miles.
Then we got super touristy and ventured over to 4 Corners: the place where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona all meet at a single spot, so you can essentially be in 4 places at once. I think if Shane West had really loved Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, he would have taken her there. Being in two places at once is nothing when you could be in four.
Later, we drove to Shiprock which is a giant rock formation that apparently looks like a ship. It looks like a rock to me. A really cool, big rock…. but a rock nonetheless. Anyway, people from the area believe Shiprock to be sacred, so no one climbs it. We did, however, climb the “spine” which was a trail of smaller rocks leading to Shiprock itself. We took so many goofy and awesome pictures. One of my favorite moments was when the wind just started going crazy while we were at the top of this spine. I just sat down and started giggling. Everyone looked completely ridiculous, I felt completely ridiculous, and the wind was just completely ridiculous. One of the ways I feel God comforting me and speaking to me is the wind. I don’t know if I watched Pocahontas too many times as a child or what, but I always feel closer to God in the wind. The lack of control of my body reminds me that God is really in control. The strong force that seems to come from nowhere tells me God is there always.
Standing on this giant rock formation, with 11 people I now hold so dearly, wind blowing at full force, was a blissful moment.
Unfortunately, we had to run back to the van right after that… but I remember being so overwhelmed by the thought, “I am so happy to be here. I’m so thankful and glad that each person on this team is here.” I am grateful that God allowed me to feel that, since I tend to forget to count my blessings of friendships. At that moment, I felt more completeness, blessings, and love than I think I ever have.
We went back to the church for a night of Rez Hottubbing. Rhonda, Sam (an amazing EM intern), and Leroy (pastor) filled tarp-lined produce boxes with hot water from the well. When I say this water was hot, I mean it felt like you’d turn into soup if you stayed in for too long. We tried cooling it down with frozen water bottles, we waited, & every 5 minutes a new brave soul would say, “It’s not that bad…. I’ll get in….” which resulted in 10 seconds of “Oh wow this really is hot!” Before jumping out. We were all waiting for this experience to start… but it was So. Dang. Hot. I like to think that to keep us occupied, and maybe to just show off a little bit, God whipped up one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. The sky looked like it was on fire. Then, the rain came. A freezing, sudden, downpour. But alas, the water was still too hot. We squealed at how cold the rain was, huddled together, and tried to get in again. Finally, Lindsey braved the heat, got in the tub, and sat down. Beast. One by one, we followed her swift movements into the water. I think I lost all feeling in my feet for a while… but I will never forget that night. It was a moment of pure joy, uninhibited laughter, and just a hint of insanity.
All in all, I’m counting myself blessed to be here. God’s been showing up in big ways, and I know he’s going to protect us on the next leg of our journey. Oh yeah…. AFRICA IN 3 DAYS!!!!! This is real life folks. Can’t. Stinkin. Wait.
lovefromafrica 