There are so many stories to tell of our life on the reservation. I can tell of the work, the teams, the unity of the staff and summer interns, my spiritual journey through recent trials, or interactions with my Native community here. I see so much how we are like sheep. From the pastors who come on the short term teams to the elder whose home is being worked on, we are all prone to wander. How often do I forget my Lord is so near to me and wander off trying to forge my own way! God is the Good Shepherd. He gathers His sheep from near and far through many means. I am His as are the many that come to serve here on this reservation in the summer; but He is also the shepherd gathering many in my community here. In light of His love I go forward, knowing I need a shepherd, knowing there are those right in front of me who need my shepherd too, and He will call to them. He may call through my bumbling words, or through my exhaustion, or in the midst of jump ropes or sidewalk chalk, or even a new roof! The Kingdom comes through our great Shepherd.
Some of the stories on my mind today are answers to the prayers of God’s people. On Tuesday on the Longhouse, more of Buffy’s children came. The oldest daughter Toni, has a one year old baby. She came right in and began talking to me, and she is not a talker! I offered to hold her baby, so she could work in the kitchen serving the food for our crowd of 120 for dinner that night. She was smiling from ear to ear, enjoying her time with Heather and Rebekah. I also had other youth from the rez helping in the dining room, with set up and serving the meal. It sure felt like church to me!
On July 2nd, there was a fire outside of Buffy’s house, the children and the house are safe, but it revealed some of the serious problems in the family. Please keep praying.
We have two sisters who have been coming on Tuesday as well. After the lesson time the children, youth, and adults are divided. These two, Lisa and Lateet, come together and tell each other the Bible Stories they each learned. They are teaching one another the lessons!
The pain that the youth feel often leads them to be self destructive in various ways. They can bring each other “down” so quickly. Stephen has been struggling when hanging out with his friend, so we separated them yesterday. It led to another cross roads with Stephen, who has been a part of our family for most of the past year. The Lord seems to bring Stephen to submission over and over again, but he feels so much pain and hurt in the midst of these trials. We actually moved him out yesterday to show that life with us requires submission to the Lord and family, not coming and going and choosing when to engage. Again, Stephen seems drawn back, but refuses to leave his “friend”. This friend has an arrest warrant issued for him, and will get Stephen into trouble. If God gives Chris and I more time with Stephen, our role will be to lead him to a residential vocational training center. Pray for Stephen’s heart!
The youth continually “check in” with me as the mother figure in their lives also. Angela, who is driving around without a license, gave me the keys of her car to hold; more than that she shares with me the burdens she needs prayer for. Many of these are also being mentored by our staff girls; Veronica, Heather, Emily, and Gretchen. The Kingdom comes through community!
Monday, July 6, 2009
An Encouraging Story from Our Summer Project Coordinator, "Uncle" Dave
After 17 years of missions involvement, both short and long term, I have found one problem with short term mission trips. A person on a short term trip will go to a location, work, and see that work as an improvement in the life of the person or people being helped. And, in fact, there is an improvement in many cases. The problem is, the short term missionary seldom sees the long term affect on the people they have served.I met Tyron and Stephanie in 2008. I didn’t know much about them except that about a year before, Tyron had been attacked with an axe, severing his foot and also receiving a damaging blow to his face and neck. The meeting was short. Their kids came to the afternoon Kid’s Club at Totus Park. For 2008, the story stops there.
In 2009 I returned to White Swan, Washington, to again work as a project coordinator for Sacred Road Ministries. It is a chance for me to serve using almost all of the gifts and talents God has given me. I have grown to love the ministry, its director, Chris Granberry, his wife Mary, their four children (Ann Marie, Beth, Morgan, and David), and the staff and interns who also work here.
After a four and a half day drive from Florida I arrived at the Granberry home to the greeting from Chris, “Get in the truck. I want to show you some houses we are going to work on this summer.” Now, one may think that after a four and a half day drive the last thing I would want to do is drive around an Indian reservation. This could not be further from the truth. I was eager to get to work.
It was not a surprise when we showed up at the home of Tyron and Stephanie. What was a surprise was the condition it was in. The 6 of them were living in a small, 2 bedroom house with a living room, kitchen and one bathroom. It needed a roof and paint job. That was expected. But the rest was a little overwhelming. Most of the windows were not functional or non existent. Some of the interior ceiling was falling down. Worst of all, there was only one functioning electric socket in the whole house. It was filled with a six outlet adaptor and six cords filled every slot. It does not take much reasoning to figure out that there is no sense in putting a roof on a house that is about to burn from an electrical fire. My brain was telling me there is no way we could take on all of this plus the other home Chris wanted to paint that week. The budget was too small, the workers were too few, and we didn’t know if we had any skilled people to do any of it. There was only one decision we could make. GO FOR IT! This was a time to forget what your brain was telling you and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
When the teams finally showed up, the first thing I did was greet the adult males and ask, “What skills do you have?” Most of them knew one end of a hammer from another but that was all. Two, however, had skills. One (Jim Neill) said he would work on the electric while another (Roger Anderson), a long time friend of the ministry, took on the windows. The rest would roof and paint.
