Kinlichee – Wednesday 6-24-2009
There are at least 2 things you can expect to see at almost every Kinlichee home – dogs and kids. The kids in the subdivisions play freely from house to house, climbing fences, riding bicycles, and playing games. Finding kids playing is the key to inviting children to VBS. They see one of our vans pull up with bright colored words on the windows and are automatically interested. Most want to come to VBS and the parents generally want them to attend. After a couple days we know their names, where they live, and what they like to do. Their smiles, laughter, and energy brighten the compound the minute they arrive. It really doesn’t take long to make a heart-connection with the children. All of us have.
Dogs are everywhere here and most of them don’t like people to get close to their property. The friendlier dogs roam the streets looking for food and water but many are tied without anything to sustain them (no water or food). These dogs are mean and wouldn’t hesitate to tear you apart. Here is one of the dogs we faced while picking up kids last night. I couldn’t make myself get close enough to catch him showing his teeth. About 30 seconds after taking this picture a sweet little girl popped out of the house and loaded our van. She didn’t even notice the dog that had my 100% attention.
The desert is a beautiful but dangerous place. Many of you may remember Bud’s dog named Buddy. He was the first one to greet us when we arrived. Buddy is full of energy, loves to play, and receive attention. On Monday Bud noticed swelling under his neck and Buddy was lethargic even stumbling at times. Bud took Buddy to a Veterinarian who diagnosed the swelling as a snake bite. Buddy is doing much better now and back to his old self.
Another example of both the beauty and the danger was captured in this photo taken from inside the compound. Sunsets like this are common and spectacular here and remind us of God’s creative power. Notice that the compound is surrounded by a tall barbed wire fence. Speculation is that Bud is going to use this to prevent us from leaving rather than stopping those from getting inside.
The Conversion Stories VBS is going extremely well. Tuesday night we studied the Ethiopian Eunuch and gave the children rides in the chariot that Brad built. Last night we studied the jailer conversion story. The children appear to be learning a lot and having fun. The classes include memorizing a Bible verse, snacks, and lots of learning. Below are a couple shots from the classes along with some of our fabulous teachers. Tuesday we had 27 kids and last night we had 35.
Tonight we had two adult classes – Men and women. Donna Askins has led the women’s class this week and has a passion for supporting the women who attend. While we sometimes have trouble understanding their concerns, listening with a loving, caring heart overcomes a lot of the cultural differences. Eight ladies attended Donna’s class while Lance had 2 gentlemen. This was the first time local men have gathered to discuss the Bible during our VBS.
Bubbles are a hit in Kinlichee. Both the kids and the adults love them. We use them in class, during our greeting time, and as a take home gift. Kathy used the bubbles in her class to identify the child who was next saying their Bible verse. Tracey says she is using bubbles to greet the kids but I really believe she just likes playing with bubbles. We are all kids at heart.
We gave up several things when we came to Kinlichee – our beds, our air conditioning, our long showers, our privacy, our TV, and our diet. Lesli and her helpers have fed us well. We’ve had great meals at least 3 times a day and snacks throughout. In particular, last night Lesli served banana budding for desert (a personal favorite). I literally licked the bowl which no one captured as a photo. During VBS, Lesli is affectionately known as “The Snack Lady”.
Over the last couple days we have taken a couple breaks to tour some of the area’s landscape. Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo nation and is about 30 minutes away from Kinlichee. It is called Window Rock because of the large rock formation that is practically in the back yard of their main office buildings. We visited this site Tuesday afternoon and had fun taking pictures and attempting to climb to the top. The rock formation is dedicated to the Navajo Code Talkers who made a significant contribution to our victory in WWII. Some of the more daring and brave folks attempted to climb to the top of Window Rock for a different view. Please view these pictures on facebook.
Wednesday we visited two sites. The first was the Red Brick ruin from which Kinlichee got its name (Kinlichee means “red house”). The second is one of the more breathtaking and beautiful sites we visit on this trip – Canyon De Chelly National Monument. This is a picture of some of the youth from the top of the canyon along with a picture of just the canyon. The pictures fail to capture the full beauty of God’s creation.
At the top the canyon there is a 1.5 mile trail down to the floor of the canyon where you can get a closer look at the Pueblo ruins that are imbedded in the cliffs. Several brave souls ventured down the somewhat steep, rocky path and saw a different perspective of the canyon. For a couple of us, this required us to overcome our fear of heights. Good news: we all made it to the bottom and back to the top without incident. While I’ve been told that going down is harder than going up, the steep hike up was pretty tough.
The ruins had two levels. The first level was ground level while the upper level required ladders. During attacks the Pueblos would climb to the upper level and pull up the ladders. Despite the intense heat, fear, and a large protective fence, the scenery and close view of the ruins was worth the hike.
We are all doing well and looking forward to our last night of VBS tonight. Please continue to pray that the seeds of God’s love will find fertile soil here in Kinlichee.
June 25 2009 10:49 am | Missions
