Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190044A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 - Hello, friends! Welcome to 3ABN Today. My name 01:12 is John Lomacang; but if you're a part of our 01:14 family, you already know that. Want to thank you 01:18 for your prayers and financial support of this 01:20 network as we continue going and growing, getting 01:22 ready for the coming of our Lord. Today is a 01:25 particularly interesting program. You've heard 01:29 about missions; and when we talk about missions, 01:31 we often think about the Philippines, the islands, 01:34 someplace in Europe, someplace in Africa, 01:36 someplace in the Middle East...but what about 01:39 missions here in America? And today's program is 01:42 going to take you to a particular location in 01:44 America where, maybe for whatever unknown reason, 01:48 missions have almost been completely overlooked in 01:51 a very particular people group in our nation, and 01:55 we're going to highlight that today with our guest. 01:56 So hit the record button right now, I would encourage 02:00 you, because I know that you might be challenged 02:03 to participate in some way in getting the gospel 02:06 not just to the world, but right here in the 02:09 United States of America! I have with me today a 02:12 very good friend of mine. I want to introduce him 02:14 right now: Dr. Leon Brown, good to have you here. 02:19 We were pastors in the Northern California Conference 02:21 together. - Yeah, we were. Yeah. - You pastor the church 02:23 I pastored, we were in ministry together, and you are now 02:27 the president of the Nevada-Utah Conference. - Yes. - Good to 02:30 have you here today. - Great to be here, John. - Yeah. 02:32 So, I always appreciate your ministry and your 02:34 family, your wife and all your children, so it's good 02:38 to see that God is prospering you in that beautiful snow-free- 02:42 [laughter] pretty much snow-free region of the 02:45 world. - Well, not in Reno, but for the most part in... 02:51 in the other parts. Well, we got Salt Lake City, too, 02:53 so there's a lot of snow in Salt Lake City, so... 02:55 - Oh, that's true; that's true. But are you enjoying 02:57 the weather there? - I love it. I love Nevada-Utah. 03:00 It's the most amazing place. I tell them it's 03:01 the greatest hidden secret in the work in North America, 03:04 so I just love it. - And then you have access to 03:06 the canyons and all the beautiful red rocks, and 03:10 Monument Valley? - Yes; yes. Monument Valley- 03:12 and then that's why we're here today. Monument Valley, 03:14 we've got all of Utah, which is some of the most 03:16 beautiful places I've seen... And so it's great. It's great 03:19 to be here. - And to your immediate right 03:21 is Nancy Crosby. Good to have you here, Nancy. 03:24 - Thank you. - You've been here before, haven't you? 03:26 - Yes. - And we're glad to have you back. - Thank 03:28 you. - And just for our viewers and listeners, 03:31 tell us briefly, in a nutshell, what you do and where 03:34 you're from. - So, I'm from Page, Arizona, and 03:37 I'm the Native Ministries coordinator for the Pacific 03:39 Union. So, the focus is on Native Ministries, but today 03:44 we want to focus in on the Navajo Nation within 03:48 the Pacific Union. - Okay. Good to have you here 03:51 again. - Thank you. - And to your immediate right, 03:53 I think a first-timer here on our set, is Pastor James 03:57 Crosby. Am I correct to assume that is your husband? 04:00 - Yes. - Okay. Good to have you here, Pastor. 04:02 - Thank you. It's good to be here. - Now, I've already 04:04 told the viewers and listeners you're a pastor, but give 04:06 us a little bit more in a nutshell of what you do 04:08 and kind of your influence and reference to this program 04:10 today. - Okay. I've been a pastor in Page, Arizona 04:14 for over four years now. That was my first experience 04:19 working with Navajos; and of course, Page is what we 04:23 call a border town on the edge of the Navajo Nation. 04:27 And here just this year, we've added the Kayenta 04:31 church to my district, which is more in the heart 04:33 of the Navajo Nation. - Mhm. And so, we're going to talk 04:37 about that in more detail during the program. So, 04:41 you do want to stay tuned to hear more about how the 04:43 work is going, how it is needing a boost, how it's 04:48 restarting, and how the Lord is going to reach, 04:51 because the Bible guarantees the gospel of the Kingdom 04:53 will be preached in all the world. That does 04:56 not exclude the Navajo Nation. I think it's a 04:58 perfect setup for the song that we have here today. 05:01 Scott Michael Bennett... It's a song called, "Go 05:03 Light Your World." That's the intent of this program 05:07 today: to light the world- even among the Navajo 05:09 Nation. Enjoy this song as we prepare for the program. 05:22 There is a candle in every soul 05:30 Some brightly burning, but some dark and cold 05:37 There is a Spirit Who brings the fire 05:46 Ignites the candle and makes His home 05:53 So carry your candle; run to the darkness 06:01 Seek out the hopeless, confused, and torn 06:09 And hold out your candle for all to see it 06:16 Oh, take your candle and go light your world 06:25 Take your candle, and go light your world 06:37 Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to 06:44 Light his own candle some other way 06:52 See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to 07:00 She still holds a candle without a flame 07:07 So carry your candle; run to the darkness 07:15 And seek out the lonely, the tired and worn 07:23 Hold out your candle for all to see it 07:31 Take your candle, and go light your world 07:38 Take your candle and go light your world 07:50 We are a family whose hearts are blazing 07:57 So let's raise our candles and light up the sky 08:05 Praying to our Father in the name of Jesus 08:13 Make us a beacon in the darkest night 08:21 Carry your candle; run to the darkness 08:29 Seek out the helpless, deceived, and poor 08:36 Hold out your candle for all to see it 08:43 Oh, take your candle, and go light your world 08:52 Take your candle; go light your world 09:02 Take your candle and go light your world 09:13 Go light your world 09:21 Go light your world 09:34 - Thank you so much, Scott. What an appropriate song 09:37 for this program. You know, the light of the 09:39 gospel is to not just light your neighborhood or your 09:43 community, but to light the world...but there is 09:46 a silent and sometimes almost invisible world 09:50 right in our backyard- right in our front door. 09:52 And we can inadvertently sometimes forget that 09:56 they're there. It could be your neighbor, it could 09:59 be your friend, people that you work with... 10:00 or it could be a people that are disenfranchised, 10:03 disconnected from the normal rounds of life, 10:06 and we just think that maybe they don't matter. 