Went to Phoenix last week... leaving Midwest, dead of winter, below freezing temperatures for short sleeve weather was pretty nice! The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have my family be able to make the trip with me... but this time they couldn't...i had the opportunity to hang out for a few days with a bunch of great people at the XP Summit. Folks from all over the country who serve their church staff in a capacity similar to mine... it was a great experience!
But i must admit the part of my little excursion out west that disturbed me and at the same time filled me with excitement me was a trip to Arizona Reservation Ministries. Having the opportunity to find a little bit more about what God is doing in Arizona was encouraging and challenging. I want to thank Dale & Diana Lawrence for allowing me to spend time with them, finding out exactly what the conditions on the ground are for the Apache people...
Let me just say i was both awed and humbled by what Diane and Jean (thanks so much!) drove me around to show me that day... with over 2 million acres of land, the San Carlos Apache reservation (total population of roughly 12,000) sits on the edge of Globe, Arizona. My mind was filled with questions as i saw up close and personal life on this particular reservation. i found myself thinking..."Are we still in America?!?" Especially given the following facts about life here....
- 77% unemployment
- Up to 20 or more people sharing one single-family home
- Many of the girls are having multiple children before they turn 18 years old
- Children begin abusing alcohol while still in grade school
- Growing resurgence of gang activity
- High instances of alcoholism and rampant methamphetamine use (80 "meth" babies were born here in 2008)
The darkness cannot hold back the light, we are excited about strengthening our partnership with ARM, we pray they are excited as well!
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