This is La Casa de Cristo’s fourth mission trip to Rock Point,, AZ, and the Navajo Lutheran mission. What began in 2010 with a few people has blossomed into a trip with 49 people ranging from those ten and below to those into their sixties and seventies! Wow, what a great team!

As you may have read in the other blog postings, the week ranged from well over 100 kids in VBS to an intense and challenging work project in building a ramada to an adult ministry that reached almost 30 elderly Navajo women! We have been putting in very long days…from 5 am to midnight in some cases…and the results show!

A team was built this week, not to play sports or perform a business model , but a team to serve Jesus Christ. We serve because of Him who died and rose for us..and because HE called us to serve the least, the last, and the lost. 

The Navajo taught us a lot. We learned a lot. We always come here thinking we are serving, which we are, but we also receive so much..the satisfaction of building a project that was an emp;ty concrete slab; the smile of a Navajo mother; the hug of a child who is happy even though their hogan has no running water or electricity.

This trip is not for everyone .  It is not a vacation. It is very hard and tough. But boy, is it satisfying. It is not about us, but the One who sent us. I have seen so much growth here..from a handful of folks to having barely enough places to sleep 50! From one ministry project to three major ones! Thanks to my co-leader David Ulibarri, and see you all next year!

 

In Christ

Pastor Jeff

Until Next Year!!

Wow! What a great week!! We started with a trip to Monument Valley Hosted by Pastor Lynn of the Mission and saw some incredible scenery, had church with the local Navajo people, and performed our work project and VBS. It seems like we just got here but so much has happened.

As the work project leader, I am so thankful for God’s gift of willing (and one very capable) teammates. When I learned of the project, it seemed very doable although aggressive in the timeframe we had. Add in random rain and/or dust storms, some missing material, an “out of the norm” design, and the fact that materials are 4-5 hours away roundtrip and it became almost impossible. We scrambled people to get the needed supplies while completing what we could with the material we had. As mentioned above our “Very Capable” teammate (Karl Anderson) inventoried materials, calculated additional materials needed, measured, checked, re-checked, trained, re-trained and so the team was able to make the project come together into a beautiful 22’X32’ covered patio that the Mission can use for years to come.

The goal became (on Monday) to hold the community BBQ in the space after the VBS closing program. It is so exciting to see the children perform the songs that they learned at the program and watch their faces light up when they sing their favorite songs but this year was a little more exciting because although we weren’t able to install the metal roofing material, the roof was closed with the wood decking which provided needed shade to enjoy the meal and spend time with the Rock Point Community. Our team seemed very happy to see the Navajo people enjoying the space after our three long hard days of construction.

I mentioned last year in my blog that I get so much more out of this trip than we could ever give. I am so blessed to have been able to come again and to have worked with such a selfless team of men and boys who gave their all to make a difference for these people.

 

Matt Rochotte     

As I sit here on our last night in Rock Point and attempt to blog, I realize that words alone cannot possibly describe this week or this mission.  This year’s trip was an unbelievable experience unlike any other year.  We added an extra day to the trip this year, so we were able to spend Saturday sightseeing, developing friendships and immersing ourselves in the Navajo culture.  My family joined a group of 22 heading up to Monument Valley.  Pastor Lynn generously offered to be our tour guide, so we loaded into two vans and spent the entire day seeing not only the “tourist” sights, but parts of Arizona and Utah that we would not have ever known existed.  It was a wonderful way to start the trip before jumping into the real work.

This week, our incredible VBS team of 27 served a total of over 155 Navajo children.  Through music, arts, games and Bible lesson, we shared the Word of God using the theme “Armor of God”. The kids learned about putting on the Armor to keep Satan away. And that was what was most fitting – as usual, we come up here to teach, and we learn.  We come up here to serve, and we are served.  Although there were so many “God Moments” that I would love to share if I had the time (and space) right now, what I will share is that this week, we ALL put on the Armor of God to keep Satan at bay.  In previous years, our team was quite literally attacked by Satan to wreck havoc in some way.  Whether it was vehicles breaking down to try to keep us from reaching the mission, frustration or tension among our team or other major and minor “inconveniences”, Satan has always worked hard to stop us from spreading God’s word.  Just three months ago, we barely had enough volunteers to make this trip happen.  I felt Satan was at it again and our trip might actually be cancelled.  This year, with nearly 50 of us ready to battle him, he simply gave up.  I cannot possibly describe the feeling of knowing that the power of prayer, faith and God quite literally beat Satan down and kept him away from Rock Point.  Of course, there are always minor issues on any mission trip – head injuries (thankfully minor with prayer overcoming it), contaminated water (but thankfully not until our last day), virus in the laptop holding our entire closing program – but not once did our team lose faith or trust in our God.  I felt as though our entire team was saying “that’s the best Satan can do?” and laughing in his face.  We would not be beat, we would not give up or give in.  No one fell for Satan’s tricks.  We marched on, wearing the full Armor of God, and taught, played, sang and danced with the Navajo people. And in doing so, we showed what it really means to wear the Armor of God.  Our carnival on Wednesday was a HUGE hit with the kids, and I was once again brought to tears watching the kids having so much fun with our teens and leaders.  The closing program even had Navajo Grandmas singing along in the pews as the kids performed on stage and sang of Jesus being their superhero and raising their white flags.  TRULY, the war was over.  Love had won.  I am in tears again sitting here typing this just remembering 147 children, 27 VBS leaders, and countless Navajo family members all together, all in one church, worshipping one God.  Satan cannot keep us from this place and from teaching these people about the love of Christ.  He will continue to try, and we will continue to battle, and God will continue to see us through.

Sally Rochotte

Great news to report, there are 142 children that checked in to our Vacation Bible School. They are having lots of fun during our first afternoon carnival. The men are working very hard to try and let us be the first to have a party under the new Ramada. More reports later!!

This week has been such a blessing with the Navajo people. There have been endless opportunities to experience God’s love and power, surely his will is being done here. We started the week out with a bonding trip to Canyon de Chelly, which was a beautiful sight. On our way out of the canyon we stopped at a Navajo woman’s home where she prepared us all fry bread. The woman had a very young Daughter, no older than 5, whom sat down with me and had asked me to help her weave part of her mother’s rug. Words do not do justice to how much love I felt in that moment. On Monday night I even got to experience the sweat lodge just as the natives did. Additionally I have been a part of the work crew over the past week and I am very pleased to say that we have been making incredible progress on the armada. At the beginning of the week we had arrived to nothing more than a concrete slab. Now there is a full structure built and we are very near completion. The goal is that we will be able to eat lunch under the armada today, a goal that we are so close to accomplishing! I have done various jobs on the sight ranging from sawing excess length from metal bolts to nailing in pieces of the roof all while getting to know the men on the trip much better than I could any other way. Last night while I was on top of the structure I looked around and I could see for miles. Despite the poverty that is here, the view of the land was breathtaking. The sun was setting in the west casting a gorgeous orange hue through the sky. God’s beauty is so evident here. There have been countless “God moments” on this trip in every facet of my participation.  I have reaped boundless rewards experiencing God’s love here and I will remember it always.

Miles Jones
19

Incredible progress on the new Ramada, a few days ago this was a cement slab. Geat Job!!!