Reservation for Two

On Navajo Nation

October 2012

The Main Dish

he month of October started off with a bang as we held a Gospel

Meeting on Gods Divine Design: The Family. We have four pregnant women in the church right now and a fifth just gave birth this past month. Aside from Heidi, none of these ladies are married and two of them are teenagers, so we thought it would be advantageous to start addressing the issues of the family. A dynamic preacher from Lonetree, Colorado, Jerry Groves, came down to speak in five separate sessions focused on what Gods plan is for a husband, wife, parents and children. The sessions were very well attended with about 50 people and everyone was very encouraged. We had several visitors as well as old faces we havent seen in a while. Do yourself a favor and write down that name where you wont forget it, Jerry Groves. When you start looking for a guest speaker to address your families, pencil in that name and call me so I can get you in touch with him. He is an awesome man and was a phenomenal speaker. His passion for the family is only outdone by his passion for the Lord. Throughout the month, we had a chance to pick back up on a couple individual Bible studies we havent had in a while. One was with Rose Gill, a widow who comes to worship once in a while. We ran into her at the flea market and she really has a desire to learn about the Bible. Pray that we can keep up with this study. Another study was with our neighbor, Raymond. I get an opportunity every once in a while to sit down with him and look at the Bible. Hes a tough study, with an ever softening heart. On Tuesday nights, we started a study on social issues and hot topics. So far, we have covered marriage, divorce and re-marriage, alcohol abuse, and abortion. Well also cover gambling, homosexuality, smoking and drugs, tattoos, suicide, war, etc. Essentially, were giving the Biblical perspective of all the issues that get talked about most. Its sort of amazing to hear what people think about some of these issues.

Nick & Heidi Rice PO BOX 4536 Kayenta, AZ 86033 Phone: 928-697-3096 nickolasjrice@gmail.com hidlynnr@gmail.com reservationforrice.blogspot.com
Any donations or financial support to the work can and should be sent to our sponsoring congregation:

Northeast Church of Christ

11000 Paseo Del Norte NE Albuquerque, NM 87122

Coming Right Up
Bible Study on the Reservation: November 16th- 17th Ft. Defiance church of Christ Speaker: Wayne Burger Topic: The Book of Acts

Bible Study on the Reservation: December 14th- 15th Gallup church of Christ Speaker: Jeff Foster Topic: The Book of Acts

(Continued on Back)

Reservation for Two

On Navajo Nation The last Friday of October, we held a fall festival, which included a potluck, games and candy for the kids and a bonfire behind the building. The kids especially loved all the activities including eating doughnuts from a string with no hands. Of course, some adults participated as well. Events like these bring a great opportunity to meet visitors, particularly members of peoples families who dont normally attend services. Also, those with kids make an extra effort to attend who we might not see that often. The trailer on the church property is finally coming to a stage of completion, which is good for us since we are planning on moving in this month. A group of Christians from Phoenix spent a weekend installing the kitchen cabinets, some of the flooring, and some of the trim work. These brethren are such a blessing to us as they donated a lot of items as well as volunteered a lot of time on this trailer. Once they left, it was mostly a matter of finishing touches, specifically trim around the floors and windows. We went ahead and hired one of our members husbands to complete the work. Lorenda was just baptized this summer and her husband is an out of work contractor. They feel blessed to have the work and we feel blessed to have someone skilled to complete it. We are planning on moving in just before Thanksgiving. Ill have to post all of the pictures on a website and send out the link next month. The transition is literally unbelievable. In about 10 months, we pretty much gutted the interior and completely remodeled it with almost entirely volunteer work.

