“Miss Kelli, I have a question. Do you think everyone is born a sinner, even babies?” One of my favorite things about teaching at Immanuel Mission is that I get to preach the Gospel every day. Last week we were learning about the births of Jacob and Esau. No matter how many times we’ve studied the Gospel and memorized the verses, it still takes the convincing work of the Holy Spirit to cause the growth. What followed that question was a very lovely discussion in which my Jr High students were free to share what they know and to ask questions about things they weren’t sure about. We drew connections to what we had learned the week previous regarding the rapture and kids with believing parents and what it means to be “left behind”. Pray with me that the Holy Spirit will continue His work in these young minds and hearts and that they will continue to seek Him. —Kelli Wilson
Old Fashioned Navajo Christmas Update
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for praying for us and being a part of our celebration through gifts that you sent. God gave us a wonderful day with beautiful weather (though we did appreciate the outdoor fires that we put in the shade). We gave out 300 gift bags to adults and 75 gift bags to children and I think there might have been 50 who didn’t take a gift bag but did eat beans and hot dogs and visit with us.
Some highlights of the program were the school kids singing Go Tell it on the Mountain and Away in a Manger in Navajo, our two preachers both giving the Good News of salvation, and Danae Olson Schonberg (a direct descendant of the original Holcombs who began the work here in 1922) sharing a testimony of God’s faithfulness through the generations that was translated for the crowd.
A highlight of the day for me was visiting with so many former students and staff (Ruth Bloom even came back for the day!) who travelled to be here. I also met several who went to school here in the 1940s. One grandma said she was raised as a Christian but drifted away after she married a non-believer. She now wants to put her grandchild in our school so he will learn to sing about Jesus.
Another bonus story; Raefer said one man was so excited about the rollup he got that he wasn’t going to open it for a while, just enjoy it.
And a bonus picture; today our youngest teacher, Tamara, organized a crazy Christmas sweater day for all the teachers. Here are many of us at breakfast.
We get so much joy out of giving, especially when it is well received. I pray that all of us will receive well the gift of eternal life that God offers us through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Praise Him!
Anne Denny
for Immanuel Mission
From the Principal’s Office
We are blessed to have all of our teachers return this year and currently have 53 students. Pray for the Kindergarten, our largest grade with 12 students, who all crave a lot of attention. Mrs. Susan is doing a wonderful job with the help of Serena Benallie in the mornings and Tamara Clyde continues to help in the afternoons. We love to sing each day and I love to hear God’s Word being taught and memorized in each classroom daily.
Anne Denny
A New Kid and Kid’s Christmas
Hello, Yá’át’ééh!
I am a new mom once again, the 6th time over. We had a little girl, her name is Natalia Ruth Begaye, she is now 2 months old. So, she and I accepted Ruth Bloom’s job of doing the Kids’ Christmas for the school. I think we will have fun and are ready too on days we are free from appointments and, you know, mommy duties. Please meet our little precious.
But at the same time, please pray for us as we take on another job—that we are able to do it and make good decisions. We will be making gift bags for the students including toys, winter wear, hygiene supplies, and candy.
As far as donations for this, I am going to accept anything you send, I cannot say what is needed right now. What we receive will be greatly appreciated. So thank you in advance,
Natalie Begaye
Defining Wonderful
“Teaching is hard work all day, everyday. You will fall in love with the children here. The devil knows the individual and personal ways that he can discourage you and he will use them.”
These emphatic words spoken by John Bloom during the first days at Immanuel Mission proved to be right on every count. Looking back after almost three years of teaching both first and second grade, I consider this experience to be a gift from my Heavenly Father. So much was new and somewhat strange at first. How would I make my involvement with these people come to fruition? And what eventually made my time here so good?
God taught me so much…how He delights in meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs in remote settings. Magnificent sunsets and sunrises…a lovely little apartment, multitudes of various footprints in the thick Mission dust…the ins and outs of relating to others. Comprehending more of the Navajo culture has been a challenge. But struggling to make lesson plans clear enough for young hearers to grasp, hearing, “Oh, I get it!”, and becoming aware of the children sensing some of the greatness of God, I have felt a deep satisfaction in being here at the Mission. A love has indeed developed for the people here.
Growing and Worshiping with the saints through Sunday morning meetings, small groups in Mission homes and prayer and singing times on Tuesday nights has brought great joy. Even when a rubbing of each other the wrong way occurs, God in His great grace has a way of making all things right. I have seen personal and group application of Christ’s death and resurrection in lives here as well. “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” Without His life working through us we have nothing at all. Easy?Absolutely not! Worthwhile? You bet!
Growing and Worshiping with the saints through Sunday morning meetings, small groups in Mission homes and prayer and singing times on Tuesday nights has brought great joy. Even when a rubbing of each other the wrong way occurs, God in His great grace has a way of making all things right. I have seen personal and group application of Christ’s death and resurrection in lives here as well. “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” Without His life working through us we have nothing at all. Easy?Absolutely not! Worthwhile? You bet!
“Wonderful – cause of astonishment or surprise, aroused by something extraordinary, feeling curiosity or doubt.” Yes! All of this and more have taken place in my heart and life as I have had the privilege of serving Jesus here at Immanuel Mission. Humility encountered… joys accepted…loving fellowship imparted.
I believe that the Lord is calling me elsewhere now. But in many ways, I will miss Immanuel Mission. This place and the people here will always hold a special place in my heart. Come visit. See this setting for yourself. Consider lending a year of so of your life to this or another Mission/work of the Lord. Get to know God even more in this wonderful kind of way.