The roof was completed in 2 days and the painting was not far behind. The windows were going well except for the cost. They put us about $800 over our working budget. However, the Holy Spirit was not finished. He had been working in Roger’s heart for some time and Roger obsorbed the cost of the windows himself. Jim finished the electric Friday morning. We made it through the week and achieved most of what we set out to do. But then we noticed the meter was hot. At first we thought it was because it was a digital meter filled with electronics but the problem was really a loose plug where the power line came into the meter that was over heating. It was a problem that had probably been progressing for some time and would have probably burned the house down had we not decided to do the electrical work. The power company was called that night. They disconnected the service, took the meter, and told us we could get a licensed electrician to fix it without a permit and inspection.
It is strange how people think of Native Americans. Many white people want no contact at all with them. Businesses are not much different. I called several local electricians who would not help me. “We don’t travel that far.” or simply, “We don’t go there.” After several calls I finally found an electrician who listened to my story and said he would help, but when he called me back with a price I couldn’t believe it. $2000. When I asked why it was so high he replied, “If you think you know so much do it yourself.”
To say I was discouraged would be an understatement. The family had been without electricity for four days now. It shouldn’t be this hard.
The next morning, Wendell, a Native American and good friend of the Granberry family, came to the house for breakfast. I asked him if he knew of any electricians I could call. Wendell gave me the number of a man who put me in touch with another man who was a licsenced electrician. His name was Rod. He was an Indian himself and agreed to help us out. $750 later the work was complete. In addition, Roger had contacted some people at his church and was able to raise the money needed.
How can we ever doubt God? If I didn’t ask that question out loud, I know I asked it in my own mind. But I would soon find myself being tested with that very question.
When we called for the power to be reconnected, we were told that we needed a permit number and inspection. This was the very thing we were initially told we did not need. It was late Friday, and now it would be Monday before we could do anything.
A new team came in on Saturday, and first thing Monday we were stripping roofs and prepping walls for paint. As project coordinator I had to oversee the work and could not got to town to work on the permit. After discussing this problem with Chris, it was decided that we would give Tyron the money and send him for the permit. Monday morning I gave him the cash and instructed him as to what to do. The last thing I said to him was, “Call me when you have the permit.” That way I could call for an inspection and get the process going.
Monday came to an end, and I did not hear from Tyron. By 5:30 on Tuesday I still had not heard from Tyron. I knew this was not good. We were on our way to Tuesday night Bible study and as we drove we prayed for the evening. I prayed that Tyron had gotten the permit and had just forgotten to call. I also prayed that he had taken the initiative and called for the inspection. To my shame, I didn’t believe he had done either. In my heart I did not believe God would grant my prayer.
After arriving at the Longhouse a few minutes later my phone rang. The name on the screen was familiar. Tyron. “This is bad news.”, was my thought. I said hello. Before I could say another word, Tyron was spitting out words almost too fast to understand. “Dave. This is Tyron. I am sorry I forgot to call you when I got the permit. I called for the inspection and the inspector should be here on Wednesday. “If you were part of the team that worked on Tyron and Stephanie’s house I hope you hear this story. I hope you understand that while their living conditions have improved, more has happened. The Holy Spirit is at work in Tyron and Stephanie. He is enabling them. He is transforming their lives. He used you as an instrument in this process.
But there is more. He has transformed my life. He has shown me that in my doubt and unbelief, he is still gracious. He is still God.
Friday, June 26, 2009
You Gotta Love Chuck!
I wanted to share this talk that Chuck Clevenger gave when he visited Westminster PCA Church north of Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Chuck is the youth director for Sacred Road. We love Chuck and his family (Neena, Asha, and baby Isaac) and are so thankful that they have joined us full time. They are and will be a tremendous blessing to us, our team, and the people of White Swan.
Thanks for reading!
Chris
Opening Prayer
"I’m Chuck and I am here tonight to tell you about the work of Sacred Road Ministries on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
"My wife, Neena, and I met in college in Chattanooga, Tennessee and married in June of 1996. My family goes back for generations in southeast Tennessee. Neena’s parents immigrated from Pakistan two years before she was born in Chattanooga. We will be celebrating our 13th anniversary on June 29.
"In the summer of 2002, we joined a team from our home church - First Presbyterian Chattanooga - on a week-long mission trip to the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State. The first thing we noticed was how unbelievably hot and dry everything was. It was a huge shock - we were expecting lots of rain and coffee everywhere we went.
"I soon realized that there was a lot more to Washington than what I had learned from watching Frazier reruns and listening to grunge rock. I am very happy, though, to be with you tonight on the wetter, cooler side of the state and to tell you about what our merciful, life-giving God is doing just a few hours away.
"Thank you for having me here. Clint has been a very big encouragement through email correspondence as we’ve transitioned out here.
"I guess its easy to see that the summer of 2002 had a profound effect on my life, we returned again the next summer and continued coming with teams every summer through 2006, when we began to suspect that God had put a peculiar longing in our heart for that dry desert and the people that live there.
"In February of this year, we moved with our five year old daughter, Asha, up from Tennessee and have been living in Wapato in the northeast corner of the Reservation. On May 9, we had a little boy who we named Isaac Anderson. Asha is the hindi word for “Hope” and Isaac means “He Laughs.” We kind of thought if we were going to move to the Reservation that hope and laughter would be two good things to bring along.
