New Mexico Missions Trip- Day 4

July 27, 2009

Good evening from New Mexico,

First of all, my apologies if you received multiple emails from me this morning. I was not receiving a confirmation that my email was going through so I kept trying. I heard back from a few of you who said you received my text anywhere from 3 to 58 times. I think a little exaggeration was going on.

We are coming to the end of day 4 here in New Mexico and we are looking back at another great day. This morning we went back to our construction jobs. The ceramic tile team had a set back as we had to re do a portion of our work from Saturday because of a weak batch of mortar. But there was no complaing. The students all worked hard and I was very impressed at what we accomplished.

In the afternoon, we hosted the first day of our basketball camp. A total of 3, yes I said 3 kids showed up! We had a great time with the three little girls who were better ball players than most of our students. Our students ran this clinic as if there were 100 kids there. They had an amazing attitude. This afternoon flyers were handed out to all the local communities and churches. I believe we will have a bigger crowd tomorrow but we will be thankful for whatever God has in store. Our goal as a team is to connect kids to this community center that will be serving the community for long after we are gone.

After dinner, we had an amazing treat. Pete Balon who is the founder of Cornerstone Ministries of whom we are partnering with took us on a 30 minute drive up to the top of a mountain. On the way up we saw a few wild horses and a wild cow. The top of this mountain is one of the highest points in the Navajo Nation. It was a breath taking site as we watched the sun go down and debriefed on the day. Pete shared with us how God has opened the door for his ministry to take ownership of the mountain we were on for free. The nation believes in Pete’s work of community development and wants to help him. Pete would turn this mountain into a ministry center and retreat center for pastors. This man is an inspiration to be around as he faithfully and humbly seeks after God’s plan for the Navajo people.

We finished the night with ice cream and many laughs. Everyone is asleep in bed and we are all looking forward to the new day a head of us.

We have been spending a lot of time on this trip talking about what causes poverty and holds people there. There are two main factors that lead to this. The first one is a “marred identity.” The Navajo people definitly have experienced this with their history. The second factor is a “loss of hope.” They have lost hope that their life can count for anything while they live on this reservation. I learned tonight that in a neighboring community there were 30 suicides just last month. As I have said in my two previous emails, the students and leaders are developing a growing burden for these people and their need for a Savior.

Parents, you have children who are experiecing some major life change and paradigm shifts in their thinking. I would ask that when they return home that you spend a good amount of time talking with them about this trip.

There were many curveballs thrown at us in the preparation of this trip. It really got to the point where I would just laugh when another one would come up. I would often say that God must really have something special planned for this trip if we are meeting so much resistance. And I sure was right!

This is a fantastic group of students. I have thought many times today how thankful I am that each one of them is on this trip.

Until next time,

Jon Biggs

My apologies in advance if you receive multiple emails. I am in the dessert!