RCS Missions Trip Update #2

Hey parents! It’s been 4-5 days since the last update, and a lot has happened since then! On Saturday we spent the morning cleaning up all the trash and debris around the mission. We took the rest of the day off and went into Gallup for a flea market. They had everything there- food, jewelry, blankets, rocks, bunnies, chainsaws…you name it, it was there. After the flea market we enjoyed eating lunch at Earls, which was amazing. We had a bonfire up on the hill in the evening. We sang, we prayed, and we cried. We spent some time acknowledging who God was, thanking Him for those things, and also bringing our requests before Him. I think we all felt the presence of God that night.

Sunday was pretty low key as well. We were able to sleep in and didn’t leave for church until about 10:30. The church we visited was 30 minutes away- and it was well worth the drive. Pastor Eugene shared a message from Matthew 24 about being on guard to prevent being deceived. I think we all enjoyed listening to him preach in both Navajo and English. Some of the students went downstairs and led Children’s Church for nearly two hours! Bless their hearts. After the service was over we joined the congregation downstairs for lunch. They shared their Navajo food with us, and we shared our sandwiches and chips with them. Our students each sat next to the Natives and got to know their brothers and sisters in Christ. It can be uncomfortable sitting down next to someone you’ve never met (especially when they’re much older than you!), so  it was a blessing seeing our students do it so well.

 

Monday was our first full work day. We had two buddy groups at the school and the rest of the students were working on the dorm. The kids at the school told Bible stories, tutored one-on-one, led PE classes, and kept the kids occupied during Recess. The students up at the dorm finished tiling two bathrooms and continued working on smaller projects. The dorm-team was scheduled to start framing an addition, but a late lumber delivery prevented them from starting that. Although we’re a day behind, Keith (construction manager) is optimistic that we’ll still finish by Friday.

 

It’ll be a busy week with school and working on the addition, and everyone is having a blast. We  share our “peaks and pits” each night in our team meeting, and many times the leaders have “peaked” how hard the kids worked that day. It’s awesome to see them serve with such enthusiasm and without complaining. Here are some photos from Saturday-Monday!