"Sacred Road Ministries is a PCA church planting ministry of your presbytery on the Yakama Indian Rservation. It began six years ago with the arrival of Chris and Mary Granberry and their four children on the Reservation in the summer of 2003. In 2007, Veronica Vasquez, joined the ministry team to oversee administration, help with homeschooling the Granberry children and work with youth. This winter, in addition to our arrival, Heather German from Tacoma, Gretchen Becker from Virginia and Emily Schmidt from Nebraska have all joined the team for 1-2 years. For the summer we are also housing 7 college interns. So it has been a very exciting time of expansion in the ministry.
We can call that prayer request number 1. Team unity and cohesion.
Sacred Road seeks to plant a church in the small remote town of White Swan in the center of the reservation. White Swan has a population of around 3,000 and is the the most traditional portion of the Reservation. We also seek to obey Christ’s command to love our neighbors by loving the Yakama people, who we consider our first neighbors, well.
How do we do that?
In a growing number of ways. I know there is some interest here at Westminster tonight about sending a team on one of our short term trips, so thats a good a place to start as any.
We will be hosting somewhere around a dozen teams from churches around the country between May and August. Every other week, there will be 50 or so people coming to the Reservation to participate in the ministry of Sacred Road.
We also host a few teams during the Spring which works out pretty well for some of the churches out here that are closer.
Maybe we can start with the video here. Gretchen puts a video together of each and every team week. This is a video from a week ago when we had two churches from Alabama visit with us. One of them was the Granberry’s home church - Oak Mountain Presbyterian in Birmingham, Alabama.
Show Video
So how do we try to love our first neighbors well?
As you saw in the video:
We work with teams to paint and put new roofs on houses that may not have been maintained in decades.
We mow yards and clear fields.
We pick up and haul tons of trash.
We cut, split and stack firewood that will help families get through the winters.
We will be play kickball, blow bubbles, draw on sidewalks with chalk.
We pass out Capri Suns and Hot Cheetos to kids that are yelling “I didn’t get one.”
We hug small children, give piggy back rides and wipe dirty noses.
We drink lots and lots of water.
We pray … a lot.
We sweat, groan, get dirty and smash our thumbs in order to show a people that their Creator loves them. That the God who made them - sent His son to die for them them.
It is, as Chris points out every week, a small reflection of what Christ does for us.
He cleans and maintains his home in our hearts.
He removes the obstacles and litter in our path that keep us from experiencing Him.
He comforts us in the scorching deserts and chilling winters of our existence.
He brings us joy and celebration in His presence.
He sustains us with our daily bread.
He carries us through our trials.
He intercedes for us before the father.
He groaned for us at Calvary and suffered every torment and indignity so that we might be with him eternally.
It is because of Him, that any of us can do what the teams and Sacred Road do. It is because of the hope that He has given us that we can confidently and excitedly share it with folks on the Reservation that are so desperate for any kind of hope.
And folks, thats only the start.
When teams come, we talk to them about witnessing and testifying - two concept you see a lot in the early church in the Book of Acts. It is amazing to see some of the transformations that take place when someone who has never even been on an Indian Reservation begins to spend time with people, especially the children, whose lives are filled with the brokenness of the abuse and addictions that are so prevalent in the lives of Native Americans today.
The Yakama signed their treaty in June of 1855 and lost about 91% of their traditional homelands. The treaty wasn’t ratified by the Senate until 1859 which allowed further incursions into their territory. Indian Boarding Schools and other misguided government programs continued to lead to tremendous loss of life, culture and identity.
The average life span of a Yakama Indian is reportedly 39 years with some of the leading causes of death being suicide, traffic fatalities and heart disease.
I know about people being people changed by a trip to the Reservation, because I was one of them. I mentioned coming to the Reservation with Neena in the summer of 2002 for the first time. We were wholly unprepared for the way the children in one of the housing projects - Totus Park - latched onto our hearts. And I never would have imagined leaving our homes and families to be part of full time ministry on the Reservation.
We had a pretty good life in Tennessee. All of the grandparents lived there. Most of the Aunts and Uncles too. Good jobs. Great church. But when we first started talking to people about moving up here, the response I got a lot was “Its about time, its all you talk about.” Without even trying, I had been a witness and testified to not only the spiritual darkness on the Reservation, but also the work of God’s Holy Spirit, in a way that my friends had noticed.
I probably told them about throwing football with a little boy at Totus, even while all the other kids were playing tag and how when he saw me squinting in the afternoon sun - he ran home and got a pair of sunglasses to give me. We threw that football all week long and at the end of the week, as we were leaving - I gave him a picture of the two of us together and a little keepsake to remember me by.
He ran home and called to me from his front door. I thought there was an emergency so I ran over.
“Do you like animals?” Has asked.
“Um, yeah?” I replied. This could go anywhere.
“What kind”?
“Dogs?” Oh I hope I’m not getting a puppy. There are more dogs on the Reservation than you can imagine.
“What about deer?” He asked. Okay he can’t give me a deer.
