I'm a Real Navajo

Funny: We had a great time at the Eastern Navajo fair. On Thursday we went over hoping to see the sheep slaughter for the miss Navajo pageant. As it turned out they had moved it to a few days later due to some complications. But we learned that Thursday was "Elder Day", and we fit under the title Elder. So, we played all the games with them and even got to participate in a traditional Navajo Social dance and had a great time with all the old people. They loved it and we had a great time! They even gave me the title "real diné (Navajo)" after I impressed the old ladies with my frybread making skills.

Spiritual: There have been so many spiritual experiences this last week. The Lord loves this people so much and it has taught me about my own worth in His eyes. We went over to a part member family. We were having a great conversation about faith and the only member in the room teared up and she told us how, ever since we started coming by, she had been praying for a job. She got a great job and contributes it all to God. Missionaries had been going by for year before us but it was just her time. She is coming back and bringing her whole family (9 people) with her. What a miracle!

Where I am going: Well it has been an epic ride here in Crownpoint. I have loved every second and have loved these wonderful, beautiful people. They have changed my life and I am so grateful. I am indeed leaving Crownpoint and am headed to the far-off land of Murray, Utah. It should be a good adventure and I am excited 😉.

Love you all,
Elder Black

A Tad Flat

Funny: This week was full of really funny moments. If I were to sum it up, I would say that with three of us we were affected by group mentality. We were helping watch a lady’s house and water her garden while she was up visiting relatives in Utah. At one point we were stuck, we were trying to find the food for her dog. We looked literally everywhere in the house but no luck. We spent an hour looking in the same place and the bag of food was right by the front door the whole time Haha. Moral of the story, sometimes more is less.

Spiritual: There were miracles and angels all around us this past week. We had a rough week with our truck. On Thursday we noticed that we had a small nail in our front tire. We couldn't do much about it till Monday when we could go into Gallup. So, we replaced the lost air and kept a bike pump in the back just in case it lost more air. On Saturday we were in one of the sketchier parts of our area visiting some potentials and we came back to our truck after about an hour of walking around and we found our tire was completely flat. Again, nothing to worry about. We have a spare and some tools. We finally get the truck jacked up when lo and behold the tire iron was the wrong size for the nuts. We couldn't get the tire off! We tried and tried but without success. Finally (and I don’t know why we didn't do this earlier) we turned to the Lord. It wasn't even 5 minutes after the prayer that a neighbor came out with exactly the right size tool. Well we got the tire changed and all is well. The man who helped us is the real miracle because we had tried his house only a few days ago and he had basically slammed the door in our face. Now he told us that he wouldn't mind having us come back and sharing a message with him. What a miracle!

Where I am at: Wow, what a fast week. I feel like the week just started and yet here we are again. Time is flying and we are having a great time. It is fun to be back into a trio again, there are a lot of things about it that I had forgotten. The good news is that it came at a great time. We are all very excited for the Eastern Navajo Fair this week. It is going to be a blast. I suspect that we will be exhausted after it is done. It will be a fantastic adventure.

I love you all,
Elder Black

To War! Crownpoint's going to war!

Funny: There has been a call of war sounded throughout the land of Crownpoint. We were growing these lovely flowers by our door and one day we came home and one was gone. We were confused at what happened. Well we learned when the other flowers vanished that it had been ground squirrels that ate our flowers. So, we have declared war! I got the chance to go on exchanges with Elder Asher the District Leader. We spent our language study speaking Navajo to each other and hunting squirrels. We shot one with the blow dart gun we made but it wasn't a good hit and it ran off with the dart still in it! This week we will be victorious!

Spiritual: This week was an interesting one. We had a tough start of the week. We learned that a few of those that we thought were very elect were actually just acting so they could get church support and in reality, wanted nothing to do with the Gospel. It was sad. But God blessed us greatly for our efforts. On Sunday we had a lady come who had never come and who we thought never would. She came late but loved it. We went by that evening and she told us that the church meeting had answered a question that had burdened her for 10 years. We invited her to be baptized and she agreed! She is on track and is now doing great!

Where I am at: Well I am staying and so is Elder Viola. We will be joined by Elder Sorensen. It was a fast transfer and I feel that next little while will also fly by. But until the end we are working hard and enjoying each other’s company. Life is so good here in the best place on earth.

Have a fantastic week
Elder Black

Let Freedom Ring

Funny: the 4th of July on the rez is slow! It seemed that everyone left town. We came home for dinner and decided with the other elders that we needed to do something fun. So, we hiked the Mesa near our house to see if we could see any fireworks. We didn't really see many so we decided to have our own fun. We found a bunch of glass beer bottles and even a toilet someone had left out there. We lined them all out and the great rock battle began. To put it simply, we overthrew the porcelain throne.

