Shik’ihooldoh. I have no idea how to pronounce it, but it means “I’ve been set free” – the theme of our Revival services in Chinle, Arizona. Our group wore leather bracelets with Shik’ihooldoh printed on them as a reminder that Jesus came to set us free from all the sin and chains of this world. It’s the message that we went to share with the people of Chinle.
Jimmy Pogue, our trip organizer and leader, has taken high school students to Chinle as a service project for the last 12 years. His cousin from Arizona had introduced him to the needs of the people in Chinle, so each January the Cooper Student Council travels there to meet the physical needs of the Navajo by taking them food and clothing. But, Jimmy also saw a huge spiritual void in the lives of the Navajo people – one that only the love of Christ can fill. So in August 2011, he took the first group of Abilene church members to lead a revival and build a soup kitchen in the local Baptist church.
As with the first trip in 2011, Jimmy prayed that God would provide him with the names of the people from Abilene that He wanted to send to Chinle. Through that prayer, the 2013 Mission Chinle was assembled: a Revival Team, a Disciple Now Team, a Baseball Camp Team, a Cooking Team, a Ladies’ Bible Study Team, and Evangelism Team. I was on the Cooking Team and Mark was on the Evangelism Team. Many of those traveling with us had also been on the 2011 trip, and five were college students who had been to Chinle more than once when they were Cooper High School students. These five students were even more excited to return to Chinle to share their faith. For several months, we met on Sunday nights to make plans for the activities we would offer during the trip, and to worship together to prepare ourselves for the mission. Everyone agreed that it would be worth all the preparation if only one person made a decision for Christ.
Jimmy lined everything up, including a bus to take us to Chinle and the hotels where we would stay. In July, the bus company cancelled our reservation – because they had received a job that would pay them more money. Jimmy was discouraged and dreaded fact that we would have to caravan to Arizona instead of all riding in one bus. So he reluctantly rented 5 vans, disappointed that things weren’t working out like he planned. Later, when Jimmy talked with the pastor at Memorial Baptist, John told him there were 22 kids signed up to attend our D-Now and Baseball Camp, but they lived all over town and he didn’t know how they were going to get there. Hmmm…so maybe the vans will work out after all. And, it wasn’t the last time that God said, “Jimmy, I’ve got this.”