Unripe Raspberries

Those raspberries up there... see all the orange ones with stems included?  They are my reminder for today to savor the imperfect. 

Yesterday I brought home a little boy from church.  He asks most Sundays if he can come home with us for the day.  He loves Legos and I love him.  So we swung by his family's house and asked if he could come play for awhile in the afternoon and they agreed. 

A little later, Jesse called and asked if I wanted another kid for the day.  I chuckled at first, thinking he was making a joke but he wasn't; he had with him a little girl whose house was empty when Jesse's bus swung by to drop her off after church.  It is unnecessary to explain all the details, but at the end of it all, a little girl came to stay until we reached a family member.  

Sometimes you just move when the Spirit says move. 

She stayed close by my side all day and into the evening.  No one was home there in the evening when Jesse stopped by, and I cuddled her to sleep.  She stayed close by my side all morning after waking up, but when she saw Lyddie and Millie with bowls out in the raspberry patch, her face lit up and she immediately asked for a bowl and we went out to help.  Her sweet fingers joined the other girls' in plucking tender berries from the brambles, and in her eagerness, orange berries and stems were tugged off and planted in the bowl with such joy.  I just smiled and handed her a ripe one to munch on while she continued to help pick.

I took her back to her mom earlier this morning and she laid her head on my shoulder as I carried her up the walkway.  The door swung open and little girl wrapped her arms around mom's neck, standing there in the doorway, and proudly grinned to catch a glimpse of the little bowl of raspberries she was bringing back with her.  

It is complicated to write about some of the stories of my life here, and I find myself backing away on this blog to the simple beauties I see around me because at least those ones I can process, at least those ones have straightforward emotions attached.  There is nothing wrong with that in one sense, but I keep feeling prickles of conviction to share just a little deeper, to venture just a little further into what makes up  my life and walk with the Lord.  This paradox of beauty in imperfections, of Holy God in the broken places- these stories are important to share for those who will listen because they are the a big part of my life and God's work in it, even if they are messy.  I approach them with a light touch and some trepidation because I feel I tread holy ground to open these doors of glimpses into my life and the lives of the people we live and work with in this beautiful place called The Rez.  

December Doings

I have thought often about updating my blog recently but realized that for me, blog-writing isn't as much fun when you don't have pictures to post. Since our camera broke this summer, I haven't had any way of taking pictures, so my motivation to blog hasn't been huge. However, I am going to borrow a few pictures from folks to make it more fun...

The weather here has been unbelievably cold for Western Washington! I think the low tonight is supposed to be in the teens and we're not supposed to get above freezing today. For a temperate climate, that is pretty cold! We got a bit of snow on Saturday, which has melted and re-frozen, making the roads a bit messy. On Saturday, Jesse and I spent the day at my parents where I made Christmas cookies with mom and then watched a movie (The Bishop's Wife with Carey Grant). Here are a few pictures I snatched off my mom's blog: These were taken Saturday night in front of their cute house


On Tuesday, Jesse and I took the day and went over to Yakima to celebrate with the Granberrys, the new little Hope Christian Fellowship, and their friends and family. They held their sixth annual Christmas Feast, which is an amazing occasion that God is clearly working through. Last year we were just beginning to increase in our interest in what He was doing on the reservation out there, so we watched the videos with awe and excitement, even though we couldn't get over there. This year we headed over, helped prepare food for around 200+ people (although there were "only" 180 or so there this year), wrapped gifts, folded bulletins for the service part of the celebration, loaded trucks, and had great fellowship with the Granberrys and folks who had come from around the state (mostly the western side) to come help with this massive outreach opportunity. Mary prepared 4 big hams, a turkey, stuffing, and more. Members of our church (fepc.org) brought fruit salad and potato salads while another church or two donated desserts for everyone. One of the hunters on the tribe shot an elk the day before and prepared that for us all as well. It was delicious!

Celebrating Christmas in the traditional longhouse is, as Chris says, a potential minefield of challenges. Christmas is not a traditional Yakama holiday and to celebrate it in the longhouse would be akin to having a Ramadan celebration in one of our churches. Many people think of Native peoples as a) having no outlined religion or b) pantheistic, nature-worshipers, both of which are untrue. The Yakama people do not worship nature (or if they do, they are not following the traditional Longhouse religion) and believe in one God, just as we do. The Longhouse tradition has many specific laws and guidelines that in many senses make me think of the Pharisaical religion of Christ's day without the benefit of the specific Messianic scriptures to guide their understanding of Jesus. Therefore, to not only allow, but to welcome in "white people" and their religious holiday celebration is truly a miracle of the Lord. It is so exciting to be even a small part of the tremendous glory God is revealing on the Yakama Indian Reservation. He is bringing hope and light to these hurting and cast-off peoples through the Granberrys and through all of our continued prayers.

