There is never enough time in our days! One things we are involved in is Humanitarian Donations from the Church. We are the representatives of the Church here in Albuquerque in the process that organizations go through to receive Humanitarian Donations from the Church. It has been eye opening to see all that the Church does to help alleviate need. AND there are so many amazing people and organizations who help the down trodden. It is such a blessing to meet them and witness all that they do!
We met with one organization to learn how the Church could assist as Afghan refugees arrive in Albuquerque. This was the beginning of a new grant for them. After we met with them, we got to work to figure out how much money would be involved. We then submitted the recommendation to our boss in SLC. It went up the chain and received approval. Now we are in the process of fulfilling it. There is cash involved and items from the Bishops’ Storehouse. We have worked with an organization that helps asylum seekers as they arrive here from El Paso, TX. We have ongoing involvement in the re-application of many other donation requests from other entities. There is so much that the Church does just here in ABQ and multiply that by every city in the world and it is mind boggling! Our boss in Salt Lake City has been involved in a project to bring water and electricity to a Navajo reservation town in Utah. We are always looking for more opportunities to help here in our area.
Another project we have been exploring and would like to get going is a project to video the oldest members of the Native American Pueblos and Reservations to record their stories before they are lost forever. Knowing who you are and the stories of your past help a person to face the challenges of life – strengthens emotional resilience and self-reliance. So that is part of the reason for our effort. Along those lines, Shelley has been able to create a family tree for one member of a Pueblo close by.
We have visited several of the Native American communities. (I think it was one of our trips on a back road to one of them that did a number on our car. :-[ ) We've been invited to speak in several of the Native American units of the Church - their membership is so small that they welcome anyone they can get to speak :-) . When we went to speak in Alamo, a Navajo branch of the Church, the branch president invited us to his home for a late lunch after. Alamo is 2 ½ hours from ABQ so it was a welcome invitation. His home is on a huge ranch. What an amazing place! It was a gathering place for ancient inhabitants. There is a huge rock outcrop on the property, probably 150 feet high, called Council Rock. It reminded us of King Benjamin’s gathering place where the people gathered to be taught. It is obvious that this was a going place in the past. The family has found hundreds of artifacts, including the stones for grinding corn, arrowheads, pieces of pottery and tools. It is located on a spring of water and there are tall trees all around (not that common in some parts of New Mexico). It is a beautiful place. We were blown away by it all.
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