Back in WA

I'm back in Washington and will be here for another 2 weeks. I'm here to help out with Spring Break teams which were here the past week and will come next week and the following. Back-to-back-to-back teams gets pretty overwhelming, and Chris Granberry asked me to come help out for March to help out and it worked out well with my schedule. It's been a great past week, but I'm dead tired and we'll be working like crazy over the next two weeks. I also did not bring my computer and don't get regular access, so I won't be doing another update till April. So that's where things stand right now. Things are going well and I'm excited to be back for a while. In other news, my support raising stands at 72% and I'll be looking at coming out here for two years beginning in May. That's it right now for updates. Thanks for your prayers.

Near the End

The last week finished well and right now I'm just tired and have a small sore throat. Getting ready to come home and see what happens from there. It's been a great summer - I've met great friends, learned and grown a lot, and been able to help out a lot. It's been great to see all that's happened this summer and look back on the many good things. I'll try to post more detailed thoughts in the near future.

Running out of time

Only 2 weeks left, and I'm excited about coming home, but also sad about leaving here. Things went well last week - we finished the work and the teams had a good experience, but we did have some rough patches with the house by the longhouse, but everything ended up ok. We painted and roofed one house, painted another, roofed another, and built a wheelchair ramp at another. I painted a house with a crew from Mississippi and our site went especially well. Out interactions with Polly and her daughter Jessie were very good and hopefully are the beginning of a longer relationship.

As we come to the end, we still need prayer - these past few days have been rough on the Rez. One of the families we helped on the second week had a cousin who hung himself in their yard on Tuesday - they have four young daughters who are very active with Sacred Road. Another family close to Sacred Road had a cousin who died in a car wreck this past weekend. Four kids we pick up every Tuesday for the Bible Study and come to Kid's Club every time were in a bad car wreck this weekend which shook them up pretty good - they were in a car wreck 2 years ago this month in which their mother died. It's tough seeing the children going through these rough experiences, but it's good that Sacred Road can be here to love and help those who are hurting.

The Bible Study went well last night - we had 42 children and 11 youth. The youth had a great Bible Study; they initiated discussion about how Jesus can be 100% God and 100% man. Chuck, the youth leader did a good job of explaining the humanity/deity of Christ. Also, more youth came last night, in part by invitation from their friends and also because they heard about the Bible study and wanted to come.

Things are going well and the team is holding together - thanks again for your prayers and we need them.

Camp High Rock News

Camp High Rock went very well. I'm tired, but very excited about how everything went. The kids had tons of fun, made friends, and wrestled with spiritual things. My last post was about a boy who started a fire and one of the best experiences of camp was with him.

His name is Brandon and he is 11, not 10. He was in my cabin and spent a lot of time hanging out with me and another Sacred Road Intern, Mark. Throughout the week, he was on his best behavior which is a huge blessing because he tends to act up and cause problems. I was blown over simply by how helpful, friendly, and talkative he was. The biggest thing was that he prayed for the very first time (publicly) in his life on Tuesday, and on Thursday he and another boy in the cabin wanted to pray to ask Jesus into their hearts. The other counselor and I were blown away because of everything with him and the other boy. Camp was an amazing experience and it really blew me away - what blew me away the most is that I went in to camp with a lot of fear and doubts, especially regarding Brandon. I thought all he would do is cause trouble and strife for me, but God did an amazing work with him and chastised me for doubting God's willingness/ability to help Brandon. I was really blown away, and am in prayer for him and the other boy that their spiritual growth would continue and their decision to follow Christ would be genuine and lasting. I was also able to interact with lots of other kids and build relationships and friendships with them. Please pray for Brandon and his sisters Takoda and Alexa, his brother Tony, and his mother Buffy. That whole family is in need of lots of prayer. I'm also happy that Sacred Road is here with a permanent presence to work with that family, encouraging and helping them.