10:08 Today, our guests are shining the spotlight, 10:12 as it were, lighting the world of the Navajo Nation, 10:15 because they are also a people. And if you think 10:18 about the history of America, they were here before the 10:20 Pilgrims were out here. So, this really, in fact, 10:23 is their world from coast to coast, north to south, 10:26 east, and west. And so God is calling the Nevada- 10:29 Utah Conference under the direction of Dr. Leon Brown 10:33 to push and reignite the passion for getting 10:38 the gospel among the Navajo Nation-and I want to thank 10:41 the Crosbys for being here today. But Pastor 10:44 Brown, begin; kind of give us-and each one 10:46 of you can contribute to that-give us some 10:47 of the history of the ministry to the Navajo 10:51 Nation. How far back does it go? And maybe, who were 10:55 some of the pioneers in this work? - Yeah. Well, 10:57 we have... When we started this work, we looked back, 11:01 and it was about... 1940, 1950s is when we realized 11:06 the work began, and it all began through a couple, 11:09 a family-the Walters family. In fact, well, 11:12 brother Walters, Pastor Walters is retired- is a 11:15 former pastor of ours, and now he's retired. 11:17 But his dad actually started the work on the reservation, 11:20 and he started by starting Holbrook School on another 11:24 reservation. And then he moved from that to the 11:26 Monument Valley area where they began to work there. 11:30 Then Loma Linda came out; Loma Linda started a hospital. 11:34 So, we had a hospital and a clinic there. And in those 11:36 days, the need was important. There was no hospital, there 11:39 was no school, so we had a school out there. But 11:41 as time progressed, the Navajo tribe themselves 11:45 created schools and began to create clinics and hospitals. 11:49 So, the need has changed. And so what we're doing 11:52 right now is we're now beginning to refocus the 11:55 mission from what it was to what is should be in 12:01 this era. So, that's kind of where we are right now. 12:03 We've seen the past, we've seen how successful it was, 12:07 but the hospital closed back in, what, 1996, 12:11 and now we're having to move and transition to a 12:14 better, more effective ministry to the Navajo 12:16 people. - Okay. Anything else, Nancy, on that? 12:19 - Well, I would just like to say that the needs were 12:21 so great. When the Walters family came, they just had 12:25 a station wagon. They were working out of the back of 12:26 a station wagon. There were no paved roads. 12:29 But still today, we find that there are hardly 12:32 any paved roads. Over 1/3 of the Navajo Nation 12:36 does not have electricity or plumbing in their homes. 12:39 No running water, no electricity! And so, 12:42 what we see is a nation- and I think we may have a 12:45 slide for this that shows the size of the Navajo 12:48 Nation... - Yeah, let's look at that slide. 12:50 - And it's the size of Vermont, New Hampshire, 12:55 and Massachusetts all combined. - Hm. - And 12:58 yet, as you look at that space of the size of three 13:01 states, there's only 13 grocery stores. - Wow. 13:07 - Just 13 grocery stores, so we have a very high 13:10 rate of food insecurity. We have a town- for 13:14 example: Reno, Nevada. They have 60 grocery 13:18 stores in Reno. - Just in Reno. - Just that city of Reno! 13:22 [simultaneous chatter] Exactly. And then we 13:25 have this area, the size of three states, that 13:28 only has 13 grocery stores, and we still have many 13:32 dirt roads-so very difficult for people. Some can't 13:36 drive to get to food. So, one of the things 13:39 that we have in Page is we've started a community 13:44 garden, a greenhouse and a garden, which 13:47 is something that we're hoping to also move into 13:50 on the Kayenta mission site, as well, to help 13:53 people have that fresh produce locally. - Hm. 13:56 - Because we have a rate of 18-20% of diabetes on 14:00 the Navajo Nation, as well. - Wow. So not 14:03 only are there food insecurities but when it comes to health 14:07 and understanding health and what to eat and what 14:09 not to eat, that also is a challenge so that people 14:11 can be in their traditional practices-or even, maybe, 14:15 what's available to them. They're just an unhealthy 14:17 people. And not just spiritually, but also 14:19 sometimes physically. - You can understand, 14:21 too: this is actually a nation, so this is 14:23 the other part where we sometimes when we- 14:24 ...When I first got here, the thing I didn't realize 14:26 is this is an actual nation state within the United 14:28 States. They've got their own capital in Window Rock. 14:31 So when you work with them, the Navajo people, 14:34 you can't just walk in and say, "We're going 14:36 to do whatever we want." We've gotta go through 14:38 the government. - Through the government. - Yeah, 14:39 actual government, and so we've got to go to... 14:41 Whenever we need to work, we work with the government 14:43 in Window Rock. - A nation within a nation. - It is a 14:46 nation within a nation. - Exactly. - Wow, wow. 14:48 - Yeah. It's as large as we have- and we need 14:51 to spend more time focusing on this. We do mission work 14:54 around the globe, and we've got this mission 14:56 right in the middle of the United States, covering 14:59 all of these different states (and unions 15:00 for the church), and we've got to begin to focus in 15:03 on that. - Wow; wow. - With third world country 15:05 living conditions, seriously... And because of, like you 15:12 mentioned, those health challenges, spiritual 15:14 challenges, abuse is very high. - Yeah. - On the 15:20 Navajo Nation, we have 5 children, John, every 15:23 day that