God laid this Blog on my heart a few months ago.........but I put it off........don't know why.........only God knows why.  When God lays a Blog on my heart I usually sit down and He writes it for me.  But this time........I just wouldn't even let Him go there........I just wouldn't sit down at the computer to write it.  But now, God is telling me.......write it, so here goes...........

 

Rick and I have been married for 35 years.........35 years of lots and lots of ups and downs........in fact, 35 years of the hardest years of our lives.  It's not easy being married, it's quite alot of hard work, actually.  Frankly, there were times we both wanted to bail out.  Times we just didn't want to work on our marriage.  Times we kind of lived our own separate lives doing our own separate things.  Rick.......alot of golf, me.......alot of kids.

 

But.......we hung on........hung on to our faith in God that kept us hanging on to each other.  And then something happened, something happened several years ago that really changed everything for us.  It happened in me first........God began to call me to a greater walk with Him.  He began to stretch me in what He was asking me to do in life for Him.  I resisted a little at first, a little until I began to see that when I quit resisting and began to obey, He came through for me.  As I began to obey, and as He began to come through, I began to change.........I began to desire Him above all else in my life.  I began to crave His word.  I began to crave prayer time with Him.  I began to crave serving Him.  As I craved Jesus above all else in my life, I became a different person.......and as I became a different person, Rick noticed. 

 

Then something began to happen in Rick.  He began to become a different person.  He began to seek out more of God in his life.  He began to desire to obey God above all else.  He began to look to God for more direction in his life.  And then we began to treasure each other as husband and wife.  Now we crave spending time together.  Every minute we can, we spend together.

 

This week God has blessed us with time together in New Mexico, hanging out together, seeing the sights and preparing for time spent apart as Rick heads back home to work at the golf courses and I head to northern New Mexico to lead my second project of the summer.  We are enjoying every minute that God has given us this week and give Him all praise, honor and glory for teaching us that when we obey Him, He is always there for us and will bless us far beyond what we could have ever imagined possible. 

Riding on the Taos Pueblo together.

Two nights together in this little house, "Casa Pepper" in Taos.

Touring the Taos Pueblo together.

Exploring Bandelier National Monument together.

Hiking on Sandia Mountain together.

Preparing to hike Petroglyph National Monument together.

Preparing to enjoy a Mexican meal together in Old Town, Albuquerque.

 

If anyone is reading this and is wanting to bail out on their marriage.........please don't.  God wants you to look to Him for guidance in your marriage.  Please just immerse yourself in The Word, pray constantly and then get on your knees and ask God what He wants you to do.........then just do it.  He'll take care of the rest. 

 

I'm sorry, God, that I took so long to write this Blog..........but I know "all things work together for good to those who love Christ" and even if I messed up, you will use it for good.  To God Be The Glory!

 

 

I'm reading the book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, recommended to me by a friend who is in the same place in life that I am.  She lives in a different city, but we've had some great conversations through email and she said this book would inspire me in my walk with the Lord.  She was right!  God is using the scriptures in the book to confirm in me that my passion and desire to grow in my relationship with Him are right on.  Through my scripture reading this morning, God showed me that I can try on my own power to do everything right in my relationship with Him and I will mess up every time OR I can obey the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38) to "Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul and mind" and then everything that I am supposed to do in life will come naturally out of that love for Him.  When I do this, fulfillment of the second commandment will flow naturally out of me, "Love your neighbor as youself."  Matthew 22:39.  To God Be The Glory!

 

Well, it's done.  Finished.  Wrapped up.  The groups have cleaned up and are ready to go in the morning, as am I.  And I do believe everything looks just as good as we found it a week ago if not better.  One thing I definitely know is better than last week when the two groups and I arrived, is me.  I have been refined, reshaped, readjusted, realigned.  And it feels.........so good!

 

I absolutely love coming here to the San Carlos rez.  God brings me here several times a year and deposits me into the midst of family, my brothers and sisters in Christ that I love to share Jesus with.  Some have no running water, some no stove, some no kitchen sink, some use an outhouse, some cook out of doors, some have no parents........but all of them have..... Jesus.  Every time I am with them I see the joy of the Lord in them.  Even though they don't have as much as the "world" has, they are filled with hope......hope that this earth will be replaced some day and they will live in paradise with Jesus.  And it is that hope that keeps them going, through the suffering, through the pain, through the heartache.  And it is that hope that fills them with joy.