October 2012

congregations. I felt especially blessed this year, not only because I was asked to speak, but also because a couple of the ladies really took this under their wing and did a lot of the work. This shows me they can take initiative and get things done without me, which is the ultimate goal of the work we do with the church. Two weeks later, I was privileged to speak at another Ladies Day at the Gallup Church of Christ about two and a half hours from Kayenta. Six other ladies from our congregation traveled to Gallup with me. The theme of the day was Packing for the Trip. It was all about preparing for heaven. I spoke four separate times, which was a huge leap from never speaking in a setting like this three weeks prior. I really enjoyed these opportunities and hope to do much more speaking in the future. Our little baby girl is growing and healthy and we are excited to add her to the family in February. We still feel very unprepared, especially when we went to register and realized we didnt know anything about any of the products we are supposed to put on the list. Seriously, we knew literally nothing. I think we registered for 10 items, and later changed most of those. We are slowly learning and getting some great advice from other parents. If you have any, well gladly take it.

Ladies Corner
The first weekend in October was our second annual Ladies Day, specifically geared towards churches on the reservation. The theme was Serving God on the Navajo Reservation with an emphasis on Peace, Patience, Prayer and Purpose. Four ladies who are past and present missionaries on the reservation were the speakers. They included Susan Austin, Divine Austin, Pam Laurence, and myself (pictured here). The day was filled with food, ways to get to know each other, great Bible studies, and a lot of fellowship. Forty ladies were in attendance from six different

Reservation for Two

On Navajo Nation Winter is here and we are looking to do a warm and fuzzy drive. We are soliciting donations for hats, gloves, scarves, socks, and coats. We will accept any of the above mentioned or gift cards to Wal-Mart and Target as well as money to purchase these items. We would like to collect any of these items as soon as possible. Well need to get them here as soon as we can so that we can organize them and get them out into the community. Thank you in advance for anything you are willing to give. If you have questions, please email me at hidlynnr@gmail.com or call us at 928-697-3096.

October 2012

On the Back Burner

As the end of the year is approaching quickly, there is a huge change in the work that I need to inform all of you about. Dan is going to be leaving the mission team and Kayenta to pursue the work in Shiprock, NM. The Shiprock congregation is still on the Reservation, but they lost their preacher nearly 6 months ago and have been in a state of uncertainty ever since. There are a handful of faithful Christians there and that should hopefully make the transition easier for Dan. This will be the second time in two and a half years that Heidi and I have been here alone. For us, this news comes with mixed emotions. The prospect of losing the mission team here is tough. This work is difficult and more so when youre doing it alone. However, our involvement here has always been from day one to focus on the mission. Our mission was never to move to Kayenta and retire as a small church preacher and preachers wife. The mission is now and always was to spread the Gospel to Navajo Nation. As much as Dans departure represents a step back for Kayenta, it also represents a step forward for the mission and the work as a whole. Ive always viewed the work here on Navajo Nation as a whole. Kayenta is where we live and work but the goals of this mission are bigger. The positive here is that the work in Kayenta is as smooth as it has ever been. There have been some times of serious drama and unrest, but for a while now things have been calm. Weve grown towards stability in the past year. We havent by any means reached all of our goals here but were progressing. Dan has been a good help here, and his leaving highlights a bigger problem for this Reservation wide work. We are in need of workers so badly that when we accomplished one of our goals of establishing a team, it couldnt last because the holes around the rest of the Rez compelled us to act. More specifically compelled Dan to act by taking on the Shiprock work. Two and a half years ago Heidi and I decided to move to Kayenta to help with a mission work that struggled from too few workers and too much work. I can honestly say that the situation hasnt gotten any better than it was then. I dont know if the need is worse or if my perspective just helps me to see the need better (probably both), but that need has not changed.

Ive had some communication with a handful of people who are interested in coming to the Reservation potentially. Last week, we had a recent Oklahoma Christian graduate here visiting and checking out the work firsthand. Hes the second guy weve had come see the work dating back to the summer. So far, that hasnt led to any new mission workers, but the prospect of being able to meet with interested people is progress.

Supporters
6th & Washington church of Christ sixthandwashingtonchurchofchrist.org Fishinger & Kenny Roads church of Christ www.fandk.org Hendersonville church of Christ www.hendcoc.net Highland Heights church of Christ www.highlandheights.net Spring Road church of Christ www.springroadcoc.com University church of Christ www.universitycofc.net Watterson Trail church of Christ www.wtcoc.org Word of Life Ministries www.wolonline.org as well as many generous individuals