die from abuse or neglect. If that happened 15:28 in any one, say, city or something, we would be 15:32 scrambling to find the solutions; and yet, as 15:35 you've mentioned, it's kind of a forgotten people- 15:38 a neglected, forgotten group. - So, we have a lot to do 15:43 when it comes to refocusing. - Yes. - Sometimes we're 15:46 looking across the borders- I'm gonna use that phrase- 15:49 to wonder how we could protect our nation, but 15:52 then we have a nation in a nation. I'm glad you 15:53 mentioned that, 'cause it's not just a people; 15:56 it's a nation: their own government, their own 15:59 establishment. You have to walk through a government 16:02 to get involved; you just 16:04 don't show up without any kind of prior 16:06 invitation. I gotta pass this to Pastor Crosby 16:11 there, because now... What are some of the 16:14 challenges you find because you're working with the 16:17 Nevada-Utah Conference? And also, what other 16:20 conference? You had put in two conferences- 16:22 - The Arizona Conference. - Arizona Conference. 16:23 Because the territories are... overlinked, synonymous, 16:27 so vast. Beautiful country, but what are some of the 16:30 challenges you find as you work with the Navajo 16:34 Nation? - Well, one of the things I've seen a 16:40 lot with people I've worked with, the spiritual battle is 16:44 very real for them. And I think in our American, 16:50 our industrial culture, whatever you want to 16:53 call it, we forget that- and there are some of 16:57 them that forget that, as well. But many of them- 16:59 it's very real. People that have come by, 17:02 just wanting prayer... There was a lady that 17:06 came just a few weeks ago to the church, and 17:10 she just wanted prayer, and she's telling me about 17:12 the other places she went to, seeking help. And she's 17:16 telling me, "They don't understand." You know, 17:18 when she tells about the spiritual struggle she's 17:20 going through, it's like, "They're willing to help 17:22 with this and that, but they can't pray like you 17:25 can." That was actually the second time she had 17:29 been there; it's like, a year before, she had 17:31 stopped by. But I've met so many people like that, 17:33 people struggling with spiritual battles, demon 17:38 harassment, and even demon possession. These 17:41 things are real for them out on the reservation. 17:44 - So their cultural practices also could be a hindrance 17:47 to, now, you take them from their traditions that 17:51 probably go back a long way. - Yes. - Easily, 17:54 centuries. You take them from their traditions, and 17:57 then you merge the gospel with the traditions. So you're 18:02 dealing with things like the demon possession, 18:05 whatever other practices... How do you find that bridge? 18:09 I mean, what effective ways are you able to 18:12 cross over that, if I can use, chasm and get the 18:16 gospel to people that are so traditionally steeped 18:19 in some areas? - Wow, that's... Yeah, for me, 18:24 I've spent a lot of time praying with people, 18:27 encouraging them. And when you talk about 18:30 tradition and... It's amazing how easily 18:35 they accept the bad things that white people bring to 18:39 them and how hard it is for them to accept the good 18:44 that we try to bring to them. But consistency, 18:49 always there, making an effort...it seems to take 18:53 time to establish some trust there before they're 18:57 willing to really accept anything that would actually 18:59 make a change in their life. - Okay. You're talking 19:02 about transitioning... - Let me add something- 19:04 and Pastor just said something I think that's 19:06 important. With the Navajo Nation, there are two things 19:08 that we identified. I saw: #1) it's hard for 19:13 the Navajo culture to just trust. And a lot 19:16 of times, we go in and we go out, and it's a 19:21 matter of us... We set up a ministry, and we're 19:23 in for a few minutes, and we're out. With Navajo 19:25 culture, it takes a little longer for them to actually 19:27 trust you. You've gotta be there for years for 19:30 the people to actually believe that you really 19:34 care and you're concerned about them; and that's 19:35 one of the things we're thinking about now as we 19:37 look towards the future. We need people who are 19:39 going to be on the res and they're going to be 19:42 there for not a year or two years, but there 19:44 for a longer period of time, because that's 19:46 what they need. The other thing that we need is the 19:50 fact that we don't want to just give them ministry 19:55 that is unsuccessful; we're committed to 19:57 doing ministry that is powerful, ministry that 20:00 is appropriate, ministry that is effective-and not 20:04 just give... We want to give them our very best, 20:06 basically, is what we want to do, and that's 20:07 the kind of thing that we're focused on right 20:10 now, and that's why we're here!-to tell the world 20:11 that from now on as we go into the ministry. That's 20:13 what they did in the beginning, and going 20:15 forward, that's what we want to do: we want to 20:16 give our very best to the Navajo families that 20:19 are there. - So it takes a long-term time to build 20:21 that relationship; they want to know that this 20:22 is not a program, but a relationship first. 20:25 - Yes. - Okay, that's really where relationship evangelism 20:28 comes in. - And that's why I'm so grateful 20:29 for this couple, because they're committed to the 20:32 work of God. They are hard workers; and I 20:37 love them, because it takes a unique personality 20:40 and character to be able to go out, live in a reservation, 20:43 and to actually care about the people that are there. 20:45 - Mhm. Nancy? - And I think one of the challenges 20:48 that we initially have found is we come to 20:53 pastor a church or a mission, and all of a sudden we realize, 20:57 "We're in another country!" Really; literally. So, that's 21:01 something that we have had to wade through, and so 21:04 you come in and you have your ideas of the typical 21:06 way you're going to reach out. We didn't realize that 21:10 at midnight at our door would be people knocking 21:14 that are demon-harassed, that need prayer. And last 21:19 summer, an exciting thing happened. We had our 21:21 plans, but parents started saying to us, "Our children 21:26 have nothing to do in the summer because 21:28 there's no school. And what are they going to 21:31 eat?" Because they don't have the free lunch programs 21:33 in the school, and the schools send backpacks home for the 21:36 weekend so those children have food to eat, or they 21:39 will not eat. And so, parents are saying, 21:42 "Our kids have nothing to do in the summer. 