 

Today was a good day, a day to look back at all that has been accomplished this week, a day to look forward to going home to see my family...........but today was also a sad day, a day to say good-bye to new friends and old friends alike.  The two church groups that were his this week from Texas were amazing.  I feel like I've known them forever.  We became comfortable very quickly with each other and moved right into a good ministry relationship.  It was hard to say good-bye.  It is my prayer that we meet again.......before heaven that is......and share ministry together.  What a blessing they were to me this week as well as to First Nations Ministries.

 

Two groups from Texas that I loved partnering in ministry with this week.

 

Fun day mining Peridot and hanging out at the San Carlos Lake & Dam.

 

Sharing Jesus at the Apache Little League Championship game.

 

To God Be The Glory!

 

I think this is what every Christ Follower longs to hear from someone.........and here I was at the laundromat on the San Carlos Rez hearing this from an Apache gentleman who I had come across as I was leaving to return to First Nations.  He told me that he had watched me go into the laundromat and knew that there was something different about me.  He waited until I came out and was walking to my car to approach me.  As we walked towards each other, the Holy Spirit prompted me to greet him and ask him how his day was going. 

 

 

I am so glad I listened to that prompting because the ensuring conversation with Gerald blessed me up one side and down the other.  Gerald was a Christian who loved Jesus and  was overflowing with joy and a desire to talk with someone who also loved Jesus and shared that same joy.  In the next 30 minutes Gerald poured his story out to me.......how he was raised by his grandmother because both of his parents were alcoholics and how he was so angry.  He told me that at one time he had a loaded shotgun just waiting for a man who had beaten him up in the past to get out of prison so that he could kill him.   He told me that he had hated.......hated blacks, mexicans, and then sheepishly, as I egged him on, anglos.  I laughed and said, "That means that at one time you and I wouldn't have had this conversation, huh?"  "Yep," he said.  "I would have looked at you and just thought, what is she doing here?  I would have hated you." 

 

Then he shared with me how Jesus had delivered him from all his hatred.  How he had come to understand God's grace and mercy and how he now passionately desired to share all of that with his fellow Apaches.  He shared with me that the moment he accepted Jesus as his Savior, he felt "so free, so light, like everything was lifted off of me.  I didn't know it would be like this," he told me.  He had received joy because of the unconditional love of Jesus.  And because of that unconditional love of Jesus, he no longer wanted to kill the man who had beaten him up.  In fact, when that man got out of prison, Gerald went to him and told him that he was sorry for hating him and wanting to kill him.  The man had become a Christian in prison and they are friends today.

 

I don't know about you, but I love being "different, different for Jesus!"  And I love the fact that someone saw that in me.........someone who is also "different for Jesus."  Another incredible day sharing Jesus on the rez!  It just doesn't get much better than this for me........sharing Jesus with another believer and encouraging each other in our walk with the Lord.........this is what I thrive on!  To God Be The Glory!

 

 

Those words echo in my ears from the baptism I attended this afternoon at the river on the San Carlos Indian Reservation.  Words spoken by the Director of First Nations Ministries, our hosts for the week here on the San Carlos Reservation.  And nine people did just that this afternoon......they wept with joy and gave praise to their gracious Lord and Savior as their sins "washed down the river". 

What a privilege to share in this special, special day with nine Apache friends who have taken that step of faith and obeyed the command to "believe and be baptized."  A 12 year old who was baptized said that when he came up out of the water, he saw a streak of light and that "it was sooo cool."  He was filled with awe.

 

Another said he felt the power of the Holy Spirit and then wept with joy.  Still another shared his testimony that although he had been saved for 10 years he had never been baptized.  He went on to say that he was on verge of divorce and was looking at prison time when he came to know Christ as his Savior and that the power of God helped him to turn his life around as he was delivered from a drug addiction and prison time.

Since arriving in Arizona this past Wednesday, Satan has used certain circumstances to cause me great pain and discouragement.  He has said to me, "Bail out.  Go home.  This ministry is too hard."  I have been fighting, fighting, fighting for the last 72 hours to keep my focus on Jesus and have kept going each day on pure obedience.  Today, God used this baptism to break the bondage of discouragement as He used it as a reminder of what my ministry is all about......people; people giving their lives over to Christ and becoming new creations whose sins have been "washed down the river". 

