It was a rainy evening last Wednesday night, August 4th, 2010, when they arrived. The children came from near and far around the Navajo nation in Arizona to attend Sun Valley Indian School. Thursday morning, 7:30 am, I met with the other teachers in the dining hall for a moment of prayer, followed by an all-school assembly in the chapel. That was the moment in which I got to see their faces for the first time. My children were so adorable, absolutely a gift from God.
The next two days of school were wonderful. Playing games, completing interest surveys, and reading and math assessments allowed us an opportunity to get to know each other a bit more. Friday afternoon school was released early. We followed school with a three-hour session of fun, including water games, kickball, basketball, cart-wheels in the gymnasium, and of course covering ourselves in the mud of the local creek. I’m telling you- there’s not a better way to bond with children than to tackle them and smear mud in their hair! Of course, that goes both ways. I was chased for quite some time, and tackled as well, definitely receiving more than my fair share of a muddy mess! God allowed us enough water to take showers after that adventure before the pipe broke, leaving us for the next 48 hours without showers or running water.
Those 48 hours, although very inconvenient, reminded us all of how much we take daily dependencies such as running water for granted. In fact, several circumstances here have reminded me to stay simple. For example, our power goes out on a regular basis with the many thunderstorms that roll through this part of the desert. Dust is a constant on the ground, making for much mopping, and approximately a dozen new mosquito bites appear on my body each day. However, these things remind me that I am in the world. Conveniences such as air conditioning are not available here. Instead, swamp coolers are the norm. Prior to arrival, “swamp cooler” was not even in my vocabulary. I had to google what that was. Sunday night, when the water finally came back on, I praised God. I had never been so excited about water before that evening, and I began to understand how much we are spoiled in today’s modern society.
This past weekend was a great time of getting to know my students. After Friday night’s mud festival, we took the kids to Slide Rock in Sedona. This was an all-day Saturday trip. It was raining and a bit cold. While at Slide Rock I noticed one of my boys, Ruben, was only wearing socks. I asked his dorm parent, Rodney, where his shoes were and he replied, “The mud destroyed them and his parents only sent him here with one pair.” My heart dropped. I asked if any other boys only had one pair of shoes. He pointed me to Leander, Ruben’s brother. Leander was wearing his shoes, yet they were heavy and soaking wet from the night before. Plus, they were skater shoes, which are rather difficult to play sports in. I asked and received permission to stop by the Wal-mart in Flagstaff on the way home. It was such a wonderful opportunity to be able to purchase shoes and socks for both Ruben and Leander. The P.E. coach went with us and carried Ruben on his shoulders through the store. Ruben picked out a really neat black and red pair and we found Leader some blue and white running shoes. I had them put their new socks and shoes on before they were even paid for and we gave the tags to the cashier. They have both stolen my heart, especially as they fell asleep on the way home.
Another one of my boys, Carlton, has stolen my heart just as much. We went to church on the reservation in Dilkon on Sunday. On the way home Carlton (known as a “tough boy”) fell asleep on my shoulder. I placed my hand on top his head to prevent it from bouncing around too much, as we were on a bumpy road. Monday night I went to the boys’ dorm to help Carlton and Ruben study their spelling words. After using the white boards to practice, Ruben wanted to show me a ferris wheel he had made out of kinex. It was incredible! However, I noticed as Ruben was pointing out different parts that his nails were very long and filled with dirt. Being in a dorm full of boys, I figured I better step up and be the mother-figure. I asked one of the dorm parents for nail clippers. I was an awesome experience to sit on the couch with Ruben and clean under his fingernails. I also ended up clipping his finger and toe nails. Then I called Carlton over and his were just as bad. Carlton then received the pleasant experience as well of having his teacher clip his nails.
I love my class here at Sun Valley Indian School. I have five girls and two boys. The girls are so sweet, always wanting to hold my hand and tell me about their lives. However, with no disrespect to the girls (whom I love dearly), God has created me with a special place in my heart for little boys. Ruben and Carlton are absolutely a gift to me. I love their smiles. I love tickling their toes and petting the lizards they catch. I know challenges will come my way, and I will be frustrated. However, I hope to soften their little hearts a bit and be seen as not only a teacher, but a friend and a mother-figure who loves them so dearly. I hope to show them Jesus throughout the year and his love.
1st John 4:12 reads, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
I hope to make this year at Sun Valley Indian School my best yet by showing God’s love to those around me.
I am tired at times. I have had to depend on a lot of dark chocolate after school as well! However, it makes it so worth it when Carlton looks up at me with the biggest grin ever seen because he spelled “laughing” correctly. It makes it all worth it when Ruben is walking through the rain with a new pair of shoes on, instead of bare foot. It makes it all worth it when Aysa wants to hold my hand on the way to P.E. and when Bianca sees that it’s okay that she threw up in class. It makes it so worth it when my students can begin to discover that I did not come here to just be their teacher, but that I truly love them already and would do anything for them, that Christ allows.
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