The last few days have been filled with lots of work and learning opportunities! We continued our work at a local elder's house on Tuesday and now we are preparing to head back there and finish our work chopping wood, clearing brush and taking garbage to the dump. While we work we have been focused on being friendly towards the homeowner and keeping the good spirits that God has given us to serve.
Tuesday night was our main worship night. We sat in a circle with an altar in the middle. This altar had many symbols on it including an eagle's feather, water and the colors red, yellow, black and white. The feather was a representation of the highest flying bird that can carry our messages to God. The water was used for a communion equivalent and represented the water that flowed out with blood when Jesus was speared on the cross. The colors showed the colors of the earth and was reminder that all are welcome to the circle. This circle focused on equality so we all sat on the same level and had a chance to share. It was empowering to be able to speak and we heard many thanks, stories, prayers and bible verses as we went around the circle. We left this circle enlightened about a new style of worship.
On Wednesday, we had a culturally focused day. We started out at Fort Simcoe. Fort Simcoe started as a military fort and was converted into a boarding school. This type of boarding school was used for ethnic cleansing of native youth from infants to 18 year olds. It was a struggle to hear about the pain that had been experienced here and it helped us to understand lingering frustration and hurt throughout reservations in the US. After we finished looking around the fort, we headed to the Yakama Cultural Center. At the Center we were guided by an elder in the Yakama community. She gave us an overview of the history of the Yakama Nation and taught us bout important events and treaties in their history. She also helped us to understand the way nature tied into her culture. She explained the significance of the coyote, huckleberries and the different rivers and waterfalls that go through the reservation. The interconnectedness of nature and God, our creator, has been a theme throughout the week and has been a reminder of the abundance of God's creation. We were able to continue to see this as we went to Corey's house that is surrounded by a beautiful view. We watched many different styles of dance and heard the drum circle play many songs. Though we saw this to years ago when we were here, it was a good reminder that there are many ways to worship God.
Random thoughts from the group:
Steven - I lIkE cHiCkEn NuGgEtS
Kristen- I have loved getting to spend time with the people I saw two years ago!
Brendan- I met a kitten, I named her snuggles.
Sam- Made and supplied Corey with a Potato Launcher.
Lauren- We painted and stained a deck, woooooohooooooo!
Christian- I'm at a loss for words...
Lisa-It was really nice to come back since we have made so many friendships. It has had some hard work , but we have all had fun and we are ready to come home and to see you all soon.
Peace,
Na'Eric and everyone else...
(Kudos to Laurel from First Covenant Church in Seattle for writing this post!)
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