Last Tuesday we had a funeral for a 32 year old Navajo young man who was killed in a car accident.   We didn’t know any of his family, but our Branch President was conducting the funeral, so we needed to be there.  We got to the church and noticed the hearse was there and people were all outside milling about.  No one had a key.  One of Rich's key to another building fit the kitchen door, so he opened up and then people thought he knew stuff and were asking questions that he didn't have answers to.  They had the funeral service first and then the viewing after.  After the funeral and viewing we followed the hearse and people out to Navajo Mountain to a family plot.   We drove almost 70 miles to get to a dirt road and then probably 5 miles on a one way dirt road that dead ended at the family cemetery.  I wondered what kind of hearse would be able to go on what Rich terms Navajo Pavement – a combination of sand, rocks, mud, slick rock, etc.  It was a white suburban.

4 Wheel Drive Hearse

Part of the Family Plot

  It took a while for everyone to get there.  I have never seen so many people at a gravesite and they all had to drive that far.  At funerals I've been to, they just put the casket above the actual grave and lower it after everyone leaves.   Not here.  They had to lower it and then put a wooden box over the casket and then the brothers started filling the grave with the dirt.  They had dug (at least with a backhoe) the grave and lined it with cinder block the previous day.   I watched in amazement as this huge pile of dirt slowly dwindled down.  I was also humbled by their devotion to this brother lost at such a young age.  No funeral potatoes or lunch at a church. They brought their coolers with their lunches, and it was a daylong event for them.  

I can never tell where I am or where I’ve been.  And for those that know of how directionally challenged we are – it’s a scary proposition.  ( We do carry a satellite phone – just in case)  I believe that the family plot was to the right of that big canyon.  The branch president had said that it was surrounded by three canyons.  They told us to not go wandering off or driving this road at night.  Part of the extended family of this young man were from Hawaii and that side of the family provided leis to the brothers.  The leis also served as the address markers on the cattle guards indicating which road to turn on. 

Family Plot is in the distance on the top of that canyon

 

 

 Wednesday we did a temple prep class in a couple’s home. The husband has serious lung disease and is on constant oxygen.  They are waiting for electricity to come to their area.  They have solar but it doesn’t work all the time and they have to use the generator to keep his oxygen going.  I wish Solar was a good plan for them, because they said when electricity comes in – it will be close to $200 a month. 

We are getting used to driving 60-120 miles a day.  Even if we stayed in the small trailer that we now have at the Inscription House Church site – we would still be driving 30-60 miles a day.  We haven’t stayed overnight yet.  I can’t quite wrap my head around cooking in a camp trailer. 

We delivered some car parts from Page to the Shonto marketplace to a stranded motorist.  I suspect he and his wife just slept in their car a night or two because the part had to be ordered and then we delivered it to them. 

 P day and our exercise time with the energizer bunny is always an adventure.  Biking friends know if there’s a hill – he needs to climb it.  Well if there’s a hill – he needs to climb it, even if it’s not on a bike

30 years ago when we first came down to this condo someone had told us that the lake was close.  We told our boys to just walk down to the lake.  While it might look close and it’s only a little over a mile from our place- there is no trail and it’s not all that beautiful of a hike.  But I’ve always felt bad that that we sent them on that little jaunt.  We decided that we needed to see what we had inflicted upon our children all those years ago. 

The wind came up and it was a bit miserable.  If you look at our strava – it looks like we went swimming.  It’s an indication of how little water is in Lake Powell  and you can see how beautiful our hike was. 

We are learning a lot.  

These are a very humble people and dedicated to their families.  The drug and alcohol use is rampant and it seems that there are a lot of grandma’s raising their grandkids.  Hopefully they can feel the love their Savior has for them under the humble circumstances they are in. 

 

We pray that their faith journey will bring them to Christ who can heal all wounds and comfort the afflicted. 

Easter is always a time of remembering what He did for us.  I can easily believe in a resurrection as I see Tulips blossom in the spring after having looked dead and dry when I put them in the ground in the fall.  They were one of Alisa's favorites.  She exemplified that eternal hope that springs from a belief in our Savior.  

An excerpt taken from the 2019 Come Follow Me Manual

Jesus Christ gives me hope and joy.

Elder Paul V. Johnson’s daughter Alisa, who suffered from terminal cancer and endured many surgeries, exemplified the “lively hope” Peter described in 1 Peter 1:3–11. Elder Johnson shared a letter Alisa wrote at Easter time, shortly before she passed away: “Easter is a reminder of all that I hope for myself. That someday I will be healed and someday I will be whole. Someday I won’t have any metal or plastic inside of me. Someday my heart will be free of fear and my mind free of anxieties. … I am so glad I truly believe in a beautiful afterlife” (“And There Shall Be No More Death,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 121).   (Come Follow Me Manual 2019 Easter Lesson  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-individuals-and-families-new-testament-2019/15?lang=eng)

We pray for our family and friends.  We miss you but pray that you may find joy, hope and happiness in knowing our Savior. 

Love

Elder and Sister Linton