21:45 We need something for our children." So we said- 21:48 we literally had weeks, and we said, "We're going 21:51 to do a day camp. We're going to have a day camp 21:53 from 8 to 4:30, Monday through Thursday, for 21:57 these children so they have a place to be that's 22:00 safe and they're learning." And this summer, second 22:05 year in, we have a waiting list of children. We did not 22:09 even have enough people to help us. It's just amazing. 22:16 We had three children homeless, and the mom 22:19 said, "I need a job. And if I go and get a job, 22:22 my kids will just be on the street all day because 22:24 I don't have a home for them to be, and I need 22:26 this day camp for my children." Do you know 22:29 that last week-and this just makes me tear up- 22:32 because the mom said, she said, "What time are 22:38 your services at your church?" And in my heart for the last 22:42 few years, I've always known that the way that God was 22:46 calling us to reach these people is through their 22:50 children. And we're seeing it happen right before 22:54 our eyes! And these children, they go, they have fun, 22:57 we do some literacy things to keep them updated with 23:00 their school and things, but we go out and have 23:02 fun! We go take them swimming, we take them on field trips, 23:05 we take them out into the garden and teach 23:08 them how to garden, and they pick their food and 23:10 bring it in, and then we show them how to make 23:12 food so they can do it at home. So, it's just 23:15 very exciting to see how God is working through the 23:19 gardening and with the children, because we 23:22 have an epidemic on the Navajo Nation. I don't 23:26 know the exact statistics as far as alcoholism, but 23:30 it's very high. We're talking 50-60%. It's 23:34 very, very high; and if we can just prevent these 23:37 precious children of getting into those bad habits, that's 23:41 where we'll have the chance to change these people. 23:44 - Wow. You know, you talked about the 13 23:46 grocery stores. I wonder how many of them carry 23:49 alcohol. - Well, the irony of it is that the reservation 23:53 is dry. You're not supposed to sell alcohol at all, but 23:56 somehow, alcohol gets into the res, and that's a whole 24:01 'nother story. - Do they have casinos out there? 24:03 I don't know if that's been the case. - Navajo 24:05 Nation does have a few, but it's very, very- 24:09 it's not like other tribes. - Okay. - That is not a common- 24:13 - Not close to where we're at, no. So they have one 24:15 down by Flagstaff, a pretty good size one, but it's a 24:19 good ways from where we're at. - So you have 24:21 this valley, and I'm going to use the phrase, 24:22 "Monument Valley." My mind is just picturing this 24:26 vast openness where when you wake up in the morning- 24:30 there was a picture we had on the facility that- 24:32 where is that facility located? - That facility 24:35 is actually located in Kayenta. That is our 24:38 current mission headquarters with Nevada-Utah-yes?- 24:44 and yes, you can see the vast open. - Yeah. - So, 24:48 let me kind of transition us. In the last couple of 24:53 years, what we've done is we've transitioned away 24:56 from the Monument Valley to Kayenta, and there are 25:01 reasons that that occurred. As we began to... Our 25:06 executive committee- and I praise God for our 25:08 executive committee and our leadership team-we 25:10 spent countless dollars and hours and union in Monument 25:14 Valley, trying to reignite, as it were, the mission 25:17 that was there when the Walters were there. - Hm. 25:20 - And every-this is the most amazing-everything 25:23 that we did almost seemed as if it didn't work out. We 25:27 prayed, we fasted, we did everything we could. - Doors 25:29 would shut in our faces. - Yep. The church flooded 25:31 twice last, in the middle of the desert, the church 25:34 flooded twice. And so we literally had to close 25:38 the door of the church because it became unsafe. 25:40 Our leases- we found out about Monument 25:43 Valley that our leases that we thought we had 25:44 we didn't have. - Hm. - So there was a whole 25:47 lot of things that happened. We had a lot of ups and we 25:50 had a lot of downs, we had a school out there; 25:52 and finally, we decided, based on all the things 25:55 that were going on, that we would close the doors 25:57 for that and we would reignite our mission in the Kayenta 25:59 area. So the building you saw in that picture 26:01 is where we moved our mission to-to Kayenta. 26:04 - And how far is that from Monument Valley? 26:05 - What's it about-30 minutes? - A little 26:08 less. - Yeah, about 30 minutes. - Okay, so it's 26:10 still within the region. - So here's the thing- 26:12 yeah! And so what's- and this is the thing! 26:13 Monument Valley is in Utah, and Kayenta's in 26:17 Arizona. So Nevada-Utah has literally four states 26:20 because of this. We had one church, and that's 26:22 that Kayenta church you just saw on the reservations. 26:25 So, the reservation covers more than one state. - Wow. 26:29 - Yeah. So, we're moving our work away from that 26:32 to the Kayenta area. And right now, we want to make 26:37 the focus on that. But the thing that we're doing 26:39 now which is so important is we're not just going 26:41 walking in and saying, "We're going to start 26:43 a school, we're going to go in and do"... We're 26:45 going to need to identify what their needs are in 26:47 that community, and then meet that need. - Right, 26:50 because you can't just go in and say, "Well, 26:51 here's what we're offering." You might be answering 26:53 questions they're not even asking. - Well, 26:55 that's what we've traditionally done. This time, we don't want 26:57 to do that. We want to do it the right way. We 26:58 want to be effective in the way we do ministry. 