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October 9th, 2010 From: Mallory Heggen - Kindergarten Teacher Being at Immanuel Mission for my first year of teaching is such a wonderful experience. I am originally from Des Moine, Iowa and have been able to visit the Mission previously for work trips with a youth group. I went off to college and majored in Elementary Education with the original intent to work in an inner city to help bring up reading levels in impoverished communities. It was a dream of mine to come back to the Mission someday, but I didn’t realize that I would get the opportunity to be a teacher here. When I found out that there was an open position in the elementary, I was overjoyed that I could fill that space. Kindergarten is a great fit for me; the kids are rambunctious and have a lot of energy! With only nine students, each one gets a lot of individualized attention. This was definitely God’s plan for me this year and I have a great support system back home cheering me on!
January 10th, 2010 From: Kelli Wilson - Junior High Teacher Dear Friends and Family,
We’ve begun the New Year with a great start! It was nice, as always, to get away for a break. I love my life and job here at the mission greatly. I have a wonderful, albeit, rambunctious class and they were just as ready for a break as I was. Plus there are just some comforts that only family can provide. Speaking of family, my cousin, Abigail, has come to live with Melissa and I for the rest of the school year. She is going to be working as a teacher’s aide. I’m very excited to have her living with me.
As a class we have had a great first week back. We’ve started something new in English class that stretches the comfort level of my students and as their teacher I am very pleased. We are enjoying our study of Moses and God’s demonstration of who He is in our Bible class. Miss Abigail has been helping out everyday in Math and it has enabled me to give more attention to my students who really need help. If only I could split myself into two or three people…
When we arrived back to the mission we received a pleasant surprise, snow! The mission received much snow over the Christmas break (close to 10 inches?). Everything is covered in white with splotches of red dirt showing through. It is quite a sight that once again causes my heart to praise God for His beauty.
I want to thank all of you for your prayers for me, my class, and the mission. I beg you to continue to pray. Pray for the students and community members to have a desire to have a personal relationship with their creator. This year I’ve had the opportunity to see God working in both my students’ lives and the lives of their families. With some students I am greatly encouraged that they not only have the Christian influence of Immanuel Mission School, but they also have the Christian influence of certain family members. With other students, I am greatly encouraged to see their Christian influence that they have on their family. And with other students, I keep praying, encouraged by the fact that my God loves them more than I ever could. Pray for the staff here at the mission; pray for unity and endurance. Pray for me; pray that discouragement will not take a hold in my life and that God will remind me that His strength alone is the only way that I’ll ever be who and what I need to be.
In Him Alone,
Kelli Wilson
December 12th, 2009 From: Hannah Barr - 2nd Grade Teacher God’s timing is amazing. I know this, yet every time something falls perfectly into place I am always so amazed and surprised. I laugh at myself because no matter how many times it happens, I am always so awe struck at God’s perfect plan. As silly as it is, I am glad I haven’t lost that awe and appreciation for God’s incredible timing. In particular, I am thinking of how grateful I am to have one year of teaching under my belt. I now know that last year was training for this year. This year brings many challenges in my classroom that might have had me saying, “I quit” last year. God knew that, so He made sure I had some training and preparation before this year. I am so grateful to Him for that and even though I often leave school thinking, “what am I doing?” I know that I am doing my best and trusting my abilities.
I am so happy to be back at Immanuel Mission for my second year. I have mentioned this before in some of my previous newsletters, but I wake up every single morning excited to face each day. I can’t remember another time in my life where I loved getting out of bed every morning. That tells me I am exactly where God wants me. It is so much fun moving beyond the introductions with the community and on to the getting-to-know-you stage. I am slowly getting to know more of the students better and even some of the parents. Building relationships is so important to spreading God’s Word and I think I am slowly building relationships.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here in Sweetwater, building relationships and teaching the Word of God. I am thankful and excited for God’s plan in my life and for His plan in the Sweetwater community.
December 6th, 2009 From: Becky Knopf - 5th & 6th Grade Teacher If you knew my students, you would delight in them as much as I do.
One of my 6th graders has discovered that when he pays close attention during class, he hardly has to study for tests to get A’s! C-O-O-O-O-L!
My students are discovering that it pays to try giving an answer, whether they are correct or not because trying and participating in class are important behaviors to Miss Becky.
They have learned that a large picture scores a higher grade than a teeny-weenie offering in the center of a piece of paper in ART class.
Sitting up in class is meritorious!
Helping others, picking up trash, flushing un-flushed toilets [Ewww; I know, but let's get real here!] and volunteering for chores are behaviors that please their teacher because she thinks those are the sort of things that Jesus would do if He were in our class. And they are right!!
Some of them come over to greet me every morning when the bus drops them off (I just love that) while others choose to hug me daily–who can’t benefit from one of those regularly and voluntarily given?
They don’t all know my Lord and Savior yet — but hope springs eternal. Romans 10:13
Thank you for praying with me for Angel, Hernalia, Amanda, DeBryanna, Justin, Cleandro, Laqueta, Crystal, Tomika, Juanita, Darren, Shania, and Aaliyah.
