The Story of the Day

if you can't see the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWOUICYPygU

(sorry about the video music...reused The Rolling Stones! I promise not to do it again...Louise)

To every reader,

I don't know how to describe this trip. Words fail to do it justice and hardly scratch the surface of what this adventure truly means. When Mama Louise asked for volunteer writers for this blog, I immediately shot my hand in the air simply because I loved writing. I assumed at the time that I would eventually figure out what I wanted to say and piece it all together the moment my dusty finger tips hit this keyboard. But in all honesty, I still don't know where this piece is going to go even as I sit here writing it. Maybe that's why I'm here. Maybe I was called here to figure out where I'm going not only in this writing, but in this insanely confusing existence we call life. 

Going on this trip took courage. 97 degree heat in the middle of the desert, 29 hour long bus ride, short showers, long work hours, and no cell phone service basically spell out disaster to most teenagers. Even with having experience from last year's trip, I still didn't really know what I was walking into. But I can tell you with firmness and a smile that would send the sun's infinite brightness to shame, that this trip, this place, this adventure, is one that has forced me to search for the soul that God has destined me to become, something that I could never discover in any suburb. If you asked me who I was before last Saturday at 3 am, I would say a dancer, a member of Italian club, a writer, someone who wants to go to college, and hoping to live in New York one day as a journalist. There's nothing wrong with this person, but it's not truly who I am-it's just what fills my time and what I hope for in the future. Coming to Bluff Utah has helped me answer my question of who God desires for me to be beyond what my family expects me to be, or who my grades say I am. Life is deeper than those things; there is more to living than just earning enough money to drive a Ferrari, or earning that A so you can get into Harvard. Life is about enjoying the wild ride that God has planned for you and being in the moment. 

Father Chris told us that we are all one breath away from our last breath. Now don't worry, we're all alive and well here, but if you think about it, that's true. You never know when God will call you to heaven and even though humans enjoy planning their lives out onto an intangible timeline, this call cannot be prevented or put on a timeline. This lesson has reminded me to live in the moment. Why plan out tomorrow when there are so many more hours of today to be enjoyed? You never know when you might take your final breath, so why not live in the now? Worrying about tomorrow or yesterday only brings suffering, and that's suffering that you're putting on yourself. We are all given this incredible opportunity to live on this Earth and thrive in it, that not living in the now is practically a crime. 

You probably think this is incredibly cliche, and that I'm just some crazy teenager who thinks they have life all figured out. Well let me assure you that I'm aware that I don't have life all figured out. Trust me, there are plenty of times that I'm not living in the now and are stressing about grades and school, but going on this trip has helped me not worry so much about these minuscule things. I'm learning to live vibrantly, full with color and motion, being one with nature and all of God's gifts. But most of all, it has allowed me to find the path that God has destined for me, committed to being here now while experiencing and enjoying every breath in a in a rainbow of colors, not just operating and existing in shades of black and white. 

Wishing you a day full of color,

Viv Drury

Tuesday's Activity

Hi All!

Today was our second day at the site, and although we had a slow start on Monday, we really picked up the pace today. We woke up this morning at 5 a.m. energized and ready to go! We grabbed our coffee and our hard hats and were on the site by 8 a.m. Jack, our contractor, gave us great instructions and lead us into the construction of our first wall. We have four teams with us, and we are each working on a separate project. I am proud to say that the Red Hot Chili Peppers (my team) put the first wall up this morning. Led Zeppelin followed shortly after with the second wall. We had trouble with the walls with windows, but I don't doubt those will be up by noon tomorrow. It is scorching hot outside, but our motivation to get things done is only growing. We cannot wait to come home and show you all the great and hard work we have done here in Bluff. 

Wishing you all the best,

Sofia Howson

The Shower - Phase 1

Starring John Robinson

Hammering Away at My Ego.

