Camp High Rock - One week overnight camp in the Cascades. Hosted by Liberty Bay PCA, Harrah Community Church, and Sacred Road!
Building Jack Spencer's scaffold on the Columbia River
The Sacred Road Staff, Summer Interns, and Granberry Family
We have been on the Yakama Indian Reservation now for six months and I have spent the last couple of days thinking about how grateful I am to each of you for your generosity and love of God. I want to tell you of how your support has paid for a fun evening of bowling with some Yakama teenagers, or supplies to draw fishermen as we talk about Jesus calling his disciples. However, I have been struck this week how your support is buying diapers for Isaac and school supplies for Asha. I am humbled by and grateful for each one of you.
I am sorry that it has been so long since our last update. The summer has been a whirlwind of challenges and opportunities and a beautiful picture of how God’s kingdom continues to grow here. I have started a number of updates but didn’t finish them - sometimes from fatigue and sometimes from a simple loss of words. We have seen fires and more friends hurt by the suicide of a family member, but also great testimonies to God’s redemptive power. In all of it we continue to try and follow our great shepherd and be where he leads.
We are all doing well. Neena and I both continue to adjust to our new roles - me as a youth ministry director and Neena as a stay at home mom with a five year old and new infant. We continue to fall more deeply in love with our team here - the Granberrys, Veronica, Heather, Emily and Gretchen and now Mike Shaw, who has just arrived.
Asha is getting ready to start the first grade at Camas Elementary in September and is really enjoying her role as big sister. She especially enjoyed our visit from Aunt Mona and Uncle Michael last week and built a mermaid cave with Aunt Mona.
Isaac just passed 100 days old. He continues to get bigger and has started smiling at all of us - especially his big sister. However, he still enjoys waking us up at least once during the night to eat.
I have a lot to share about the summer and I don't want to send a huge email - so I have included some thoughts below with links to our blog with more information and pictures. Just clink on the links to read more.
Youth ministry:
It has been really exciting and challenging as we have sought to share the gospel, the teachings of Christ, and the gospel of Mark itself without any of our cultural trappings. The kids constantly surprise us with their good questions and we hope that they will find their hope in Gods grace.
With the beginning of the summer, we moved the youth group meetings to coincide with the Bible Study at the Long House on Tuesday night. During the last few weeks we have been studying the book of Mark with 12-15 youth. It has been really exciting and challenging as we have sought to share the gospel, the teachings of Christ, and the gospel of Mark itself without any of our cultural trappings. The kids constantly surprise us with their good questions and we hope that they will find their hope in Gods grace.
We also had our first youth “event” as we took twelve youth on a bowling trip in the city of Yakima. I can’t describe how wonderful it was to see the kids God has given us just relaxing, eating nachos and having fun. It felt like we were actually beginning to define ourselves as a group. The girls on our staff have worked really hard with the some of the young girls to begin building real relationships and it really showed that night. It was amazing to see God’s glory in a bowling alley when, in truth, none of us were very good bowlers.
Camp High Rock:
Camp High Rock was a great success!!! (See group photo above) Thanks to many of you for donating extra funds to cover camp expenses. We ended up getting more help than we needed so that we have some funds to put toward next year’s camp.
Camp was great for me as I had never really done the church camp experience. It was amazing to see so many of the kids we work with on the Reservation get away from the chaos in their lives and be able to have fun, feel safe and hear about Jesus throughout the day. In the chapel talks, cabin devotions, singalong songs, and interactions with their counselors - these children were experiencing the love of Christ in virtually everything they did. It was wonderful to see how so many of them responded so well to just having some stability in their daily routine especially three good meals and enough sleep at night.
Part of my responsibility at camp was to watch and see how we might run a youth camp next year for the older kids. I had the privilege of leading teen devotions every night around the campfire for some teens who had come to help serve meals and help out in general. It was a wonderful time and I wonder if all small groups wouldn’t be better with toasted marshmallows.