Oh, and pray for their teacher, Miss Becky.
November 18th, 2009 From: John Bloom - School Principal 
The school currently has 79 students enrolled for this school year. We have three senior boys who are anxious to graduate. Several families moved off the reservation for work so our numbers are down a little from last year. We have adequate staff although we can always use more help. We are happy to have Michele Lawman back on staff. She left three years ago to finish her schooling and now has returned a fully certified teacher. We also welcome Elizabeth McNeal from MO. as a teacher’s aide and coach. She also teaches Jr. High science and substitutes for sick teachers. We have had some sickness among the students but thankfully no H1N1 as of yet. All the teachers are staying healthy so far. Our new auto shop program is operational this year. Six upper class boys are learning about small engines, body work and car repair. Greg Staley agreed to teach the class for one year so still be spreading the word that we need a long term teacher for this program. We also need another high school teacher and/or coach.
August 16th, 2009 From: Anne Denny - High School Teacher Dear friends,
Praise the Lord for your prayers for me and Immanuel Mission. Please talk to the Lord about us right now if you would. School starts Monday and we’re acutely seeing our need for the Lord’s help. One student came by yesterday with his mother to enroll. He didn’t want to work last year and John questioned him about that. He wasn’t sure if he would work this year either. He questioned why he needed to have a Bible class. He left in a rage and the mother returned later seeking help as he was throwing things and destroying things at home. Her desire was for John Bloom to go to the home and apologize and tell the boy how much we wanted him. When John wasn’t willing to do that, she also was angry. It was a reminder that we are in a battle for people’s souls and often it feels like we are on the front line. Ephesians 6:18 says, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
The Lord is always good to refresh me in between battles. The summer at Kansas Bible Camp was great. We saw kids trusting Christ and growing in grace each week. One example of God’s goodness: My jr. high girls’ camp was stuck at the big camp for 24 hours due to the road being flooded between the two locations. I was very frustrated as the program director since so many of my great plans were thwarted. The counselors, however, were ecstatic. They had all this free time with the girls and got to have meaningful conversations with each girl. They perceived that only 4 of the girls were not yet believers and 3 of those trusted Christ that day. The Lord loves to turn what seems like a disaster into eternal good. It is a good reminder for me right now as I’m anxious about things here at Immanuel Mission.
A fun refreshment was my trip to Johnny Bloom’s wedding in North Carolina in July. It was a good road trip with favorite nieces and nephews and we visited other favorite nieces and nephews along the way to and from the wedding. Highlights of that trip were: attacking the rapids of the James river in Richmond, being attacked by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach and a state park in Delaware, fishing with my great niece and nephew in the Potomac river less than a mile from Mount Vernon, playing hide and seek with dear friends in the National Cathedral, cheering for the Royals at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and climbing through a fuselage and many other crazy things at City Museum in St. Louis. Oh, yeah, the wedding was nice too.
My roommate this year is Elizabeth McNeal, (Tim’s daughter) from the St. Louis area. She is 18 and will help in many areas around the school I’m sure. She has already proved herself invaluable (shouldn’t that be valuable?) doing dishes and helping me with bulletin boards. She plays games too, which is a bonus. We’ve played Agricola, Nertz and volleyball so far. I think she is eager to get to know the students and will be really used by the Lord when school starts. The kids respond to younger people in ways that they don’t respond to me anymore. Along that lines, my great nephew called me “Grandma” within hours of my being at his home. I loved it but kind of wondered, “How did he know?” I’m closer in age to his dad than my sister (I had to put that sentence in). I’m delusional about my age and most of my nieces and nephews reinforce that delusion (thanks).
I’ll be teaching exclusively in the upper grades this year. I’m teaching HS English, world history, and Algebra I and will also teach music to the 7-12 grade as an elective. The English and history are new subjects for me, but Megan Thurston is coming to visit starting today, so I’m hoping she will help me plan curriculum and map out the year. She taught both of those subjects multiple times when she taught here. (Just between you, me and the Lord, I’m praying that she might extend her visit from a week to a year. We’ll see.)
Thanks again for your prayers. I was glad to see many of you over the summer and would love to have you here for a visit. My guest room is occupied, but we have a whole house that is available for guests and I’ve been known to squish up to 20 in my house for meals and games.
Anne Denny
July 16th, 2009 From: Anne Denny - High School Teacher Every year our students participate in an Academic Meet/Fine Arts Festival with nearby (only 3 hours away) mission schools. I’ve been organizing the academic portion of this event for several years and because of helpful coworkers things went swimmingly. Our students worked on art projects and social studies reports all year that we saved to submit to the contest.
In early spring we began learning songs for the mass choir and preparing small ensembles and solos and instrumental (recorder and guitar) pieces. The days of the event went well. There was a musical concert the first evening after the day of performing for judges and practicing with students from other schools. The following day was full of academic tests, Sword Drills, Bible Memory recitations, speeches, and spelling bees.
