I was blessed to be able to attend a pow wow in the Toppenish long house last Saturday evening. It was a really interesting time and I had never been to the long house in Toppenish - turns out it is basically next door to the casino. I was there for about four hours and gave Stephen and a couple of his friends a ride home when it was over. I got to eat some fry bread which was awesome and just sort of take in the culture.

I was going to try to come up with something culturally or spritually relevant to say, but I am too tired and I don’t think I understand Pow Wows enough to really say much about them other than they are really exciting and beautiful. I will say that this is only an aspect of the culture here, so when you watch the videos, you might imagine what it would be like if someone decided our whole culture looked like an episode of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Fancy Dance at Pow Wow from chuck clevenger on Vimeo.

Stacy dances Traditional at Topppenish Pow Wow from chuck clevenger on Vimeo.

This second video is our friend Stacy, who is a member of the Hope Fellowship Group.

Well, we’ve been living on the Reservation for almost three weeks now. It sounds crazy when I think about the fact that I am living on an Indian Reservation. God has been so good to us throughout our transition. It was so much harder saying good bye to our friends and family than I imagined it would be, but getting to the Reservation and seeing the Granberrys and Veronica was a wonderful balm to that sadness.

This past Tuesday, were able to go to our first Hope Fellowship meeting at the Long House since arriving. The previous two weeks had been cancelled due to illness and weather. Neena and I met with Chris’s group of teens and adults while Asha stayed with Mary and did the children’s lesson. At some point in the future, Neena and I will work with Veronica to break up the youth into their own small groups. Until then, we are observing the dynamics of the group and trying to get in sync with its rhythm.

The lesson Chris was teaching was about casting your burdens on Jesus because he loves you. As folks shared the burdens in their lives it was easy to get depressed about the struggles many of our friends here face. But as we read scripture together, we began to see the hope that only God’s love as expressed through Jesus’ death and resurrection offers.

We closed in prayer and I was struck how many of our fellowship prayed for their friends and family members who were carrying burdens. It was good to be with old friends - many of whom I hadn’t seen in over a year, and yet they still remembered me.

Its starting to feel more and more like home.

To God be the glory, great things He has done.

If you would like to receive email updates from the Clevengers and/or Sacred Road, please let us know through the contact link at the top of the page.

Been a long time between posts. I’m sorry, but things have been really accelerating since we attended SPLICE in September - more on that at another time. One of the things we learned at SPLICE was the importance of saying gooodbye. Yesterday demonstrated the value of that lesson.

Macedonia Baptist Church in Cleveland, TN is where I leaned the Lord’s Prayer and John 3:16. It’s the church my parents were married in. Its also been the site of our family Thanksgving dinner for almost as long as I can remember. So yesterday, there we were - mom’s side of the family - enjoying turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and the myriad desserts that are the staple if any Wooten family gathering.

Uncle Pewter was first - he came over and asked to pray with Dad and I. Dot and Don left shortly after and gave us big hugs. Then Holly left - that was when the tears started. Holly was in the delivery room with Neena and I when Asha was born. I think Jason slipped out without a goodbye. Then Mark who went with me when I bought Neena’s engagement ring in Greece. Then Mike and Darlene and the boys. Jeff, James and Nash left - James with my the remainder of my comics. Finally Uncle jack and Aunt Jo said goodbye and I hugged Lyle before getting in the VW. I could write blogs for years and years about how special and loving each of these folks are and how they are all 100% behind us and just scratch the surface.

It was a hard, but good time of saying goodbyes. And it would be easy to sort of just wallow in the sadness of it. But our loving God is too gracious for that, too wondrous, too amazing.

We pulled out of the parking lot and saw the back side of the guest parking sign.

Goodbye Macedonia.

Thank You, God, for Macedonia Baptist Church. Please continue to pour out your blessings upon your people there as they seek you and serve you. Amen.

Michael Stalvey sent me the following pics via his cel phone. Chris is now officially the Right Reverend Granberry and the service was held in the Long House. You can see Wendell speaking in one of the photos ( I would have loved to hear that) and in the other photo is Chris sitting with some special guests. Eddie Koh, who went through MTW REV week with us is on the far left.

Thank You for your prayers. According to Michael, The service was wonderful. Oh how I wish I could have been there. I sent Chris an email Saturday and, without sharing all of it, I included this Proverb I found at the end of verse 10 in chapter 27.

“better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.”

Michael called me from Totus to see if the pictures had come through and I got to speak to Darion who is again living in Totus - that was really cool. We met Darion on our first trip in 2002, I think she was 8 or 9. In 2004, she sent back one of her stuffed animals as a gift for Asha. Please pray for her.

Pray for Hope Fellowship and their new pastor, Chris Granberry and his family.

Praise God for His faithfulness, for His grace and for the work He is doing on The Yakama Indian Reservation.

I had a bit of a discouraging encounter yesterday. At first, anyway. I won’t give any of the particulars because I am sure the last thing this person meant to do was discourage me. Someone who has known us for a very long time was asking about our plans.

“Oh you plan to stay out there for a very long time, then?”

“Yep, we’re in for the long haul.”

“But don’t both of you have all of your family here?”

