American Indian Mission Trips are very intense with little or no free time. Days are long and ministry is intense. Today was no exception. So much has happened today that my head is spinning this evening. My body sags and my mind is weary but at at the same time, I am rejoicing at all that was accomplished for the kingdom today. The day began as usual with devotions, prayer time and breakfast. After breakfast, everyone split up into their groups to do their construction projects. I took the first group down to the vendor market to get them set up to hand out free clothing and stayed with them until they felt comfortable with the situation and were beginning to reach out to the locals that were coming to the market. So many lives were touched at the market with the blessing of free clothing. To God Be The Glory!
Then I drove over to the house of the couple who prayed to accept Christ on Sunday to get a team started on painting over the graffiti that was on the walls on the inside of the house. As I talked with the couple about Jesus, they told me, "We feel so different!" They are feeling that rebirth that comes from the cleansing of the forgiveness of sin. To God Be The Glory!
At the house, I was told that they were running out of paint so I drove 30 minutes into Globe to purchase another gallon of paint. I was told to get "Kills" paint so off I went. When I arrived at the hardware store I quickly realized that there was 2 kinds of "Kills" paint and I was not told which kind to get. "What do I do, God, which kind do I get?" At that moment, I knew which kind to get, purchased it and headed 30 minutes back to San Carlos to deliver the paint. When I walked in the room that was being painted, the first thing I saw was a gallon of the exact paint that I had in my hand. Thank you, Jesus, for showing me which kind of paint to get. To God Be The Glory!
When I left the painting house, I headed to the grocery to pick up a few things for dinner. I really enjoy going to rez groceries. It is a great chance to interact with the locals and have a chance to give them a touch of Jesus. But this time Jesus used one of them to touch me. As I was checking out, the clerk asked me if I had a "Basha's card". No, I said, disappointedly because I knew it would save me money. An Apache lady in front of me overheard and said, "She can use my number." What a blessing that was for me to have a complete stranger let me use her number. To God Be The Glory!
Next I went back to the vendor market to check on the team there and see if everything was going well. When I arrived, I was greeted excitedly by the student on the right who had shared Christ with one of the locals standing in the Fry Bread line and then prayed with her to accept Christ. Wow, in the Fry Bread line! To God Be The Glory!
After the vendor market I headed back to First Nations to get the groceries put away and, take pictures of everyone doing construction and get dinner started. While I was taking pictures I heard some excited voices around the front of the house so I went to see what was happening. When I rounded the house, I saw everyone gathered around this car.
They all spilled out the story of what happened. The daughter of the couple who had just come to Christ hit a horse on the road, the horse hit her windshield and flipped over her car. No one was hurt but the horse had to be put down. It must have been quite a sight to see. When the brother-in-law of the man who had just came to Christ saw the windshield, he said, "The devil's mad, the devil's mad." And how right he was. The devil has had a grip on this family for so long that he was not wanting to give them up. Everyone gathered around the family encouraging and praying for them. After some tears, they could see that God was in control of the situation and just gave it all over to Him. To God Be The Glory!
Dinner was next on the agenda and with 5 helpful hands, a delicious dinner of Lasagna, salad, pineapple, garlic bread and chocolate cake was prepared.
One of the local Apache ladies helped prepare the meal and it was a wonderful time of sharing lives and encouraging one another in the Lord. Tomorrow this family is taking our group to the Apache Mineral Mine on top of the mountain behind the church. Apaches mine the semi-precious gem, peridot, at the mine and use it to make jewelry that they sell to make a living. We are told that we can search for our own peridot. So cool! When locals begin to take you places, you know that you are in the grip of a good relationship. Several other locals joined us for dinner and we had some GREAT fellowship. Much encouragement was shared and Jesus was glorified. To God Be The Glory!
After dinner, The Hub was open for the local kids who come and hang out from 6-9 every Tuesday evening. This week was special for them as well as for our group of teens who had a great time playing together.
I saw Uno, Clue, video games, football, and Sorry being played along with a group of teens sitting around singing praise songs with a guitar. It gives me chills to see youth worshipping God in a group all on their own without anyone prompting them. To God Be The Glory!
When The Hub closed for the evening, our group gathered for Debrief and everyone shared what had happend during their day. It is so much fun and a blessing for me to hear what God is doing in their lives. One gal shared that her heart was broken when one of the local kids she was playing with told her he didn't want to go home because his brother would beat him up. They handled it so well and really encouraged the little one. God is breaking her heart for the people of San Carlos, the very reason I lead short-term mission trips, so that students can come to the place that God wants them to be. To God Be The Glory!
Hey, everyone needs a little fun, right? After Debrief, several of us went "critter" hunting with a black light. Scorpions are so cool when a black light is shined on them in the dark. After locating one and seeing it literally "glow in the dark", I decided I had too much work to do and was too tired, so I headed back to my room to reconcile my finances, work on my trip report and Blog.
Back in the house, I had a wonderful conversation with one of my ministry partners at First Nations about the traditional Apache Sunrise Dance, traditional worship, and what had transpired during the day. I so enjoy the company of the First Nations staff. Their heart for the Lord just shines through them as I have seen them minister to the Apache people at all hours of the day and night. I am learning so much from them. To God Be The Glory!
I wish I could say my day was done, but a Trip Report needs to be done and then I can fall into bed, praying for all the people that God has put in my life this week while awaiting sleep to overtake me and bring rejuvenation so that I can do it all again tomorrow. And I can't wait for tomorrow to come, as there's no place I'd rather be at this very moment, but doing God's work on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. To God Be The Glory!