“Yeah, deer are great. Beautiful. Graceful.”
So he gave me this wallhanging.
And his mom thanked me for spending time with him. I couldn’t really speak much for an hour or so after that. I managed to say thank you. I think I kind of mugged him with a hug and told him that Jesus would be with Him when it didn’t seem like anyone else was and asked if He believed that.
He said he did.
The next year Lucus moved to Montana but now I have his cel phone number and we talk 2 or 3 times a year. He might come out to the Reservation to visit family this summer.
Another funny part of the story, as I was walking back to the van after all of that, another kid I had played a lot with - Johnny - came up to say goodbye but I was pretty incoherent at that point and out of keepsakes - so I gave him a flashlight I had in the car. He was 11, I think.
This past Thursday night, Johnny was unexpectedly in the front seat of my car on the way to a youth outing, now 17. Telling me about how he remembered that flashlight.
I love believing in a sovereign God who has plans for each of us. I mean, how else do you explain stuff like that?
One more quick story about kids ministry at Totus Park - this one from just a few months ago, maybe six weeks after our arrival in February.
It was our first backyard bible club at Totus of this year. My first in a couple of years and I got there early with Stephen. Stephen is another 17 year old in our youth group. He has been living with the Granberrys for the last several months and was the first baptism Chris performed after his ordination.
Please pray for Stephen, he has a lot of challenges. Prayer Request Number Two.
So Stephen’s a big Indian kid and I’m this 40 year old white guy getting out of my Ford Taurus and walking over to what used to be a basketball court that is the ministry center at Totus. It doesn’t have any basketball goals but is pretty well covered in skate ramps, broken glass and graffiti.
There are about a half dozen little kids riding their scooters around the ramps as the two of us start to walk over. Everything stops. All activity just halts and they just stare at us as we come closer.
Finally, I get uncomfortable enough to yell out “How are you guys doing?”
A little girl on a pink scooter looks at me and asks.
“Are you guys the church?”
“Well, I guess we are.” I call back
And the kids just start hooting an hollering and running around dancing. And my first thought is wow what a great ministry.
Then I realize. Its not a great ministry. Well it is, but you’ll see my point. He’s a great God. Its a joyful gospel. It really is good news. I need to be reminded of that. Growing up in the South in the Bible Belt - its easy to lose sight of that.
I never went anywhere as the church in Tennessee and was greeted with that kind of enthusiasm.
In addition to the summer teams that come, we have a number of ministries going on around the year.
Sacred Road hosts a Christmas feast every year that celebrates Christmas with 300-400 Yakama with traditional foods and gifts for everyone.
There are mercy projects like wheelchair ramps and home repair that go on throughout the year
We have a weekly Tuesday night bible study that we call our baby church. It meets at the Indian Longhouse, which is pretty amazing. It begins with a meal for as many as 60 or 70 people. After dinner we have a time of worship and singing and then split into three groups for bible study - adults, children and youth. My main responsibility is overseeing the development of the youth group.
Its been really neat to see what God is doing in bringing our youth group together. I think we’ve probably had about 22-24 kids come to our meetings at one time or another with 8-10 attending regularly in just the last few months. A lot of these kids have had little or no exposure to the bible and come from pretty traumatic backgrounds. We meet with them weekly at the Long House and try to have smaller, less formal group meetings every other week for discipleship and to develop deeper relationships.
Prayer request number 3. Meaningful spiritual growth and deeper relationships with the youth group.
I can not begin to describe my gratitude and awe at what God is already doing in our youth group. In our relationships and our prayers together - it is already so much more than I hoped for, so much more than I know I am capable of. It serves to me as yet another reminder of God’s great love for the poor and disenfranchised and for me and our staff at the same time. We all need these prayers. We all need his forgiveness. We all need His gospel of grace.
So - I don’t think being a witness and testifying means you have to move to the Rez, but please notice the invitation on all of our materials - Come and See. Its on my shirt.
Do you know where that comes from?
John 1 where Andrew first encounters Jesus.
It begins in verse 35.
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?"
And they said to him,"Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ)
I love how Jesus almost never gives a straight answer - He easily could have said - the old Johnson place down on Elm Street, but no he says Come and See. Experience where I am staying.
Sacred Road’s invitation is to come and see come and see what the Christ, what Jesus, is doing on the Yakama Indian Reservation. We invite you to participate by your gifts, your prayers and your presence.
What will you see?
Isaiah 58:6-12 is sort of a theme verse for the ministry. I think it’s what all of us who are involved with Native American ministry are waiting to see.
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
In a lot ways, The Reservation is an ancient ruin that needs to be rebuilt. And even though we know that Isaiah was using the city of Jerusalem as a picture of what God will do among His people, we know that He is also looking forward to that new Jerusalem in which every tribe and nation will glorify God the father.
In truth, it is Jesus, who is the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in which is good because I’m a lousy carpenter. But even though he doesn’t need our help he invites us to do even more than come and see, but to participate in His work of changing this world from one of despair to one of hope.
This is our hope and His plan for the Yakama Indian Reservation and all of His creation.
"I’m Chuck and I am here tonight to tell you about the work of Sacred Road Ministries on the Yakama Indian Reservation.