27:00 So now, we're going to go out and determine 27:01 what is needed. So, we're talking to North American 27:04 Division, we're talking to the General Conference- 27:07 we're talking to everyone to try to find out ways- 27:08 talking to our schools, Loma Linda, and all 27:10 different places to try to find- get used to tools 27:13 to be able to enhance our ministry. - Now, the 27:15 picture we just saw... What do you do in that 27:17 facility? - You want to talk about it, Pastor? 27:21 - That facility was actually built to be a community 27:27 center. So it has rooms in it, it has a kitchen in 27:31 it...and where the house is was supposed to be 27:34 where the sanctuary was going to be built. So, it 27:37 ended up, they didn't follow the original plan. 27:39 - Now is that the house on the- the blue building? 27:41 - It'd be on the left, the way I'm looking 27:43 at the picture. - Mm. - And so, the main building 27:46 there, there is a good size room there where we do 27:48 meet and have church. - Okay! - But it was intended to be a 27:52 community center, possibly a school, and things like 27:57 that. So, it could be used multifunctional. 28:00 - And one of the things that we just recently 28:02 had a mission group come and plant 30 fruit and nut 28:06 trees on the property. Obviously, it's a desert. 28:10 - Right, I was going to ask about that; where 28:11 do you get the hydration? How do you keep that... 28:13 [laughter] - Yeah. So we have been doing some 28:16 experimenting on the things that will grow 28:18 the best in the desert with the least amount 28:20 of water; but if we are going to have something 28:24 planted on the desert, we want something that 28:26 will bear fruit. - Right! - And, just so you know, 28:31 Kayenta is located in a county that has the highest 28:35 food insecurities in the entire United States. 28:39 - Hm! Now, you mentioned food insecurities. - Yes. 28:41 - Amplify that, 'cause I'm thinking of scarcity, 28:45 but... - Yes. And scarcity is one of those things 28:47 that is part of it. The other part is getting to that food- 28:53 being able to get on that food. So when you think 28:55 of an area that is, you know, the size of three 28:59 states, and you live in that area and there's 29:02 only 13 grocery stores, the likelihood that one 29:05 of those is close to you is very unlikely. - And 29:07 then what about supply? - Exactly. The fresh food 29:11 is fresh fruits and vegetables; that is particularly the most 29:16 difficult thing for them to get. So they are randomly 29:20 scattered about. You wouldn't call them grocery 29:22 stores; we call them trading posts or by 29:24 the little chapter houses, and so there they can 29:28 find chips, they can find soda pop, they 29:31 can find candy bars, but not... - Junk food type 29:35 food. - Exactly. Not that healthy food that they 29:37 need. - Like the broccoli and the carrots and all 29:39 of... - Exactly. - You know what's amazing 29:40 to me about this whole thing, and I think that 29:42 all of you see this, is where you're located 29:46 is not far from a state, California, where most of 29:51 the fruits and vegetables are just flooding the nation. 29:54 And I think that maybe as you talked about, 29:57 we're talking to different unions and different... 29:58 North American Division. One of those, maybe part 30:03 of your plan, is how to get these places stocked. 30:06 I know it's huge, because you're part of a nation. 30:09 You can't just decide the conference is going 30:11 to stock this with fruits and vegetables; it's a 30:14 whole national chain within the Navajo Nation that has 30:17 to make that a reality. - Yeah. The other thing 30:19 that's important now, we're realizing that 30:23 this is such a huge issue: that one conference, one 30:27 union by itself, can't take this on. So, we're 30:30 having conversations with the North American Division 30:32 to see how we can bring them together-all the 30:37 resources that they have and all the minds to try 30:40 to find a way to solve this. By the end of the 30:43 day, we're out there, we're working on it, and we're 30:46 starting this mission. We want to do well; 30:48 we want to do a good job. In the meantime, we're 30:51 trying to use all of the resources we possibly 30:53 can to bring to bear to solve these problems. 30:56 - And the... - Wha... What would you- 30:57 Go. - No, go ahead. - The unemployment 30:59 rate on the Navajo Nation is 48%. - Hm. - So one 31:04 of the things that I think we don't want to do is 31:07 just come in there and say, "Here's free food for you." 31:10 While that's a need and we do want to help with 31:14 this problem, we want to make long-term solutions. 31:19 - You're enabling the people. - Exactly, because 31:22 that's not going to help that overall problem. So, 31:26 to teach them how to grow their own food is one of 31:29 the things that we've been looking at. In conjunction 31:32 with giving out food as needed, I know that we 31:35 have little sack lunches with non-perishable food 31:40 items that we have stocked, because we do have so many 31:43 people coming through that are just hungry! - Now, I'm 31:46 listening to this epidemic; we want to keep it from 31:49 becoming a pandemic. What do you think contributes to 31:53 the scarcity of grocery stores and this dearth 31:56 of economy among the Navajo Nation? It just seems like a 32:02 traditional problem that just goes back without 32:05 resolution. - So, let me just... I don't want to 32:07 paint this doom and gloom picture. When you drive 32:10 in- 'cause when I first went down, I thought 32:13 this... I was surprised, because their hotels, 32:16 there are all these other things going on. Down the 32:19 street across from the church, across the way, there are 32:22 Burger Kings or whatever kind of thing. There are 32:25 things out there. - A whole lot of local industries. - Yeah! 32:27 There are local industries out there; but what we're 32:29 concerned about is the ability to provide the kind 32:34 of nourishment, the kind of food, and to be able to 32:37 deal with the health issues that the Navajo people have. 32:41 Because for example, diabetes is a huge problem. That's what 32:44 we've discovered. Diabetes is a big problem. Of course, 32:46 the drug... There are other issues that are 32:50 involved. And so, we're concerned about all of 32:52 those things, because we've got to be holistic 32:54 in our approach to ministry- not just, "We're going to 32:57 preach the gospel to you, and then"... We've gotta 32:58 be holistic, so we're concerned about the 33:00 mind, body, and the spirit. We want to do all of that. 33:03 - Yeah, the lifestyle? - Yes. - And the pastures 33:06 on the front line- both of you actually, because you're 33:09 married, that's your facility. You're dealing 33:11 with the spiritual side, you're dealing with the 33:13 social side... What kind of input, as far as programs 33:17 during the week... I know most of us have midweek 33:19 prayer or Bible studies. What are some of the 33:22 unique things that you do to just reach beyond 33:26 the norm? Because you're not dealing with normal 33:30 Adventist community. - Yeah. - The garden, I think. - Well, 33:34 we have done some interesting things with our midweek meeting. 