My favorite part of the evening must have been the gift-giving; churches and people from around the country donated a variety of gifts for women, men, boys, and girls, which may be the only gift these children receive for the holidays. It is difficult for us to understand the poverty culture that surrounds these children, and difficult for us to imagine, surrounded by our wealth and comfort, that one of our children would be satisfied with "merely" a Hot Wheels car as their only gift of the year, but this kind of gift is common - for birthdays, Christmas, etc, a Hot Wheels car or Beanie baby is joyfully received. This video was posted by Chris on YouTube and I can't watch it without tears of joy at the happiness this simple gift has brought these children. These children may not yet realize it, but Chris and Mary's work is to bring knowledge of an even greater and more lasting free gift than even this: the grace and salvation Jesus Christ bought for us and donated to us at no cost. I pray that these small gifts to each person that came may open wide doors for the gift of Christ to be communicated.


More thoughts and doings to come later, I hope!

Sacred Road Ministries

For the last year, Jesse and I have been praying and thinking about full-time missions. We've actually been considering missions individually before we knew each other and then together from the early times of our dating and decided we would always be open to go wherever God called us. Last year we decided to attend our church's missions conference with no specific expectation that we would feel called anywhere at this point. However, God's plans are always higher than our own, and He definitely has all of our days written in His book.
Of all the missionaries who spoke, the only one I even remember was Chris Granberry, who has lived and worked on the Yakama Indian Reservation for the last six years with his wife, Mary, and four kids, Ann Marie, Beth, Morgan, and David. The name of the ministry is Sacred Road Ministries and at this point, the Granberrys are the only family there. Chris was ordained through the PCA in August and is focusing on planting a church in the town of White Swan outside of Yakima, WA.
It's difficult to know where to start. Beyond being heartbroken to hear about the conditions on the reservation, we were instantly excited about looking more into the ministry, with the possibility of joining them, and at least possibly getting involved ourselves and opening doors for the young adult small group we lead to serve as well.

It worked out for us to go visit in January and spend our first few days on the Rez. We really started to fall in love with the Native people and found our hearts saddened by seeing third world conditions a mere 2 1/2 hours from where I grew up. We were able to find out a lot more about the current work and the vision the Granberrys have, and even start dreaming about what roles God might have waiting for us.
In the past six years, the Lord has worked amazing things through the Granberrys and continues to work. Each summer, they have to turn away teams from churches across the country because they don't have room for them to stay and work on the reservation. Teams work on houses, roofing, painting, etc, and run afternoon kids clubs at nearby housing projects. During the rest of the year, life is filled with the same types of activities as well as mentoring those Native Americans that have become Christians. Chris leads a large Tuesday night Bible study with dinner provided (by Mary and whatever helpers she may find) for at least 50-70 people.
At this point, they are establishing a church family and getting ready to build a facility for the church services and for teams to stay in when they come. Jesse is hoping (if we get approved following our evaluation) to help start up an after school tutoring program that would hopefully turn into a full middle/high school. I am excited to see what God might have for both of us, knowing that the education and gifts that He has given me are ultimately His and He will use them no matter where we are in life.
We applied for the ministry in June, and rather than going through the faster, shorter intern application process, we decided that if we were thinking about moving to the Yakima area long term, it would be better to go through the longer evaluation and support raising process. We heard in mid-September that the Sacred Road Board of Directors had approved our application and we could start planning to go through the evaluation process. At this point, we are planning to fly to San Diego in January for a week, although most of the week will be spent in Tijuana for evaluation and classes. There is one other couple that is currently raising support to join Chris and Mary, and another couple who will be going through the evaluation process with us in January.

Please pray for us during this time. The more I am in the Word and prayer, the more eager I am to follow God where He calls. I have been encouraged by reading many books as well, especially L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer, and recently finished rereading Peace Child by Don Richardson about working with a primitive cannibalistic tribe in Papua New Guinea. We are filled with excitement about what God might have before us.

If you want to see more information about Sacred Road, you can follow the link on the left column of my blog to their blog or you can see their official website at www.sacredroadministries.org. You can also see some of their phenomenal videos from this past summer when the teams came and did work. Chris does a great job explaining their philosophy on some of the videos on youtube if you search for "sacred road ministries." Or you can ask us and we would love to send you the DVD about the ministry. Please pray for us to be willing to forsake all we know for the call of Christ to share His love with the poor and afflicted. Pray for us to be confident in His provision no matter where He calls us. Pray for strength for me in knowing the best way and time to approach my workplace about this opportunity before us.