Teams and Interns:
One of the real treats of the summer was working with the summer interns (see photo of staff and interns, on Mt. Rainer, above) and the visiting teams from churches. Participating with a summer team was the experience that God used to call Neena and I to the Reservation, so it was interesting to see the teams from the staff side of the fence.
It is amazing to see how many people come from Mississippi, California, Washington, Kanas City, etc. and love on our friends in White Swan. We had five team weeks this summer with an average of 45 people per team. Each week, we did two new roofs and painted two houses - sometimes the same house would get a new paint job and roof. We also did some light carpentry and chopped firewood - I got to help build a wheelchair ramp. Then in the afternoon, we did Kids Club at two housing projects - Totus Park and Adams View Park.
Chris has said that we are fighting a war with the enemy but our weapons are paint brushes and jump ropes. If you can imagine an army of love armed with roof shingles and bubble wands, that is exactly what ot looked like.
We had seven interns and Uncle Dave working with all summer as well. Uncle Dave is a contractor that has driven up from Florida for the past three years to coordinate all of the work projects. It was a true blessing getting to know Uncle Dave and watch him mentor the male interns. His presence on the work sites was a blessing to everyone there.
The interns: Mark Shaw, Luke Irwin, Joshua Tsavtewa, Scot Burnett, Sadie Corbet, Janel Corbet and Rebekah Griffin were all amazing as well. They worked so hard in the hot summer but managed to be a lot of fun to be with as well. Mark, in particular, was a great help to me in the youth meetings with the guys. But each one brought a particular gift to the team and I am thankful to God for each of them. It was hard saying goodbye when they all returned home.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:21-24 (NIV)
Dear faithful friends and family,
We have been on the Yakama Indian Reservation now for six months and I have spent the last couple of days thinking about how grateful I am to each of you for your generosity and love of God. I want to tell you of how your support has paid for a fun evening of bowling with some Yakama teenagers, or supplies to draw fishermen as we talk about Jesus calling his disciples. However, I have been struck this week how your support is buying diapers for Isaac and school supplies for Asha. I am humbled by and grateful for each one of you.
I am sorry that it has been so long since our last update. The summer has been a whirlwind of challenges and opportunities and a beautiful picture of how God’s kingdom continues to grow here. I have started a number of updates but didn’t finish them - sometimes from fatigue and sometimes from a simple loss of words. We have seen fires and more friends hurt by the suicide of a family member, but also great testimonies to God’s redemptive power. In all of it we continue to try and follow our great shepherd and be where he leads.
We are all doing well. Neena and I both continue to adjust to our new roles - me as a youth ministry director and Neena as a stay at home mom with a five year old and new infant. We continue to fall more deeply in love with our team here - the Granberrys, Veronica, Heather, Emily and Gretchen and now Mike Shaw, who has just arrived.
Asha is getting ready to start the first grade at Camas Elementary in September and is really enjoying her role as big sister. She especially enjoyed our visit from Aunt Mona and Uncle Michael last week and built a mermaid cave with Aunt Mona.
Isaac just passed 100 days old. He continues to get bigger and has started smiling at all of us - especially his big sister. However, he still enjoys waking us up at least once during the night to eat.
I have a lot to share about the summer and I don't want to send a huge email - so I have included some thoughts below with links to our blog with more information and pictures. Just clink on the links to read more.
Youth ministry:
It has been really exciting and challenging as we have sought to share the gospel, the teachings of Christ, and the gospel of Mark itself without any of our cultural trappings. The kids constantly surprise us with their good questions and we hope that they will find their hope in Gods grace.
With the beginning of the summer, we moved the youth group meetings to coincide with the Bible Study at the Long House on Tuesday night. During the last few weeks we have been studying the book of Mark with 12-15 youth. It has been really exciting and challenging as we have sought to share the gospel, the teachings of Christ, and the gospel of Mark itself without any of our cultural trappings. The kids constantly surprise us with their good questions and we hope that they will find their hope in Gods grace.