33:38 One time we called it a "soup and salvation." 33:40 - Okay. [laughter] - And so, we served a... - Free 33:43 supper. - ...a meal, and then we, for a while, we 33:47 were showing a series that's the Native New 33:51 Day that Monte Church did. That went very well and 33:54 people enjoyed it, and we had a good amount 33:57 of people coming out for that. - Cooking classes. 34:03 - Yeah, and that made a good impact, too. - I want 34:08 to also transition a little bit, because we have some 34:10 items here that are traditionally- and just 34:15 everyday items that are connected to the nation. 34:17 Describe to our viewers, and in detail, and also our 34:20 listeners could understand what we're watching here. 34:22 What are some of these items that we have here? 34:25 - So, here we have a traditional native female- 34:31 what she would wear-and the old grandmas, you will 34:35 see them still wearing these clothing every day. 34:40 So, the younger generation, not as much, but this is 34:43 definitely what you would see them wearing as you 34:46 see them. And the beadwork, they are very talented people. 34:51 Very talented-the pottery... Over here, we have a basket, 34:58 and this basket was traditionally used to 35:00 carry water. Now, you think of a basket. The 35:02 water's just gonna run out of it. But this has been 35:05 woven with material that they would soak it overnight 35:10 in water, and it swells. And then the next day, 35:13 they could go and carry their water in that basket, 35:18 and it would not go out. And the same with the flat 35:22 basket; there's something that's a food, a traditional 35:25 food, that they like. It's called blue corn 35:28 mush, so you got a... Yes. And so, they would 35:32 put it in this basket. - Okay. - Their corn 35:36 mush there. So, these are all things-very 35:39 talented people. - The pottery, as well. - The 35:43 pottery as well as the Native American flutes 35:47 that you're seeing here. - Mhm. Pastor has a skill! 35:50 I wanna kind of give our audience here just a taste 35:53 of what that Native American flute sounds like. If you're in 35:59 the car listening, you'll enjoy this. If you're 36:01 watching, I know you will, also. 36:04 [plays Native American flute] 36:52 - Wow. - Amen. - You know, just the sound of that takes 36:54 your mind... I mean, I just got transported in 36:58 my thoughts. - Yes. - To a completely different setting. 37:01 If I closed my eyes, I would feel like I am- 37:04 you know, the sun is rising or the sun is setting, and 37:06 it's just that cool morning; the desert is quiet...or that's 37:11 the call to worship that is beamed through a speaker 37:15 over the valley: "It's time to come and worship." 37:17 What a beautiful sound that has, and it is very 37:20 apropos-very reminiscent. - Yes. - Of the sound that we 37:25 have traditionally heard. You know, television does 37:28 its part to either mess the picture up or contribute 37:32 to the picture. We can't say, and for those who 37:34 are watching the program, television doesn't always 37:36 give you the picture that the nation is represented 37:40 by. - Let me just add, one of the things we 37:43 talked about was, you know, it's one thing to 37:45 play the flute, but we we're hoping that we 37:49 had someone that would represent the Navajo Nation 37:51 here today. We wanted to bring some representation 37:53 of that, because it's one thing to be able 37:55 to talk about it, but it's the other thing 37:56 to actually have someone be able to talk and share... 37:58 - See the people. - Yeah. It's really important, because these 38:02 are amazing, amazing people. These are amazing 38:04 people, so I'm just hoping and praying that as we, down 38:07 the road at some point, we'd be able to come back 38:09 and give a report of what God has done and somebody'd 38:11 be able to come and do that for us! - It even might 38:12 be good to have some on-location videos, church 38:15 services, people coming into the center...just some 38:17 drive-through-you know, nowadays, we have the 38:19 GoPro-just driving into the reservation, going 38:22 out there on that vast morning. It's just- because 38:25 in fact, I mean, I'm being educated to some degree 38:28 here today, because even though a portion of my 38:31 background is Blackfoot Indian (which is a southeastern-)... 38:37 I've been to South Dakota, but it's a different tribe. 38:40 - Yes. - You know? And I think Pastor talked about 38:42 that. But the Navajo Nation... Tell me: let's get back to the 38:46 focus of the Navajo Nation. Statistically, how do they 38:50 rank populace-wise when you compare them to other 38:55 Indian nations around the United States? - So, 38:58 geographically, it's the largest land area, and 39:02 they are also the largest Native American tribe. 39:05 - Okay. - In the United States. So, what we sometimes think 39:11 about with these tribes, there may be some smaller 39:14 little tribes in different areas, but this is very 39:16 vast and very large, which is what makes 39:19 it so complicated. So, if you have a smaller 39:23 tribe of, say, 900 Native Americans and you have 39:28 a few unemployed, that's one thing; but when you 39:31 have such a large area and such a huge amount 39:34 of people with unemployment, that creates its own set of 39:40 problems. And I think that that is what's making it also 39:46 a larger challenge. And as Dr. Brown mentioned, 39:49 the Navajo Nation is a dry nation, so there's 39:51 not supposed to be any alcohol on it. But one of 39:54 their biggest means of transportation is hitchhiking. 