Introducing: Lifehouse Pottery

Amazing how long a new thing takes to really get started.

Eight months ago yesterday was my last day as the Mission business manager. Even before that, the Lord was giving me a vision for something new on the Navajo Reservation. That's grace! While I was still too busy to think or have a life outside the office, God was encouraging me by showing me what lay ahead: LifeHouse Pottery & Arts. It was while I was in Williams, Arizona in May 2013 that I first had the idea for a pottery, and it was about a month earlier that I bought a potters' wheel with part of our tax refund. By August, I recorded fifteen (15) different and specific events that, combined, confirmed to me that this idea for a pottery was not just my longing for earlier days (I spent 20 years working with clay from the 70s to the 90s). Key among these fifteen was the fact that Katrina (my very practical, no-nonsense wife) really believed this idea was from God and not myself.

Now I have carved out a bit of studio space in the back room that serves as a shop and built a shed out my backdoor for my kiln. I have started to revive the old knowledge and abilities of 20+ years ago: I have fired my kiln three times and have thrown my first bowls (with more planned in the next week). This is my personal beginning.

As for the broader idea of a place for Native American artists to create, be healed, grow as Christians, give back to the community, and share what God has done with them to the world -- the how and where is beginning to become clearer. While there is a building on our Mission grounds that I would like to use for the pottery, there is a space in the basement of one of our houses that would be ideal to clean up and use as studio/work space for the community to come to. The space is probably 20 X 50 feet and the whole of one 50-ft side is solid windows, facing the northwest. A group may be coming in June to give it its first cleaning!

A lot more needs to be done. I am going to start on a business plan, and continue to develop things I can make--that can be sold to the public. Thank you for your prayers and gifts. God is going to make this happen!

Steve

I Want to Live Like That

Today we had the funeral service for my friend Monique. I haven't put much about her on the blog but had sent you emails about her death. Her untimely death was hard for all who knew her--and apparently that was a whole lot of us!



Steve guessed that there were about 700 people at her service! For a town of only 21,000 that's a whole lot!

The one thing that I came away thinking is that when I die, I hope everyone that comes to my funeral knows how much I love the Lord. People at Monique's certainly did. The Pastor, in tribute to her, said that he's never seen a more gifted evangelist in his life. Appropriately, when they gave the alter call at least 15 of her friends accepted it.

As I think about her life too though, I realize I don't want to die like she did either: young, struggling, and ultimately defeated. What I mean by that is that I want to live a victorious, overcoming life--a life that shows God's glory in all of His gloriousness. . . a joyful, holy, life where there's victory over sin, forgiveness, compassion, love, and all of the fruits of the Spirit. Not only do I want to live that life, but I want to lead the ladies I work with into that victory as well.

Monique, Me, and Stephanie at the ladies conference recently

For quite some time I've been praying that God would clearly show me what He would have me invest my life into after the kids were grown--James, my baby, only has five more years until he graduates high school, and John and Anna will both be attending a dual enrollment high school/college this coming fall. As I've sought Him, I have come to believe that I should be in ministry to ladies like Monique: ladies who have backgrounds that are HARD and yet. . . .yet, God chooses to bring them to Himself, love them, and shower them with His grace.

Ladies in these type of lifestyles often have a whole lot more to overcome than your typical middle class woman: their role models are often non-existent or bad. Their lifestyle often prevents them from higher education, meaning that money and jobs are often scarce. Men in their life are very seldom in their lives for good, and usually while all too young they have children--sometimes a whole lot of them.

I crave your prayers in the coming days and months as I continue to lead the Set Free ministry, and train and learn how to teach my "girls" about living an overcoming, victorious life. In the fall I will be stepping into more ministry by volunteering at a women's shelter in Gallup part-time.To prepare for this ministry I'm working on being ready to teach money management skills, job skills, parenting skills and more!

Lastly I'd like to add that ministry costs money. Every time I go to Gallup to minister it costs about $20. Prayer letters cost $50. The training classes that I need are seldom held locally and that means travel to Albuquerque, or beyond. Travel to Albuquerque costs a minimum of $100. At this point our support is low enough that Steve is putting out feelers on part-time work. Please continue to pray for us that we'll be lead to those who can support our ministries. There is soooo much work to do, and so few workers!

