4 minute read
Holbrook Indian School
Kallie (red shirt) and
Katelyn (standing) enjoy a field trip with their friends.
A Seventh-day Adventist Boarding Academy Serving Native American Youth Since 1946
Blessings In Chinle
By Pastor Dale Wolcott with Nicole Potgieter
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of our students in very real ways. In order to slow the spread of the virus, the Navajo Reservation has instated strict stay-at-home orders and weekend curfews. Pastor Dale Wolcott serves at the Chinle church on the Navajo Reservation. The church is located next to our satellite elementary school, Chinle Adventist Elementary. He recently shared this wonderful story about two of our elementary students, Katelyn and Kallie. K atelyn and Kallie’s mom, internet in a Sabbath School room. east side of our campus. Catherine, was smiling as One morning, their mom wanted “Next door” is our infamous local she walked across the Chinle to explain why their family hadn’t “drug house” or bootlegger. Its church yard toward our trailer. been with us as usual for our phoneunkempt yard and constant stream of
Like all Holbrook dorm students, in midweek prayer service the night random foot and vehicle traffic lend Katelyn and Kallie have been back before. They had decided to take credibility to its local reputation as home due to the coronavirus a little walk down to Chinle Wash a supplier of illegal liquor and more. shutdown. And like most Reservation for evening worship, she said. They We aren’t exactly located in Chinle’s families, they don’t have internet took a Bible story book, and they best neighborhood (although we access at home. Since the one-room sang songs the girls had learned at have several fine neighbors, including log cabin where they live is just a Holbrook. a Navajo Nation police officer). We few doors down the road from the Then she said, “And we took the have discussed in campus staff Chinle church, and since their mom neighbor kids with us.” meetings how we should best relate volunteers a lot at the church, they’ve “Which ones?” I wondered aloud. to these “undesirable” neighbors. We been able to do some of their daily “The ones right next door here,” have prayed for them, even visited a schoolwork online using the church she replied, gesturing toward the time or two, praying with them and
sharing literature and invitations to church events. The children have occasionally attended VBS and other kids’ programs. But we’ve definitely seen no breakthrough and no visible change in the adults’ behavior.
“How did that come about?” I wanted to know. Catherine’s family is not closely related to these folks, and I wasn’t aware of any previous interaction between the two households. In fact, Catherine and her husband have talked repeatedly about relocating to a nicer neighborhood—although that is much easier said than done on the
(Above) Shawnewa rides her horse. (Left) Israel uses different recipes to bake delicious pastries, cakes, and cookies for his family.
Reservation with its severe housing shortage and clan-based land allotment system.
“Well,” Catherine smiled proudly, “Their big sister told me they had been noticing how happy our girls seem to be every day when they walk by their house on the way to the church to do their schoolwork. She wanted to know why Katelyn and Kallie smile so much instead of looking mostly sad like her little sisters do—and why they are always singing. So, we decided to invite them. My husband wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but I told him maybe the Lord wants us to share Jesus with them. So that’s what we did.”
“How did it go?” I asked.
Catherine was still smiling, obviously savoring the memory. “At the end, they asked if we can do it
Isis and her sister make masks.
again tomorrow night. My children have been touched by the Lord, and they can tell.”
As we communicate with our students throughout the week, we are learning about ways they are coping with this pandemic. Isis, a junior, and her sister are sewing masks for elderly veterans on the Reservation. Israel, a junior, is experimenting with different recipes and baking delicious pastries, cakes, and cookies for his family. Shawnewa, one of our graduating seniors, is spending quality time with her brothers and caring for her horse. Our students share that they are lonely and miss their friends. Many even say they are missing HIS staff and want to be back on campus.
We are so delighted to see evidence that God is working through Holbrook Indian School to teach our students to serve Him, their families, and their communities. Please keep HIS staff and students in your prayers as we find new ways of ministering to our students while they are away from campus, and pray that they will return to us soon.
Holbrook Indian School (HIS) is a first- through twelfth-grade boarding academy operated by the Pacific Union Conference of the Seventhday Adventist Church. HIS also manages a first- through eighth-grade day school on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona. Eighty percent of funding comes from individuals who have a desire to support Native American ministries and Christian education. Your generosity makes a difference in the lives of our students, their families, and the communities they serve. Thank you for your support.
Seventh-day Adventist