39:59 So, anytime when you're driving in the region-and 40:02 it's relatively safe to pick up hitchhikers because 40:06 that's how they go. When they need dental work, 40:09 they have to hitchhike 65 miles to get from our area 40:14 over to Tuba City where they can get some free 40:16 dental care. So you'll see them, 5 in the morning, 40:19 hitchhiking. So what happens is people will 40:23 come into these border towns, which is- we live 40:25 in a border town- and they'll get drunk. And 40:29 then they have no way to get back home. So, 40:34 this is where I think the biggest shock for 40:38 me in ministry came in- when we started having 40:41 people who were drunk come to our door and 40:45 say, "Can you give me a ride home?" Well, I'm from 40:48 the Midwest; I'm from Illinois! You know? And 40:51 so for me, I had never seen that. - Wake-up 40:55 call? - It was a wake-up call! But a dear friend of 41:02 mine who I really pray for her salvation, an 41:05 alcoholic, she's just a year older than me, 41:07 and she shared with me how many of her relatives 41:11 and other Navajos, that's how they passed away. 41:14 They became drunk, and then they were trying to 41:17 make their way home, and they pass out and either 41:20 freeze to death or, in the summer in the desert, 41:23 it's very hot, and they become dehydrated. 41:25 - Hm. Now, talk about some of the things that 41:28 are, as far as a need... We have a picture of a 41:30 group of people that are standing in front of that 41:33 facility. Describe who these people are, and 41:36 tell me more about them. - Those are the members 41:41 of the Kayenta Church. - Some of them, yes. 41:44 - some of them in the back. You see our 41:45 executive secretary on the right in the back- 41:47 Carlos Camacho. - In the blue shirt. - In the picture. 41:50 Yeah, in the shirt. A lot of those are members of 41:53 the church. Pastor, you want to talk about that? 41:57 Also, talk about what your vision is going to 41:59 be for the future. - So, that picture there, that 42:04 would've been taken... - Last summer. - Last 42:06 summer when we had the intern pastor. He was in the 42:08 middle in the back there. They did a good work there, 42:12 I think, but they're only there six months. Meeting 42:15 with the people and kind of- the transition has 42:18 been very difficult for them, coming from Monument Valley 42:21 to Kayenta. Some of those people have already been 42:24 attending there because Kayenta has been there 42:26 a while as a church plant. So for some of them, they're 42:31 already there. Others, it's not so easy for them to 42:33 make that transition. - It's hard, because 42:36 one of the things we found out is 42:38 that 30 miles for us, you know, you get in 42:41 the car, jump in the car, and drive. - Right. 42:42 - Everybody doesn't have a vehicle. - Hm. - Everybody's 42:44 not going to be able to make that trip up to 42:46 Monument Valley, so that's kind of one of the things that 42:50 we need to work on. We are needing-and we were 42:52 talking about this-we were needing long-term 42:55 missionaries. - Yeah, expand on that, because 42:58 we hear the word, "missionary," and we have one picture, but 43:01 there's a different one. - Yeah. So, when we first 43:04 started looking at this, one of the things we saw 43:06 that there were people who just came to the res 43:08 with the idea that they were just gonna be a 43:12 missionary. They weren't trained, they didn't have 43:14 any background in mission work, but they had a 43:17 desire to be there. And with that, we ran into 43:21 a lot of problems. I'm just going to be honest 43:23 with you-we ran into a lot of problems. So what 43:24 we've said is, going forward, we want to 43:26 find people who are trained missionaries. 43:29 Just like you said- missionaries overseas, 43:30 you know, we want to have people that are trained, who 43:33 understand culturally how to adjust, how to 43:37 minister to people, and that's what we're looking 43:41 for long-term. And Pastor, Nancy, you want to add to this? 43:45 - I think that that is exactly what they need, 43:49 because they are a people that are very weary to trust. 43:52 They've been through, as you know, with a lot of the 43:55 Native Americans the history. And so there's been pain; 43:58 there's been betrayal. And so now, that has 44:03 made our work a lot more difficult. And so, whereas 44:08 sometimes pastors would move after 5-7 years, 44:11 that's just when these people are starting to 44:13 say, "You're my pastor. I trust you." And that's 44:17 just at the point where you can start working. 44:19 - And a new guy comes into town and they think, 44:21 "Oh, boy." - Exactly. But there is definitely 44:26 a place for people who want to come in and be 44:29 support, because this is not just a church-this 44:33 is a mission. We have the gardens, the greenhouse, 44:36 and all the other programs that we're running. So those 44:40 that are there for the long haul become weary. 44:42 They need those hands that would come in short-term and 44:46 say, "We'll be happy to come in and maybe do 44:49 this little seminar for you," or "We'll help out 44:52 in your garden," and "We'll"... whatever the needs at that 44:55 time may be. So, there's a need for those people 44:57 that come in, connected with the long-term missionaries, 45:01 as well. - What are some of the things that are 45:04 needed in this facility? Because when you're 45:07 talking about programs, programs obviously include 45:10 not only personnel, but also include other items 45:14 that are needed there, or... You talked about 45:17 vehicles. I mean, what are some of the needs 45:19 that you see? And any one of you can chime in 45:21 on that for there to be a bridge built between 45:25 you and the furnishing that need? to the 45:27 Navajos. - So, that mission site, as you saw, has the 45:30 one community center building that was built, and the one 45:35 house that was moved in there. I would like to see 45:41 it build much more than that. There should be another 45:43 staff housing-at least one more...maybe two 45:46 more. And then I would also like to see a sanctuary 45:49 that's dedicated