Ann Marie (third from the right in the photo above) turned 15 in September. Mary and I are very proud of the young woman she has become. We used to give her "roles" in the ministry so she would have a "sense of ownership". Over the last year I've realized that I should give her opportunities to lead and serve because there are multiple areas where she is better at it than me! Her desire to teach and lead and serve is rooted in her deep love for the Lord and for the Yakama people. On top of all that, she is a talented writer. One of the best ways to see her love for the Lord and for some of our smallest neighbors is to read what she writes. I asked her if I could share some of her writing with you. Here it is.
Chris
KODA
I can’t remember the first time I met Koda. It’s almost as if I’ve known her my whole life, but the strange thing is that I can remember life without her. Life without Koda wasn’t hard, I didn’t feel as if there was a huge gap in my heart, but now, if I were to leave, life without Koda would be hard, and I would feel as if a huge gap had replaced the leap my heart gives every time I see her. She has grown up so fast, and she can’t remember her life before my family moved out. In her mind the Granberry’s have always lived on the Reservation. Most kids we work with had not heard the love of Christ before we moved out and they remember their life without Jesus kind of like I remember my life without Koda. But unlike my life without Koda they can remember a gap and a lack of hope in their life that only Jesus could fill. Koda is one of the fortunate children who have always heard of Jesus. She can’t remember a time in her life that she didn’t know of a God who loves her. She might know a time in her life where she lacked hope or when she was afraid but Jesus was still there. Every Tuesday night my family holds a Bible Study, it’s our baby church. Koda’s family comes. When Koda sees me she comes to me and begs me to hold her. Sometimes we will run around tickling people and other times we will just sit quietly and color. Koda is a perfect example of child like faith. Her life has been rough; her family has had some really tough times. But I have always seen Koda joyful and excited. Without even speaking to me she has encouraged and inspired me.
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”- Mark 5:34
Dear Lord,
I come to you now with much thanksgiving in my heart. Thank you so much for this amazing child who has been such a blessing to so many people. Thank you that she has the gift of joy. Thank you that she is able to minister to people. I pray for Koda as she grows up so quickly, that you will protect her and lead her. I pray that she will always know your love even through the chaos she will encounter in life. I thank you for filling the unknown gap in my life.
Amen.
ALEXA
Koda’s older sister is named Alexa. Alexa is the sweetest thing in the world. She is so full of hugs. Alexa does not speak to often. She knows how but she chooses not to. For two years now I have taught a few kids at a program called AWANA. They hold a very small AWANA in Harrah, a town three miles from my house. God has blessed me with some amazing experiences while teaching there. I was extremely privileged to watch and teach Alexa. Her mind is so sharp. She struggles with memorizing and reading sometimes but you can see the wheels turning. I enjoy teaching for many reasons but the main reason is that teaching, in some ways, is like putting together a puzzle. Each child learns in a different way and I love trying to find that way. Alexa’s way of learning is adding sign language to the memory section. After figuring out the best way for Alexa to learn it was off to the races. We flew through the book. My heart gave a leap every time she said a verse to me without any help. Which became more and more often.
“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants” - Deuteronomy 32:2
Dear Father in Heaven,
Thank you for your word and thank you for giving us minds that can memorize your word. I pray that as Alexa and I studied those verses that she became closer to you. Thank you for your different children who each have different ways that they can learn. People say that actions speak louder than words and so Father I thank you for this young lady who speaks little but hugs much. Thank you for those hugs Lord.
Amen.
CYNDEL
My heart seems to leap up a lot out here. But mainly it leaps when I see a child that I love. A child like Koda or a child like Alexa or a child like Cyndel. Cyndel lives in Totus Park, which is the neighborhood where our family and the teams we bring out hold the Kids Club. Usually when I enter Totus for Kids Club, Cyndel is already outside playing. But no matter what she is doing, when she sees me she runs to my arms. This is when my heart leaps up. I am lucky that Cyndel is not heavy, other words I would never be able to carry her around as much as she would like me to. As soon as she gets to me, I have to pick her up and I have to hold her for the rest of the time that I am with her. Cyndel loves three things in life, being held, bubbles and listening to stories. Cyndel loves to listen to the Bible stories that the teams tell when they come. She will sit in my lap and listen intently to the story and when it’s over she’ll turn around and retell it to me as if I wasn’t there to hear it with her.. As I sit in the dirt at Totus and cuddle this girl in my lap I watch her as she listens and I watch her as she eats her little snack and I know that she understands. This little girl understands the love of Christ. She, like Koda, has known my family her whole life. I don’t know what she experiences when she is at home, but when she comes to Kids Club she has fun and she feels safe and she knows she is loved. This little girl has ministered and given so much to me, and though it seems priceless all I have to do to repay her is to hold her, blow bubbles with her and listen to her tell me stories.
