Christmas Letter 2012

Dear friends and family,

Christmas is here!  As a kid I looked forward to everything that was a part of my traditional Christmas- getting the tree, decorating the house, decorating sugar cookies, singing all of the Christmas songs, a big Christmas Eve dinner with relatives, and giving and receiving presents. But as I grew older I began to take these traditions for granted.  I remember my first Christmas season on the Reservation.   Suddenly, traditions that had lost their meaning seemed to having purpose again.  I was in a community that didn’t have its own Christmas traditions born out of the love, which comes from knowing that Jesus came to earth as a baby for us.   If I didn’t see the importance of celebrating the birth of my Savior in a huge way, then why should the people around me?  So it is with joy that I celebrate Christmas and look forward to the aspects of Christmas that have become a part of our tradition here on the Reservation. 

This is the first Christmas that we get to celebrate Christmas on Sundays as a church.  And as a church and youth group we have started several new traditions, I hope.  This past week we took the discipleship group kids caroling to elders’ homes.  I don’t think any of the kids had been caroling before, and several of them had no idea what caroling was.  We showed up on elders’ lawns with 35 of us singing Christmas carols.  Many of the elders were moved to tears after seeing the size of the group and the joy that came from the kids singing.  I think many of the youth were surprised that they could do something that would have such an impact on other people.  When I think about it, it is amazing that we have 30 kids who would want to come with us and sing Christmas songs that are barely familiar to them on elders’ front lawns.   It is just a small reminder of how much the Lord is working in the hearts of the kids, youth and adults here.   Christmas caroling is a tradition I hope we keep for many years. 

I pray that the Lord gives you joy in celebrating the birth of Jesus and that you enjoy your Christmas traditions, not because it is what you have always done, but because you have a great reason to celebrate. 

Love and Peace this Christmas season,

Heather

“This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end. This will establish him as the king sitting on David’s throne and ruling his kingdom. He will rule with goodness and justice forever and ever. The strong love that the Lord All-Powerful has for his people will make this happen!”

Isaiah 9:6-7

Favorite Pictures From 2012

Spring Band Concert

D-group Easter basket exchange

Latisha and Eileen

Lighting the candle's for Judy's 12th Birthday

My parents and sister, Jen, at her wedding 

Youth group picnic table building crew

Intern, Drew, helps Shylynn learn to use the drill press

Youth group building a shed at the Yarbroughs house

Youth group in the summer

Veronica driving the bus, after graduating from truck driving school.  

Fishii's graduation

Ann Marie's graduation 

Celebrating Tianna's 14th birthday

Miranda's 13th birthday 

Monday D-group made gingerbread houses

Connie and friends at their first band concert

Alexis and me after the winter band cincert

Latisha's 15th birthday

Anika picking out her pumpkin to carve

Whitney painting picnic tables this summer

Joshua as Santa for the youth Christmas party

Madison, Alexa, and Miranda putting their ornaments on the tree at the youth Christmas party

All the youth at the Christmas party

Staff Women's retreat with Traci Valerio and Nancy Caroll 

Connie with her kids club buddy, Jill

Lyddie Dempsen and Latoya at kids club

Jade and Leah

Tionna and Ashley 

Madison and Tionna on the painting crew this summer 

Joshua and Asta at the elementary school pow wow 

David and Alliah

Samantha 

Chris holding baby Aphrodities 

Youth helping kids at kids club 

School

     This fall I’ve had an opportunity to volunteer in White Swan Middle School for just 1/2 hour on Tuesdays each week.  I would love to be able to spend more time there, but right now that is all my schedule can afford.  At first I was unsure what the kids would think when they saw my walking around campus. The middle school and high school are connected, so I have a chance to see a lot of kids I know.  When the kids see me they hug me like they are imprisoned in school and I am their only link to the outside world.  The school also appreciates me being there.  There have been no other volunteers in the school for at least three years- probably more.  When I sign the visitor book in the office each week, I sign two spaces down from where I signed the week before.  So there are not a lot of other people visiting the school either.  The first day the teacher I was helping had tears in her eyes when she discovered I would be helping in her half hour study hall for all the kids who are failing.  I thought is this half hour class so bad that she would cry with joy that I am volunteering?  My second week in going the teacher pulled me aside and said they had had a staff meeting about me and they would like to find a way to get more church people to volunteer to help kids.  What the school doesn’t know is that they are barking up the right tree for the answer.  What the school does need is the church because, hopefully, in the center of the church is God.   The school seems to be a place with no light.  

     This past Tuesday, as I was signing out in the office, one of the teachers brought in a girl I know because she comes to church and youth group.  She was in tears and I could over hear what the teacher was telling the office staff.  She had gotten mad and was yelling every curse word in the book in the middle of the hall.  I looked at her and I asked her what happened and she replied, “I’m having a really bad day.” I have gathered that she does not really have any friends. She is lonely and she is constantly made fun of.  She has had a life beyond rough.  She had had enough and lost her temper.  She definitely was crying out for help.  At school and even at church she is seen as a girl who just causes trouble and is disrespectful to all authority.  When I saw her in such a state at the school my heart broke.  How miserable to be constantly living in a nightmare and to be pushing away the people who want to help.  Today when I sit thinking about her I pray that her day would be better today;  that she would find other kids in the youth group at school who would really want to be her friend.  But more importantly, I pray that she would turn to Jesus and the Lord would bring to her mind all of the promises she has heard while at church and youth group.  

The Bible

    In my Monday D-group (discipleship group) we have been reading a book by Patricia St. John.  Each week we read a short story that helps flesh out one of the lines in the Apostle's Creed.  This past week I decided to do a review to see what they remembered.  I would give them the title of the story and a few descriptions of the story and they would fill in the rest.  One of my girls kept give me answers like "Is that than one story where the little boy was asleep and God kept calling him. " And I would say know that story is in the Bible.  After this happened two or three times I realized she was remembering Bible stories we had never done before in youth group or Sunday Night Church.  I asked her how she was remembering so many stories and she said, " There in that Bible you gave me.  I've been reading it." She was getting the stories from the Bible mixed up with the stories in the book we were reading.  I didn't remember give her a Bible, but we bring Bibles to Church with us on Sundays to give away if anyone wants to take one.  Apparently she picked up a Bible one Sunday night, took it home with her and has been reading it ever since.

     One of my concerns the last couple of weeks is that we are teaching the kids from the Bible, but I didn't feel like any of them would go home and read it for themselves.   Now I know that is not entirely true.  It is so sweet to see little glimpses of what God is doing especially when it is clear no one can take responsibility but Him.  Thank you, Lord, for continuing to work in the hearts of people around me and then letting me see little glimpses of what you are doing.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures for the summer.  I had trouble keeping it to just a couple.  So these are my top 30.   It is hard to tell the whole story in just 30 photos, but I hope you can catch a glimpse of the amazing things that happened this summer.  There are more updates and stories, and videos to come.