On the Reservation

So I'm here! My first day of my adventure is coming to an end as I'm heading to bed really early. My day started off by flying out of MN around 715a - sat next to a man who looked exactly like a younger, shorter version of Vin Diesel, and he told me his name is Vince. We got to talking at the end of the flight because both of us snoozed on most of the flight. He told me about his kids and his job as a medical secretary. When we landed in Phoenix (45 min early!) I decided to get some breakfast and Vince ended up joining me - we talked about medicine and our woes about the new health care system. The flight to Flagstaff was interesting - there were only like 10 of us on this really little plane, so we each got our own rows (if we chose) and the flight was pretty uneventful minus the turbulence which seemed to be magnified by the tiny size of the plane. Pamela and the kids greeted me as soon as I walked off the tarmac (yes, we walked off the plane onto the tarmac). The next few hours were a whirl-wind as we went to appointments and errands in Flagstaff. The kids were so enthusiastic and both of them I believe have it in their heads that I'm their best friend; it's going to be a fun next couple of weeks with these sweet little munchkins. Did I tell you the little girl, I'll call her E, decided that she wanted to give me her room while I'm here instead of me sleeping in the office? What a sweetie! After Flagstaff we drove and drove and drove and drove. It felt like forever! Pamela told me all about the sacred mountains we passed, and "I" (that's the little boy) would teach me how to say certain words. I'm still working on remembering all of them. We took a detour on our long drive and went to the Hoppi reservation where we could see Mesa 1, Mesa 2 and Mesa 3 - all these little villages built into the side of the mesa, all the houses built our of rocks and piled one on top of the other. I felt like I was going back in time, but I guess there is a big difference between America and America on the reservation. The people had such run down houses, and the Hoppi almost looked like the Mexicans - I wonder if some might be part Spanish. Onto the reservation at Pinon (after the really worn out dirt road) it was a totally different sight to behold. The houses were so spread out! Pamela explained the level of superstition the Navajo people have and I wonder what God wants me to do about that. My heart is to see just a few people's hearts healed and believe in Jesus. I have yet to see a church in Pinon. Apparently, the only people who have water are those who live in the little community of houses right behind the clinic or those who can afford to pay a pretty penny. It is a very remote place I'm in, and hopefully tomorrow, in better light I'll be able to see things more clearly. As for now, I'm headed to bed, praying the quiet doesn't disturb me all night. I get to go to a therapy session tomorrow where we will be doing sand art! Fun! Good night friends!