It's June!
School’s Out on the Rez!
And all over the Four Corner’s region as well.
It was a great school year for this teacher and it looks like it’s going to be a quick, hot summer! We are fast approaching our one year anniversary of ministry here on the Bisti, and I wish I had more successes to report. I am very grateful for the message Superintendent Joel gave at annual conference in April. Pastoring a small church is like running a race. Don’t stop running. Step by step, yes LORD, I remember - simple steps of obedience. Our annual average attendance holds at 14. Our food pantry only helps around 4 family units a month. We’ve had 2 salvations and will be having our second Baptism soon. We continue to minister with Julia Redhouse, representing the Free Methodist Church at Farmington where ever we go. We’ve joined her at the Memorial Day Celebration in Shiprock, and at Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church in Gallop, NM where Pastor Art gave a message on worship and culture. It was there Julia and her grand-daughter Kimora presented a “New Song and New Dance” which is the working title of the CD we are recording. We hope to have it ready to take with us on our cross country trip. We are also hoping to be able to speak at a few churches on the way. We will be presenting our ministry to the FM church in Jackson, Michigan (They are sending out a mission team in July). We will be in the Denver area on June 15 and the Upstate NY area on June 22, but we haven’t heard back from any of the churches we contacted. Although it is not the best year to take a road trip, we are going to represent the Free Methodist ministry at Farmington, and our Navajo brothers and sisters at a prayer gathering on the Seneca Reservation at Lancaster, NY. So we pray for traveling mercies and good gas mileage. We are planning a big event in July, when the team from Michigan is here. 4 days of worship and teaching on worship. We’ll be setting up a tent. The people out here just love a “Tent Revival”. There will be music and food (all free of course). The main message will be liberty to the captives, to lose who are still imprisoned by the concept that Jesus is the white man’s god. To bind up the hearts that were broken by the teaching that anything “Indian” is evil. To give them a garland of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness. We are lining up special speakers and worship teams and are planning a PowWow communion service. This will probably raise a few eyebrows and stir up a few “dust devils” but we know this is part of our Isaiah 61 mission statement and our Acts 17 teaching. May His will be done. Of course we need a lot of prayer covering for that week in July. We could also use some cash donations, for food, to rent a larger dumpster and a couple of “blue boxes” (No, dear Doctor Who fans - not a Tartis - an outhouse), and buy other miscellaneous items (plates, cups, napkins, fans). We also want to offer an honorarium to our guests but we do NOT want to take up an offering - you know how some people feel when Churches and Ministries are “always asking for money”. Well, I have yard work to do, errands to run, we need to be at the recording studio this evening. It is the first official day of summer vacation for me, but I don’t think I’ll have much time to relax for a while. That is good because it is all Kingdom business! To God be the glory!
If you want to receive our snail mail news letter, email me your address (artandme@juno.com), if you want to make a donation, make checks out to “Free Methodist Church” po box 6132, Farmington, NM 87499. God bless you! God bless us everyone!
And all over the Four Corner’s region as well.
It was a great school year for this teacher and it looks like it’s going to be a quick, hot summer! We are fast approaching our one year anniversary of ministry here on the Bisti, and I wish I had more successes to report. I am very grateful for the message Superintendent Joel gave at annual conference in April. Pastoring a small church is like running a race. Don’t stop running. Step by step, yes LORD, I remember - simple steps of obedience. Our annual average attendance holds at 14. Our food pantry only helps around 4 family units a month. We’ve had 2 salvations and will be having our second Baptism soon. We continue to minister with Julia Redhouse, representing the Free Methodist Church at Farmington where ever we go. We’ve joined her at the Memorial Day Celebration in Shiprock, and at Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church in Gallop, NM where Pastor Art gave a message on worship and culture. It was there Julia and her grand-daughter Kimora presented a “New Song and New Dance” which is the working title of the CD we are recording. We hope to have it ready to take with us on our cross country trip. We are also hoping to be able to speak at a few churches on the way. We will be presenting our ministry to the FM church in Jackson, Michigan (They are sending out a mission team in July). We will be in the Denver area on June 15 and the Upstate NY area on June 22, but we haven’t heard back from any of the churches we contacted. Although it is not the best year to take a road trip, we are going to represent the Free Methodist ministry at Farmington, and our Navajo brothers and sisters at a prayer gathering on the Seneca Reservation at Lancaster, NY. So we pray for traveling mercies and good gas mileage. We are planning a big event in July, when the team from Michigan is here. 4 days of worship and teaching on worship. We’ll be setting up a tent. The people out here just love a “Tent Revival”. There will be music and food (all free of course). The main message will be liberty to the captives, to lose who are still imprisoned by the concept that Jesus is the white man’s god. To bind up the hearts that were broken by the teaching that anything “Indian” is evil. To give them a garland of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness. We are lining up special speakers and worship teams and are planning a PowWow communion service. This will probably raise a few eyebrows and stir up a few “dust devils” but we know this is part of our Isaiah 61 mission statement and our Acts 17 teaching. May His will be done. Of course we need a lot of prayer covering for that week in July. We could also use some cash donations, for food, to rent a larger dumpster and a couple of “blue boxes” (No, dear Doctor Who fans - not a Tartis - an outhouse), and buy other miscellaneous items (plates, cups, napkins, fans). We also want to offer an honorarium to our guests but we do NOT want to take up an offering - you know how some people feel when Churches and Ministries are “always asking for money”. Well, I have yard work to do, errands to run, we need to be at the recording studio this evening. It is the first official day of summer vacation for me, but I don’t think I’ll have much time to relax for a while. That is good because it is all Kingdom business! To God be the glory!
If you want to receive our snail mail news letter, email me your address (artandme@juno.com), if you want to make a donation, make checks out to “Free Methodist Church” po box 6132, Farmington, NM 87499. God bless you! God bless us everyone!
The pictures show us in the recording studio, the color guard (ROTC) at TseBitAi Middle School promotion, and some of my students celebrating the last day of school!
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