We also had our first youth “event” as we took twelve youth on a bowling trip in the city of Yakima. I can’t describe how wonderful it was to see the kids God has given us just relaxing, eating nachos and having fun. It felt like we were actually beginning to define ourselves as a group. The girls on our staff have worked really hard with the some of the young girls to begin building real relationships and it really showed that night. It was amazing to see God’s glory in a bowling alley when, in truth, none of us were very good bowlers.
Camp High Rock:
Camp High Rock was a great success!!! (See group photo above) Thanks to many of you for donating extra funds to cover camp expenses. We ended up getting more help than we needed so that we have some funds to put toward next year’s camp.
Camp was great for me as I had never really done the church camp experience. It was amazing to see so many of the kids we work with on the Reservation get away from the chaos in their lives and be able to have fun, feel safe and hear about Jesus throughout the day. In the chapel talks, cabin devotions, singalong songs, and interactions with their counselors - these children were experiencing the love of Christ in virtually everything they did. It was wonderful to see how so many of them responded so well to just having some stability in their daily routine especially three good meals and enough sleep at night.
Part of my responsibility at camp was to watch and see how we might run a youth camp next year for the older kids. I had the privilege of leading teen devotions every night around the campfire for some teens who had come to help serve meals and help out in general. It was a wonderful time and I wonder if all small groups wouldn’t be better with toasted marshmallows.
Teams and Interns:
One of the real treats of the summer was working with the summer interns (see photo of staff and interns, on Mt. Rainer, above) and the visiting teams from churches. Participating with a summer team was the experience that God used to call Neena and I to the Reservation, so it was interesting to see the teams from the staff side of the fence.
It is amazing to see how many people come from Mississippi, California, Washington, Kanas City, etc. and love on our friends in White Swan. We had five team weeks this summer with an average of 45 people per team. Each week, we did two new roofs and painted two houses - sometimes the same house would get a new paint job and roof. We also did some light carpentry and chopped firewood - I got to help build a wheelchair ramp. Then in the afternoon, we did Kids Club at two housing projects - Totus Park and Adams View Park.
Chris has said that we are fighting a war with the enemy but our weapons are paint brushes and jump ropes. If you can imagine an army of love armed with roof shingles and bubble wands, that is exactly what ot looked like.
We had seven interns and Uncle Dave working with all summer as well. Uncle Dave is a contractor that has driven up from Florida for the past three years to coordinate all of the work projects. It was a true blessing getting to know Uncle Dave and watch him mentor the male interns. His presence on the work sites was a blessing to everyone there.
The interns: Mark Shaw, Luke Irwin, Joshua Tsavtewa, Scot Burnett, Sadie Corbet, Janel Corbet and Rebekah Griffin were all amazing as well. They worked so hard in the hot summer but managed to be a lot of fun to be with as well. Mark, in particular, was a great help to me in the youth meetings with the guys. But each one brought a particular gift to the team and I am thankful to God for each of them. It was hard saying goodbye when they all returned home.
Jack Spencer:
There was one special day with the team from Highlands in Mississippi when we were asked by Jack Spencer if we could help repair his fishing scaffold (see photo above) on the Columbia River. There had been a big wind earlier in the week and it had knocked it down. About fifteen of us loaded up and drove down to the river and met Jack. It was a short drive on a dirt road along side some train tracks to Jack’s spot. None of us really knew how to build a scaffold in the river, but by the grace of God and some trial and error, we got a structure up.
Jack kept after me to take lots of pictures and telling me that we were making history. You probably have heard some of Jack and how he wants to give 80 acres of his land to Sacred Road to build a church on. Jack’s role in the community is someone who gathers traditional food (like the salmon) and brings them to ceremonies and gatherings. So you can see, for Jack, fishing isn’t just a fun activity on the weekend. He spends almost the entire summer on the river. When the new scaffold was up, he was visibly moved. He wants Chris to get a plaque to put on it with Sacred Road’s logo and a bible verse so that whenever someone uses it they will know it was built by Christians.
