Grandma Kline, Becky, Navajo people

Yesterday Grandma Kline went into surgery for a double bypass and a carotid artery cleanout. She had been suffering from dizzy spells for some time and lately they had become pretty severe. On Wednesday of last week she went to see her doctor and was not released to go home. She was put directly in the hospital and scheduled for surgery because her left carotid artery we 90% blocked. The heart vessel blockage issues were discovered in later testing. As of last night she was doing as well as expected after a successful surgery. Today hopefully, she will be allowed to sit up. She should be walking by tomorrow or Thursday and leave the hospital soon after that.


Becky goes today for her surgery consult at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock. She has some nodules on her spine that proved to be cancerous. The doctors will look at the available options to remove those growths. To date there has been no talk of chemotherapy, which is unusual, but we will await those findings sometime later today. She still needs your prayers for her life and her marriage. There are too many underlying issues to know how to pray specifically, but she and Charles need help, and that from the Lord.

Mama and I ate dinned at church last night. We will do so tonight and tomorrow night as well. It is part of the fellowship during the Missions Conference. The only problem with that is the sheer volume of food consumed. It is difficult t not to overeat at a church pot luck dinner. Mama and I do not typically eat very much in a day so to compensate for eating a relatively large meal at dinner this week we are eating almost nothing through the day. All I can say is that it is a good thing Grandma and Grandpa are out of the house or the task would be nearly impossible for Mama.

One family of missionaries is going to the Navaho people. There are already a couple great works there among the Navajo people in Ganado, Arizona and Nazlini, Arizona. A father and son team of missionaries have been working the Ganado area for some time and the work in Nazlini is a ministry of shoot to the larger work. The couple in our conference this week is going to help in the newer work in Nazlini which is being overseen by the son to the man in Ganado. Mama and I got to know the young family working the Nazlini area while we were in Central Baptist. When we got to Immanuel Baptist we found out that they take a trip every year to Arizona to do Vacation Bible School in Nazlini. It really is a small world.

The Navajo bound young man presented his work last night. His wife, whom he met in Bible College is a Navajo Indian who grew up on the reservation. She is going back to her family and friends; not always the most receptive crowd. As he was presenting his work he was asked about something he found most unusual about the culture. He surprised me by telling that the Navajo point with their lips and chin. I have since read that that is common to most Native American cultures.

They will stick out their lower lip to the right or left to indicate the direction they are pointing. Sometimes the head is nodded in the direction also. Straight ahead is a puckering motion of the lips. He demonstrated the technique and had the church cracking up – especially his wife. He explained that the first time a Navajo man asked if he wanted to go…and then contorted his lips to point the direction. He did not know what was being asked and was sincerely afraid the man wanted to be kissed.

It is a practice he has still not quite gotten used to.