Thanks for your prayers for this past week and please pray for this next team week - a lot of the team is tired (physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.) and we get a new team in tonight. Please pray especially for Scott and Mark (two interns) and their team as they're working on a house next to the longhouse and pow-wow grounds and there is a lot spiritual warfare/activity around that area. Thanks again for your prayers - we need them lots.

Third Team Week

The third team week is over and Sacred Road should be posting a new video on youtube within a few days. You can see it by clicking here.

The third team week went very well and we had 48 people (46 from one church in Issaquah and 2 friends of the Granberrys from AL). We wound up working on 8 different work sights - 2 new roofs, 4 paint jobs, 1 wheelchair ramp, and 1 yard cleaning. A very busy and rewarding week. I led a painting crew and they did a very good job. Kid's Club has been going very smoothly this summer and it's great getting to know the kids better.

This week I got to fight a fire, which was both exciting and scary. On Thursday, we were picking up kids for Kid's Club when we saw a yard on fire and as we got closer we realized it was at a house where we pick up three kids. At first we thought it was a controlled burn, but realized it was not. Their 10 year old son was shooting bottle rockets and their mom was away - he was being supervised by his 21 year old sister who is special needs. When we pulled up in the van, I jumped out and used a garden hose to spray down some flames keeping it away from the house and after a few minutes, the firemen arrived and put the rest of it out. It came within a few feet from the house, and at the time was extremely scary. Thankfully, the wind was blowing the fire parallel to the house, otherwise it could have all burned up. After the firemen arrived, we scooped up the kids and their older siblings (the 4 older siblings are all special needs) and took them to Kid's Club.

The experience with the fire and the situation the family was in really struck me because it's easy to blame the 10 year old boy, but also the mother for leaving her kids uncared for. One of the kids in the house is a six year old girl who I've grown really close to, and it was really hard to see her house nearly burn. The situation was made more difficult when we found out their mother was returning that night and it appeared that she was going to beat them severly for the fire. The Granberrys tried to mediate and we prayed a bunch on Thursday and Friday, and thankfully, the children were fine on Friday. The entire situation surrounding the fire is tragic and frustrating, and helped drive home something we as a team have been thinking about all summer: All of our best efforts and attempts here on the Rez mean nothing unless God moves - the problems are too big and our solutions are too small. Unless God changes parents and protects children, changing hearts and moving people, bad things will continue to happen and the chaos, death, and dysfunction that are so normal out here will continue.

Please keep praying for the Sacred Road staff and interns as we keep working with one week teams and attempt to show God's love to the community here. Also please pray for us as we work with kids at Camp High Rock this next week. Camp should be great, but also pretty demanding. Thanks again for all of your prayer and support.

Second Team Week & Camp High Rock

The second team week is over and it went well. We painted the outside of one house and the inside & outside and did the roof of another. The week was a bit tougher for me and I hit a wall on Thursday (last week), but turned around after talking with an intern and Uncle Dave. It's great to have such a good team that helps out and encourages. The week ended on a high note though, as we finished all of our work on time and kid's club went very well. I've really drawn close to a couple of the kids and am getting a feel for how to help the kids have fun and "be security." Sacred Road posted a video from last week's team and you can see it here (it's probably their best video so far, not just this summer but all past teams).

Things are going well and it's kind of sad realizing that we're nearly half-way through. In a neat story: On Saturday, the team got together and talked about the team week and good moments from the past week. There were many good ones, but one I liked was told by Davy G (the Granberry's son): He said that at Kid's Club last week, one of his friends told him, "I want to be like him." When Davy asked him who, the kid replied "Your Dad." The kid saying that struck me because of the lack of fathers on the Reservation and the fact that this Sunday was Father's Day. It's a really good thing that Sacred Road serves as a positive influence on so many kids.

