Flexibility

This week was a lesson in flexibility. One of the unofficial mottos of Sacred Road Ministries is "Semper Gumbi" (Always flexible.) Monday I and one other intern were sick with a stomach bug that's been going around, so there was a mad scramble to replace us by pulling interns off sites where there was more than one leader. it was a bit hectic, and I was restless all day wanting to be out helping, but my stomach consistently reminded me that I should be laying down, not riding around the rez and runnning construction sites.
Luckily, it was just a 24-hour bug. Tuesday I went to be the thirs leader on a site that needed a little more help. I ran a paint crew until lunch, then helped roof after lunch (there are a lot of projects where we both roof and paint a home.) It was a bit entertaining to watch a 16-year-old girl with a 16 ounce hammer try and drive nails as fast as I can with a 24 ounce framing hammer. (Tap taptaptaptaptap vs. tap BAM.) The goal was to have the roof dried in (meaning fully tar papered) by the end of the day. we did it, but only just. we finished at 2:25, using leftover scraps of felt paper to cover the last 22 feet of the ridge. But we got it done.
I ran a paint crew on Wednesday and put a full second coat on the house my team painted two weeks ago. we actually did a little more than that as well, we started priming the trim color areas, so my expectations were exceeded and the day was a success, despite a lack of focus after the lunch break.
Thursday. field trip day for the teams. I ended up escorting two of the leaders around town as they ran errands while the rest of the team (and the rest of the interns) floated down the Yakima river or wandered through a cave. It wasn't all bad, I bought some bacon (that was breakfast on Sunday) so the house could have some for the first time this summer. for 5 men between the ages of 19 and 22 to go without bacon for a month... well, I bought 3 pounds and there was none left after breakfast. Bacon is an important food group for yound males.
After the errand-running, we had kid's club. we had been having it all week, today I was on the kickball daimond. In 90-degree heat. It was quite the contras the next day when it was 75 and I spent the daying playing with hot wheels with the littler kids. I drank a lot more water Thursday than Friday.
Friday night and Saturday morning were goodbye times. We finished all of the projects for the week (one roof was right down to the wire, but it got finished.) adn teh teams are off to their respective hometowns.
We were really out in the community this week. The site where we were both painting and roofing was a house owned by a tribal member, another site (we were just painting this one this week) was the workshop of the tribe's coffin builder. Talk about someone known by the community around us. Because of the low life expectancy here on the reservation, almost everyone knows Ray. Sad, yes, but true.Something to make you think. Traditionally, cutting one's hair is a sign of mourning, and the mourning period for a close friend or family member is one year. At any given time, there is probably someone within earshot who is currently in mourning.
Prayer requests for the next couple weeks: health and rest for the interns, continued good work by the teams, praise for another week free of major injury, prayer for my ankle (I sprained it during youth group Tuesday night.)

Also, Pictures available here: Flickr, Facebook

Sacred Road, Entry 2

     You know those times when you realize you've forgotten something you should have been doind for an extended period of time? This is one of those times for me. I've just finished with the first team week, and taken no pictures. I'm sure some will be on facebook before long, but still, it's a little embarrassing to forget something like that. I suppose I should be used to it by now. I've never been good about remembering to take pictures. I shall make a note to be sure and take some the next team week.
     As it is the day after the team has left, a recap of the week's work done is due. in 4 days of work and one field trip day, we had two days when rain made it impossible for the painters to paint, yet we still managed to first-coat a house. the roofing crew had only one day when they couldn't work, and they stripped and re-roofed over 3000 square feet of asphalt shingled roof on a building purchased by the ministry last year for conversion to a church house. The third crew had the task of tearing down and cleaning up the debris of an approximately 2000 square foot shed. It was done. It took all 4 days of work plus a couple hours the morning of the field trip, but it was done.
     The physical labor in construction (or destruction, as may be the case) is a huge part of the work week here, and can be physically exhausting, but the part of the week that takes the most out of you is kids' club. An hour and a half of giving piggyback rides, playing tag, pushing kids on the swingset, and helping them cross the monkey bars, then 20 minutes of snacktime, a Bible story (acted out by the kids under the direction of an intern) and a couple songs before walkinng to kids home or loading them on to the van for the ride back to their house. Physically, it is tiring Emotionally, at is simultaneously exhausting and incredibly refeshing and incredibly sad. there are far to many stories of kids that were engaged at kids' club one day and gone the next. Talking to the permanent staff members, you hear the stories of bright, promising children. Enthusiastic or maybe just reaching the point where they can let down their armor a little who never come back. Some have died. Many have moved. some are scared by the fact they are opening up. for whatever reason, we lose them. The hope for these kids is they will someday seek out 'church people' (I'll explain) later in their life when they are in a hard spot, remembering the love that the teams and staff of Sacred Road had for the as children.
     I've just used a phrase with negative connotations in much of today's world. 'Church people' is, as often as not, seen as a near-epithet. The Christian church has become an institution people are immediately suspect of; there is a long history of reasons for this, and one can hardly fault people for being suspicious of our motives. After all, 'church people' are weird. There is a dafference here on the reservation though. The work done by Sacred Road has drawn children -and their parents and older siblings- twoards, rather than away from the church. When the teams show up for kids' club the first week, you can hear the yells of the little kids: "The church people are here! the church people are here!" It's a challenge to us as members of the church, too. When was the last time we were so excited about the church we would literally run to be a part of it? Of course context is important, and these kids are excited because here come perhaps the only big people willing to play with them. Wait, stop. Go back and read that again. The only adults willing to play with them. These kids are in a bad spot, and the church is for them a place of relief. They find joy with the Church people as we reach out to them. Sacred Road iis living out the command to care for the poor and the orphan. There is an excitement about the church here, and the work the Lord is doing, even in tragedy, and amazing to behold.


Specific prayer requests this week: My health (I picked up a cold somewhere.) the safety of the Sacred Road staff as we recover from one team week and prepare for another. Rest. Joy. Safety for the Kid's club kids in the off week. Thanks for the work done and the relationships developed over the last week. Safe travels for the people traveling on our free day (Monday) this week.


Blessings in Christ,
Thomas