Mission Memories

Red dirt, dust flying everywhere and heat that could fry an egg on the patio.  Two fifteen passenger vans, loaded up with people and supplies, made there way up the winding road that was so pitted with ruts and bumps that often we would fish tail and lose our balance, flying off the seats,  along with some of the supplies.  I signed on to be one of the driver's for those vans and I thought for sure, at the end of the week, that we were going to turn the vans in and be charged for new shocks.

The directions to the "ranch" where some of us would be staying and all of us would be working, were: follow the road, after going up a steep hill, watch for a tree on the right.  Right after the tree you will see the road split off in three directions, take the middle road, and so it began.  Our mission trip to Kayenta, Arizona. Navajo Nation.  For Jim and I, it was not our first trip to Navajo Nation.  We had brought a group there 10 years ago and now, we returned with another group from our church, First Church in Wenham.  They were in for a reality check and in some ways, so were we, even though Kayenta had already become a beloved land for us.  

 

This was to be our home for the next week. After many months of planning, phones calls to James and meetings at church every other week, gathering information and setting goals, we would be doing service projects for the people of Navajo Nation and upon arrival we didn't know how the projects would go or where we would be at the end of the week...but that's where faith comes in.  I knew from our last trip out that even with a well laid plan, Mission trips take on a life of their own...and this one was no different.  All we knew upon arrival was that it was hot and dusty and it took us a very long time to get here.  

James is a friend of ours...he and my son went to grad school together in Prescott Arizona.  The friendship has not only lasted, it has grown into a family friendship on both sides.  It has grown because we have taken the time to learn to trust each other with our word and our promises.  The Navajo people have not been treated very well and I remember the first time we went in there that James said to me..."your people have come, done some projects and then they leave and we never see them again...ten years ago, I made a promise to James that that would not happen with us.  Jim and I and the church have kept that promise for all these years.. The church sends packages full of hand knit items, coats, and gifts every Christmas to James to distribute to his people.  In June, our Mission board sends money for a Navajo student to receive a scholarship for college. On our end, I correspond with James all the time..because he is a friend and over time we have come into an easy relationship.  That is the history...and we honor it all year long.  It's funny about life, and going back, helped me to think more closely about our two cultures meeting up and finding a sustainable relationship. You never know what one kind word, what one person reaching out to another, not letting differences become barriers, where knowing and talking and being interested in each, will lead.  If my son and James Nez were not placed in the same place at the right time, and had they not walked a path together for however long they were at Prescott, we would not know the history of the Navajos and we would not be better off for their friendship.  Never be afraid to reach out, to anyone.  

So on this trip we all learned and our Native American friends learned...to trust us, to know that not all "Bilagaana" walk away.  So much good happened the week we were there but honestly, I can't put it all down in one post...so for now, I would just like to share with you the one major project that we did. Next I would like to share the land, the beauty and the Spirit of these wonderful people.  They are deeply rooted to Mother Earth and see her working in their every day life. Their spirit and faith are far beyond what I see here.  It was a gift to be able to not only help them but to spend time with them and to learn from them...again.

The top photo...a tractor, that we rented for nine hours to help clear some land so that we could start a water project for Navajo Nation.  A test project, that if successful, would be presented to the Farm board for approval to open up at least 8 more ponds that have been dry for at least 4 years.  It was the biggest project and took lots of man/woman power to get the job done.  The tractor cleared the land, and widen a pond that was already there and created a substantial and durable dam, which was then re-enforced and lined with stone to preserve the it.  After the tractor did it's work, all the rocks and building of the dam was done strictly by hand, wheelbarrow, sweat and prayers. There was a stream bed that existed but would get over-run with the fast running water during the monsoon season. So by lining the stream with rocks and creating Trenchea's, the water would be slowed down and guided into the ponds, where it could get absorbed by the land instead of running.off. It took a crew of about 10 people, 3 days to line the dam, and lay the rocks.  It was hard and hot work in the high heat that Kayenta was experiencing while we were there...The good news and the miracle of it, was that within 4 hours, a monsoon rain came and the pond filled half-way, over a 1,000 gallons of water entered the pond for the first time in 4 years.  The dam held...The Farm board came and inspected our work and a proposal was written by James Nez and photo's that I took were submitted to the farm board to have those other wells re-opened.  Slowly the water gets absorbed back into the land to restore the aquifer, which is the underlying water source for the entire region, which had been shamelessly depleted by Peterson coal company.  This had caused draughts, wells dried up, huge sink holes formed where the water once was. The land could not longer be farmer or vegetable grown, which is the Navajo way. The coal company did this without regard to the Native American's that lived there and then walked away.  Now, with one tractor and a crew of 10, our Native American friends have hope again...James has already written to me and sent photo's every time it has rained and the dam is still holding...

The second photo here is of my friend James Nez...he is so dedicated to his people.  It is a beautiful thing to witness and he was so helpful with this project.  It was his thought process that got the project going...he's just so smart...and an amazing host to us all..so now here is what we did...

Building the Trenchea...to slow down the water flow and lead it to the pond...brick by gathered brick.

Finding the rocks on the land and transporting by wheelbarrow...hard work in the heat.

 

Placing the rocks...always a two man job..and they had to be placed strategically.