 

I have been renewed, refreshed, recharged.......ready to continue to "fight the good fight".......ready to continue to walk in faith.......ready to continue to trust God with the pain and the heartache that comes with loving and ministering to the Apache people.  Today, God turned my sorrow into joy!  Thank you, Jesus!  To God Be The Glory!

A missed flight, a delayed flight.....when should we try to get a meal? Should we change the vehicle reservation time?  When do we call everyone that is expecting us and tell them we won't make it?  Do we go ahead and go to church and get there late?  Do we try to get together with everyone late for just a few hours?  Which car do we choose? Do we stay in a hotel or start driving to our destination? and on and on and on..........decisions, decisions, decisions! 

 

Changed plans..........what do I do?  Do I listen to my instincts which basically say, "Bail Out!  This is overwhelming!"  Or do I listen to the Holy Spirit who is saying, "I'm going before you and setting everything straight, trust Me.  Listen to my guidance.  Obey Me!  Keep going!  All things work together for good to those who love Christ." 

 

Well, here we sit in Phoenix on the other end of a "spiritual warfare day" in the travel world and give glory to God who kept us going.......kept us focused......sent people to pray us to our destination......made the right decisions for us.   We're rested and are ready to dig in to the task ahead of us.  My two precious Navajo teens heading back home today (please pray for them as the experience re-entry) and me as I head down to the San Carlos Indian Reservation to lead an 8 day mission trip with two church groups from Texas.

 

Thank You, Jesus for your faithfulness as you strengthened us and gave us wisdom yesterday.  And Thank You as you have prepared us today for the task you have set before us and for teaching us to "Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it's shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of  God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  Hebrews 12:2-3

Every felt so filled up with Joy you think you'll burst?  That's how I've felt this entire past week since I flew home from Phoenix with 3 Navajo teens and 1 Apache teen.  A dream that I've had for months came true this past Sunday when we landed in Fort Wayne.  A dream that was way bigger than me...... a dream that I could never have made come true...... a dream that God shared with me and brought to pass.  This "dream come true" fills me with joy and makes my cup runneth over!

Our week started out with a trip to Glenbrook Mall (where else would you begin with teenagers?).  Every graduating gal from NAOMI gets a shopping trip designed just for them.  Everyone that comes along picks out an outfit for the graduate and she tries them all on.  After she has tried them all on she gets to pick out the one she likes and then she gets to keep it.  It is always so much fun for everyone, especially the graduate.  It makes her feel so special.

After the mall, they said their next priority was a golf lesson from Rick.  They all had known for a long time that Rick was the Pro/Manager of Golf Operations managing 4 golf courses, so when they sealed their plans to come to Fort Wayne they were so excited about learning to play golf.  One of the gals was the most excited and bought golf shoes (well, not really golf shoes, she said, they just looked like golf shoes and they were cute so she bought them).  They stepped up to their pile of golf balls confidently but then stepped back not so confidently as they found out that hitting a golf ball was not as easy as it looked.  At that point, Rick stepped in to demonstrate exactly how it should be done.  They were awed at how far he hit the ball and inspired to try again.  After several more tries and much more success, they began to talk about joining the LPGA tour.  LOL!

Next on the agenda was time to discover all that the zoo held.  They had so much fun posing together at different places in the zoo and discovering all the animals that they hadn't had a chance to see up close and personal before.  It was a wonderful time for me to just watch them, filled with joy, enjoying everything that they discovered. 

Our last night together was spent playing our traditional card game of Hand and Foot.  I always play Hand and Foot with them when I am at NAOMI House so it was especially sweet to be able to play with them in my own home.  We had so much fun, playing by "Arizona rules" and laughing and laughing.  Two of them are real comics and kept us in "stiches" the entire evening. 

Before we knew it, the weekend was over and two of the gals had to fly back to Phoenix and return to their jobs.  It was a bitter-sweet time.......so sweet to spend 5 days with the four of them.......so bitter to seem them go........I really don't know if all 5 of us will have an opportunity to be together again.  One is moving to another state later this month to attend school and the other is looking for a Cosmotology position wherever she can find one.  We all knew what we had this weekend was a special gift from God........that our "cups had runneth over". 