“Yep, neither of us have been more than half an hour away from family.”

“Maybe you should reconsider.”

Ouch. For an hour or so I was in a bit of a funk. Then I remembered one of my favorite promises from scripture at the end of Ephesians chapter 3:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I love this verse. It reminds me of the following interchange from Star Wars:

Luke: She’s rich.
Han Solo: [interested] Rich?
Luke:Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be…
Han Solo: What?
Luke:Well, more wealth than you can imagine!
Han Solo: I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.

Like Han, I can imagine quite a bit. I can imagine raising all of our support. I can imagine a church in White Swan. I can imagine some of our young friends doing well in school, growing in the church and leading others to the gospel of Grace.

Paul says that Christ is able to do more than all that - immeasurably more. Can we pack up and move the other side of the country away from everything that is familiar to us? Probably not, but I can imagine it.

And He can do it.

True Story.

Last week, I was putting our four-year-old Asha to bed and after we finished praying for our friends in the desert (Its a lot easier to explain a desert than an Indian Reservation - think about it), Asha shared with me.

“I think I had an idea that was not very good.” She said, sheepishly. “What was that?” I asked - figuring it had to do something with the prayer we just finished.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to move to the desert.” She replied. “We will miss our friends.”

“Yeah,” I said sympathizing, but wait a minute, “moving was your idea?” I asked.

“I think so.”

“No sweetie, that was mommy and m – ,” I stopped. It wasn’t my idea. It wasn’t Neena’s idea. It was our heavenly Father’s idea and I had a wonderful opportunity to explain that to my daughter - to tell her that God is active and sovereign in the life of our family. I don’t think she gets all of it, but she knows it wasn’t her idea, or ours.

“Besides, we’ll meet friends we don’t even know yet. We’ll always love our friends here and we’ll be with Ann Marie, Beth, Morgan, Davey and Starbuck too. Remember?”

“Will they be my friends?”

“They already are.” and she went to sleep.

All of this is God’s plan and it is sometimes as hard for me as it is for Asha to understand.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

– Ephesians 2:8-10

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for loving people on the Yakama Indian Reservation.

I confess, I didn’t remember this story at all. When I asked Chris to take a look at our new blog, he responded with a reference from the following passage from 1 Chronicles 14:13-17.

Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go straight up, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” So David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

How cool is that? I tell you what, that Chris Granberry is going to make a fine pastor.

So here we wait, listening for the sound of marching in the trees so that we can move out into battle.

Lots of folks have asked where we are going. So here is an aerial view of White Swan courtesy of Google Maps. You can zoom out and move around to see more of White Swan and the Reservation. White Swan is just one of four towns in the Yakama Indian Reservation.

View Larger Map

You can even Zoom in like I did and get a close up of Totus Park.

With thanks to our pastor, Joel Treik and his Spirit-inspired teaching Sunday morning.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Phillipians 4:14-20

Joel’s closing sermon on the book of Phillipians brought all of you to mind as he preached on the importance of partnerships. I confess to you that it has been easy for us to become self-centered as we wonder about God’s timing for the move to the Reservation. As Joel preached, I grew in peace and thankfulness as I recalled how many of you, like the Philippians to Paul, have been so generous in your gifts and support.

It means so much to us now, still here, to know that you are praying and giving faithfully. I can’t imagine how precious that knowledge will be once we get there.

I wish I could tell you that we were leaving in the next couple of weeks (even though I dread the goodbyes) to join Chris, Mary and the kids - but we still have yet to raise sufficient support to make the move. God, it seems, is not finished with us in Chattanooga yet. We still hope to get to the Rez sometime this summer and are moving forward with some decisions that we believe will make for a quicker transition once the time is come.

Please continue to pray for our support and also that we might make the right decisions about our home, our present employers and Asha’s schooling. Pray especially for the Granberrys as their busy summer begins to kickoff with the summer teams. (Pray that this will be their last summer alone.) Pray also for Veronica Vasquez, a young lady who has been interning with Chris and Mary and has also answered God’s call to serve full-time on the Reservation.

Thank you again for your faithfulness and your gifts which are indeed a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

It has been mentioned that Rustlings might be an unfortunate title for our blog, as we are moving out west where cattle thieves are immortalized in the western films of the 50s and 60s.

We are not moving to the Yakama Indian Reservation to become rustlers but to be rustled… I’ll explain:

The name originally came to me years before we ever really considered being missionaries or moving to the Rez, when I was lying down at night listening to my favorite Rich Mullins song, The River.

“I remember when I was just a kid
Listening in the sky
Believing that the wind would stir “

And as soon as I heard it - I did remember. Years ago, when I was a kid and I used to ask God shake to the trees, and I believed when the leaves rustled - God was there with me.

Of course, God is always with us. I know that now, but when I remembered that excitement as a child, that expectancy - well I couldn’t sleep. I thought about how many times in scripture the Holy Spirit is likened unto the wind. Jesus himself says in John 3:8:

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

You can’t see the wind, but it’s presence is evidenced by the things it moves - like the rustling of leaves.

We pray that our lives will be like that. Not so that anyone will wonder at the leaves, but seek the wind that stirs them.