Fifth Day on Hopi Land


Today is our fifth day on Hopi Land.  We woke up tired from a late night, but encouraged with all that happened.  We went to the small YWAM center for a potluck.  We were warned to not expect too many people, though many had been invited to come and see our Wounaan dances.  We had over 20 people arrive. We shared a good meal with lots of conversation, then moved into another room where there was room to dance.

We sang a song in Woun Meu, then danced a couple of Wounaan dances, one that we invited others to join in.  There were many smiles and much laughter as we danced together.  Then our group began to share from their various experiences; Malana shared something she had learned from her Wounaan classmates, Steve shared how he came to know Christ, Yessy brought greetings from the rest of the group in Panama. Then Alex shared, a mixture of fun stories from the Wounaan culture, and experiences of his own life as God has guided him. He encouraged those present to have hope for their communities and to trust God.  He also talked about how God had revealed himself to the Wounaan people long before missionaries had come.

We finished our presentation, but the meeting was far from over.  We spread out through the room sharing one on one with people.  I got out the jagua (body paint) to show some people, and soon all the children present crowded around me, asking for a Wounaan design on their wrists.  As I painted on the designs I took the opportunity to pray for the children, remembering when Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them.  After I finished a Navajo girl asked to paint MY arm, and she gave me an eagle feather.


Many of the people who attended are not believers in Christ, but they went away with a clear message planted in their hearts. May God water those seeds with his Spirit and make them grow.

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