Return from the Edge of Civilization

This will be our last post regarding our trip to Arizona. I (Tim Owens) would like to thank you all soo much for all of your prayers through our entire trip... the trip went incredibly well, and we are grateful.

We've been home for just under a week now, which has allowed some time for processing and reflection. I have countless joyful memories of our time--LIFTers spending time with Hopi teens, talking, playing, climbing, showing the love of Christ. We left a tangible imprint of our time through a wide variety of work projects--a new playground, a mostly restored trailer and a new fence, a new patio, trash clean-up, and even an outhouse. One of our main goals with each trip is to be an encouragement to the missionaries we reach, and I think that without a doubt we accomplished that this time.

However, even with all of the joy that I have as I contemplate our trip, I cannot help but to feel more than a tinge of sadness. The Hopi res is in the desert--the sun blazed every day, everywhere you looked a beautiful vista of barrenness extending to the horizon. It truly is a land of austere beauty. And yet, for all the brilliance of the desert sun, the Hopi res is a dark, dark place. It seemed to us that there is not an active Hopi expression of the body of Christ. We met many Hopi Christians during our time, but most of the leadership of the church still seems to be from Anglos rather than native Hopi. This is not the desire of the missionaries we worked with. For the most part, the Hopi simply have not been able to step up into positions of leadership. And as a result the Hopi body has suffered.

We've been home for a week, back from the edge of civilization. My memories are full of smiling children, laughing missionaries, joyful LIFTers, and gracious Hopi. And yet my heart breaks for the Hopi and the stranglehold Satan has on them as a people, that Satan has on their culture. The missionaries we served with are truly heroes of our faith--sacrificing much with very little recognition, support, or even fruit. They have followed God's call to the edge of civilization and are serving faithfully, regardless of the obstacles. We've been home a week, yet they will serve there for a lifetime.

Our trip is over, yet the Hopi remain. Please continue to pray.