[from Kelli Wilson]
Wow! October was a very busy month for us here at the Mission. Every weekend and many week nights we had something going on. As a result I have a very messy house—at least I like to blame it on that. The month kicked off with a Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) teacher conference down in Phoenix. I had a great time, was reminded of many things, and generally encouraged. I really enjoyed the family that put Megan and myself up. I also enjoyed getting to know more of my co-workers on the road trip. I also saw my first saguaro—very exciting! After the conference, Anne Denny went to Kansas to a wedding and she and a friend, Andrew Hawkinson, drove back a new bus for the Mission. We are very excited to have that and at the amazing way that God provided it. It was also a blessing to have Andrew here for a day. The next weekend we had a garage sale here at the mission. Since I just moved in, I didn't have anything to contribute. So Megan and I took her four dogs to a park in Cortez, Co. She thought it might be a good idea to not have them barking all day long. About the middle of the month, the mission hosted a Singspiration. Several of the area Navajo churches came together and organized a 2 ½ days of singing, concerts (local people), preaching and food (of course—lots of food!). It was a huge success. Many people were either challenged or encouraged through the weekend. That Friday marked the end of the first quarter and we had to prepare the report cards—a very scary and stressful process. Then on Tuesday we had an open house in which I got to finally meet many of my students' parents. It was a lot of fun, and amazingly I wasn't at all nervous—praise God!! The next weekend we had a work day here at the mission. We don't have a maintenance man this year so we took a Saturday to try and accomplish a lot of things. We cut firewood, winterized all the water coolers, changed furnace filters, replanted flowers, fixed chairs, and many other things that I've already forgotten. A family from Colorado came and helped out that weekend—it was so neat to meet them and see their desire to help out in whatever way is possible. Do you know of someone who might be interested in coming out here and being a maintenance man for a weekend, week, month, or year or more? The next week was Halloween. My kids definitely got sugared up even before they left school to go Trick-or-Treating. I left school early on Halloween to fly to Iowa for Elaine (my former roommate and best friend) and Eric's (another good friend from college) wedding. It was so wonderful to see friends again and laugh about old times. We had a great weekend, but not nearly enough sleep! Other than that, not much happened. I hope and pray next month's newsletter covers a lot less events. One thing I learned this month is that God definitely knew what he was doing when he created weekends—and they ought to be treated as sacred events. I very much enjoyed this Saturday!!! It was a great day of rest, time in the Word, time with friends, great food, and my house is so much cleaner!!! I pray that you can find time for a refreshing weekend or even just a rejuvenating hour or two!
In Him,
Kelli Wilson