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Show #12 P 3 And Helen adds ~ few lines. Having a beautiful churc~ building is a joy, but if only a handful of people can get to it of a Sunday morni~g, the situation is sad. Many of our communicants live from five to fifteen miles away, and lack any sort of transportation. As we drive 'our "bus" to a distant hogan , there may be three or four pickups or cars standing around, but closer inspection shows no wheels , no tires, no engine , or maybe no transmission. So the people pile in. We encourage those who have vehicles that can run to do their own hauling, one Sunday recently a mother of eight came in just about the end of Mass. Seems she had come about five miles when the steering wheel gave out--no connection with the wheels. She hunted around, found a bent and rusty nail , which, put in the right plac'e, made everything just fine. These "bus" trips can be very rewarding . Ii; is a time to talk over neighborhood problems, to practice hymns, new prayers, and to touch upon the saving message of the Gospel. For a time we tried carrying coloring books with pictures il-lustrating the Gospel story . but the rough roads won that battle. One car and driver are on this job from about 8.30 to 11, and 12130 to 3 or 4 p.m. One great obstacle to the regular worship ·:of the people is the insistence of the BIA schools that children must have clean clothes, and in a big family hauling water 15 miles and washing by hand is a full time week-end job. So we have an old ringer-washing machine or two available, and they are in operation 45-50 hours each week-end. There is, of course,.a "Mass and coffee break". Increased hospital facilities are much appreciated. We can now reach t ·he Adventist Hospital in 20 minutes from our place. The staff is excellent, but sadly overworked. They are kind enough to sa¥ "Our only visiting nurse is from Hat Rock,· Leaving a patient there is not the answer. In spite of a working knowledge of English, Navajos seldom give a doctor a description of ~ymptoms. "He is a doctor ; he should know, just like our medicine man." If we don't see the thing through the patient may report next day nOh , I just told him I had a headache, and he gave me an aspirin." Day to day progress seems slow, but it is encouraging to hear of some of our young people who have finished college and getting into useful work , or even professions as law, medicine, nursing and other fields. The upper picture shows mother of eight. with her older sister, the lower one ~ shows manner of "pitching" basket with pinion gum to make it waterproof. Those on front page show desert herbs about church, Bishop and Father, Robert Graymountain. |