"My wife, Neena, and I met in college in Chattanooga, Tennessee and married in June of 1996. My family goes back for generations in southeast Tennessee. Neena’s parents immigrated from Pakistan two years before she was born in Chattanooga. We will be celebrating our 13th anniversary on June 29.
"In the summer of 2002, we joined a team from our home church - First Presbyterian Chattanooga - on a week-long mission trip to the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State. The first thing we noticed was how unbelievably hot and dry everything was. It was a huge shock - we were expecting lots of rain and coffee everywhere we went.
"I soon realized that there was a lot more to Washington than what I had learned from watching Frazier reruns and listening to grunge rock. I am very happy, though, to be with you tonight on the wetter, cooler side of the state and to tell you about what our merciful, life-giving God is doing just a few hours away.
"Thank you for having me here. Clint has been a very big encouragement through email correspondence as we’ve transitioned out here.
"I guess its easy to see that the summer of 2002 had a profound effect on my life, we returned again the next summer and continued coming with teams every summer through 2006, when we began to suspect that God had put a peculiar longing in our heart for that dry desert and the people that live there.
"In February of this year, we moved with our five year old daughter, Asha, up from Tennessee and have been living in Wapato in the northeast corner of the Reservation. On May 9, we had a little boy who we named Isaac Anderson. Asha is the hindi word for “Hope” and Isaac means “He Laughs.” We kind of thought if we were going to move to the Reservation that hope and laughter would be two good things to bring along.
"Sacred Road Ministries is a PCA church planting ministry of your presbytery on the Yakama Indian Rservation. It began six years ago with the arrival of Chris and Mary Granberry and their four children on the Reservation in the summer of 2003. In 2007, Veronica Vasquez, joined the ministry team to oversee administration, help with homeschooling the Granberry children and work with youth. This winter, in addition to our arrival, Heather German from Tacoma, Gretchen Becker from Virginia and Emily Schmidt from Nebraska have all joined the team for 1-2 years. For the summer we are also housing 7 college interns. So it has been a very exciting time of expansion in the ministry.
We can call that prayer request number 1. Team unity and cohesion.
Sacred Road seeks to plant a church in the small remote town of White Swan in the center of the reservation. White Swan has a population of around 3,000 and is the the most traditional portion of the Reservation. We also seek to obey Christ’s command to love our neighbors by loving the Yakama people, who we consider our first neighbors, well.
How do we do that?
In a growing number of ways. I know there is some interest here at Westminster tonight about sending a team on one of our short term trips, so thats a good a place to start as any.
We will be hosting somewhere around a dozen teams from churches around the country between May and August. Every other week, there will be 50 or so people coming to the Reservation to participate in the ministry of Sacred Road.
We also host a few teams during the Spring which works out pretty well for some of the churches out here that are closer.
Maybe we can start with the video here. Gretchen puts a video together of each and every team week. This is a video from a week ago when we had two churches from Alabama visit with us. One of them was the Granberry’s home church - Oak Mountain Presbyterian in Birmingham, Alabama.
Show Video
So how do we try to love our first neighbors well?
As you saw in the video:
We work with teams to paint and put new roofs on houses that may not have been maintained in decades.
We mow yards and clear fields.
We pick up and haul tons of trash.
We cut, split and stack firewood that will help families get through the winters.
We will be play kickball, blow bubbles, draw on sidewalks with chalk.
We pass out Capri Suns and Hot Cheetos to kids that are yelling “I didn’t get one.”
We hug small children, give piggy back rides and wipe dirty noses.
We drink lots and lots of water.
We pray … a lot.
We sweat, groan, get dirty and smash our thumbs in order to show a people that their Creator loves them. That the God who made them - sent His son to die for them them.
It is, as Chris points out every week, a small reflection of what Christ does for us.
He cleans and maintains his home in our hearts.
He removes the obstacles and litter in our path that keep us from experiencing Him.
He comforts us in the scorching deserts and chilling winters of our existence.
He brings us joy and celebration in His presence.
He sustains us with our daily bread.
He carries us through our trials.
He intercedes for us before the father.
He groaned for us at Calvary and suffered every torment and indignity so that we might be with him eternally.
It is because of Him, that any of us can do what the teams and Sacred Road do. It is because of the hope that He has given us that we can confidently and excitedly share it with folks on the Reservation that are so desperate for any kind of hope.
And folks, thats only the start.
When teams come, we talk to them about witnessing and testifying - two concept you see a lot in the early church in the Book of Acts. It is amazing to see some of the transformations that take place when someone who has never even been on an Indian Reservation begins to spend time with people, especially the children, whose lives are filled with the brokenness of the abuse and addictions that are so prevalent in the lives of Native Americans today.
The Yakama signed their treaty in June of 1855 and lost about 91% of their traditional homelands. The treaty wasn’t ratified by the Senate until 1859 which allowed further incursions into their territory. Indian Boarding Schools and other misguided government programs continued to lead to tremendous loss of life, culture and identity.
The average life span of a Yakama Indian is reportedly 39 years with some of the leading causes of death being suicide, traffic fatalities and heart disease.
