Home for the summer..

Here I am, about to reach the first day of spring, and we have just learned that unless God changes things we will not be traveling back east this summer.  With the rising cost of gas, and with having to fix the truck, we are stuck for the summer.  Robby most likely will work at BABR for the summer, and I will seek a job of some sort... to save for next school year and future support trips.   May haps we can met family in Tucumcarrie, NM over thanksgiving.  Yet, what ever why and when ever we get back home... God is with us and we will continue to serve Him.

To be a Christian... how does that look?

When you think of the word Christian?

• Do you think of people who sit in a church, keep the pews warm, and look down their noses at anyone who does not live up to their standards?

• Do you think of someone who embraces a lifestyle dedicated to intimacy in and with the Father, provoking extreme obedience, manifesting in radical stewardship, here "...on earth as it is in heaven."?

This is something I have been wrestling with for a long time. I first went to the missions field when I was just 15, and served in Chihuahua, Mexico for two weeks. The scriptures that came to my heart then, and have not left me were Luke 9:3 "And He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics." and the Rich Young Ruler from Luke 18:18-30, and Acts 2:44-47 "And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

What do those mean? I know that that is how the early church was, and that Jesus was giving instructions to his disciples. But for me, now for 13 years, these have been the scriptures weighing heavy on my heart. By 19, I was was ministering among the subcultures. I had no drivers license, worked odd and end jobs, as long as they would keep me, and giving from the little I had to those in need. That summer to winter, I lost 5 friends, three to car and motor cycle accidents. Depression and PTSD from that and another event my 20th year, became my closest friends. I had bought a house when I was 24, to fix up and become a safe haven for at risk youth... but lost it 6 months later due both my house mate and I glossing our jobs. On the bright side, I gained a husband out of it, for a friend had come to help, and we grew to love each other..something neither of us were looking for.

Robby and I have never owned our own place. In fact, now 3 years married....our largest place is our small 1 bedroom apartment here at college where we have a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dinning room, and kitchen of our own. Normally, we have had only a bedroom and bathroom, and we have never been unhappy with either little or much. We were married just as the economy fell apart, and jobs have not been easy to come by. We have lived in 8 states since we were married, and traveled to many more, some for jobs, some for ministry. At 26, I finally got my drivers license and a truck. A year later, Dad and I swapped trucks... my 1984 F-150 for his 1997 Dodge Dakota, and Robby and I headed out to Dine Bikeyah as missionaries to them.

Now here I sit, 9 months later, wondering still... how is this suppose to look? Which type of Christian am I: one they hate or one who draws others closer to Him? I am still not sure, and the search continues.

Update...

Greetings friends and family,

We have now been in Dine Bikeyah for 9 months, since July 2010.  Now in March, we are happily settled.  Not that is without issues; in fact, right now we are stuck in Flagstaff most of the time, due to issues with our truck battery and possible other complications with the truck.  But that is not getting us down.  We leave with the college in a little over a week for the annual trip.  This year we will be going to Gallup, NM and helping out at many churches in the area.

We have just a little over a month of this college year left.  For the summer, Rob is thinking of working at Broken Arrow Bible Ranch. I am looking for a summer job, to catch up on school bills and put Rob in good shape for next year.  Late July and early August we are planning a quick trip to Kentucky and Kansas to visit supporting churches, prior to Rob returning for his second of four years.  I will be finishing up a few classes, then doing distance learning.

Prayer Requests:
* For the truck, that it wont cost much to repair.
* For both of us to finish out the college year well.
* For the Navajo youth we work with in Kayenta, while we are gone.

Needs:
* Rob - Good projector with computer hook ups.
* Me - Bicycle for Flagstaff travel (cut on future gas expenses)
* Gas Funds (with rising costs, travel is harder and needs greater)

Blessings all!