Ginny Brown
We, Susan and Jim Price, left our family and church family in St. Louis, Missouri and arrived here at Immanuel Mission on August 1 st , 2013. Our chapel’s youth group had just returned that June from spending a week ministering here, and during the follow-up announcement to our church it was mentioned that a kindergarten teacher and a maintenance man were needed for the next school year. Just as soon as we heard that, we both knew that was exactly what the Lord wanted us to do, but we didn’t know the Lord had spoken to each of us until after the meeting. Imagine our joy when we compared notes and discovered that the Lord was clearly telling both of us to go serve Him at Immanuel Mission!
Although our main responsibilities at this time are teaching kindergarten and handling building maintenance, we have both actively sought the Lord’s direction in pursuing other ways of serving the Lord and His people. We enjoy ministering in areas such as leading Bible studies, teaching at the mission church, distributing and grading Emmaus correspondence Bible courses, and mentoring young people. Through the use of puppets and other visual aids Susan gets to daily enjoy the privilege of presenting the gospel of our loving God to her kindergartners. We can only imagine how the Lord will use His Word in their lives, maybe even being the one the Lord uses to reach their families with the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Sometimes we are asked how we were able to adjust to living out here in the middle of the high desert of Arizona, so far from stores, doctors, post office, etc. That adjustment came easier than we expected, because the Lord gives us all the grace we need to serve Him. This is just as true for those living elsewhere as it is for us here at the mission. It encourages us when we hear how other saints are serving the Lord where they live and work. Please pray for us, that the Lord would be pleased to keep using us here, and that we would be faithful to Him in our lives and service for Him.
Jim & Susan Price
All Things for Good
God works all things for good to those who love him. I’ve been thinking about this in regard to our playground. For years the health inspector had recommended that we replace our homemade playground fort with a commercial apparatus. I strongly resisted tearing down a perfectly good fort and spending the money for an updated playground. Finally, the inspector insisted. So about this time last year I bought a used apparatus on Ebay and went to NJ to get it. We have had to purchase some slides that were missing but the manufacturer also donated about $3,000 worth of equipment. In all we’ve spent over $10,000. We gave it a fresh coat of paint, installed it and it looks great. But the wonderful thing is how much the children enjoy it. I love sitting outside and watching 20 or so kids climbing, sliding and enjoying the new playground. They use the new one much more than the old fort I tried to hold onto. So, even though the inspection was a trial, it has in many ways made us make improvements that have benefited the school children.
John Bloom
Pencil-vania
During first grade math class, the students were looking at shapes. One of them looked at a five sided shape and said,
“Miss Jen! This is your shape, it looks like a pencil!”
We looked at each other, both confused, and when I asked her if I look like a pencil, she said, “No, it’s because you are from Pennsylvania.” I laughed, because I never noticed that my state seemingly has the word pencil in it, and she didn’t understand what was so funny. I suppose nothing will show you what a strange concoction the English language is like teaching kids to read and spell!
Jen Mullen
Brad Keating, Pro Golfer, Takes Boys PE Golfing
A dear friend of Immanuel Mission is Brad Keating and his family. While visiting in October, he took the boys P.E. class to Cortez, Colorado for a real golfing experience with a profession golf instructor. Read about it at the link above.
Bloom Newsletter
Dear praying friends, April, 2013
Spring has come to northern Arizona although we have had some very cold nights recently. We are playing softball outside most days. Spring on the Rez usually means WIND which means SAND in the eyes and mouth and hair. However, the tulips and daffodils are blooming and the chickens are laying. (in December I bought 9 hens at an auction. For about a month they didn’t lay any eggs but since about Feb we get 6 or 7 a day. I sell them to the staff here.) Just one more month until graduation. We only have one senior and three eighth grade graduates this year so it will be a shorter ceremony. If I’ve counted correctly, Thomuel will be the 100th graduate of Carrizo Christian Academy.
I want to give you an update on Raven – the 7th grade girl I wrote about in the last newsletter. Further tests have revealed that now there is now nothing wrong with her heart even though earlier tests indicated a major problem. PTL. The mother gives full credit to God that He answered our prayers. She gave another testimony in church recently and said she is now a believer and that prayer and Bible reading are now a part of their daily family life. This all has been a real encouragement to us here.
We have had the accreditation visit I mentioned in the last newsletter. Four ACSI team members spent three days here looking at what we are doing and gave us high marks – especially for our emphasis on Biblical training and discipleship. They recommended that we retain our accreditation. This is a great answer to prayer.
We are still in need of a kindergarten teacher for next year. We also need a maintenance man as well as a computer type person. God has provided an art teacher and a cook for next year already.
Recently the mission staff voted to NOT participate in the National School Lunch Program next year. New regulations have made it increasingly difficult to comply with all they want us to do. So, this will be a major increase in our expenses for the school year. If you would like to help feed the school children gifts can be designated for the school food fund. We estimate that it costs about $150 per day to feed our students and teachers. We serve both breakfast and lunch – about 150 meals a day. We are also suggesting that if someone is coming to visit that they organize a food drive and bring some food with them. Contact me for a list of needed items.
Be sure to address anything to us or the mission as BOX 1080, Teec Nos Pos, Az 86514. The post office is returning anything that does not have our new address. Ruth and I want to thank you for your prayers and faithful support of the work here.
John & Ruth Bloom
Immanuel Mission 