 

Everything I had wanted to accomplish during this weekend was accomplished and much, much more.  God truly had his hand upon this journey for these 4 teens and I know He will walk through life with them.  They are most delightful young ladies and I know that God will use them in a mighty way for His glory. 

 

Two teens remain at my home and will be here until June 10th when the three of us fly back to Phoenix together.  I will take them home and then head down to the San Carlos Indian Reservation to lead my first project of the summer.  We are making the most of the time God has given us, burning the midnight oil to enjoy every moment we have together.  And once again, I have seen God's hand and His faithfulness in bringing the girls to Indiana and my home for a visit.  As I sit here writing this Blog tonight, my heart is full and I know how blessed the girls have been to be here in my home as one of the girls' words from this afternoon rings in my ears........."The next time we come to Indiana............"  To God Be The Glory!

 

 

 

I've gotten 3 days under my belt since sheep shearing was stopped because of rain and it has been an exceptional 3 days, bringing 3 blessings.  The first day's blessing was so unexpected, just came right out of the blue.  Shocked me really.  Working on my computer Friday morning preparing to go to Joe City for my special gal's graduation, I received a call from her with the question, "What time are you coming over here?"  I told her I had a 1 p.m. meeting with a new ministry partner and that I'd be over after that.  "Can you pick up my foster sister at Holbrook High School, she can come to my graduation and stay for the weekend," she said.

 

Talk about a shock!  Her foster sister had gone back home months ago and I had prayed that I would be able to see her again, when God gave me 15 minutes with her in February (see my Monopoly Anyone? Blog)   I had been praying that she would get to come to the graduation and even emailed her with the offer to pick her up but hadn't heard anything back from her.  So when I was asked if I could pick her up, I immediately began to make phone calls rearranging my schedule so that I could pick her up.  What joy to see her hop in my car at the school and know that I would get to see her for the weekend.

 

Graduation came and went quickly.  There was much to do, much to eat, and much relationships to enjoy.  The night came and went too fast.  This was a quadruple blessing with four foster-sisters coming together for the evening.  I am so proud of them!  

 

 

 

The 2nd blessing came on Saturday when I went to Sanders to meet with a new ministry partner, see her ministry and pray for God's guidance with it.  The ministry is a horse ministry where my new ministry partner trains Navajos to train horses and then relates that training to how God trains us up in our faith.  I was given a tour of the ranch and the surrounding Navajo rez as well as spent time working with the horses.  It was so much fun!!!!!!!!! 

 

The third blessing came on Sunday when I drove two hours to go to my ministry partner's church service in Gallup.  I always enjoy this church and the people, especially the Sunday School where we all sit around a table and are taught by one of the Navajo elders.  After the church service the family that I helped to shear sheep invited me to attend their daughter's graduation party at the sheep ranch.  At the graduation party I was made to feel so welcome as everyone talked with me and wanted to know about my job with AIM.  As I was blessed with being in their home for the party, they said that they were blessed that I would come all the way from Indiana to help them shear their sheep.   

 

This has been an incredible 7 days here on the Navajo Rez.  God has gone before me each day and laid out before me just what He has wanted me to do.  I so love these ministry trips because God orders my steps and brings me relationships for mutual encouragement and for bringing glory unto Himself!   To God Be The Glory! 

When I close my eyes I see scissors going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth; and then I see a hole in the wool open up right before my eyes and I know I've done it, I've made the big break through that I've been waiting for..........wait a minute, it's all a dream.......the wool is gone and so are the scissors.  But what's not gone is the reality of what happened this week for me on a Navajo sheep ranch in Mexican Springs, New Mexico.  What happened was that my faith was, again, increased.

 

This past Monday, all I took to that Navajo sheep ranch was faith.  The sheep shearing project had been coming together nicely with two groups interested in shearing and then, right before my very eyes, the groups fell away; first one, and then the other.  My faith told me that God had a plan and that all I had to do was find it.  So I began to look........I began seeking God's will for the project......I prayerfully went to the word 3 times and all 3 times God confirmed that I was to go shear sheep.  Then I began finding people who were willing and excited about going with me to shear.  As a final confirmation, I had a ministry partner donate money for my airfare.  It just couldn't get any clearer than that, I thought.