Monday, June 9, 2014
Pick axes swinging, seven foot tall drills spinning, missioners fiercely sweating, lizards crawling. Life is a little bit hectic in Utah right now, yet I couldn't be happier. My name is Claire Meyer, a recent graduate from Lyons Township high school and very content missioner. First day on the job and we are up and running. Work wise, there are two sites on which the group is working. While one site is at the Plummer residence, setting up the skeleton of the hogan, another is on the base site. I am working on the base site and we have accomplished quite a bit! We are currently building a shower hut as well as a trench to expand their minimal internet connection with a long Ethernet cable; the trench project consisted of drilling and picking at the red sand and rock ground.  
With all of the manual labor, I have come to realize that with each nail I hammer in, my personal problems seem less and less important; I consciously noticed my mind changing focus from me to the task at hand. For example, yesterday, I discovered a hole in my air-mattress and it seemed like the end of the world to me. Just my luck! The rest of the night, I moped around even when someone offered to me their mattress that they weren't using. Yet today, as I sweat more and more, I realized that there are tasks at hand much more important then my bum mattress. Father Chris calls this moving from the me, to the we, to the one. When we move our thoughts from our personal lives, to the lives around us, and finally to God, the life that unites us all.
Although we were building structures, we were more so building a community. One that assembles to accomplish the task at hand, one that supports eachother, one that rejoices in working in the name of God.
Thank you for reading, supporting and praying for us.
~Claire Meyer, 18

Journey on the Wind

(if you can't see the video, go here  http://youtu.be/ICdcwQZzUeQ )

“Yá'át'ééh abiní....a Navajo Good Morning!

After our final 8 hour journey through the Rockies, we arrived!  The St. Christopher's Mission sits in between the beautiful red rock of Utah.  Soaring over our heads are bluffs and birds, clouds and, at night, stars!  Oh, my, but you can't imagine the stars.  Beautiful.

Upon arrival we had a bit of time to explore.  A few climbed the mountain, peering down to us below.  Chores were done and camp was set up.  

After great debate on how to name the teams (Disney Films was soundly defeated), the teams were set up to names of Rock Bands.  You will hear the names in the songs of the videos.  But in the meantime, they are:

• Journey
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Zeppelin
• The Rolling Stones

We are all quite comfortable as the Mission embraces us with warmth.  Most are in the Community Center which has plenty of room and two showers.  When lights went out last night, it was many a wearied head that hit the pillow.  

But before that we had a wonderful dinner prepared by Chef Brad and Chef Al. We were treated to beautiful guitar music from Father Cary, a self proclaimed Parrot Head.  He was amazing.  We sat outside under the vesper skies, the pentecostal winds drawing us near, listening to the sweet guitar sounds and voices of all.  Father Chris reminded us that the winds brought us here.  And, here we are, right where we are supposed to be.  

June 7, 2014...Day 1 on the Road

(if you can't see the video, the link is below)

We survived Day One on the road and, as I type, it is Sunday morning, just passed through Vail.  The mountains are beautiful even though I thought we had left snow behind. 

More later upon our arrival in Bluff!

http://hinsdale60521magazine.ning.com/page/grace-episcopal-students-bow-low-in-navajo-nation-by-theresa-stei

We made it but had internet troubles last night so no post.  It was a long ride, we could have flown to Australia, but all were awesome travelers. We cheered to see our bus driver, Sam, again in Omaha.  Chipotle took our lunch orders.  La Quinta greeted us at the end of a weary drive.  

Will work on the pics on the 8 hour bus drive today!  

In the meantime, check out the article in the Hinsdale Magazine!

Grace Episcopal students bow low in Navajo Nation

By Theresa Steinmeyer

Twenty-five students from the Grace Episcopal Church Youth Missions Organization will travel to Bluff, Utah, on a journey of good works and spiritual transformation this month.

They’ve come together from Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, La Grange and Burr Ridge, and led by Grace Episcopal’s Rev. Chris Pierce, they’re excited to build a “hogan” (a sacred Navajo dwelling) for Catherine Plummer, wife of the first Navajo bishop at St. Christopher’s Mission at Navajo Nation’s Episcopal Church. Plummer currently lives in a condemned trailer, and the hogan will serve as her new home.

