While we didn’t have any huge events occur this month, it’s that time of year that we start planning for all of our groups to come in the spring and summer. We have at least seven different groups coming to do a number of things including work projects, VBS, gospel meetings, workshops, and outreach activities. The sojourners are coming again on two separate trips. One is for manual labor and the other is a workshop called “The Listening Lab” which is designed to teach church members skills in visiting and winning back those that have fallen away.
It takes a lot of time to get all these groups in order. I spend a lot of time communicating with the group leaders, figuring out what they will do, and helping them get their arrangements in order like lodging, food and travel. This is especially true for those groups that have never been to Kayenta. Other than the sojourners, we have three church groups that have come in the past and liked it so much they are coming again. There are two church groups coming that have never been here before and very interested in the reservation work. We think it’s very important to allow many groups the chance to come here and work. These work groups always build up our congregation by encouraging our members and reaching out to potential new members. There is always more excitement and energy when groups are here. Not only that but the more people that visit the reservation, the more exposure we have in the church and opportunities for new workers and resources. We are also trying to make plans to have interns come out this summer to work with us. This is another large task because there are almost no options for housing and so if we can convince people to come work with us, there is a huge hurdle to jump in finding them a place to stay. Right now, we are looking at the possibility of buying a single-wide trailer to put on the church property for more workers. If you are interested in donating to this cause, please talk to me as soon as possible.
Our first reservation-wide monthly Bible study of 2014 was in Fort Defiance. I had the opportunity to travel down on a Friday night and spend the night. We are continuing our study on resurrection and end times. As much as anything, this study is a great chance for me to fellowship with the other preachers on the reservation. It is always encouraging to spend time with other preachers and share in our struggles and our victories.
As always, many of our members have been struggling in their faith, so we have spent some time visiting with them and trying to build them up so they come to services consistently and lean on the Bible and the church for support. A young couple in the church just had a baby. Outside of us, this is the first baby we have seen here born i1nside of marriage and there have been at least 8 babies that I can remember born into families in the church. Regardless, this young man has struggled with many issues over the years and he is finally at a point where he is ready to make a change. He is strongly considering going to preaching school and I have spent some time trying to guide him in the right direction. Please pray for Ryan as he is looking for his next phase in life.
