We took a few hours off on Saturday morning to hike Canyon de Chelly where the wind and water have carved out a beautiful desert canyon. It’s a sacred place to the Navajo because it’s the home of their ancestors. The path down to the bottom of the canyon was a mile and a half hike with ruins of the ancient cliff-dwellers at the bottom. We were told that the canyon has been the site of several movies, most recently the opening scene in the remake of The Lone Ranger.
Having been to Chinle for 12 years in a row, Jimmy has made some good friends over the years. Several of these friends, and some of the new friends that we met, went to the canyon with us so they could tell us about the canyon and their ancestors.
Our Navajo friends told us how their families have passed down the history of their ancestors. Dennis said he learned many stories from his grandmother who still speaks only Navajo, and that she taught him the language. His family meets in the canyon several times a year to camp.
There were five or six tables set up at the bottom of the canyon where vendors were selling jewelry and artifacts. As I was supporting the local economy, Mark asked one of the craftsmen, a silversmith, how he learned his trade. He proudly said that it had been passed down in his family for many generations. He showed us a beautiful silver bracelet that told the history of his family. It’s evident that they are very proud of their heritage, and it’s now a little easier to understand why it’s hard for them to leave the reservation even though life there has its difficulties.
When we returned from the canyon hike, we met back at the church where the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen was holding their lunch for the community. It is a much-needed service as evidenced by the long line of people. Some of the ladies from our team went with them to deliver meals to the homebound. They said that many of the homes on their stops didn’t even have electricity or running water. Laura later commented how sad it made her that the shed where she keeps her lawnmower is nicer than some of these homes.
When we served people supper that night before the revival service, I noticed that many of them came back more than once – they were physically hungry. God reminded me that day that I live a very fortunate life. I have a good job, comfortable home, loving family and more stuff than I really need. Many of the things I’ve come to consider necessities are merely just items of convenience. The majority of people in Chinle need help with the basic necessities of life – food, water and Jesus. While we can’t meet all of the needs in Chinle, we can change their lives by introducing them to Jesus.
Day four was full of laughter, tears, joy, sorrow, chaos, calm, excitement and amazement at what God can do.