Spiritual: This week we set a finding goal of 4. We worked really hard to achieve it and we found 3 by Saturday. We were a little worried because Sundays we usually visit a lot of members and those that didn't make it to church. We decided that we still had a few more minutes before we had to go in. We said a prayer and we were reminded of earlier in the week we had met a man named Tim while helping him dig up some water lines. He had almost absentmindedly told us where his house was. We decided that we would give him a chance. We knocked on his door and he let us right in! He had met with missionaries a long time ago and our encounter earlier in the week had reminded him of what he felt while meeting with them. He had wanted to get in contact with us but didn't have any way to do so. It was a tender moment for us to be guided to those who are looking for the truth.

Where I am at: Well thankfully the holidays are over and this next week is going to be great! We are finally getting things prepared for the Eastern Navajo Nation fair and we are excited for that. There is a lot going on and a lot to do. We are loving the weather. Monsoon season is upon us and every day we get to listen the roar of thunder and cool off with a few scattered showers. It is perfect.

Have a great week
Elder Black 

"Ham"ing it Up

Funny: This one goes down in my list of funniest missionary moments for sure. We saw a family outside cleaning their yard. We helped them for a few minutes and afterwards went in to share a short message. Before we began, an older lady asked us in Navajo who we are/what we do. Well we had just studied these sorts of questions in our language study and so my companion answered "bá'oltá'í niidlí" or "We are teachers" but he said it fast and the syllables blended together and it came out sounding like "besóodi niidlí" or "We are pigs". Bahaha, it was hilarious to see their expressions go from understanding to really confused. It all worked out in the end and we had a good laugh.

Spiritual: this week we went out to a remote part of our area. It is called Pueblo and it is about 1-1 1/2 hours away from Crownpoint. Honestly going out there we were not expecting too much. We only had one semi-active member and not really any other contacts. Well we only spent about 3 hours out there because of travel time. But in those 3 hours we got 6 referrals, had 3 Spirit filled lessons and found some amazing people who desperately need the Gospel. It strengthened my testimony that often we don’t know more than a step ahead of what to do. But God does lead and direct us to where we are really needs.

Where I am at: life is too good to me out here on the rez. And these wonderful people have stolen my heart. I honestly wish that I could take them home with me. Nothing to exciting is supposed to happen this upcoming week but you never know. We are excited because we had a great week of finding and have a lot of wonderful appointments set up for this next week.

Winner Takes All

Funny: Due to some strange circumstances we ended up at a reception for someone who had graduated high school (At first, I thought it was a wedding reception with how big it was). It was one of the most awkward parties I have ever been to. To start we were the only people who were white and for once we were underdressed. Well not to be distressed by the awkwardness of the party I decided that I was pull out the old charm. Well eventually I ended up in a discussion with an old Navajo cowboy about if white people can actually eat mutton. We decided on a little contest. I out-ate his whole family. I have never eaten that much native food-life!

Spiritual: We had zone conference this last week and it was a heavy hitter. This was my last zone conference and it was perfect. If I had to pin down a focus it was on having the Holy Ghost always in our lives. There were about 12 of us that gave our departing testimonies there and through the whole meeting the comments made were spiritually heavy and experience heavy. It was an interesting moment for me for sure. I wish I could express the emotions there over email but you will just have trust that when missionaries have served right and worked hard that the spirit they bring to their final meeting is a very powerful one.

Where I am at: It is always an interesting moment when you can see why you are put in a place for a reason. One of the reasons I am here is because we just learned that the Eastern Navajo Fair is going to be held here next month. Why am I here? I know almost exactly what to expect. It'll be a lot more challenging than the one in Window Rock because we don't have a senior couple and not as many missionaries. But I am excited to have the new challenge.

Enjoy living a full life.

Who Let the Dogs Out!

Funny: We went on a cookout with the ward and it was very fun. We learned through confession the one of our young men has a girlfriend and guess what? They held hands during a movie, so it's pretty serious. Haha. It was also funny to see everyone argue about the correct way to make frybread. Turns out there are so many different ways to make frybread. We had a contest to see whose is better, they all taste the same.

Spiritual: It is a very special thing when you are able to see heavenly protection acting. We were walking to a door and there was a very mean big dog that was in the driveway. He was on a leash but everyone told us that he would bite if he got the chance. We got to the door without a problem and unfortunately no one was home. We turned around and that mean dog had managed to pull his cement block closer to us and was now blocking our way out. We said a quick prayer and decided that we would put our faith in God. The dog barked and growled all the way us until we entered his circle, at which point he lunged forward and started licking our shoes. We walked through without harm and minute we left range he resumed snarling and barking. I know that the dog’s mouth was shut so we could go through safely!

Where I am at: Life is so good here in Crownpoint. It is hot down here but in love it. We have zone conference this upcoming week so that will be exciting. Other than that, all is well. We are just pressing forward and loving the work.

Love ya'

Elder Black