I know about people being people changed by a trip to the Reservation, because I was one of them. I mentioned coming to the Reservation with Neena in the summer of 2002 for the first time. We were wholly unprepared for the way the children in one of the housing projects - Totus Park - latched onto our hearts. And I never would have imagined leaving our homes and families to be part of full time ministry on the Reservation.
We had a pretty good life in Tennessee. All of the grandparents lived there. Most of the Aunts and Uncles too. Good jobs. Great church. But when we first started talking to people about moving up here, the response I got a lot was “Its about time, its all you talk about.” Without even trying, I had been a witness and testified to not only the spiritual darkness on the Reservation, but also the work of God’s Holy Spirit, in a way that my friends had noticed.
I probably told them about throwing football with a little boy at Totus, even while all the other kids were playing tag and how when he saw me squinting in the afternoon sun - he ran home and got a pair of sunglasses to give me. We threw that football all week long and at the end of the week, as we were leaving - I gave him a picture of the two of us together and a little keepsake to remember me by.
He ran home and called to me from his front door. I thought there was an emergency so I ran over.
“Do you like animals?” Has asked.
“Um, yeah?” I replied. This could go anywhere.
“What kind”?
“Dogs?” Oh I hope I’m not getting a puppy. There are more dogs on the Reservation than you can imagine.
“What about deer?” He asked. Okay he can’t give me a deer.
“Yeah, deer are great. Beautiful. Graceful.”
So he gave me this wallhanging.
And his mom thanked me for spending time with him. I couldn’t really speak much for an hour or so after that. I managed to say thank you. I think I kind of mugged him with a hug and told him that Jesus would be with Him when it didn’t seem like anyone else was and asked if He believed that.
He said he did.
The next year Lucus moved to Montana but now I have his cel phone number and we talk 2 or 3 times a year. He might come out to the Reservation to visit family this summer.
Another funny part of the story, as I was walking back to the van after all of that, another kid I had played a lot with - Johnny - came up to say goodbye but I was pretty incoherent at that point and out of keepsakes - so I gave him a flashlight I had in the car. He was 11, I think.
This past Thursday night, Johnny was unexpectedly in the front seat of my car on the way to a youth outing, now 17. Telling me about how he remembered that flashlight.
I love believing in a sovereign God who has plans for each of us. I mean, how else do you explain stuff like that?
One more quick story about kids ministry at Totus Park - this one from just a few months ago, maybe six weeks after our arrival in February.
It was our first backyard bible club at Totus of this year. My first in a couple of years and I got there early with Stephen. Stephen is another 17 year old in our youth group. He has been living with the Granberrys for the last several months and was the first baptism Chris performed after his ordination.
Please pray for Stephen, he has a lot of challenges. Prayer Request Number Two.
So Stephen’s a big Indian kid and I’m this 40 year old white guy getting out of my Ford Taurus and walking over to what used to be a basketball court that is the ministry center at Totus. It doesn’t have any basketball goals but is pretty well covered in skate ramps, broken glass and graffiti.
There are about a half dozen little kids riding their scooters around the ramps as the two of us start to walk over. Everything stops. All activity just halts and they just stare at us as we come closer.
Finally, I get uncomfortable enough to yell out “How are you guys doing?”
A little girl on a pink scooter looks at me and asks.
“Are you guys the church?”
“Well, I guess we are.” I call back
And the kids just start hooting an hollering and running around dancing. And my first thought is wow what a great ministry.
Then I realize. Its not a great ministry. Well it is, but you’ll see my point. He’s a great God. Its a joyful gospel. It really is good news. I need to be reminded of that. Growing up in the South in the Bible Belt - its easy to lose sight of that.
I never went anywhere as the church in Tennessee and was greeted with that kind of enthusiasm.
In addition to the summer teams that come, we have a number of ministries going on around the year.
Sacred Road hosts a Christmas feast every year that celebrates Christmas with 300-400 Yakama with traditional foods and gifts for everyone.
There are mercy projects like wheelchair ramps and home repair that go on throughout the year
We have a weekly Tuesday night bible study that we call our baby church. It meets at the Indian Longhouse, which is pretty amazing. It begins with a meal for as many as 60 or 70 people. After dinner we have a time of worship and singing and then split into three groups for bible study - adults, children and youth. My main responsibility is overseeing the development of the youth group.
Its been really neat to see what God is doing in bringing our youth group together. I think we’ve probably had about 22-24 kids come to our meetings at one time or another with 8-10 attending regularly in just the last few months. A lot of these kids have had little or no exposure to the bible and come from pretty traumatic backgrounds. We meet with them weekly at the Long House and try to have smaller, less formal group meetings every other week for discipleship and to develop deeper relationships.
Prayer request number 3. Meaningful spiritual growth and deeper relationships with the youth group.
I can not begin to describe my gratitude and awe at what God is already doing in our youth group. In our relationships and our prayers together - it is already so much more than I hoped for, so much more than I know I am capable of. It serves to me as yet another reminder of God’s great love for the poor and disenfranchised and for me and our staff at the same time. We all need these prayers. We all need his forgiveness. We all need His gospel of grace.
So - I don’t think being a witness and testifying means you have to move to the Rez, but please notice the invitation on all of our materials - Come and See. Its on my shirt.
