Good News

On Thursday, the Board approved the purchase of the house!! We're really excited and it's 99% sure we'll get the house. The closing date was Jan. 27 but the bank hasn't got their stuff together so they pushed the date back to Feb. 28, so it won't be "official" until the closing, so I suppose something could happen, but very unlikely. Chris Granberry has been talking with a contractor and getting the zoning issues hammered out and that part of the equation looks really good.

This past Tuesday, we had to cancel Bible Study because there was a funeral, but we wound up getting all the youth together and had a great night with them eating pizza and playing games. I was really encouraged to see the youth having fun together and sharing their hearts in prayers.

D-Group this week was a little crazy and hectic. Keep Brandon, Charles, & Davy in your prayers. Some weeks are really good, some less so.

Poo'ko cut his hip on barbed wire and got stitches and a cone of shame, so he's outside until he can maneuver without running into everything. He's ok, because he has a heat lamp and is fenced in so he can't run away.

We went to another basketball game and the guys won by 40 and the girls by 14. They're incredibly athletic and fast.

I also found out Uncle Dave is coming for 2 weeks in the spring and will be back this summer. Super like!

No more news. Grace and Peace to all

Pictures

Here's a picture of my dog. His name is Poo'ko (Hopi for Dog). He's a blue Doberman and he's neurotic, emotionally needy, and hates cows, birds, and the rabbit that lives nearby. He will be your eternal friend if you pet him. As friendly as he is/seems, he has bitten one person, so caution is advised.

This is the house that would be a church. The board votes this Thursday, the 20th on whether or not to buy the house and turn it into a Church. There's a great view of the valley, and on a clear day, you can see White Swan, Harrah, Wapato, & Toppenish. I'm staying out here and keeping an eye on things. So far so good.

Here's a closeup. The cool part of this picture is the Gap to the left of the house and the clouds coming through on the other side of the ridge. The Gap in the Ridge is about 16 miles away. It rained yesterday and was super foggy last night, and this morning the clouds left this side of the ridge but were still on the other side this morning.

We had to cancel Bible Study this week because of snow, but it warmed up and feels like spring. Because of the snow melt, the driveway turned super muddy and I was nearly stuck. It's dried out some and improved a bit. I've been spending a lot of time this week looking up grants for Sacred Road.

On Friday, Chuck and I went to my first White Swan Basketball game. They were amazing! They beat the Waterville Boys 75-15 and the Girls 71-15. Both teams are #1 in their divisions and looked really good. The Girls are ranked #4 and the Guys are undefeated and #1. Basketball is really big on the Rez, and there are high hopes for the playoffs this year.

Grace and Peace to All!

Back in the Swing of Things

Pictures from the Past Month:

Dining Room at the Christmas Feast

(the other room, the Ceremonial Room, had an additional 300 people)

The Youth Group Decorating Crew

Fun Times

Hanging the Paper Chain

Chains, Chains, and more Chains

Brandon & Charles

(I have no idea what they're doing)

We started back with Bible Study this Tuesday and we had a smaller crowd and it went really well. We wound up watching the video from the Christmas Feast and everyone enjoyed it. It's comparable to watching home videos, which is a lot of fun to do as a big group. The kids really enjoyed laughing at funny photos, seeing themselves and others, and were really well behaved during the video, which was a huge blessing and surprise.

On Wednesday, Chuck, Steven, Al, and I helped a single woman and her two kids move. It was a real blessing to help her move the things that are too heavy for her and the kids. We also had fun with the kids playing marbles and goofing off. :)

Yesterday, I took the D-Group to Pizza Hut and we looked at the first chapter of Psalms from the Message. I don't know how much they got from it, but over the next weeks I hope it'll become a part of our routine and they enjoy it.

Lately, I've been researching grants to help bolster Sacred Road's funding for Children & Youth Ministry. It can be a bit time consuming and tedious, but the results will be great.

It's really cold here and it doesn't look like it'll let up till March (maybe February). After Sunday, it's not supposed to get above freezing for the rest of the week. BRRRRRRR

Grace and Peace To You