Traditionally, a hogan is an eight-sided structure built around a central fireplace with dirt floors and mud walls. To create more livable space for Plummer, Hinsdale-area architect Bruce George has drawn up a modernized design, which includes two additional rooms built onto one side of the building, raised floors and a steel roof.

But to Rev. Pierce, the trip is not so much about philanthropy as it is about fostering cultural acceptance and respect for the Navajo faith among students.

He brought the students on a similar trip last year to build a hogan in Crown Point, N.M. But on that trip, Rev. Pierce outsourced much of the planning. He worked with an organization through which he encountered what he referred to as a “radical, fundamentalist theology”—a theology that tried to impose a Eurocentric understanding of faith on the Navajo people in the process of helping them.

“Although we did great work last year, and I began to get an exposure to the Navajo people, I was very uncomfortable, because I was able to recognize that the relationship was predicated on saying ‘yes’ to what the white man had to say,” Rev. Pierce said. “This isn’t just a church taking a mission trip to go help poverty because Jesus said so.

“To take care of those that are in need is a mandate; it’s not a mission.

“Our very human existence calls us to take care of those who suffer.”
Building the hogan is only the beginning of the students’ purpose: they are traveling to Utah as empty-handed guests who want to understand and respect the Navajo spirituality without trying to impose their own religious biases upon it.

Rev. Pierce said that it’s not necessary for the Navajo people to speak about Jesus—the Navajo faith, grounded in the sacredness of the earth, is every bit as beautiful and true.

“Our respect for the earth has not anywhere reached the level and depth that they have,” he said. “They understand the winds and the spirit in the winds.

“They understand the gifts of the earth; they honor it.”

To ensure that this year’s trip would be rooted in open-mindedness, Rev. Pierce traveled to Navajo Nation himself last fall to build stronger relationships with the Navajo people and their faith. He explored the nation’s Episcopal diocese to learn about the people’s needs, but when he arrived at St. Christopher’s, he felt that the universe was speaking to him.

“The wind said, ‘This is where we’re to be,’” he said.

This year, instead of outsourcing the trip’s intensive logistical preparations, Rev. Pierce has taken them upon himself. He has organized meal plans, construction materials and the necessary trip leadership, which includes adults from Grace Episcopal Church, contractors, an electrician, plumber, medical assistance, two chefs and a cultural liaison.

The students have also been preparing. At the Grace Episcopal “Rock-a-thon” in April, they rocked in their chairs for 24 hours to fundraise for the trip. Since all but three went on the New Mexico trip last summer, most of the group has been meeting weekly for nearly two years to share meals and meditate.

Their journey will begin before dawn on June 7, when they’ll load their bus for the 21-hour trip. Contractors will set the foundation in advance to give it time to cure, and when the students arrive, they will assign and teach the students the necessary building skills. The students will work in four teams, and may be assigned daily tasks like framing, roofing, or kitchen and cleaning duties.

“Most of the time, a team gets into their project, they won’t give it up,” Rev. Pierce said.

Assuming poor weather conditions or inspections don’t slow them down, they’ll have put a roof on the hogan by the end of their five-day construction period.

Still, Rev. Pierce estimated that two to three days of work will remain when it is time for the students to return home—work that includes dry-walling, mudding, painting and possibly adding windows and doors. The Grace Episcopal group will be leaving the hogan unfinished, and although Rev. Pierce said that the help of an outside group will be necessary to complete it, he has no idea who will come. Nevertheless, he has “complete faith” that someone will hear the call to finish the job.

“The winds don’t just speak to me,” he said.

Rev. Pierce said he looks forward to taking the students for silent meditation in the mountains, to the place where the winds first “spoke” to him.

He’ll bring along a flautist, an Apache shaman and a medicine man, and the students will take part in a “smudging,” an American Indian blessing with smoke. Together, they’ll try to center themselves, and to be open to what Rev. Pierce believes will be a greater understanding of the universe than the students have ever known.

“The universe has spoken that this is where we’re to be,” Rev. Pierce said, “and to be not because they need us, but because we need them; because they’re going to show us how to bow, and we’re going to bow low.”