I believe that going on any missions’ trip is taking a step outside our comfort zone. But, the experience of going on such a trip also grows us closer to our Lord and to each other, for the glory of God. I went on my first missions’ trip to Arizona with seventeen other team members. I went praying that God would use me to spread the gospel of Christ to the Navajos on the reservation. God is good. Even before I left for the Reservation, He provided my fundraising and prayer support. That was already an encouragement, followed by other blessings from the trip.
Many people imagine that it’s really hot in Arizona. However, in the areas that we lived and worked, it would be cool in the mornings and night and uncomfortably hot only in the afternoons. Aside from the weather, one of the things that stuck me was the beauty of God’s creation. On the first day of VBS (Vacation Bible School), my class learned that God is our Creator. The lesson, as it turned out, served as a reminder for me as well…yes, God is the Creator of our world. When I looked at the endless skies and vast land, it was filled with God’s glory. The beauty of the Reservation reminded me of Psalm 108:4-5: “For great is your love, higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted oh God above the heavens and let your glory be over all the earth.”
I co-taught 2nd-3rd grade tutoring and VBS. I learned to be flexible in our tutoring classes, accommodating and changing the lessons to fit the kids better. We had times to play and get to know each other better. The Navajos were friendly and open to our presence, actions and words. In our VBS classes, we reviewed the basics of who God is, who Jesus is and who the Holy Spirit is. Our team was there to share the good news of Jesus and bring them one step closer to God. When the kids had questions, I would answer as best as I could and prayed that the Holy Spirit continued to work in each of them. I was proud of the kids in my class for memorizing Romans 5:8 and reciting it at the potluck dinner on Thursday evening.
The Navajos are a simple, humble people. But since sin exists, they are also a broken people who need Jesus. Even as Christians, we aren’t perfect but by God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice, we are restored and forgiven. The two weeks in Arizona seemed to start slow yet end too fast. It was a blessing to serve the Navajo alongside my team members and to be challenged daily to take up my cross. I praise God for protecting us during our time there! Going on this mission’s trip has put the Navajos closer to my heart as we shared Christ’s love in words and actions. I am thankful for the work that God has started with the previous teams and know that God will continue to grow the planted seeds of faith through our team and future PaLM teams.
I had been looking forward to the Short-Term Missions trip to Arizona for weeks before we actually left for it. Hearing all about the Navajo people, what we were going to be doing on the Reservation and getting to know my awesome team members during training sessions gave me extremely high expectations for the trip. Little did I know to what extent my expectations would be fulfilled and ultimately exceeded.
This year, we were told that the trip would be very different than past years, in that we would be both teaching VBS and conducting tutoring. I was anxious about this arrangement—especially about being well prepared and ready enough to teach the 4th-6th grade boys. However, tutoring actually went very successfully. My co-teacher, Spencer, and I were able to help each boy almost individually. Although the addition of tutoring to our schedule doubled our workload, it was a great chance to form a personal relationship with the boys and let them know that we weren’t only there to teach them about God and be through with our trip. I am so thankful that we had this opportunity to get to know each boy well through tutoring.
Teaching VBS was also a big challenge. It took place after tutoring and after lunch, when most of the team was already very tired from teaching tutorial and running around with the kids the whole morning. Also, it goes without saying that it was a hard task to keep the boys’ listening with their short attention spans. Because the majority of them were ages nine or ten, stinkbugs, Wal-mart and “when can we have snacks” often became the topic of conversation in our class. However, when Spencer and I asked them about their faith, many of them said either that they were Christians already or that they understood salvation better. Many of the boys have been coming to PaLM’s VBS for several years in a row, and I experienced firsthand God’s faithfulness in nurturing the seeds planted by teams from past years.
Some of my fondest memories of the trip come from the time spent with the team, whether in the van, in the Big House, cooking, cleaning or playing with the kids. They were a blessing to me. The younger team members were really fun to be around (the adults were really cool too!!), and they filled our trip with laughter and made it that much more enjoyable. I was so encouraged by their willingness to serve despite the heat and their tiredness. The adult team members and “veterans” of the trip led our group with humor and fun attitudes and bestowed their various nuggets of wisdom on the younger members. They also worked their hardest even when completely exhausted. Pastor Howard and Auntie Fay (along with their whole family) and Auntie Yan’s willingness to come back to the reservation each year and minister to the Navajo is an extremely inspiring example of faithfulness. The group also taught me an important lesson—the necessity of fellowship and mutual prayer. This was made evident through our nightly meetings where we shared about the events of the days and some prayer items for the Navajo.
And the kids…what can I say about the kids? Playing and hanging out with them was definitely my favorite part of the trip. They LOVE piggyback rides, so the phrase I heard most throughout the trip was “Can I have a piggyback ride?!” When it was time for them to leave on the last day of VBS, I was so reluctant to say goodbye. Many of them are so needy, and yet they are content and find happiness in the smallest things, things that we take for granted every single day. Seeing their smiling faces and contagious joy every day was such a great experience and it’s the thing I miss the most about this STM.
The two weeks I spent in Arizona were incredible. God taught me so many things about myself, about Him, and about serving Him. Now, whenever anyone mentions stinkbugs, or Wal-mart, I smile and remember the great time I had in Arizona with the Navajo!