And, continue to pray for me this coming Thursday as I expect that there will be several new ladies there who desperately need to learn how to walk with the Lord, and ultimately need to learn how to lead an overcoming life!

Katrina

Navajo Sovereignty Day

"To Navajos, the concept of sovereignty is simple. It means being independent and standing on one's own two feet. Whether an individual, a family, a community, or a nation, one wants to stand on one's own. To build an independent nation, its individual members need to stand on their own feet, dependent on no one to survive and thrive. As a people, Navajos were once proud, fierce and independent. With more of our students graduating from college each year, and with our economic initiatives in place, we can see the day in the not-too-distant future when we will become independent again, and our sovereignty will flourish every day."  (President Joe Shirley, April 28, 2010 statement on Navajo Sovereignty)

This super cute little girl was scarfing up candy at the Fourth of July Parade last July

Hilltop Christian School was closed this morning and I was wondering why. When I finally  wandered down there I saw a note on the door saying it was Navajo Sovereignty Day. I've heard about this holiday before--a holiday celebrated no where else but here , but didn't know much about it. 

I found out that Sovereignty Day was instituted to celebrate the Navajo Nation's basic right to do on their own land what most governments do on their own land, specifically collect and institute taxes. It's a big deal for a people who were told for many years that they did not have any (or very little) rights on their own land.  To illustrate, it wasn't too many years ago that the government forcibly removed what they believed were excess livestock to prevent overgrazing. At that time the main way Navajo people had wealth was to have livestock, so having them forcibly removed effectively pushed most people back into abject poverty.  Too it wasn't too many years before that, that the Navajo people were forced to walk across much of Arizona and New Mexico and be confined to a reservation that had no food, little water, and no hope. Many of them died on the trip, or on the reservation, before finally being allowed to come back to their native lands a defeated people. 

Today, and every fourth Monday of April then, the Navajo people celebrate a renewal of their rights, a victory, and a regaining of what they lost so many years ago.

Steve is heading home today from the Phoenix area where he got to meet with many of you--Ahéhee' as they say in Navajo (thank you)! Please continue to pray for us. As I mentioned in our last letter, our support is very low. We need to do some planning, praying, thinking, and more to figure out how to raise more funds for our ministries. A lower mileage, car that uses less gas is also on our list of prayer items! Thanks so much for all you do! 

Katrina for the Marti family!

Nihilism?

     Recently I read a poem, placed by its author on a Facebook page called, You Know You're a Navajo When. . .. The author is a young Navajo woman who obviously has a gift for writing. The poem deeply touched me, not because of it's beauty, although it was well written, but because of its sense of utter hopelessness, and helplessness on the part of its author. I won't repeat the whole poem here because it's littered with obscenities but here are a few lines:

. . . Why I was shamed to be labeled an "Indian," a savage beast, . . .. 

sharing a one-room hogan wasn't my problem where my next meal came from was,

grandma feeding us government hand-outs, malnutrition slop. . . 

labeled a "horse thief," doomed for failure, branded alcoholics

under-educated statistic, shoved on a reserve

I'm not a savage, I'm a human being

War paralyzed, haunted, grandpa's mind and soul, PTSD

depression, alcoholism, no Veteran's benefits

living from check to mouth, . . . 

See my people suffer from substance abuse, addictions,

sickness of every kind, stewing in devastation . ..

No progressing, no jobs, no order, controlled resources,

I'm but a number to my government, . .. . 

hell yes, I'm furious, abuse-ridden homes,

age-old problems untouched, families in denial. . .

don't tell me to get over myself, over my internal pain,

live in my conditions and see why I still have to cry. . . 

     In Bible School we learned about nihilism which according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary is, "a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless." That's the term that came to mind as I read this ladies poem. Honestly her rant encapsulates many of the problems that some of the ladies I minister to face.  Recently I made up a prayer card about the Navajo Nation. It's got many of the facts this lady referred to without the emotions attached. The bottom line is that the problems here are HUGE!

     For the past three years I, Katrina, have been blessed to work in a ministry called "Set Free." This ministry is aimed at ladies who have been, or are being, set free from harmful lifestyles and relationships. What a blessing it has been to see ladies who have lived in bondage such as the lady above describes, set free into a life with Jesus Christ. 

