March 28, 2011

Dear Family,

            Our second week in the field has been very full.  You don’t worry about us getting fat and lazy here on the rez. Monday, we attended an all day training meeting in Tuba City (about 100 miles away) with all the gardening project missionaries and the leaders in charge.  One of the other missionaries (Ronnie Olson) is from Star Valley and grew up half a mile down the road from my mom’s family. 

On the way home we picked up our little SUV and trailer that we had left in Kayenta then loaded it up with sawdust before returning to Dennehotso.  Tuesday we spent most of the day preparing for our gardening workshop we hosted here including preparing the soil in our demonstration garden.  We also helped a woman load manure and put it on her garden area and roto-till it.  We brought half a trailer of manure back for our demo garden and shoveled it on will the wind gusted mightily (we were very careful to stay upwind).  I learned to run the tiller  (not quite the thrill I had imagined) and went over the whole garden area. 

Our gardening experts, the Seeleys arrived and helped us put up the fence around our demo garden, then we cut 20-ft lengths of fencing in preparation for handing out supplies after the workshop.  Elder Seeley is 68 years old and Elder Richins is 70, but they both work like Trojans.  It was bright and sunny day with lots of fluffy, white clouds in the sky whose bottoms were pink from reflecting the red ground.  I

We had a really good turnout at our demonstration, probably more than 50 people.  It was very cold, so Elder Seeley gave a workshop on preparing the soil for planting inside the church and just did a short demonstration in the garden about the applying the fertilizer and putting up the fencing.  We helped everyone load up their materials and fed them refreshments then regrouped before collapsing with exhaustion.

During the night the temperature dropped to the low 20’s so our water lines froze.  Trace got up in the middle of the night to turn everything off and cover things up better.  It was 22 degrees when we got up in the morning but very sunny and, blessedly, not windy for the first time in days.  We drove to Kayenta to load up some more supplies and help the Seeleys with their gardening workshop there, which attracted another large crowd.  I helped with the paperwork while Trace assisted Elder Seeley, then we distributed heavy metal fence posts and clips to attach the fencing to them.  Fortunately, a very strong member of the stake presidency and another young man helped us.  We had quite a row of pick-ups lined up all around the parking lot but finally everyone was loaded up. 

It was so windy on Thursday that we had to shelve our plan to return to Kayenta for a huge load of sawdust.  It was just as well because I ended up spending several hours doing business for the townhouse sale on the phone.  When it warmed up a bit, we loaded up some fencing supplies and headed out to make deliveries.  One woman, a retired teacher and very well educated, told us that they were going to pump water out of their well by hand, even though they are on a water line.  They didn’t think they should put the water that is piped in on their garden because it has fluoride in it.  There are lots of misconceptions out here about almost everything.  The 80 year old grandmother, dressed in traditional Navajo attire, came out to greet us.  She still herds sheep and didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the cold and wind.

Friday morning, we were up and ready to leave at first light so we could get to Kayenta and get a load of sawdust before the wind picked up.  We stopped at a home to supervise the installation of the fence and loan the family our fence post pounder.  The woman had 3 grown sons and a nephew, so they made quick work of putting in the fence posts and seemed confident about handling the rest of the installation.

On Saturday, we were up at 5:20 a.m. and on the road to Polacca, AZ (about 170 miles away) on the Hopi Reservation by 6 a.m.  We arrived at the church compound there at 9 a.m., which we soon discovered was 8 a.m. since the Hopis’ choose to be in a different time zone (or vice versa), but that was fine because we had time to take a walk through the desert nearby.

I helped check people in while Trace assisted Elder Seeley with his seminar.  It was a very nice, cheerful group and included some very pleasant young men were very helpful with the heavy lifting and wire cutting.  One of the young Elders, who were there, is from Jacksonville, FL.  He worked really hard and was obviously well loved by the people.  We finished helping about 2 p.m. and headed to Winslow (85 miles away) to do some shopping at the Super Wal-Mart there then drove home (235 miles) by different route enjoying some spectacular scenery getting home about 9 p.m.

Sunday morning was beautiful – warm and windless for a change.  Maybe that is why we had 60 people turn out for church (very high for this branch).  The testimonies were wonderful except for one sister who spoke in Navajo (so we couldn’t understand her) and seemed to embarrass everyone who was able to understand her.  I think she has some mental health issues. A counselor in the stake presidency, a white guy married to a Navajo, who teaches high school and coaches was visiting and bore testimony to the positive changes he has seen in our branch since the new building has been completed. 

Several of the older members of the branch reminisced about the edifying experiences they had when they participated in the church placement program as youth.  Most of them had fallen away from the Church for a chunk of their lives but have now returned.  We have a lot of problems here with some of the old traditions involving medicine men that have drawn people away from the Church.  Of course, addiction to alcohol and gambling are also rampant.  During the meeting someone quoted Elder Holland who once came to the reservation and told the people that they must be LDS first and Navajo second.  I am very impressed with the valiant battles some of these people are fighting to change their lives.

  We are going to be having an Addiction Recovery Meeting here at the church once a week for anyone in the community who is interested.  I made some signs to put up in the Chapter House, at the post office and at the school.  The counselors who are in charge of the program are a senior missionary couple, both recovered addicts, so they are especially emphatic and helpful to those who desire their help.  Trace is trying to get everything configured so our branch can receive all the sessions of general conference this weekend.   We have a nice new chapel with all new equipment so, hopefully, he can make it work.

So what’s up with you?  Remember that you get lots of blessings for emailing missionaries.  Hope this finds you all well and at peace despite the commotion in the world.

Love,

Jacque

P.S. I am sending a Web album with some pictures so stay tuned.