From standing on the corner of Winslow, AZ we are approximately 35 miles north in Dilkon on the Navajo reservation amidst many mesas and butte formations shaped like pyramids and chimneys. The eye can vastly see over seventy-five miles to Mt. Humphreys in Flagstaff at 12,633 feet creating a grandeur of mountainous range as the sun breaks the horizon. As fall competes with summer, the sounds of firewood being chopped can be heard and then the ever familiar smell of cedar being burned in their stoves at night.
The kids are off to school with the taste of scorch bread (tortilla) in their mouths with eggs and potatoes while grandma prepares a list for the daily run to the store at the only intersection in town. Dad may have to travel as far as Flagstaff or Gallup almost two hours one-way to provide for the family. Some women receive food stamps and care for the children at home because a father figure is not around to support the family.
One success of Dilkon for community just within the last two years has been the establishment of a small shopping center with a grocery store, laundry mat, video store, and pizza place. One older Navajo man, with tears in his eyes notes, “I can remember traveling by horse to the same intersection and bartering at the trading post. Now there is a grocery store right here in Dilkon.”
A new children’s home was finished for foster care in 2003 which is the reason Navajo Christian Foundation (NCF) started to care for hurting children who have been displaced by their parents. The new home shares the love of Jesus Christ with up to twelve children now compared to only four or five in our first home. Along with the vision to help children, we wanted to provide the community with a much-needed Youth Recreation Center. We started Spark, a youth ministry in 2002 and needed more room with sports and fitness being a goal for this center.
We poured concrete in March of 2003 with a college group from North Carolina and two and a half years later, all with volunteer work groups, we completed of a 16,000 sq. ft. facility.
The center includes a full size gym, kitchen, dining hall, dorm rooms for work groups, a computer lab, game room, aerobic exercise room and weight room complete with exercise bikes and treadmill. Navajo ladies from the community now teach three classes a week focusing on aerobic classes, kickboxing and some Pilates workouts. It has been great to see the Navajo take the lead and teach their people the importance of nutrition and fitness through the classes offered each week. As a result of these classes many relationships have been formed. One woman grew in her relationship with Christ to the point that she wanted to accept Him last year as her Lord and Savior. She is now getting married to a strong man of faith in the community who also attends our open gym nights each week.
The fitness classes strengthened one relationship so much that the mom asked us to open in prayer at a funeral for the loss of her young child. We are now praying for her to find that love and grace offered by Christ. She continues to come to the classes and open gym nights each week where she enjoys her workouts and volleyball. Fitness and nutrition programming offered at the classes has enabled diabetic participants to better manage their illness through exercise and a proper diet.
Plans for the future include establishing a strength-training course for students at the junior high and high school level and also for adults. Our mission plans to sponsor a walk and a race to further the awareness of diabetes in the community and extend our current health programs to benefit others. Basketball tournaments provide a great opportunity for relationship building in the community. It is a popular sport because the Navajo have an incredible love for running.
Church and youth groups, families and individuals are encouraged to schedule time to join in our community, see more closely the vision of this ministry and get involved with our fitness activities of aerobics and sports. The trip to Dilkon is a great family opportunity. Side trips include the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Canyon De Chelly, where the Navajo were rounded by the U.S. Cavalry at the start of the Civil War to endure the Long Walk.
The Navajo Christian Foundation’s goal is to share the love of Christ to people who are in need both through our foster care program, our counseling center and now with the opening of our recreation center. The fitness, exercise and sports services offered through our programs provide Navajo the opportunity to build confidence through a relationship with Christ and His love.
QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. By reading this article how have your perceptions changed about Christians intentionally sharing their faith among people with a different cultural and spiritual background?
2. Why do health concerns provide a common point for social interaction and compassionate care?
3. What are some ways you can get involved in the faith and fitness efforts of the Navajo Christian Foundation?
4. Who is someone in your community that has a cultural background that is different from you? What are some ways you may be able to better connect with them?