for worship- and I'm not talking something 45:52 very large, but something that would hold at least 45:55 80 people-then the community center could be used more for 45:59 what it was intended to be used for. - So that's, 46:02 right now, multifaceted, multipurpose. - Mhm. 46:05 - And Dr. Brown, when you think about this 46:08 challenge- 'cause you're sitting in the hot seat, if 46:11 I can use that phrase. - Global picture, man. 46:13 - Yeah. You have Nevada-Utah, and then now you have the 46:16 Arizona Conference, which is right next door. You have 46:19 Utah... I'd love to come out and see it, just to 46:25 come out and just breathe some different air with some 46:28 red dust in it. [laughter] But talk about what you're 46:33 envisioning to see happen here and how the viewers 46:36 and listeners could participate in that, 'cause there may be 46:38 some financial needs that somebody might say, 46:40 "Hey! We'd like to see another building go up; 46:43 we'd like to contribute somehow." - Yeah. We 46:45 need to have an additional building. But in addition to 46:49 that, we also need to be able to design ministry 46:52 models that fit the unique needs of that area, and 46:58 that's gonna take resources. We're not in this to just throw 47:02 things at people. We want to do this right. When I went 47:05 to the Nation, we sat down; we had a meeting 47:07 with the things that are changing-one of the those 47:10 upper? administration. We 47:13 talked about the fact that the Adventist church, if 47:15 we're going to be on this field- we've been here 47:17 for a long time. They respect the Adventist 47:19 church. But in order to maintain that, we've got 47:21 to do ministry the right way. We have other groups 47:24 that are out there, doing ministry; but as an Adventist, 47:26 I just really believe that when we go and we do 47:29 this, we've got to do ministry in a way that's effective. So 47:32 what that looks like, how that's going to end up, 47:33 we're not really sure, because at the end of 47:35 the day, I just want to make sure what fits with 47:37 the needs are. If there's health needs (x2), I want 47:40 to be able to meet those needs. We want to create 47:42 a garden, I want to do that. So, we're looking 47:46 at everything as a global picture, and we're asking 47:48 for support with that. We're asking for everybody 47:51 that's going to support us with that. But in the 47:53 meantime, we want to be able to create and 47:55 enhance the school- I mean the church. We want 47:58 to be able to maybe find ways to fund that. And 48:02 so, those are the kinds of things that we're looking 48:03 at right now. - Well Pastor, go ahead and plug some 48:06 suggestions in there in the time we have. - I feel 48:10 like one of our needs (besides our full-time 48:13 missionaries) is having student missionaries that 48:15 are coming, even if it's just for a summer. Because 48:19 with our programs we're doing in the summer with 48:21 the children, there's such a great need and 48:23 there's such an opening for that. Those programs 48:26 fill right up if we had more young people that 48:29 just would dedicate a summer to come there 48:31 and help with those programs. And it's something that's not 48:34 that intense, and it's a fun program to be a part 48:38 of. - Even a retired person- a grandma and grandpa who 48:41 might want to just come in and... Next week, we're 48:45 going to be having a VBS over in Kayenta, and it's 48:49 basically all older people who are coming to do that, 48:52 and this is something consistent. But there 48:56 are a lot of needs. And one also that I'll just 48:59 add is blankets. I know that sounds very simple, 49:02 but we had some children who were attending church 49:06 and coming to the Wednesday night, and they finally got up 49:09 the courage to tell my daughter, "We don't have 49:12 any bedding. We're sleeping on the floor. We don't have 49:16 any bedding." And out on the reservations, some 49:18 of them are sleeping in hogans with dirt floors. 49:21 And so, as it comes around October in the desert, it 49:24 does start getting cold. And so, that's something 49:27 that we'd like to do in October if we have those 49:30 things is to give out blankets to families 49:33 that need that. But we do see we have other 49:37 denominations who are bringing in 16-20 missionaries 49:40 at a time, just swooping over the reservation, and 49:43 we would really like to see that our church... 49:48 - That push among Adventists. - Yes! Amen. - Nancy, talk about 49:50 the connection with some of the training that missionaries 49:54 were thinking they should be involved in, really quickly. 49:57 - Yeah, about 30 seconds here. - Yeah. So we just 50:01 want to make sure that when people come that 50:03 they can have a little bit of training so that they 50:07 understand about what there really are coming- 50:10 what they're going to see-the culture, because 50:12 no, we really need that so that they have an 50:15 understanding. I know that for me, the first Sabbath, 50:19 a non-Adventist there, and I went and I gave 50:21 her a hug. She pulled back from me and she 50:24 says, "Navajos shake hands." Okay. So I learned 50:30 that this is- their greeting is a nice, light handshake. 50:34 You know, just some simple things like that. - Right. The 50:37 traditional things that sometimes ignorance 50:39 can be a barrier, whereas becoming aware of it... I 50:42 want those who are watching the program and listening 50:45 to the program before we transition to our 50:47 newsbreak here, I want to be able to give you 50:50 the information that you need to get in touch with 50:53 the Pacific Union Natives Ministries. And as you get 50:56 in touch, many of the needs that have not 50:59 even been mentioned will be explained further in 51:01 further detail after you contact them through 51:05 this information. - If you feel compelled to 51:10 support the work among the Navajo Nation, helping 51:12 them to discover a healthier lifestyle, please contact the 51:15 Pacific Union Native Ministries by emailing 51:18 them at PUCNativeMinistries@gmail.com 51:22 Again, PUCNativeMinistries@gmail.com 51:27 or visit their website at NUCAdventist.com. That's 51:33 NUCAdventist.com or write them at 51:37 PO Box 4402 Page, Arizona 86040. |
Revised 2019-08-26