Do you know where that comes from?
John 1 where Andrew first encounters Jesus.
It begins in verse 35.
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?"
And they said to him,"Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ)
I love how Jesus almost never gives a straight answer - He easily could have said - the old Johnson place down on Elm Street, but no he says Come and See. Experience where I am staying.
Sacred Road’s invitation is to come and see come and see what the Christ, what Jesus, is doing on the Yakama Indian Reservation. We invite you to participate by your gifts, your prayers and your presence.
What will you see?
Isaiah 58:6-12 is sort of a theme verse for the ministry. I think it’s what all of us who are involved with Native American ministry are waiting to see.
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
In a lot ways, The Reservation is an ancient ruin that needs to be rebuilt. And even though we know that Isaiah was using the city of Jerusalem as a picture of what God will do among His people, we know that He is also looking forward to that new Jerusalem in which every tribe and nation will glorify God the father.
In truth, it is Jesus, who is the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in which is good because I’m a lousy carpenter. But even though he doesn’t need our help he invites us to do even more than come and see, but to participate in His work of changing this world from one of despair to one of hope.
This is our hope and His plan for the Yakama Indian Reservation and all of His creation.
Friday, April 24, 2009
The New and Improved Sacred Road Team
Chris, Mary, Ann Marie, Beth, Morgan and David Granberry; Emily Schmidt; Heather German; Veronica Vasquez; Gretchen Becker; Bill, Tina, Miranda, Mary Beth, Madison, and Morgan Yarbrough; Jesse and Sarah Dempsen; Chuck, Neena, and Asha Clevenger.
As I reflect on the last couple of months, I am overwhelmed by the work of God. I see my own life in constant flux with the various activities of ministry and with the stages of my childrens' growth. This feeling has grown with the flow of people through our lives this spring, and especially the with the addition of our new full time team members. Chris and I, and our four children, have been serving on the Yakama Indian Reservation for almost six years now. During these six years I have learned much about the Yakama culture and traditions, as well as brokenness from poverty and loss, some of which would have previously been unimaginable to me.
As Chris and I settled into life on the Reservation, we would bring in church teams to serve. We would connect the community and the teams intentionally and carefully, in order to build bridges through the love of Christ that would be tangible to our new neighbors. I love this Native community with it's beauty and brokenness. I feel the need often to join in with the silent screams of desperation. How often I have been reminded of my own heart's cry for the Lord. How often I have felt the emptiness of reaching for anything or anyone but Christ alone during these six years. I often would wake with no hope, and would have to seek God's face, or stumble along in my own strength. How stubborn I can be to attempt a day in my own strength, even when I feel so very weak! The verse I began to cling to over the years has been Psalm 126 : 5 & 6.
"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."
One of the exciting parts of the last couple of months has been the expansion of our mission team. How wonderful to be able to sow and reap with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Over and over again, we have welcomed new team members who have raised their support and moved here. I am overwhelmed with God's provision, and humbled by my new team mates who have committed their lives to see the Gospel spread here on the Reservation with me. Our home has become even busier with activity, as we do not have a facility or ministry building yet. My children and I notice that we have been saying more "hello's" than "good byes" for the first time since moving here!
In the midst of the excitement, I have felt the clash of cultures in my own home as well. How do I continue to serve the community, and serve my new team members? The restlessness this question has brought into my life has been draining, and brought feelings of guilt and bitterness at times. After all, how can I meet so many needs? Do you hear my sin in that question? I do. In the midst of great things the Lord is doing, I turn to myself again and again. I need to do the same thing now that I learned to do when we first moved out here alone. I need to turn to Christ alone.
"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Jeremiah 2 : 13
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7 : 37-38
The exciting news to me is that the Gospel is what I need, the Gospel is what my Native community needs, and the Gospel is what my new team needs! We are all thirsty, no matter what culture we come from. We all need to be reminded of and led to the "streams of living water", whether we are missionaries or stay home moms (or both!)
Pray for the Sacred Road team, that we would love one another well. Pray for our Yakama community, that "streams of living water" would flow from within.
Mary Granberry
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Haulin', Choppin', Splittin', & Stackin'
Two Churches, Faith Presbyterian Church and First Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and two Families, the Yarbroughs the Dempsens, came out to Yakama for the weekend to chop up firewood for elders in the community. They all worked extremely hard, and the folks in the community were truly blessed by their work.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Spurgeon Rocks! Please Read and Pray for me/us.
I've been a huge fan of Charles Spurgeon for years. Reading two devotions this morning really got me thinking and praying. I found myself imagining scenes from "The Lord of the Rings" movies as I read. Please take the time to read these, think about them, and pray along these lines for me/us.
Thanks and God Bless You and Yours.
"Run Wild with the Hope" ~ Rich Mullins
Chris
______________________________________________________________________________
Morning: March 2, 2009
"But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his ax, and his mattock." --1 Samuel 13:20
We are engaged in a great war…. Every weapon within our reach must be used. Preaching, teaching, praying, giving, all must be brought into action, and talents which have been thought too mean for service, must now be employed.
