Arizona Thoughts

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I'm still trying to process all that God did and showed on this trip.

First and foremost, this trip was about relationships for me. I didn't hammer a nail or paint a stroke. What I did do was sit and listen, wipe runny noses, hug little children, glue puffy dots on paper and smile at people who couldn't understand a word I was saying.

I think this trip for me emphasized more than any other that God cares about people way more than projects or programs. The TO nation is made up of some wonderful people who need Jesus more than any indoor toilet, five-room house or working pencil. They need someone to listen to their heartache, love them for who they are and share Jesus with them.

I'd like to share about the people. Of course, First Papago wouldn't function as it does without Jay Juan, their local pastor. This is a man who loves the Lord and loves the TO people. He firmly believes spiritual renewal in the Native American population is going to come through the work of the people in his little faith family. Then there's Julie. This woman is simply amazing. When she hears of a need, she doesn't call someone else for help, she gets a prayer team up (sometimes it's just her) and she goes and prays over and with people. She is a spiritual warrior. Cheryl is much the same way. She knows the problems of her people and spends much time in prayer beseeching the Father on their behalf. If only my prayer life was as faithful! Then there's Yolanda. She greeted me on Sunday with the words "what a great surprise! I didn't know you were coming!" Talk about making me feel welcome and wanted. I love this lady. She has such a heart for the children of the nation and will drive an hour on Sundays to bring Sunday School lessons to kids in a village with no indoor plumbing.

Then there are all the other people we spent time ministering to: Frank, Angelita, Martina, Rosita, Del Raya, Alia, Micah, Shorty, Andrew, Pete, Agnes, Mabel, Josephine Y., Josephine M., Priscilla, Elliot, Miah, Mike, Tim and many more. This is why I go and where my passion is.

There are also some special people that my heart hurts for and why my passion is so strong for this area. One such lady is Josie. Josie is a believer but has struggled lately with alcohol abuse. Right now, she has 15 people living in her house. And we're talking 1000 square feet people. Josie also has baby Felicia who rocks my world. If she's around, she's usually in my arms. Anyone who knows me isn't at all surprised. :-) Be in prayer for Josie. She knows the right way but addiction is hard. Pray God works in her life in miraculous ways. K, Nessa and Kayla are another family. K is the leader of the Bloods on the reservation and is struggling to turn his life around. He's so close to taking the final step to trust in Christ as his Lord and Savior. And let me tell you, once he takes that step, watch out! God will use him as a force to be reckoned with on that reservation. Nessa is his girlfriend and Kayla is their adorable 7 month old baby girl. Pray for this sweet family. Pray a hedge of protection around K that his gang activity won't take his life or his freedom.

I hope in this post you can see my heart. This is a group of people that I could talk for ages about. I LOVE these people. I would move tomorrow if I could. In fact, I'm looking at job opportunities out there right now. Jay Juan and First Papago need people to help walk alongside them and spread the love of Jesus to the TO Nation. Who better than me?

P.S. Pictures will come when I'm on my home computer. :-)

Funny picture...

Okay, I understand being a fan and all but shouldn't you be able to spell the cheer correctly??? I took this picture myself last night on the way home from the library. The guy had plenty of room to put an "e" on the end. Who knows, maybe he ran out of tape...

Home From Arizona

I'm home from Arizona, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I have way too much to say in one post so I won't even get started tonight. I do want to say thank you to all those who prayed for the trip. You will never know how much those prayers mean to me and to those who are still working on the ground in AZ. I will have lots of pictures and stories to share once I feel up to it. For those who don't know, I brought a respiratory virus home with me as a souvenier. The baby girl I developed a special bond with last October was sick and I still couldn't resist snuggling with her. Oh well, I'll live and she'll remember the love I gave. Can't beat that. But, after working all day, I come home too tired to put too many coherent sentences together. :-) I promise I will post more when my brain is working on all cylinders.

Praises!!

Two wonderful praises to report on this rainy Wednesday. Yesterday my best friend delivered a healthy baby boy. Alex is just precious and a very cute baby. Then this morning, I got news that a family friend who's been in Iraq for 14 months is home early. Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched this morning!

Changes to the Blog and other random thoughts...

Thanks to my friend Nadia, I found a great site (thecutestblogontheblock.com) that has great backgrounds. I can finally change with the seasons!! Thanks Nadia!! It probably has lots of other benefits that I haven't found yet but I'm still new to this blogging thing. :-)

I will probably continue to blog with my usual randomness. I like the stream of consciousness writing that blogging allows. I can also vent thoughts and frustrations. Sometimes that's the downside to being single and living alone. The cat doesn't talk back and can't affirm my weird thoughts. So, I post them in cyberspace for my readers to comment on.

On that note, is anybody else as peeved with Congress and the president as I am? I KNEW they couldn't follow through with their earlier vote. The cowards. Whatever happened to statesmen? Do they suck out your brains after you've traveled the underground tram so many times??

I think I'm not voting for a single incumbent this year. I know God is sovereign over the upcoming election and I'm not worried about finances, I'm just mad as hell that my elected representatives have heard what we've said as Americans and completely DISREGRARDED it. What nerve! On some scale, this must be what the colonists felt like when they revolted. Too bad most voters in our country are more concerned with American Idol and Entertainment Tonight than they are with starting a new revolution.

Radical, Part 2

We had a wonderful time in small group last night. I was teaching but that's not what made it wonderful. I had been really troubled the last couple of weeks with our discussions of the Radical series. We were getting caught up in who's more radical than I am, what can I give up, etc. and I was afraid people were going to get so discouraged they would give up. So, we took a giant step back last night and I thought it was wonderful the way the Holy Spirit led us in discussion and brought up around to the idea that being Radical is all about being more like Christ. It's not about what you give up, what you do or who you do or don't impress, it's about dying to self and being more like Christ. That alone will lead us to re-evaluate our "stuff."

That all being said, I'm working through what that looks like in my own life. I don't have lots of stuff. I don't think He's calling me to sell my TV but I do think He's calling me to re-evaluate how I use my stuff. I've been convicted about a certain show that I watch that I will no longer be watching. Grey's Anatomy is one of the worst shows on network TV when it comes to Christian values. I'd been thinking that for a while but last week's presentation of an openly gay relationship was the tipping point for me. So, it's out of my DVR line-up. That frees up an additional 42 minutes per week and I'm praying that I don't find some other mindless drivel to fill those 42 minutes.

One prayer request for my faithful readers...I need a no-cost extension on my grant project to allow us to use the money awarded past the end of the grant period. It should be fairly straight-forward but the "deadline" for applying for this with CDC was April 1, 2008. Um, hello? How was I supposed to know in APRIL that in September the money wouldn't all be spent? Typical government! :-) I do have an e-mail in to the program officer to see if this can be resolved. I know God is bigger than government beaucracies and I need Him to show it. Thanks for the prayers!!