 

Shortly after the airfare was purchased, the people who were willing and excited about shearing began to fall away, one by one.  Evenutally, no one was left.  I was going to be going to the Navajo sheep ranch by myself.  As I sat contemplating that fact the night before the shearing was to begin, God said to me, "Tomorrow will be special, Sherry."  That's all I needed to hear.  I went to bed and slept peacefully in anticipation of what tomorrow would bring.

 

When I arrived at the sheep ranch the next morning, I certainly did not know what to expect.  How would this work out?  Would I feel out of place?  Would I be able to be a help and not be a hindrance?  Would the family accept my help? 

 

As I sat in the kitchen waiting for the family to gather, I was immediately put at ease by the owner of the ranch and his sister.  We sat and chatted for a time before heading out to the sheep shed.  I was immediately paired up with a shearing partner and we headed out to the corral to capture the sheep that we were going to shear. 

 

I certainly didn't know what I was doing, but my shearing partner did and she talked me through the process of chasing the sheep, grabbing it by it's hind leg, straddling it and then walking it to the shearing table.

 

Then she began to show me how to shear.  I watched for a time and then she gave me scissors and I began to shear, listening to her suggestions as I went.  It was so much fun.

Ever been Wooly Riding?  I haven't, but I watched about 30 youngsters doing it 3 weeks ago while I was in Gallup for my lamb project.   Following my ministry partner back to his church after leaving the sheep ranch, we stopped off at the local feed store to purchase some hay for his horses.   When we arrived at the feed store, there were so many people there that our curiosity was instantly aroused.  While my ministry partner purchased the hay, my team walked to the back of the parking lot to check out what was happening.  What a surprise when we saw about 30 kids ages 7 and under waiting around for their turn to ride around an arena on the back of a sheep, just like real rodeo riders. 

 

We had so much fun watching those youngsters, some riding all the way to the rear of the arena on their sheep and others instantly falling to the ground as their sheep jumped out of the chute.  When we got ready to leave, we looked around for my ministry partner to see if he was ready to go.  We couldn't find him at first but then spotted him on the bleachers with a Navajo family.  He introduced us to them when we approached......the great grandmother of the family being a member of his church.  One of her great grandsons was Wooly Riding that day, so we decided to stay and watch.  Just before her grandson mounted his ride, I snapped a couple of pictures of him and then got another picture while he was riding in the arena. 

 

When his ride was over, I showed the family his pictures.  They were ecstatic that I had gotten pictures of him, so I told them I would mail them copies when I returned home.  His grandma scribbled out her address on a piece of paper for me and off we went.  When I returned home, the first thing I did was run off those pictures and stuck them in the mail to the Navajo family of the Wooly Rider.

 

A few days later I received a "Thank You" email from the grandmother saying that the whole family really enjoyed the pictures of her grandson and that receiving them had "made their Mother's Day."   Then she asked me to tell her about my ministry with AIM, as she went to

a local baptist church in Gallup and was interested in missions.  I sent off an email telling her all about AIM and asked her if she would be interested in meeting with me the next time I was in Gallup, to which she instantly replied, "Yes."

 

I just returned from my meeting with her here in Gallup.  She was so interested in helping me staff a project this summer on the rez.  She said she wanted to stay in the area and minister "to her own people" because of all the suffering around her.  She wants to tell them that there is hope to be found in a relationship with Jesus.  She wants to share what she has found........that the answer to all the heartache on the rez is simply.....Jesus!  She knows because she has suffered so much heartache herself......4 deaths in the last couple of months, with the hardest being her 29 year old son who committed suicide.  She told me that Jesus is what has kept her going through all of the pain.  Jesus is bringing her hope.  Jesus is walking beside her.  Jesus is her comfort.

 

Just before I left her home, she told me that our meeting at Wooly Riding was not an accident, it was from God.  AIM was exactly what she had been praying for.  Who would have thought, a Divine Appointment at Wooly Riding? 

 

My heart soars again, as I see my ministry philosophy being carried out through this Godly woman.  A ministry philosophy of raising up American Indians who will take the gospel back to their own people.  I am oh, so humbled that God would allow me to be a part of this precious Navajo woman's journey of bringing the hope of Jesus to her own people!  To God Be The Glory!