MISSION NAVAJO 2009 (2)

Our week at Rehoboth New Mexico is done. Rehoboth is a settlement just east of Gallup. There is a large Christian School here, founded and supported by the CRC. This were we had our dorm and also our breakfasts and most evening meals.














In my previous blog I mentioned our trip to this place; this time I’ll share some of the week’s activities. After breakfast every morning, we met together in two groups to have morning devotions, this focused primarily on God’s interaction with our lives and thus became sharing of individual faith stories. In the evening we would discuss the days’ accomplishments and the tasks for the next day. One of our evening activities involved making Navajo jewelry for ourselves. We also visited the code-talkers museum and we had a Bible study on Wednesday night; the men at Rehoboth, the women at Churchrock.

Our daily tasks involved some general repair work around some of the homes and churches in the vicinity. If there was a need we tried to help, without any regard to church membership or attendance. Monday was a big day at Verna’s place. She has a dilapidated home in Churchrock. Corrie and I were part of the team working there. We tore out damaged and hanging dry-wall in the ceiling and a wall around a window. This had been wet and was really bad looking. The ceiling pieces were hanging down, the insulation was damaged and had been wet.
The wall piece had large holes and was very brittle. Last year the roof had been replaced but the occupants are totally indigent, and battle alcoholism as well. So they could not get the inside repaired without assistance. Supplies were available and we supplied the labor. We also worked there to finish hanging the last ceiling pieces on Tuesday and did some general clean up. This is very hard if there is no electricity or running water. During the afternoon we worked at the Fort Wingate parsonage. On Wednesday we hung a new door at Verna’s. (When does a 32 inch door not fit a 32 inch frame???) With limited tools and the capable assistance of Corrie and Jeni, we got it done. The women also fixed the entry way, so it had a firm footing. In the afternoon we again went to Fort Wingate to help finish the job at the parsonage.

On Thursday we visited Grandma Pablo. What a contrast her house was to the one we repaired on Monday! She needed some fixing of the roof and replacing some dirt around the base of the house to keep the winter cold at bay.
She prepared some fry-bread for us!
A delicious mid-morning snack.

She was also very pleased to pray with us, both in Navajo and English. For lunch we went to the church at Tohlakai. I had some one on one with Darryl who is really struggling with staying “dry.” He takes care of his 90+ year old grandmother, who speaks no English at all. On Thursday night we had a cookout - potluck barbeque, Navajo style, at Pastor Ted’s hogan. Everyone was invited to try their hand at making fry-bread. From a ball of dough to a tasty treat. After we all shared the bounty and tasted the rich variety of food, we celebrated communion. While we were there we met with a couple having the same last name as us. To our pleasant surprise, we found that we were related. Chris Huizinga’s great-grandfather was my uncle. I stayed with him and his wife when I first came to the United States in 1964. As a matter of fact, Chris’ father played his trumpet at our wedding. We had a really fun time sharing our memories. We might just have to come back to this place in the future, to help with needed maintenance, help on the reservation, and to enjoy the hospitality and beauty of the place.

Tradition (6 in a series)

I have been encouraged to continue to write about “Celebrating Traditions.”
Now there are a lot of traditions in our lives, yet not all of them are celebrated per sé; some may even be barely tolerable. Yet we treasure them, particularly when they bring the comfort of the familiar, when they sustain our heritage, or when they poignantly bring specific events to recall.

I guess a very non-threatening tradition we have is the one of “stampot” This is also spelled (correctly) “stamppot.” This is a conjunction of “stamp” and “pot.” This term is descriptive of a Dutch dish, which is usually served in the cooler months of the year. In the United States there are many casserole dishes, which are prepared as a mix of foods which are blended in cooking in an oven. I believe that stampot is a variant on this, albeit without the use of an oven.

Most of these dishes are simple to make with available supplies in the winter time. Potatoes keep well in a cellar, kale tastes better after a frost, cut beans are preserved with salt, carrots, turnips, or beets keep well in the cellar also. Apples and wax beans can be dried or canned. Various cabbages can obviously be used as well. There is a Wikipedia site for your perusal as well: (click here)

The reference to “hutspot” is interesting, and dates the use of stampot back to at least the 16th century.

Even today we still enjoy the heartiness of this meal, which is usually cooked with the meat on top. The meat is left on top so it can be removed before the mashing of the boiled potato and vegetable mix, this allows the meat juices to permeate the mashed pot of food adding to the flavor. A variety of meats can be used, but primarily a slab of bacon, or some form of sausage is used.