Tuba City, Arizona

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. Here are details and pictures from my first mission trip in seven years with our teens from church to the Navajo Reservation. We flew from Bellingham to Phoenix and drove the three hour drive to Tuba City, arriving at 4am Navajo time. (Which is not the same as the rest of Arizona. Navajo's hold daylight savings and AZ does not.) Here is a sun rise from ones of the mornings.
Ben was the cook for the week and made sure we had great meals and plenty of snacks during the day.We were given some time to relax on Sunday and then for a period of the afternoon we went around to the neighborhoods and passed out flyers for the VBS on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We had a devotional Sunday evening at a canyon close by.
Monday we were split into a number of teams and my team re roofed a house. The shingles blow off there roofs constantly from the high winds that blow through. Here is some before and after pictures of our roof.
On Monday evening we participated in a traditional Navajo Prayer Sweat where you sit inside a sweat lodge with hot rocks in it and suffer and pray on behalf of others. It was a very neat time.
Our VBS didn't have as many children as in previous years but it was still great. The teens did a great job both days. (We had it in the afternoons and did our work sites in the mornings before it got too hot.)
Instead of an ark, the story team requested a sailboat for Noah. The craft team concocted this boat from an array of odds and ends. It is complete wit two decks as well as surround sound and flames on the sides!
One evening the Navajo ladies from church prepared Navajo tacos for all of us. The make a special fry bread and other tasty toppings.
Thursday we had finished up our projects so we went to collect fire wood for the Navajo people for their winter heat source. We toted logs from in the forest to take back and split. Good thing is we drove through the Grand Canyon National park to get to the wood on the other side! They didn't make us pay the fee to enter on either end so we had lunch at one point of the G.C. and then left.
Sonic was down the street from the church and there were Sonic runs daily. For dinner on Thursday we all had Sonic. There were also some free range horses that showed up to dumpster dive.
Friday morning we got up before dawn and went to hike down Jack Ass Canyon . It was so fun and a hard hike. We used a rope a couple times to get down some cliffs. At the end of the hike was the Colorado River. It was nice to be able to cool down there. then we hiked the 1 1/2 miles back up and out to end with some juicy watermelon. Refreshing!
Friday evening we cleaned up the place and we happened to catch this face print on the side of one of the vans which a combination of sweaty body and dust storm had left. There's a bit of the skies reflection in it as well.
Our last sunset in Tuba. Bon Voyage.
That's a wrap!