“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”- 1 Samuel 3:9
Dear Heavenly Father,
I hold so much love in my heart for this little girl. Please keep her safe as she finds her way through her life. Thank you that she ministers to people without words. Thank you for bubbles and the joy that they bring to Cyndel and to other children. Thank you for Cyndel’s heart which is so sweet and her mind which is so bright. I thank you for your priceless gift, the gift of your Son.
Amen.
JUSTINE
Cyndel’s older sister is Justine. Justine is such a beautiful girl. She’s the type of girl whose smile will literally brighten up your whole day. When we play at Totus Park it is easy for your hands to get dirty. Many of the young girls at Totus know that when their hands get dirty, whether its mud or finger paint or whatever, that they can come to me and I will let them wipe their hands on my pants. This all started when a team brought finger paints to Totus. It was a really cold day out at Totus, so, even though it was fun to finger paint, all of the kids were freezing as they stood there with wet paint up to their elbows. We got some water and rinsed every ones hands off but no one had anything to dry them on. Justine came up to me shivering uncontrollably. She had a sweater but she had rolled the sleeves up as high as they could go sot that they wouldn’t get paint on them. I stood there, looking at her and wondering what I could do. Then I looked down and saw my dirty work pants. “Why don’t you dry your hands off on my pants?” I asked Justine. She looked up at me. Her large eyes twinkled a little and her beautiful smile began to spread across her face. She began to dry her hands. When she was all dry we rolled down her sleeves and she started to warm up. Many of the other kids had witnessed this event and soon began to crowd me and beg me to let them dry off too. Pretty soon all hands were dry. Since that day my pants have been known as the perfect hand towel.
“He who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.” - Job 17:9
Father God,
We see in your scriptures many passages telling us to be pure, pure in heart, pure in soul, pure in mind.
Thank you for sending your Son to purify us and to cleanse not only our hands but everything about us. I pray for Justine that she will see this amazing gift and I pray that she will ask you to purify her heart. Keep her safe Father. I pray that I will minister to these children and that through a cold day, and that through finger paint or mud that they will see your love through me.
Amen.
LATISHA
It seems unfair to me that one girl would have to go through so much pain and suffering and loss. Seeing a person who has been through loss makes my heart sink. My heart tries to reach out to them, but every time it seems to melt until it’s too hard for me to hold on and then I’m stuck not knowing how to comfort them. One of the many people we know who has suffered from pain and loss is Latisha. Almost a year ago Latisha was in a car accident. Of all the people in the car Latisha’s mom was the only one that lost her life. One Tuesday night at our Bible study I got to talk with Latisha. I asked her how she had been doing lately. She looked at me for the first time that night and I saw the exhaustion and the sorrow behind her once bright eyes. My heart sank as she began to tell me how she had been since the accident. She told me about the nightmares she had been having, how she didn’t know what to do about them. “I’ve tried dream catchers,” she explained, “but they just don’t work.” I sat there and slipped up a silent prayer to heaven. “Have you prayed?” I asked. Latisha looked at me. “I’ve tried,” she replied, “but my mom hasn’t answered.” I was at a loss for words. How could I tell this girl that she couldn’t pray to her mom without deeply cutting her? I carefully tried to explain that it was okay if she talked to her mom but the only one she could really pray to was God. By God’s grace what I said she listened to and she understood what I meant. With a troubled look Latisha asked me, “How can I talk to God? He’s so powerful, how could He understand. And I wouldn‘t know what to say!” I explained to Latisha that God was a God who loved her and was always there for her. Now her eyes shone with a new hope. The pain and loss was still there but knowing that she was still loved and that she was not alone helped. We prayed together and then she went to do a craft. That night the craft was coloring on pillowcases. As I sat down an idea came to me and I picked up a pillowcase. On the pillowcase I wrote a prayer. Later that night I gave the pillowcase with the prayer to Latisha. That way whenever she woke up with another nightmare she could have the prayer right on her pillow. Latisha went home with a renewed faith, and a renewed hope. My heart leaped at the thought that peace had been restored to this suffering child.
“He will respond to the prayers of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”- Psalm 102:17
Dear Father,
Thank you for listening to the prayers of your children. Thank you for giving us comfort and hope and faith. I pray for Latisha, she has seen so much sorrow in her short life Lord, I pray that you will cover her with your love and that she will know you are there with her. I pray that her nightmares will come to a cease and that she will sleep in complete peace.
Amen.
