Stink bug

                                                           FLOWER OF THE WEEK
On our travels last week we saw these beautiful flowers on the side of the road. They are Angel Trumpets and are very toxic but we didn't try to eat any so thats okay.

                                                                THE STINK BEETLE
The most common beetle we see. They are rather fun since as soon as you step close to them they stand on their head. Elder Lybbert still hasn't tired of watching them so has to scare every one he comes to. I guess they spray a nasty smell but its so minute its not noticeable. What this one was doing in the baptismal font I don't know but I put him outside after he posed for us.

I did not have my camera so did not get an authentic picture so we borrowed this one of the finished product.

We stopped by a home this week and the grandmother was making what  they called black sauce but is commonly called blood sausage. The grandmother had the stomach and intestines of a sheep on the table pushing the stuff out of them and getting them cleaned out. She would not let anyone help her (not that I offered) because it had to be done just right so there would not be any holes. She then will stuff it with a mixture of blood, meat, vegetables and blue corn meal (cornmeal with cedar ash mixed with it). It is then boiled and is ready to serve then or can be kept in the fridge and fried later and if we are asked to dinner we are busy.
Today we were visiting about gardening and mentioned that some had problems with prairie dogs eating their gardens. We were told that we could shoot them, clean them and put them in the freezer and they are good meat for the winter. They are nice and fat and taste good.  We are still too busy for dinner.

Transfer weekend and we lost another missionary, Elder Akaka. As always we  miss our young elders when they leave but fortunately we always have another come. Elder Amott is still with us and now we have Elder Wise.
Next blog we will explain some trivia on Bluebird flour.

We do not have much to report for this week but we were able to meet with quite a few members and had some good visits and spiritual discussions. We have had more out to sacrament meetings lately which is good, about 45 to 65. Hopefully we can keep it up.
Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert

Corn pollen

                                                          FLOWER OF THE WEEK
This innocent looking plant with pretty little yellow flowers and fern like leaves is not as innocent as it looks. The yellow flowers turn into seed pods that dry and are the goat head thorns that get into the carpet and most anywhere you walk.

One of our neighbours came asking if he could get some corn pollen. He had a small bowl and shook the pollen into it. The traditional natives use it in their prayers.

On Friday we went to Monticello, met up with Elder Lybberts cousin Yvonne  and her husband Jim and went to the Temple with them. After they took us to their home in Moab and showed us around we spent the night. A very pleasant time.  
Coming home we took advantage of the sights along the way. This is Mexican Hat rock.

 This is called the Goosenecks State Park which overlooks a deep meander of the San Juan river.  The river is a thousand feet down. Over a distance of one and a half miles it travels six miles.

Spectacular views are plentiful in southern Utah and Arizona. In Utah looking towards Monument valley in Arizona.

                                                    An interesting and beautiful formation.

We had two more of the Begay family get baptized this week. Elder Elder G was able to come back to baptize Naaniiba which was fun for her.  Elder G was the one that encouraged the family to start coming to church by phoning on Sunday mornings.

This Sunday was our branch conference and now we leave to Chinli for Elder Lybberts stake high  priest meeting so we have had a busy day.
Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert

What's for Lunch

                                                            FLOWER OF THE WEEK
Most all the wild flowers are yellow this time of year. Its amazing the number of flowers when the conditions are so hot and dry. This is another from the aster family probably a yellow ragleaf.

We see food signs out most anywhere.  The flea market always has several stalls like the one above selling Navajo burgers, Navajo tacos, mutton stew etc. most every day.

Where there is a herd of sheep or goats you will most always see several dogs with them. The very young puppies are put with the sheep and thats where they are raised so they never know any other life. They probably think they are a sheep or goat. They protect animals from coyotes or other predators. These appear to be fairly young pups. An old dog was with them also.

 On Saturday the senior missionaries were invited to the Stake High priest Social. The Stake President cooked t-bone steaks for everyone and the Stake Relief Society provided salads. It was very good. Our mission president also spoke to everyone.
This week went by with the usual teaching and contacts. Today at church there were over sixty members there which was great.  At the beginning of the meeting there were only about fifteen so at the end of sacrament meeting when we looked back and saw so many it was a pleasant surprise. School starts tomorrow so not so many gone vacationing. We hoped to have some LDS teachers move in but so far none have come.
Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert

Shades

FLOWER OF THE WEEK

The most common bush here other than sage brush is this colorful Turpentine bush. If you take some of the flowers and rub them between your fingers they become sticky.  There are very red ants here and apparently they like to bite and it hurts. If this sticky juice is rubbed on the bite it quits hurting. Another effective traditional Navajo cure.

This bug was crawling on our sidewalk.It looked rather big and scary so we took its picture. Is a blister beetle so called because if it gets on you it will sting and leave large blisters. If a horse or cow eat two of them in the hay it can be fatal. Locally they call them cow killers.

                                                                     SHADES

Traditionally the Hogans were lived in during the winter but in the heat of summer they used shades. The tow top pictures are some old shades that are no longer used. They would have planted gourds around them so the foliage covered the poles.  Now they use poles with whatever is handy covering them for shade. Some have beds in them to sleep in when the weather is hot.  Bottom right is a more modern way, a nice patio in front of the Hogan.

This is our new missionary, Elder Amott, with a new type of tie clip. These horny lizards are rather cute in their own way.

Elder Lybbert couldn't be out done so he has a baby one for pocket decor.

