[from Esther Yazzie]
This is another exciting year to teach here at Immanuel Mission School. It is my third year of teaching here and it has been just wonderful and rewarding. I live about ten miles west of Immanuel Mission on the mesa. We have three horses in a corral amongst other animals such as chickens, cats, and dogs. My husband and I feed them everyday and give them water. One day this summer it was my turn to get some water for the horses from the windmill. While the barrel was filling I decided to take a walk to the top of the mesa where there is an overview of Sweetwater and Immanuel Mission. The view is breathtaking. I looked at the Mission and thought, “I am going to teach there again this year.” It was a good feeling. When I got home, I sat down and thought it through about my teaching job and lovely, eager students I’ll have to teach. I read Deuteronomy 6:5-7 and Proverbs 22:6. I then thought about the following: did I make a difference in each of my student’s lives in the year 2006-07? Did I teach my students that there is a place for them in the greater society? And did I teach them beyond the textbooks and work sheets? Did I encourage students to try the math problems again and again to solve the problem? And did they get answers on the second try because I had encouraged them? I hope I help my students in many ways. I understand that God placed me here in specific situations such as teaching, for a reason. To be sensitive and obedient to the divine plan is a tremendous joy.
Teachers shape and develop the young mind and show students the tools for living in society. As teachers, there is joy and happiness in knowing that the doors are open for students to teach their goals, to become leaders, teachers, lawyers, doctors, ministers, evangelists, etc. Anyway, the Lord has already planned for each student’s success and it is the student who has to embrace this. When I plan the day’s lessons, I carefully look and study the school textbooks and curriculum guide. Teaching is like art. When I want to weave a Diné rug, I have to carefully plan, such as picking the colors that match for the kind of design that will make a perfect rug. Teaching is hard work and at the same time, the greatest joy. When parents come in to thank me for teaching their child, that is a big encouragement. I care for my students patiently with respect and dignity.
I would like to share one of many adventures I have had as a teacher. I have to drive ten miles on the dirt road to get to Immanuel Mission School. The road I take goes down the mesa, across a big wash, and up some hills. When it rains the road gets muddy and when it snows it gets slippery. One evening in January, I decided to stay late to watch the game and started for home late. It had snowed that day. I drove across the wash and some hills. When I got to the bottom of the mesa and started driving up the big hill, I almost got to the top. My truck stopped and couldn’t go any further because the road was icy and it was too slippery. So then I had to drive backward down to the bottom, but about halfway down my truck slid sideways across the road. There was a big ditch on both sides of the road and I couldn’t drive anymore. I decided to wait for someone to drive this way but nobody came. I was freezing. Usually nobody drives around when it’s cold and freezing late at night, unless a person is crazy like me. I waited for thirty or forty minutes. Since there was no help I got out of the truck and started walking home. I was three and a half miles from home. It was a good thing I was well-dressed for the cold weather. I heard dogs howling to each other like wolves in the distance. When I got to the top of the mesa it was chilly and windy. My face started freezing right away. I walked about a mile and my legs started freezing and shaking, but I kept walking. Then in the distance, I saw headlights coming toward me down the road. I thanked the Lord it was my husband and daughter.
After this happy ending, I never did leave from work late again in wintertime. This is one of many adventures I have had as a teacher. Hágoónee’