Coulter, and axe, and mattock, may all be useful in slaying (our spiritual enemies); rough tools may deal hard blows, and killing need not be elegantly done, so long as it is done effectually. Each moment of time, in season or out of season; each fragment of ability, educated or untutored; each opportunity, favourable or unfavourable, must be used, for our foes are many and our force but slender.
Most of our tools (need) sharpening; we need quickness of perception, tact, energy, promptness, in a word, complete adaptation for the Lord's work. Practical common sense is a very scarce thing among the conductors of Christian enterprises. We might learn from our enemies if we would, and so make the Philistines sharpen our weapons. This morning let us note enough to sharpen our zeal during this day by the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Mark the heathen devotees, what tortures they endure in the service of their idols! Are they alone to exhibit patience and self-sacrifice?
Observe the prince of darkness, how persevering in his endeavours, how unabashed in his attempts, how daring in his plans, how thoughtful in his plots, how energetic in all! The devils are united as one man in their infamous rebellion, while we believers in Jesus are divided in our service of God, and scarcely ever work with unanimity. O that from Satan's infernal industry we may learn to go about like good Samaritans, seeking whom we may bless!
______________________________________________________________________________
Evening: March 2, 2009
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." --Ephesians 3:8
The apostle Paul felt it a great privilege to be allowed to preach the gospel. He did not look upon his calling as a drudgery, but he entered upon it with intense delight. Yet while Paul was thus thankful for his office, his success in it greatly humbled him. The fuller a vessel becomes, the deeper it sinks in the water.
Idlers may indulge a fond conceit of their abilities, because they are untried; but the earnest worker soon learns his own weakness. If you seek humility, try hard work; if you would know your nothingness, attempt some great thing for Jesus.
If you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God, attempt especially the great work of proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ, and you will know, as you never knew before, what a weak unworthy thing you are. Although the apostle thus knew and confessed his weakness, he was never perplexed as to the subject of his ministry.
From his first sermon to his last, Paul preached Christ, and nothing but Christ. He lifted up the cross, and extolled the Son of God who bled thereon. Follow his example in all your personal efforts to spread the glad tidings of salvation, and let "Christ and Him crucified" be your ever recurring theme….
Oh! to speak of Christ alone, this is the subject which is both "seed for the sower, and bread for the eater." This is the live coal for the lip of the speaker, and the master-key to the heart of the hearer.
Entry taken from Morning and Evening, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892).
Thanks and God Bless You and Yours.
"Run Wild with the Hope" ~ Rich Mullins
Chris
______________________________________________________________________________
Morning: March 2, 2009
"But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his ax, and his mattock." --1 Samuel 13:20
We are engaged in a great war…. Every weapon within our reach must be used. Preaching, teaching, praying, giving, all must be brought into action, and talents which have been thought too mean for service, must now be employed.
Coulter, and axe, and mattock, may all be useful in slaying (our spiritual enemies); rough tools may deal hard blows, and killing need not be elegantly done, so long as it is done effectually. Each moment of time, in season or out of season; each fragment of ability, educated or untutored; each opportunity, favourable or unfavourable, must be used, for our foes are many and our force but slender.
Most of our tools (need) sharpening; we need quickness of perception, tact, energy, promptness, in a word, complete adaptation for the Lord's work. Practical common sense is a very scarce thing among the conductors of Christian enterprises. We might learn from our enemies if we would, and so make the Philistines sharpen our weapons. This morning let us note enough to sharpen our zeal during this day by the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Mark the heathen devotees, what tortures they endure in the service of their idols! Are they alone to exhibit patience and self-sacrifice?
Observe the prince of darkness, how persevering in his endeavours, how unabashed in his attempts, how daring in his plans, how thoughtful in his plots, how energetic in all! The devils are united as one man in their infamous rebellion, while we believers in Jesus are divided in our service of God, and scarcely ever work with unanimity. O that from Satan's infernal industry we may learn to go about like good Samaritans, seeking whom we may bless!
______________________________________________________________________________
Evening: March 2, 2009
"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." --Ephesians 3:8
The apostle Paul felt it a great privilege to be allowed to preach the gospel. He did not look upon his calling as a drudgery, but he entered upon it with intense delight. Yet while Paul was thus thankful for his office, his success in it greatly humbled him. The fuller a vessel becomes, the deeper it sinks in the water.
Idlers may indulge a fond conceit of their abilities, because they are untried; but the earnest worker soon learns his own weakness. If you seek humility, try hard work; if you would know your nothingness, attempt some great thing for Jesus.
If you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God, attempt especially the great work of proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ, and you will know, as you never knew before, what a weak unworthy thing you are. Although the apostle thus knew and confessed his weakness, he was never perplexed as to the subject of his ministry.
From his first sermon to his last, Paul preached Christ, and nothing but Christ. He lifted up the cross, and extolled the Son of God who bled thereon. Follow his example in all your personal efforts to spread the glad tidings of salvation, and let "Christ and Him crucified" be your ever recurring theme….
Oh! to speak of Christ alone, this is the subject which is both "seed for the sower, and bread for the eater." This is the live coal for the lip of the speaker, and the master-key to the heart of the hearer.
Entry taken from Morning and Evening, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)