February 12, 2013
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Down Memory Lane
From my earliest days, I knew that Dad spent a lot of time visiting people in the community. He had a brown leather valise that was full of Bibles, scripture portions, song books and a bag of hard candy. When I was very young, the Bible had not been translated into the Navajo language and as books or sections of the Bible were translated, he would add another to his bag. He attended language sessions so that he would be able to read the Bible in Navajo and he practiced until he was able to do it with ease. Many of the people he visited could not speak English and even though Dad could carry on simple conversations, he couldn't teach or preach in Navajo. Reading the Bible and songs became a way in which he could share the Word when he didn't have a translator.
I can remember going along with Mom and Dad when I was quite young. The welcome was always warm as the hosts would draw up seats for Dad and Mom and I would often find a seat on a fleece on the floor. I would run my hands through the wool and idly listen. There would be a coffee pot on the stove in the middle of the room and perhaps a piece of dried mutton hanging on a wire strung across the room over our heads. An occasional wisp of smoke would escape the stove giving a sweet cedar smell to the room. By the time my hands had a lanolin smell, Dad would reach for his valise and ask me to pass out songbooks. We would sing a couple of songs before Dad would open his Bible and read. There would be a time of sharing before prayer and farewells.
Over the years, the black songbooks were replaced by red ones and the scripture portions were replaced by the entire Bible. The old brown valise wore out and was replaced by something else, but Dad never tired of traveling around the community. Even though Dad retired and no longer went out on a regular basis, he still enjoyed the times when he and mom could get out into homes again. Today would have been Dad's 78th birthday and he's been on my mind a lot today When I went looking for pictures this was one I found taken one of the last times he was well enough to spend a day visiting.
Comments (1)
Thanks for sharing. Brings back memories of my parents visiting people while we sat and listened, or watched their tv's in another room with the children (we never had our own), and drinking sweetened spiced tea which the Mama of the house would cool on the saucer and pour back into the cups for us children.
My Mom would have been 78 in January. She died December 31st.
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