Jack told many of the teams of his newfound belief that it was possible to be an Indian and a Christian. He talked about his first meeting with Chris and Mary and how everyone told him that the white people always wanted to take something. Jack is a very visible symbol of how God is working on the Reservation through Sacred Road.
Prayer Requests
Our lease on the home we have been staying in ends Sept 30 and the owners really want to sell it. We have an option to buy, but have not been able to sell our home in Chattanooga. We really like this neighborhood and have made some friends here so we are exploring what our options are. Please pray that God would make it clear where the best place for us to be is and that we would have peace about it.
Please pray for all of our team adjusting to the new pace of the fall. We will have some challenges in trying to do some of the things we want to, but without the help of the eight additional people we had over the summer.
Please pray for Asha as she starts first grade in September. She is nervous about it and so are Neena and I. Please pray for wisdom for us as we try to get Asha more involved in the ministry - it sometimes requires patience, silence and understanding, things that don’t always come easily to her.
Please pray for Chris’ back - it has been giving him a lot of trouble all summer.
Please pray for some relationships that I am developing with three teenagers that are coming to youth group.
Please continue to pray for financial support for all us out here as the economy has impacted our giving. We know that God will provide.
Please let me know if you would like to be on the Sacred Road mailing list as well as our own update list.
Links:
http://www.rustlings.com - our blog
http://www.sacredroadministries.com
http://sacredroadyakama.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/SacredRoad#play/uploads/5/KkpYPl6iMwE - Sacred Road videos
Address:
The Clevengers (for mail)
155 Kamiakin Avenue
Wapato, Washington 98951
Sacred Road Ministries (for support)
22116 SE 51st Place
Issaquah, WA 98029-9221
God Bless each of you.
Love,
Chuck, Neena, Asha and Isaac
Jack kept after me to take lots of pictures and telling me that we were making history. You probably have heard some of Jack and how he wants to give 80 acres of his land to Sacred Road to build a church on. Jack’s role in the community is someone who gathers traditional food (like the salmon) and brings them to ceremonies and gatherings. So you can see, for Jack, fishing isn’t just a fun activity on the weekend. He spends almost the entire summer on the river. When the new scaffold was up, he was visibly moved. He wants Chris to get a plaque to put on it with Sacred Road’s logo and a bible verse so that whenever someone uses it they will know it was built by Christians.
Jack told many of the teams of his newfound belief that it was possible to be an Indian and a Christian. He talked about his first meeting with Chris and Mary and how everyone told him that the white people always wanted to take something. Jack is a very visible symbol of how God is working on the Reservation through Sacred Road.
Prayer Requests
Our lease on the home we have been staying in ends Sept 30 and the owners really want to sell it. We have an option to buy, but have not been able to sell our home in Chattanooga. We really like this neighborhood and have made some friends here so we are exploring what our options are. Please pray that God would make it clear where the best place for us to be is and that we would have peace about it.
Please pray for all of our team adjusting to the new pace of the fall. We will have some challenges in trying to do some of the things we want to, but without the help of the eight additional people we had over the summer.
Please pray for Asha as she starts first grade in September. She is nervous about it and so are Neena and I. Please pray for wisdom for us as we try to get Asha more involved in the ministry - it sometimes requires patience, silence and understanding, things that don’t always come easily to her.
Please pray for Chris’ back - it has been giving him a lot of trouble all summer.
Please pray for some relationships that I am developing with three teenagers that are coming to youth group.
Please continue to pray for financial support for all us out here as the economy has impacted our giving. We know that God will provide.
Please let me know if you would like to be on the Sacred Road mailing list as well as our own update list.
Links:
http://www.rustlings.com - our blog
http://www.sacredroadministries.com
http://sacredroadyakama.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/SacredRoad#play/uploads/5/KkpYPl6iMwE - Sacred Road videos
Address:
The Clevengers (for mail)
155 Kamiakin Avenue
Wapato, Washington 98951
Sacred Road Ministries (for support)
22116 SE 51st Place
Issaquah, WA 98029-9221
God Bless each of you.
Love,
Chuck, Neena, Asha and Isaac
