Fifth Day on Hopi Land

The sun just set. Every evening we have to go out and see the sunset, because each one is so beautiful.  The colors reflect on both sides of the sky, yellow clouds on one side, and pink and purple on the other. Then the yellow turns to orange, and the purple deepens and mixes with blue. There is nothing to get in the way of our view here, the sky is all around.

Today we helped our new Hopi friend, Ruby, pick up garbage from her yard.  They are not allowed to fence in their yards on Hopi Land, and so garbage from other neighbors collects in her yard.  It’s too much for her to handle on her own.  So our team’s hands went to work.  She blessed us more than we could bless her as she cooked a feast for us; tacos, ribs, blue corn meal cooked in balls, and wrapped in corn husk (much like a Panamanian bollo).  There was also tripe soup and tamales.  We ate until we couldn’t eat any longer. 

Then Nita, Ruby’s daughter, lead us in a time of prayer. She explained how the cedar smoke signifies cleansing for the Hopi. She pulled out a small percussion instrument made of wood. It was in the form of the frog, and had ridges on its back, that she played so that it sounded just like a frog singing. For the Hopi, the frogs are a symbol of rain, as they lie dormant until the rain comes, and then come out to sing their thanks to God.

In the same way, we sing as we ask God pour the rain of his Spirit on those who are spiritually thirsty. She played and sang a beautiful song that she had written in the Hopi language.  Then gifts were pulled out for the team, each gift something small but significant.

To me they gave a corn cob full of blue corn. The Hopi are dry farmers. They do not irrigate their crops, but they pray for rain and depend on God to provide.  Their legends say that they chose this land because they would have to work hard, and depend on God.  The corn will remind me that I need to depend on God moment by moment.  I will go out of this dry but beautiful land richer than I came in.