9 minute read
Coffee Chats
He Leaves the 99
BY TINA KADOLPH
I started leading mission trips in 2000 when God clearly spoke to me that this is what He wanted me to do. My first trip was to the Navajo Nation in June 2000. I brought a team from our church, all our youth, and some brave adults (I say “brave” because this was my first time leading a trip). I learned so much on that first trip, things that remain with me still today. There is a lot I could share, but today I want to share just one story.
On that first trip, I met a beautiful Navajo woman named Margaret. She was a sweet lady who didn’t speak English and lived alone as her husband of 54 years had passed a few years back. She lived way out in the middle of nowhere with no running water or electricity and had to go into town about 30 miles away to haul water for her sheep and herself. She and her husband had raised sheep their whole marriage, and she continued to do so, as it was part of her heritage—her family had always had sheep.
We fell in love with this incredible lady and the stories she shared through a translator. Margaret had become a Christian at a youthful age. In the Navajo Nation, there were not many Christians, especially at that time. Still today, only about 3% are Christian. She was persecuted for following “the white man’s religion,” as her own people called it. Still, she remained faithful, understanding that Christianity isn’t a white man’s religion but that Jesus is the Savior for all people. When I met her, Margaret told me she was 89 years old. Then for the next ten years, as our friendship grew, she continued to say she was 89 years old. It was so funny for her to claim to be 89, year after year. So she very well could have been a 100 or more. What a remarkable woman who kept her faith no matter her circumstances. And trust me, she had some difficult circumstances. She truly was an inspiration to those blessed to know her.
I share this story of my sweet friend Margaret because she showed me the real-life lesson of Jesus leaving the 99 for the one.
Each year we came to minister, we visited Margaret to see how we could help her. Usually, we cleaned her outdoor kitchen or swept her dirt floor or any other job that would benefit her, as she was alone. Our assistance was the only help she got, and that was only once a year.
The pens were side by side. It seemed so easy to open one pen door and then open the other pen door and then just let the sheep walk nicely to the pen where their food and water were. Seems simple. But oh no, it was not simple.
We opened the door to the food pen and then opened the door where the sheep were. But not one of the sheep went where they were supposed to. Instead, they all ran out and into the desert field. They ran, and they ran. They ran until we couldn’t see them anymore. What was meant to be a blessing quickly turned into a bad situation. The youth ran after the sheep, still trying to help. And then, little elderly Margaret set out on foot to get her sheep. It was a total mess.
Our translator told us coyotes were in the open field, and they were dangerous. Soon, I could no longer see my youth, Margaret, or the sheep. It was getting dark, and fear was starting to set in. Those of us who were still standing there began to pray. We then got in the van and began to search for everyone.
In the desert, everything looks the same. It’s miles and miles of the same thing. In that area, there are not even roads. But we searched. Finally, far in the distance, we could see the kids. So, I headed that way. We found the kids, praise God, but no sheep and no Margaret. So, we got the youth in the van and went to find Margaret and the sheep.
We didn’t have any luck, so our translator told us to go back to the house. That didn’t make me feel good to leave an 89-plus-year-old lady wandering in the desert alone. The translator assured me that this was Margaret’s life and she would be ok. It still didn’t sit well. But we headed back.
One year when we arrived, she was getting ready to move her sheep from one pen to another, where she put the food and water for them to eat. We told her we would love to help her—that is where the chaos began. What were we thinking? None of us were sheepherders. She had done this for years, and I’m sure she didn’t need our help. Moreover, she knew way better than us how to move sheep.
When we arrived, Margaret was there, and her sheep were in their pen.
What? How did that happen? Well, the sheep knew their shepherd. The sheep knew the shepherd’s voice. Once they heard her call, they came home with her. While we were out in the wilderness, running in all directions, the sheep were following their shepherd right back home. This became a beautiful lesson for our young people. They saw the words of Jesus in action. But it didn’t stop there.
Margaret told us that one sheep was missing. She had about 75 sheep, and it was dark by this time. How could she be certain one was missing? The translator, Miss Betty, told us, “She just knows.”
Then she told us that Margaret would walk the desert night and day to find a missing lamb. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that. This little elderly lady would walk the desert night and day in danger of wild animals to find one little lamb? Why? It’s just one lamb; she has 74 others. Why risk her life?
Betty said that the sheep are her life, and she loves them with everything she is.
Wow. Do you see the picture here? What an amazing example of Jesus this beautiful soul was.
So, now one sheep was out there in the dark, and Margaret started out on foot to find it. We asked if we could help. I’m sure that was a hard decision for her after our last “help.” But she got in the van, we turned the headlights and flashlights on, and we searched for the lost sheep. We drove for a while with Margaret pointing out which way to go, which way to turn. And then she yelled, “Assay!”—“Stop!” There was the lamb all alone in the dark. Margaret knew where to find him. She got out, and the lamb ran to her—such a tearful, sweet sight. We wanted to put her and the lamb in the van, but Margaret refused. She walked with the lamb beside her all the way back to her house as we drove slowly behind, lighting the way.
We did help this time, but she really didn’t need us. You see, she had complete faith Jesus would guide her. He had before, and she believed He would again.
Margaret put her lamb back in the pen, safe and sound. We learned a lot that night.
What a powerful, exhausting day we had. But we celebrated with Margaret that the little lamb had been found. We all had never felt more energized and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Sweet Margaret taught us all so much over the ten years we were blessed to have her in our lives. She is now with her Jesus—I’m sure loving her Shepherd and living in a huge mansion with lots of sheep.
She’s been gone many years now. I still miss my time with her and the lesson she taught us. I always tell the new teams about the lessons we learned. I’m so thankful I will get to see her again one day in heaven.
The lesson we learn from Jesus in this verse and from Maragaret’s actions is simple but profound: We are lost people, just like the sheep. We need a loving, caring Shepherd who will search the desert for us. We, like sheep, tend to wander off, even when our needs are met right in front of us, searching for greener grass. Usually, that greener grass isn’t what we thought it was and we can be lost in the desert–when Jesus is all we ever needed. Jesus taught this lesson three times in succession because He knew we needed to hear it again and again to absorb it. Our Shepherd deeply loves us and cares for us. We are valuable to Him, Just like Margaret showed us how valuable her sheep were to her. She was even willing to risk her life for them. Jesus DID give up His life for us. Jesus will seek far and wide to bring us back home to Him. When the one who was lost returns, the Good Shepherd receives him back with joy and celebrates his return.
Don’t be a silly sheep. Stay in the arms of your Shepherd, who loves you deeply. He is all you need.