     God has given Steve another vision, which also aims to heal hurts like this poet describes. He's opening a pottery which will be not only a working pottery (providing jobs, artistic outlet, and creativity) but also a discipleship center where people grow in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

     Both of us see our ministries expanding and growing while providing healing, needed jobs, job skills, and life skills to help overcome some of the issues that are so prevalent here. 

     We can't, however, do it without YOU! We need your prayer and financial support to be able to continue on in these ministries that God has given us. Right now Steve is out there, talking with people just like you about supporting our ministry financially. Right now our support is at about 20% of what we need to live on, and continue ministering in this area. Please pray with us that God will lead Steve to individuals and organizations that have the funds to help in this work. Please also pray about how you can help--and let us know if you can partner with us---in whatever way God is leading you! (Keep in mind that even small amounts given monthly add up to what we need, ultimately--for example: a gift of $20 a month can pay my gas to town one time so I can minister to the ladies--this will be especially important this coming year as I'm planning on going to town three times a week to minister to the ladies in a woman's shelter --also pray for a lower-mileage vehicle and a more reliable vehicle since next year the kids and I will be traveling to Gallup--60 miles round trip--daily for ministry and school.)

     Lastly, if you'd like to meet with Steve he'll be down in the Phoenix area for the next couple weeks--drop us a line if you can get together with him, encourage him, and hear more about the work God's doing here in Navajoland. 

Katrina, for both of us.

YOU are Invited!

Missionary work is a lot like a NFL football team. A team needs its offensive string, defensive string, kickers, coaches, doctors, trainers, fans, television crews, and more. Missionaries also need a team supporting them if they expect to win their game.

Many of you have supported us for years, and we greatly appreciate you. Without you, Katrina couldn’t have written her book, we couldn’t have received training, we couldn’t have gone to Mexico—or come home and seen God’s healing touch on Steve which drove us out again. Through our team work, many, many LDS women and men have come to Christ, finances for the mission are on an even keel, and our neighbors and friends in Mexico were touched with the gospel.  You have watched our children grow, and even watched our children go out successfully as missionaries in their own right. You have been with us every step of the way!

Our future ministries continue to depend on this team approach. We look forward to ministering to young Navajo ladies who are in hard spots, missionaries who are new to the field and want to learn more about the culture and language, and also to starting an entirely new type of ministry by opening a pottery and reaching an unreached segment of people in this area, who will then be ministering to the world!

In the coming months, Steve (and sometimes Katrina) is going to be traveling around and meeting with individuals and churches like you to share what we’ve been up to, and to build a stronger and larger partner base among people just like you. We’re excited about this facet of our ministry: the opportunity to share just what God is doing, and also to see what God is doing in you as well.

If you, as a team member, can help us in any way in this time of raising support—remember teams are built of all kinds of members, all of whom have different roles—please contact us. We’re available by email, by phone, by Facebook, by snail mail, text, and would especially love to have a personal visit with you!

 Steve and Katrina Marti

Contact info: Steveandkatrina@westernindian.org, Steve's cell: 505-399-8603. Home Phone 505-371-5557, Katrina's cell: 505-409-1694, home address: P. O. Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515. Financial support can be sent to Western Indian Ministries P. O. Box 9090, Window Rock, AZ 86515 (please make any checks out to WIM, and enclose a note saying it's for the Marti family).

What do you do with a problem like. . .

“I’m just so tired of being homeless. I’m tired of being needy. I want to buy a house so I can’t have a house taken away from me. I want to have a car so I can get around. I want my children back! I so want to live like a normal person!”

Desperation, depression and frustration are what Mary shared with me tonight—a frustration born of being once again in a situation she thought she had escaped. Frustration from having trusted in someone else to take care of her who has now reneged on that responsibility.  Of once again being in a place she could have to give up her baby in order to chase after an elusive dream: a dream of living a normal life, of having a house of her own, or being able to support her own family, have her children together, of living without the nightmare that her very existence often is.  Deep, dark sadness at knowing she has a son she hasn’t seen since he was a toddler. Sadness at knowing that no matter how hard she tries, her attempts to reunite her children seem to come to naught.  Depression and a bit of shame at the trail of broken relationships that mark her life. Desperation at trying to keep her baby—her fifth child yet the only one living with her—feed her, cloth her, keep her safe.

