We are thrilled to be having in-person school this year. We currently have 47 students in pre-K through 8th grade. The echoes of laughter and shrieks on the playground and greetings and footsteps in the halls harmonize with the voices of teachers sharing Truth and students quoting Scripture. We daily participate in singing songs to the Lord. Please pray for our new teachers that bring a young energy but are also learning as they go. If you want to see short videos and pictures of our students, go to Immanuel Mission School Facebook page. Oh, I am also enjoying chasing the kids during recess with my new hip. Thanks for your prayers. Anne Denny
Hello there! We are the Lee family: Nate, Dedra, Peyten(12), Hunter(10) Aiden(6) and Tavis(2). Our family has been serving here at Immanuel Mission Chapel and School for the last five years with Kids Sunday School and Art class, running the small thrift store (Dedra) and Computer/IT (Nate). I (Dedra) am a former student and graduate from here. It’s always been a dream of mine to come back and help the church and school. God gave me and my family the opportunity back in 2018. We have been so blessed by the multiple works we have been a part of here in Sweetwater and Immanuel Mission. We have been learning to rely on God more and more to supply our needs, especially during this time of the pandemic. We thank you for your support and prayers of Immanuel Mission church, school, staff and students. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is Faithful.
Editor’s note: Please consider ”adopting” a Navajo family or worker. We would like them to be connected and have the same prayer support that those of us who were sent from around the US enjoy and appreciate. AD
Hi everyone, my name is Tamara Clyde. I’m the teacher’s aid for the Kindergarten class of seven students. I was a former student at Immanuel Mission. My mom (Brenda Johnson) is the librarian, and my brother (Thomuel Clyde) is the bus mechanic.
Tamara with one of her students. Thomuel with a bus he maintains.
Sometimes in our lives the Lord asks us to wait on Him, actually more times than we would probably prefer. At least that has been the case for us. However there are also times when the Lord says loud and clear, “GO!”
We would like to reintroduce ourselves, my name is Liz Skillen and I followed the Lord’s calling to Immanuel Mission in fall of 2009. I served as a single woman on the mission for four years until Ryan and I got married in 2013. We stayed at Immanuel Mission and served the Lord together, our oldest daughter was born, then the Lord called us to be used in my home state of Missouri in 2015.
We have had many years of thinking about the mission and praying for them daily. We had been trying to come out for a visit but the Lord always seemed to close doors or ask us to wait.
At the end of September 2021 we really felt the Lord calling us to visit the mission. We came and it seemed like God was just undeniably getting our attention that He wanted us to come back. Of course as typical humans, we felt like we had to overthink all the details. How would we sell our house? Ryan is a Physical Therapist who loves ministering to others on the job, how would he do that out here? What about our 3 daughters and their friends and family? In typical God fashion, He took care of every detail so quickly and clearly that we could not sit back any longer. Our house had a contract after one day on the market. Ryan was offered a PT position at the Indian Health hospital. Our daughters fell so much in love with the reservation that they were excited to move forward and follow the Lord.
So here we are. We moved at the very end of November. Our 3 daughters are attending classes at the school and are growing daily. I am working one-on-one with students in the special–ed program. We are excited for all the opportunities the Lord continues to present to share His love and minister to others. Thank you for your prayers, support, and love for the mission and those serving. The Lord is so good. His timing is perfect and I thank Him daily that when He says “Go” we can trust Him.
We weren’t planning on getting married for another year or so, but when we were informed of the need for more staff we decided it was time to tie the knot and step into missions together. We arrived here early in December from Kansas where John was working as house staff at a boys foster home and Brynne was a daycare teacher and working towards a psychology degree. Here at Immanuel, John is mainly doing custodial work and Brynne is teaching the first grade class. We’re so thankful God changed our plans and opened this door for us.
I am finishing up my final school year as the preschool teacher at Immanuel Mission. While it’s been a challenging 3 years of establishing a program due to ever-changing Covid restrictions, we have been able to serve 20 different preschoolers in our community during this time. From the classroom to the home to the classroom again, the preschool program has continued to address children’s academic, social-emotional, and spiritual needs.
As I head back to Oklahoma this summer to continue my graduate studies in education, I will miss these children and this program. I will miss my little bodyguard who punches anyone else who tries to hold my hand. I will miss hearing “Hey, Moffitt!” yelled across the playground. I will even miss the dinosaur obsession that takes over the classroom no matter what else I try to interest preschool boys in. But most of all I will miss talking about the character of God and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross with these little souls.
Please pray for the preschool program going forward. Tiffany Hosteen is planning to take over the program in the fall; she is doing an amazing job as my co-teacher this year! I look forward to seeing how the Lord will use what I started long after I’m gone. “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3
He came to us with Valley Bible Church in California this past summer and heard the call for a 4th and 5th grade teacher. The Lord brought him to teach this year. It has been a growing experience but God has provided and we appreciate that He sent us the best man for the job.
I have been able to make regular weekly home visits to work with many of my students. We are working on social skills as well as academic skills, but sharing has been a tricky thing during this pandemic. On one home visit, I had a balloon for the preschooler but not for her older sister. The older sister said, “PLEASE, can I play with your balloon?!” and the preschooler looked at her like she was crazy and answered, “Um, NO… GERMS!!” Preschoolers certainly know how to take advantage of the pandemic when it serves their purposes.:)
As the bookkeeper/accountant and editor of newsletters I have discovered that my life during this epidemic has changed very little. Unbeknownst to me I have been quarantined for years. I work alone in a private office. Because of the shape and size of the desk, if someone comes to speak with me they must stand 6 feet from where I sit. My job has not changed at all. My motto remains, “I think I’ll just be happy today.”
Every morning I text 8 -10 families to remind them to get on Zoom in 10 minutes. It doesn’t come with a snooze feature, but I have called 30 minutes later if a kid still doesn’t show up so I guess it actually does.
A new 6th grader wasn’t being successful at his school and has enrolled in our school. Miss Kelli is teaching Acts and he asked what “saved” meant. It is exciting to get to teach him about the Lord Jesus.
The 2nd graders are saying their memory verses to their moms. Mr. Jim got to hear Mom and Grandma quote the 2nd grader’s verse as a result of helping him learn it. They wanted the prize of a Sweetwater sticker—which IS pretty cool.
Several non-students are watching our chapels on the Immanuel Mission School Facebook page each week. Immanuel’s message is heard here and even to the remotest part of the earth. God is with us all.
Teachers are going above and beyond with home visits every week and personal zoom calls or phone calls daily. You could still help us here by teaching a science unit remotely. Or connect me with someone who might be interested and willing to meet this need.
Immanuel Mission 