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Show ~r£t~eE ~u~iEeE'~ !w£-~e~t~ ..... As most people are painfully aware, moving from one house to another is an exhausting experience. In our case l we only had to move a quarter of' a mile, but in terms of the work involved it might as well have been a thousand! The accumulation of 14 years had to be sorted out and decisions made as to what to keep, what to leave, and what to throwaway. It isn't easy if for the last 30-odd years you have lived many miles from the nearest source of supply of building equipment or of servicemen, who of course charge for their mileage. You gradually acquire a lot of odds and ends that may (?) be useful to keep the plant running. Added to this, being in charge of the setting up of a modular home and a trailer - overseeing Navajo workmen in getting the water, light, telephone and sewer lines connected have occupied much of my time for the last few months. As I am not able to do the work I did ten years ago, more Navajo workmen had to be hired. More water line and sewer pipe had to be bought and installed. And working in cold windy weather and heavy clothing did not help to speed up the work.. But this will be our last move as a mission family, and fortunately most of the work and costs will not have to be repeated. When we. moved to Hat Rock Valley in 1966 we used kerosene lamps and candles. Very romantic and pioneering, of course, fUll>- ""ftC? S~"ser :~jc~/""lj the; . ~\.LI-\. tl"~ c.. t o..h. 6t PC I P c..T S HI e. -the. !; cL<;..r II. +'f a.f,:h,Y-SWlOo..' 1 h\~iS . but not exactly the equipment we needed in order to pump water out of a 120-feet-deep well! So we acquired, in succession, a couple of second-hand mQtor generators, both of which had a habit of quitting at the most inconvenient times. Our nearest telephone was five miles away, and that was the mobile type, so you had to push a button to talk and release it to listen. Then came the Navajo Trib'al Utility Authority with power lines, followed by the Navajo Conmunications Company with the telephone (we're on an eightparty line). CB radios helped us keep track of cars, and now we even get one channel on TV! Not exactly inspirational of course, but it's the only source of entertainment we have available, and our budget does not include a daily newspaper - so we're grateful for our one channel. A few days ago I had ~he , idea of adding up the ages of the four of us, and was - quite startled to find that the sum total was 318, which gives an average age of 79.5 years! High time for us to become resource people and let a younger priest take over the active work. We were the first to establish a permanent mission to the Utah Navajo when we came to Bluff 37 years ago. The Utah strip of the Navajo Reservation, bounded by the San Juan River on the north and west, the Colorado State line to the east, and the Arizona State line to the south, now boasts of three missions, two of which have active priests and another is much needed here. After Father Liebler arrived with seven workers in 1943 we were gradually able to cover the entire strip from our headquarters at St Christopher's Mission in Bluff., with outstations at Hatch, Aneth and Montezuma Creek to the east and Mexican Hat, Oljeto and Navajo Mountain to the southwest. But we were a lot younger then and were aided by volunteer workers and, ~n time, summer workers. Since moving to Oljeto we have been able to build what v~s~tors tell us is "the most beautiful church they have ever seen", and we have maintained services, first in a hogan, then in the church, ever since we arrived. But more is needed by way of follow-up - youth programs, Bible study and prayer groups, Daily Vacation Bible Schools, etc. Our move will, we hope, provide room for the new priest to train Navajos to conduct these needed outreach programs. hIe hope - and pray. And Helen adds ..... St Mary's people have become discouraged by the long wait for a younger priest. Everybody loves Father Liebler, but "a man over 90 should not have to work so hard", they say. But now that they see the retired staff moving over to quarters at the north end of ' the property there is a real revival of hope. Sunday morning, as we stop at hogans, the greeting is often, "when is the new priest coming?" We now have third generation Christians at St Mary of the Moonlight, and quite a sturdy group of these teenagers have gradually taken over some of the altar guild work, cleaning the church I setting altar and credance up for Mass, and when there is time they heartily enjoy practicing Navajo humns under their own leadership. They have asked for Bibles in Navajo and are teaching each other to read them. If they persevere, St Mary's dhould be well supplied with lay readers. And now that building is about to commence (at last!) on the new High School near Highway 163, about 7 miles away, our young people should be spending more time in the area. Hogan visits, neighborhood meetings and classes should be possible. For the retiring staff there is a certain degree of sadness in leaving the old house we built 14 years ago on a barren hill, and leaving the tall shade trees, orchard and small gardens that we planted, but our dwindling energy reserves make the wonder~ ful gift of such attractive and convenient retirement quarters from the UTO, the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, and our kind and generous Bishop, a welcome relief. One of our leading parishioners said, "Father Liebler just could not live away from Navajoland." |