As Mary’s friend, mentor, and honorary mom I hurt for her. I hurt because she’s a victim of a mental illness that so far at least, God hasn’t healed. I hurt for her because some of her wounds are self-inflicted. I hurt for her because she’s living in a system that can’t seem to really help her: a system made up of agencies that have one small part of the “fix” she needs in her life, but nothing to bring solutions together under one roof—and in some cases they simply don’t have the fixes. I hurt for her because she wasn’t born into a family who can help her (although they do try.)  I hurt for her because the body of Christ doesn’t really want her either—she’s too noisy, too obnoxious, too needy.  I hurt for her because, honestly, she’s a hard case. She’s self-centered, self-absorbed, and totally wrapped up in what she needs, wants, even lusts after. She can be dishonest. She can cheat, and yes, she lies sometimes.  (She’s also funny, fun to be around, bright, energetic, and well precious.)

Most of all I hurt for her because I know she’s God’s precious creation. He made her. He wrote every one of her days in His book. He aches for her, and works with her, and time after time forgives her. He tries to encourage her, and is a stronghold when the throes of another panic attack overwhelm her. He loves her, disciplines her, and shows her mercy again and again and again.  She is beautiful in His eyes—beautiful in a way that no man will ever be able to see, really perfect in every single way! She is His creation and He’s proud of her.

The kids and I jokingly made up a song we entitled “What do you do with a problem like Mary?” loosely patterned after the song in the Sound of Music with pretty much the same name. We wish her problems were as easy to solve as Maria’s. . . and yet they’re not.  They’re much bigger, much harder, and much, much more complex.

Would you pray for me as I minister to Mary—and know that her problems are not unique in this area we live in. It’s an area that was recently labeled the second poorest city in the nation. (and the two counties that comprise our area of the world are among the poorest counties in the country as well).  What that means for Mary is that social services are overused and over worked; ultimately that there are less services than other places. I don’t have an answer to Mary’s problems (lots of ideas, but no answers). But, I do know the One who does, and I know He cares just as much as I do about her needs. Thanks for joining me in prayer! --Katrina

p.s. "Mary's" name has been changed to protect her privacy--but God does know who she is.

Changing Seasons

Hello Everyone!

             It has been an unusually warm September, but that’s starting to change: the last two nights we’ve had freezing temperatures and there are more on the way. It’s a bit hard to see the colder temperatures, knowing that winter is not that far away—with all the changes that entails.

             Even bigger changes are happening in the ministries that I, Steve, am doing.  After three years of “filling the gap” as Business Manager here at WIM, I resigned this position. I can’t even begin to describe the stress that I’ve had in this position due to the fact that there was increasingly too much to do, and also that this is not my area of gifting or passion. I actually ended up in the hospital a few months ago for stress-related symptoms. My last official day as Business Manager was September 13th. Right now I’m officially on sabbatical so I can rest and recuperate, and then I’ll be preparing for new ministries.

      It’s an exciting time! In the near future, I am going to start preparing for ministries that I have truly felt called to: The first ministry will be teaching Navajo language and culture to new missionaries (and, I hope, to others who are new to this area). Secondly, I will be researching various biblical financial teachings out there (Crown Ministries, Dave Ramsay, etc.) with the goal of creating and teaching something that will apply to specific, unique needs in the Navajo population here. Finally, I have the opportunity to renovate a building here on our campus to create something very new: a functioning pottery that will be a way to reach out into the community (the Navajos are very artistic) with opportunities to create unique Native Christian pottery and crafts while discipling and teaching those who are involved. I will explain more of the details about these ministries in future newsletters.

      I am thanking the Lord for time to rest and recuperate from the stress of the last three years, as well as to develop ministries which I feel very called to. —Steve

John and Anna head out as missionaries

Many of you may remember John and Anna as small children, but since you last saw them, they’ve grown quite a bit, to the point that October 25th they’re leaving for their first mission trip without their parents. The kids are heading into Mexico to Culiacan and then Oaxaca and points in between to help minister in several outreach events. They’ll be doing puppet ministry, serving food, and whatever else is needed. Thanks for praying for them as they go. They’ll be gone until just before Thanksgiving—nearly a month away from home.