a journey through the navajo reservation by haley henderson
TRANSCRIPT
A View TransformedA journey through the Navajo reservation
By Haley Henderson
A few years ago my youth group traveled to
New Mexico…
…by BUS.
We were going to
serve on a Navajo
Indian Reservation,
to spread God’s LOVE to the
people that live there.
The 40 hour bus ride was filled with many things…
like sight seeing, national parks, friends…
…crying children,
…and MOLDY bread.
Once there we hosted a week long VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
for the children of
the surrounding
Navajo communitie
s. We led the kids in Bible
lessons, SINGING
, crafts, games, puppet
shows and more.
They loved to be HUGGED, to hold your hand, and most of all to receive
piggy back rides.
We were made aware that drug and alcohol addiction riddle many homes, leaving the kids desperately
seeking AFFECTION.
And to think I was excited for the time AWAY from my parents that this trip was
allowing.
Everyday we would SERVE
the children lunch.
I learned that for some, it would be the ONLY meal of
the day.
That moldy bread didn’t seem so bad anymore.
One day I rode with the bus driver on the 2 hour bus route to drop off the kids at their homes.
What I saw SHOCKED me.
My bedroom ALONE would be bigger than some of the houses.
This trip opened my eyes to the REALITY of a harsher world. SHEILDED by the comfortable confines of my
middle class American lifestyle I was living in
naivety. Unable to grasp how truly fortunate I was. But my
VISION was cleared. I learned that I am blessed, but
that those blessings are a GIFT that I must use to help others. The Navajo are a shy but BEAUTIFUL people, with a rich history and old traditions. Yet despite the
differences, at the CORE we all are the same. We all need food, shelter, and clothes. We all long to be LOVED. To be
accepted. And maybe sometimes, just to be
HUGGED.
I was told before we went on the mission that it would make an
impact. That LIVES would be
changed and HEARTS would be transformed.
I just didn’t realize they were talking about
MINE.
Some images courtesy of:
-publicdomainimages.net
- Lydia Rittenhouse
-freedigitalphotos.net