Happy Fall Everyone!
As the world still reels from shutdowns due to the pandemic, we are seeing small things have a big impact (and, too, the small things we will never know the results of).
Celebrate Recovery….
The last two weeks have shown the largest number of attendees to Celebrate Recovery in the now full year since Steve started holding meetings on campus. Throughout Covid-19, CR has operated averaging between 5 and 10 attendees besides the leaders and extra hands from on Campus. This past week there were 14 in attendance plus four from leadership. Celebrate Recovery is intended for anyone dealing with STUFF. Most who attend recovery meetings in general have struggled with living free of alcohol or drug dependence, but CR is designed with arms of the ministry tailored to everything from overeating and sex addiction to drug and alcoholism. Those seeking for all dependence to be on Christ and not on substances and fleshly pleasures can find a place at CR meetings where they will be encouraged, discipled and trained on ways to fix their eyes on God alone.
Hospitality
A small part of Sharon’s involvement early on at Across Nations was with hospitality and guest residences. All guest facilities had been occupied semi-permanently by staff in need of housing for the last year. Recently, one of our well-loved preschool teachers retired and housing shuffled some freeing up one of the guest houses just in time for visitors. Usually these visitors are people who come to help on site with a variety of things from personal staff help to school volunteers and radio technicians (not to mention our contracting engineer for radio station construction!) She spruced the trailer up a little bit, got some fresh linens, wonderful coffee and it’s open and usable again!
A Local Pandemic
The Navajo Nation had been hard hit early on by the coronavirus and hard and strict lockdowns helped to slow the spread drastically. Across the reservation exists a ridiculous amount of hurdles as far as staying healthy goes. Pre-existing conditions that put the people here at higher risk for Covid exist among the majority of the Navajo, many areas have no electric or running water-basics for staving off severe illness, and access to medical resources can be limited. Combined with extended families often living together with elders in the family also at very high risk made the Reservation rates very high. Things slowed in the summer and restrictions relaxed to allow families to gather wood and prepare for winter. In the last two weeks, cases have risen sharply in the surrounding areas and isolated clusters of cases have cropped back up, including a spike in hospitalizations in the Ganado area (40 people were actively hospitalized in that small town as I write this). Now… with the rise in cases, lockdowns have been reinstated. 57-hour weekend curfews have been put back into effect, nightly curfews and a stay-at-home order requiring everyone to stay in their homes with the exception of grocery shopping and essential job commute. Several of our school students are now unable to return to school and everyone in the community is scrambling to try to compensate as winter approaches. Threats from the government on “confiscating wood loads and chainsaws” if people are caught gathering wood during weekend curfews (the only time most people are off work and able) have been issued and there is an overall sense of panic and fear. Many locally are wondering if this is the spoken-of “second wave” and if they will be able to work enough and sell enough to make it through the winter. It’s been a very difficult seven months and promises to only get harder in the coming weeks and months. Winter looks to be bleak – at best – for the majority.
A Look At What We’ve Been Up To…
We’ve been keeping busy with as much “little things” as possible.
Sharon has fought with some tech-related things for the mission for most of the summer, attempting to update the website (which has had numerous bugs and incompatibility issues), revising applications and keeping up on Tribal news for the Facebook page have kept her engaged. Just before Hilltop school reconvened, she assembled gifts for all of the teachers and students. This year especially, with all the difficulties associated with it, she wanted to be able to encourage the teachers and welcome back the students in a special way. She is also on week four of the 2020/21 Homeschool year!! We have a second grader and an early preschooler who are enjoying having a school room to study in!
Steve, in addition to Celebrate Recovery, has been focusing on work in the office. General accounts work, involvement with our ever-postponed fall Sharathon, recording radio programs for CR and working directly with some of our local friends with Recovery work and general encouragement and relationship. He also participated in training with ICISF (a certified instructor from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association administered the course) on Grief Following Trauma. Pending on Reservation lockdowns, he plans to pursue at least one more training on this front to give him more flexibility as a chaplain to work with those in need of services and help.
Adam had a unique opportunity to put his crafting skills to work at the neighbors’ house. He painted a bird house. Our neighbors have a side ministry of bird house birthday gifts that they build and paint. Adam prayed over the birdhouse he made for the man who would be receiving it.
On A Personal Note…
We have finished the bulk of repairs on the house we’re in, our friend Roy came up and reshingled and repaired our roof!
As the fire dangers in our area have died down we have held a few fire nights, marshmallows and coffee, getting to better know the community (on campus only due to the travel restrictions and curfews). We had some dear friends and their grandchildren swing in for an hour of the first night, right before curfew for some socially distant laughs (we haven’t seen them since our church closed in March).
Some wonder how we are doing financially. We don’t like to make much of it if anything in our updates, however, God is good and we would like you all to know that despite the year, the chaos and the world we are in, we have been fully supported through it. Where we have lost some, we gained financial support elsewhere and have had no struggle for our personal needs nor for our ministry needs. We are grateful to all of you are are praying for us, thinking of us and supporting us, thank you.
Please Pray…
Pray… High Life teens… Sharon hasn’t heard anything on how they all are doing, but one of our teens – Nehemiah- was spotted briefly! He looks good and waved. PRay for Nehemiah, Keeka, Kulboi, Janna, and Tatem (and a few kids who were JUST gaining interest when youth group was shut down).
Pray… for our local churches. Those on Reservation are banned from weekend services due to curfews and those who have drive up services mid week struggle to work around schedules and daily curfews. Our church on campus, though not on Reservation, has not opened for several reasons. While most the rest of the country is moving forward with some gatherings, nearly eight months have passed now with little to no fellowship/worship gatherings. This is no small amount of time.
Pray… Adam is still healing from his broken collarbone. He is out of the sling and does not need follow up x-rays, but the healing has been slower than the orthopedic doctor thought it would be. Pray it is not reinjured as it takes it’s time healing.
Pray… We have that wild puppy…. pray for patience while we train Buck… he loves his new family 🙂
Praise! We received donations to give away from a friend at Mesa Baptist (and we have some more coming!)
Pray… please pray as the ministry that hosts giveaways will soon be moving two hours away. Sharon is considering how she might replace it with clothing/needed item giveaways in the future.
Praise! Celebrate Recovery’s numbers continue to grow and leadership is stepping up.
Pray… we are planning a trip east in hopes of seeing anyone willing to catch up with us in person (we can distance and we all have nifty masks!!) We are looking to be in Delaware the weekend before Thanksgiving, driving up through Pennsylvania that Monday before and being in the Hawley/Honesdale area through the following weekend. All by car, with said wild puppy! Pray as we plan this.
Love and blessings, In Christ
Steve and Sharon
Steve and Sharon Maus 