In other news, Camp High Rock begins on July 5th, and most of the staff and interns will be there as counselors/leaders. Camp High Rock is sponsored by a local church, Sacred Road, and a church near Seattle. The Camp takes 60 kids and 45 kids from the Reservation to a Camp in the Cascades for a week. I'm excited about going and looking forward to it. Chris Granberry told us that most of the Rezervation kids come on scholarship and right now they are $1500.00 short (it costs $100.00 per kid). If you are able/willing to make a donation to send a kid to camp for the week, you can send a check to Sacred Road @

12116 SE 51st Pl.
Issaquah WA 98029

If you're going to send money please let me know by email (jtsavatewa2002@yahoo.com) or phone 478-737-4178 so I can let them know (the check will take about a week to get out here). I probably won't answer my phone, but you can leave a voicemail and I'll let the Granberrys know.

Thanks so much to all of you out there for your prayers and support. Please keep praying for us as we have a new team coming on Saturday. It's really good out here, but it's also a struggle requiring me to limp to Christ continually, leaning on the everlasting arms for strength and help.

Second Week

The Second Week is over and I've post some pictures on webshots and videos on youtube.

This past week, we had 40 people from Cullman and Birmingham, AL. They worked very hard and it was a good week. We put on a new roof and decking, painted inside and outside, cleaned and mowed the yard, and built a water pumphouse. By the end of the week, we filled up 3 industrial size dumpsters. We finished just about everything, and the guy interns will head out there Tuesday or Wednesday to finish up a few things. The week went well - no injuries, but we faced a struggle throughout the week as lots of stuff went missing. You can see the two part video from last week by clicking here. Check out the video - it's very good and helps show what we're doing.

This past weekend is a three day celebration of the treaty the Yakama people signed in 1855 and "Treaty Days" includes an all-Indian Rodeo and a massive Pow-wow with about 200 hundred dancers and many drummers. I really enjoyed the Pow-wow and Rodeo - it was a good time to fellowship and observe. The drumming, singing, and dancing is very engrossing. The webshots site has a few pictures from the Pow-wow and a few short videos.

This week is our training week and we have to clean up a lot of stuff and prepare for the next week when new teams come. Things are going well and it's been a very good experience. I really like it here and it's also a big challenge to stretch yourself and pour yourself out, both for the one-week team & to the children.

We also hosted "Kid's Club" at two different parks throughout the week. At Kid's Club, we and the team play with the kids, feed them snacks, sing a little, and go over a Bible story. Janel & Sadie, two summer interns, did a great job making skits for the kids to show the Bible story, and the kids really enjoyed and learned from it. Kid's Club is a great way to get to know the kids, share the Gospel with them, and provide a safe place for them to play, and just show them love. The kids come from a rough place, and they face constant bullying. Chuck, one of the guys here on staff, says the schools and playgrounds run on the "law of the jungle" where the strong rule. Kid's Club is probably the only place where the kids can play without having to deal with bullying or fights. This picture below is from the Rodeo and it is of several children who are playing and they're throwing rocks and dirt clods at teach other. Either the parents don't know or don't care how their kids play.

On the last day of the week before the teams leave, Sacred Road has "Say so" where the team members get a chance to talk about their experiences and one of the girls from Totus Park in White Swan who hangs out with Sacred Road a good bit said that she really appreciated Kid's Club because of the laughing. She said that she rarely hears the kids laughing in the neighborhood and Kid's Club is the only place where they are all laughing and having fun. Her comment really struck me as laughing and childhood are supposed to be tied together, yet many of these kids don't get to experience that as they grow up.

Natalie - Sacred Road doesn't need anything in particular - I think they're facing a bit of a financial crunch, but they don't need any specific things/objects. Thanks for the comment though.

Here's a picture of the Sacred Road Team:


From left to right, front row: Veronica Vasquez, Anne Marie Granberry, Morgan Granberry, Emily Schmidt, Uncle Dave Koerner, Sadie Corbett, Me, Mark Shaw/David Granberry, Mary Granberry, Rebekah Griffin, & back row: Luke Irwin, Chris Granberry, Scott Burnett, Janel Corbett, Gretchen Becker, Heather German, & Beth Granberry. This picture has everyone except Chuck, Neena, Asha, & Isaac Clevenger who didn't come with us to Chinook Pass.