The highlight of the week was getting our van back Thursday evening and hopefully the poor old thing will keep running. Another highlight was going to Zone Conference on Friday in Gallop. The meeting was excellent and visiting with the other senior missionaries is always a good time.
Like last week, our main teaching this week was to those who were dealing with grief or struggles in life.  Elder Lybbert was asked to officiate at a graveside funeral on Monday morning so last night we went to meet the family. As we were sitting there in a room full of older Navajo ladies dressed in their native way and listening to them talk in their native language I felt like we really were in a foreign country. Its always a little uncomfortable at first but we are always given respect and gratitude for what we do and leave feeling like we have made more friends.  We teach about Jesus Christ and his atonement whenever possible which is often. Serving a mission here you really learn to depend on the guidance from our Father in Heaven.

Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert

Teepees

                                                            FLOWER OF THE WEEK
These pretty flowers are called the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant. Very appropriate since they are covered in bees. Locally they are called wild spinach. In years gone by they were gathered when young plants and cooked for food. We passed this field a couple miles out of Pinon and it was such a treat to see. We have had a few showers the last few weeks and I guess it was enough moisture for them to grow.

                                                       HAVE TRUCK WILL TRAVEL
As you can see the back of trucks are used as passenger vehicles here. In the top left they have just bought a sheep and are on their way home. The second picture was taken on the highway coming home one day when it was pouring rain. Not a very pleasant ride for the ladies in the back.  The rest are random shots around town.

TeePees are often seen on the weekends. They are used for several traditional ceremonies. The NAC (Native American Church) use them for their ceremonies. Some Medicine Men  use them for their healing ceremonies. They say medicine men will charge anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a healing session up to a few thousand.  If a TeePee is used it generally means that peyote is used which is a hallucinating drug. It seems its the younger men who do the peyote thing on the week-ends. The TeePee or the peyote is not traditional to the Navajo people so the word traditional is very loosely used.
There are those families that have a TeePee just for fun.

TeePee poles are at many of the homes but we seldom see a TeePee set up so not sure what the purpose is.  Maybe aspiring medicine men or they're hoping to sell them.

We have enjoyed being able to get out and visit with the members this week.  We have missed the contact while our van has been getting fixed. Several who are grieving have come to us this week seeking comfort. We feel inadequate but do our best to comfort and Elder Lybbert gives blessings of comfort. The people here have such tragic things happen in their lives and they look to the missionaries as their ray of hope. There is so  little we can do for them but listen and love them.

Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert  

Rain in Pinon

                                                            FLOWER OF THE WEEK
Asters are very common wild flowers here and come in many varieties. These are Baby asters or Heath asters.

This was taken out our back door.  A fairly common sight here but it was interesting that on a 90F (35C) day the boys are wearing knitted hats, which is also very common here.

Its actually raining. We were expecting that fresh smell after a rain but were disappointed when it smelled more like barnyard.  We have had a few showers since and the smell gets better and better. Last night we had a light show for over an hour with sheet lightning lighting up the whole sky.

Water in Wepo wash at sunset. The first water we have seen in a wash.

Another birthday party. This time Larry's. Elder Lybbert made his cheese cake and we went to celebrate with them. We phoned to say we were coming and there were six little girls all waiting for us when we arrived. This is in their Hogan. I am standing in front of the kitchen cupboards and stove and Elder Lybbert is is sitting on the bed.

Our garden is growing. Elder Lybbert is behind the corn waving. The cobs are just starting to form. The peas are done and we hope the cantaloupe and watermelon start setting on. Zucchini is plentiful.

Our driveway is no longer empty.  Is our car working? Not really. Might be after our mechanic picks up some more parts in Phoenix next week. By the time this is over we should have a brand new van on the inside. Last Wed. the Elder Hunt from the mission office brought us a new microwave and furniture which was unexpected but much appreciated. Elder Hunt also explained our car problem to the Pres. and he authorized us to use a church truck till our van is fixed. We rode back to Farmington with him and brought it back. A brand new chevy truck.
In the meantime we have had some good lessons with our mechanics family. Their seven year old is  amazing when it comes to understanding the plan of salvation.  He just seems to know all about it. The parents were baptized when young but have not attended church since. They asked us to start teaching their family because their son wanted to learn how to pray.  We find that the children are so enthused about the gospel and the parents want them to understand about God but don't understand it themselves. Each day we hope and pray we can be a positive influence in the lives of others and now we have a ride(local term) we can continue our work more effectively. Thanks for all the faith and prayers.

Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert

Uneventful Week

                                                            FLOWER OF THE WEEK
The rose is definitely not native to Arizona but it is a bright spot in our yard when it blooms, that is till the wind blows and the petals fall off.

These are some of the Shimas we have met and visit with.Upper left to right. You have met Annie. This is her spot on our couch where she has a little nap. Ruth is 95 and still weaves small rugs. Here she is winding yarn. Shima waiting for the commodities truck. Lower left to right. Rennie, a lovely lady, who herds her sheep three miles to water and feed each day. Mrs Chee who was delighted to have us take her picture. Marcella who invited us to lunch. Our neighbor who has the sheep that pasture here out bringing them home. A lady at the flea market wearing beautiful jewellery.

This Hogan is built the traditional way which is interesting. It is used for ceremonial purposes. This Shima lives in a more modern Hogan.

Transfer week and it was Elder Gs turn to move on. He is wearing a Bluebird apron which I make for departing missionaries. We get very attached to our missionaries and miss them but Elder G is still in the same zone so we may get to see him. Elder Amott is now with us from Utah and Elder Akaka from Hawaii is still here but this is the first time we have not had at least one Elder from Idaho. Our new mission pres. is from Idaho so I guess that counts.

The highlight of our week was a 40th birthday party for Roxanne. We had them plus a few friends for dinner and Elder Lybbert baked a black forest cake in his dutch oven.

Our week was not very productive since we are still without a vehicle. We won't go into the particulars but we are on the Rez. We do need your faith and prayers so we can get on with the work here.

Love to all,
Elder and Sister Lybbert