 

That rock looks way to heavy Jim...you should have asked for help....from one of the girls...see the red water bottle...they were everywhere...water, water, water, stay hydrated.  So hot.

Four hours after finishing the project the water came. One of many miracles that happened that week...and the pond filled half-way. It's still holding.

The Dam...has now been officially named Mission Dam...awesome.

Some of the group returning to the "ranch" after a long days work in the sun...me, I was back at the ranch getting dinner on the table with my friends Lita and Gary...our cooks for the week.  

This was three days of sweat and a lot of hard, heavy work.  The team of about ten consisted of both men, woman and members of our youth.  They did an awesome job. Now, hopefully, the Farm Board will take it to the Council and then the other eight ponds and dams can be fixed, with our work as a model.  It will change the scope of the land for the Navajos and real gardens could be planted again.  There is so much more to tell you about.  I think it took me so long to start because I actually didn't know where to start but now, I know that this will required at least one more blog post.  I want to you to experience it all, as if you were there and I don't want to leave out the many other jobs that got done and I need to share the people that we meet and got to know..so please come back again...until then..I leave you with this quote that says it all for me...

"But the truth of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith."  

Galantians 5:22

In The Backyard

I've been home almost two weeks now.  We were away on a Mission Trip in Kayenta, Arizona, Navajo Nation. The re-entry has been a bit difficult...it was a long way, it was very hot, and the work was non-stop.  That's how mission trips work.  It is defiantly not a vacation.  Along with the work and re-connecting with our friends from 10 years ago...I did have many opportunities for taking some wonderful photo's.  So when I returned, I put the camera's aside and wanted a break.  I had enough uploading and editing to do to last me the rest of the summer.  Sometimes, though, life hands us opportunities and we can either ignore them or jump on them..I chose the later.

I didn't travel very far.  Actually I didn't travel at all.  It has been hot here at home and my jet lag was keeping me laying pretty low for a few days.  I chose that time to sit on my sun porch and read.  I was distracted though this one day with lots of squawking, screeching and movement in the yard.  When I looked behind me, I saw so much going on that just delighted me, so once again, I ran for my camera.  After attaching the 150-500 lens, I took a screen out of the window and just cranked that baby open...clean shots to everything...It became a waiting game.  My neighborhood is very quiet out back so it wasn't long before Mother Nature made her appearance again...Life in the hood...and this is what I enjoyed for almost two hours...funny how I wasn't tired anymore...

Homeless...

Living in their car...

Eating crickets.

It seems while we were away, this family moved into the birdhouse that we had hanging on our dogwood tree.  Both the Mom and the Dad fed the babies, which I haven't seen yet.  One would gather up some crickets or bugs and enter.  A few minutes later out she would come...and fly away.  Waiting in the wings was the other one, probably the Dad...that would be him in the first photo.  It was a joy to watch them and to hope that they would be safe in their little shelter...

Then there was this cutie...sitting on the fence between the main yard and the pool area.  From where I was sitting in the sun room I thought he had gotten himself a corn cob...later when Liam came over and was looking through the photo's in camera, he rightly told me that the squirrel was eating a pine cone.  Pretty bad to be corrected by a 6 year old.  I swear he was eating it like an ear of corn.  At any rate, he was quite happy to sit there and have his lunch while I snapped away...it was nice to lean that lens on the back of my little wicker couch as it can get heavy..

Then the bunny came along.  I'm actually mad at the bunny because when we got back from Kayenta they had eaten all of my Impatiens that I had planted in the two big buckets out front.  I didn't stay mad for long because I was worried about the little bunny being out there in the middle of the day, happily chomping away on whatever it is they love in the grass...There does seem to be more of them this year than ever before but I think they will start dwindling down soon...really cute to watch though...

This is the reason why I worry...like I don't have enough to worry about with my own family, I now have to worry about the woodland critters..These hawks freak me out.  They have been hanging around here for over two years now and not only are they hunting on my property but they are loud and frightening when they swooped and fly low..when I took this photo there were three of them sitting in that dead tree..a great vantage point to keep their eyes on the movement in the yard.  The squirrels are not to bright either because they are always squawking and the hawks know right where they are.  So far I have been fortunate not to see any of these sweet little ones get picked up...but we did find a squirrel dead in the meditation garden.  I suppose if it's your time to go, the meditation garden could be comforting.  I'm not sure how he happened to die there and why he wasn't picked up...just glad I wasn't here for it.  Undertaker Jim was on the job to do the removal ceremony...I know for sure I couldn't have done it...

The point of all of this is sometimes we search high and low...walk for miles, carry heavy equipment to get the perfect shot...to get excited about what we do...when really, it can be as easy as a walk out back if you have a garden...or a yard.  I happen to live in an area where we have lots of wild life, both big and small, but even if you don't, I bet there are views, and pretty flowers with lots of texture and chipped paint just waiting for you to find it...a little light, a bit of bokeh and a new perspective is just waiting outside your door...put on a lens that you haven't used in awhile and just step over the threshold into a new world...like Alice going down the rabbit hole.

“If you do not see what is around you every day, what will you see when you go to Tangiers?”

I love to write Haiku's and read about them...sometimes they just to come and I'm always delighted when they fit a photo, like the one above.

Have a wonderful weekend...more about the Kayenta trip soon...so much to take in and process...