It was a great time to see other Native American students learning the same things and singing the same songs to our glorious Father. The students came home with many ribbons and medals. It was fun to honor the students for academics and music and to be reminded that God is working all over the Navajo reservation, not just in our little corner.
July 10th, 2009 From: John Bloom - School Principal Highlights of the last month of school:
- Cheyenne Dee scored 21 on the ACT College entrance test. That is a very high score for a minority student.
- Zach scored 18 points in the All-star basketball game and was awarded the MVP trophy
- We did well in the annual academic meet – a contest among mission schools – especially in Bible and Bible memory.
- The juniors and seniors had a great trip to Florida – especially loving the beach. It was also their first time to fly. The saints in Orlando and Tampa were an invaluable help by housing the group.
- We had a wonderful graduation on May 15th. Six seniors and two eighth graders walked the aisle. The gym was decorated beautifully. Five of the six seniors are planning to go on to college.
Prayer items
- On the senior trip Tiffany had to go to the emergency room for an allergic reaction. She is fine but the bill was over $2,000. The Navajo tribe is refusing to pay. We have appealed that decision. Pray that they will do what is right.
- Two of the seniors graduated without coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. Pray for their salvation.
- Pray that the others will continue in the faith.
- Pray that we will have a full complement of teachers for next school year. At this time we still could use another high school teacher.
July 7th, 2009 From: Hannah Barr - 2nd Grade Teacher My first year of teaching second grade at Immanuel Mission can be summed up in one word- joyful. Don’t get me wrong, it was a challenging year with many personal and professional trials, but as I sit here and write this and look back at the year, it is the joyfulness that first pops into my head. For example, every time our class was in Friday chapel and a teacher spoke about something from the Bible and my students would whisper to me, “Oooo, teacher, we learned about this.” Or every time one of my students said, “claydough” instead of “playdough”. Or to see a student’s excitement when he figured out the word for hangman. Or just to watch their incredible growth over the nine months that I had them in my classroom. Or when I had a bad coughing attack in class one day and one of my students said to me, “teacher, you shouldn’t drink so much coffee.” It is all these little things that made my first year of teaching a truly joyful experience.
The Lord was so faithful throughout the year. There were times when it felt like my whole world was crumbling down around me, but only through God’s grace and faithfulness was I able to appreciate and love my students each and every day. There was not a single day this year when I dreaded going to school and that tells me that God has me exactly where he wants me. I am thankful for a second year when I can put to the test everything I learned this past year. I am excited for a new group of students who I can share a joyful year with. And I look forward to another year of spreading God’s love. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share Christ with this community. Thank you for prayers and support.
December 19th, 2008 From: Anne Denny - High School Teacher I think teaching is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It is often thankless and frustrating. Kids don’t usually appreciate our love and efforts in their lives. It can be lonely in a classroom when you are the adult and not part of the group. There are inside jokes you aren’t a part of, but often the brunt of. Immanuel Mission can be lonely as well. We are far from town and some need to go to town just to be in the midst of people. I have found now that I like waiting in line, being in a crowded place, and even going shopping on Black Friday is fun just to be in the jostle and mess. So those are some of the negatives but this is why I don’t quit or leave:
Teaching is one of the most valuable things you’ll ever do. It is so nice to have a job that has eternal consequences not just a paycheck as a reward, but crowns in Heaven. I know we are supposed to do everything we do to the glory of God but it is more obvious that it matters when you are dealing with a student than when you are dealing with a vacuum cleaner. Kids do learn stuff. It is kind of amazing at the end of each year when you realize that, in spite of themselves and the struggle, they know more than they did in September. They quote me; sometimes that is honoring and sometimes embarrassing. I make a difference and have significance. Selfishly, it is fun for me to be the center of attention. I like having a captive audience everyday. I bet these things are true of parenting too, but the Lord hasn’t given me that ministry. I love teaching at a Christian school where you can tell them the truth and not have to worry about being politically correct. You can call sin “sin” and you can tell people about God’s solution for it instead of using the world’s tools to mask or hide or explain away problems. I love kids and I love the Lord and I love that He lets me do what I love for Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Immanuel Mission is a great place to live. My neighbors love the Lord and love me. We are working for the same goals of godliness and love for each other. Obviously we have struggles and things to work out, but underneath everything we all want God’s best for each other. I walk to work, I walk to church, I walk to my friend’s house, to the gym, to meetings, etc. Even though groceries are 90 miles away, I know I spend less time in a car on a weekly basis than people who live in town. I don’t pay rent, I often get free clothes, I eat two meals a day that someone else pays for and cooks, my house is maintained by others that are eager to help me, and my neighbor always has a cup of coffee or sugar or whatever I forgot to get in town; or will pick it up for me when they go in the next day or two. I am safe in a gated community and surrounded by people who pray. I wish our phones worked better and I wish Kansas with my family was as close as Farmington, but I am content with the family God has given me here. As I love to say, “God is good, all the time.”
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