Wiic'ita

Wiic'ita means, as close as we can tell the tattooed people, and today is translated Wichita.  Wiic'ita was the northern camp of the Kitikiti'sh, who were called Wiic'ita by neighboring tribes, and Quivira by Coronado and his men in 1541.  As early as that, 1541, the Kitikiti'sh were already settled in their summer homes, at the conecting of the Little and Big Ar'Kanazi Rivers (Arkansas, said in Kansas as Ar'kansas, which is closer to the correct Ar'Kanazi).  The first settlements here were the grass lodges of the Kitikiti'sh.  By 1870's Wiic'ita became known as Wichita, or by it's nick name "Cowtown".  And was a major stop on the Cimeron Trail of the cattle drives.

To this day, Wiic'ita is the largest city in Kansas, having quickly surpassed Topeka and Kansas City, KS (not to be confused with Kansas City, MO, which is larger).   Know still as the "Cowtown" and also as the Air Capital of the World", as it has more airplane plants than any other city in the world.  These days, Emerald City Expo, a steampunk festival, is held here, in part at the Historic Wichita Cowtown Museum; many of who's buildings date to the 1870's and 1880's and were moved to this site for preservation. As well, the Great Plains Renaissance Fest and Sedgwick County Zoo are not to be missed.

There are so many more neat things to tell about Wiic'ita, as I grew up here, but those must wait for another day...

No Battery and Coming Rain...

Last summer, I traded my beloved 1984 Ford F-150, Tsalagi, with my Dad, for his 1997 Dodge Dakota, Gypsy.  Thursday, I went out to pick up food for our weekend trip to Toh Di'neesh Zhee (Kayenta), but Gypsy would not start.  I checked the connections, but they were tight.  I jumped her, but she did not jump.  So now, we have to get a ride in to the shop and prayerfully, they honor the warranty, and trade us batteries.

The truck being down, has us walking about town more, and for the first time in our 9 months here, I am beginning to feel like I am beginning to know our neighborhood.  We live in Sunnyside, which is in east Kilinidi. We are just a few blocks from our grocery store, a short walk to the barber, a long walk to the indoor Farmer's Market, and long walk to wal-mart.  Even more fun though, we are a short walk to Big Lots.   Soon, I will go hunting for parks, so we can spend more time outside.  I am looking for seeds for our garden, and trusting the spring rain that is coming will melt the snow on the raised beds.

How I long at this time of year, that I had a good bicycle.  My last bike, Meg, had to be left in Shikaakwa when we moved.  I so miss the wind in my face and the puddles spashing under my wheels.  That, and with the cost of gas these days, I could sure save alot...

Coffee, Rugs, and Shades...

Early spring, and we have been settled in a one bedroom apartment for 9 months.  Wow!  It has been a while since we were on the move.  It is hard to believe, or get use to having a place this big, and a WHOLE lot harder to keep it clean.  With spring here though, we went to get some nice roman shades and a rug from World Market. When not on the road, World Market is one of my top shops to visit. With so many styles and choices it was not easy but quickly we settled on the Kimono Rug and the Henri Floral Roman Shades.  Now with new rug down in the living room, the old plain rug under the dinning room table, and the Henri shades up with the cool spring evening air blowing in, it is starting to feel more like a home than just a temp apartment.

Back at home, we settled in for an evening of coffee and home work; this past week was mid-terms and with having been ill the weeks before, we are still behind on homework.  Blah!  But, as soon as this last paper is done, we are planing to watch Iron Man 2.  Yes, it is good to be home... at last.

Shikaakwa

Called Shikaakwa, meaning wild onions, by the Mihtohseeniaki and Illiniwek, but it became known as Chicago, a mispronunciation of the original name for the place.   Based on Lake Michigan, it has always been a natural port location, and remains such to this day.  After the devastation of the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city rebuilt to become now in 2011 the third largest city in the USA.

In my journeys, my husband and I settled for 14 months in Chicago, doing inter-city and homeless ministry.  We dwelt in an old 1920's hotel in Uptown Chicago, and were a short walk from Graceland and Saint Boniface Cemeteries.   It is well worth touring on foot the cemeteries, to see up close and personal the lasting monuments of Chicago's history and periods of architecture.  If shopping is your thing, check out the Unique and Salvation Army thrift stores and the shops of Little Thailand, Little India, and Chinatown.  Lakeshore's bike paths are a joy, and the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free, is a blast, but for two travelers with a heart left in Dine Bikeyah, Shikaakwa is no place to stay for long.