Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 1
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Another thing the Garber home was never without was prayer. Each night before the twins went to sleep, they knelt together beside their bed. As Angie grew older, she discovered that God was interested in what she worried about, in what hurt her feelings and what kept her from being obedient. She began to talk to God, sharing all her thoughts and hurts.

forgiveness, but because of Gods love He had made a way for her to escape the forever punishment for sin. Jesus died and rose again so her sins could be forgiven. God was ready to change Angie where she needed it moston the inside. That night Angie prayed, Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for my sins. Please come into my heart and be my Savior! Like Angie, you may know that Jesus died on the cross, but do you know He did that for you? Today you can call on God to save you, too (Rom. 10:13). Next week well hear how God brought courage to Angie!

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There was excitement at the Garber farm in Leon, Iowa. A baby was due any day! When baby Alice was born the doctor said, What a pretty, strong and healthy baby she is! Then he exclaimed, Wait! Theres another baby! Alice is going to have a twin! But the doctor had no compliments when baby Angie entered the world. Instead, he murmured softly, She wont live. Baby Angies face was not formed right. Her family feared the doctor was right. But Angie did live and she grew strong! With her twin sister she liked to play outside, carry wood and feed the chickens. And she loved to tag along after her brother, George. He was so patient and always included her in whatever he was doing. Singing was a favorite activity for the Garbers. On Sunday morning Mr. Garber was the preacher, and worship time was never without music. Often during the week, the family gathered on the big front porch after a hard day of farming. They sang hymns with Dads tin flute, violin or guitar. Sometimes while Mother worked at her chores, the twins sat in a swing and sang through the songbook all by themselves.

One day Angie realized how much God loved her. Dear God, I know that You sent Your Son Jesus to be born as a little baby boy. And He grew up without ever doing wrong things like I do. I believe Jesus died on the cross to take my punishment for sin (Rom. 5:8). Angie knew all about Jesus from Sunday school but had never really thought about what He had done for her. Angie couldnt earn Gods love or

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story

Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 2
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But as Angie learned more about God from her Bible reading, He helped her change the thoughts about herself. The Bible told her God knew everything about hereven how many hairs she had on her headand that she was very valuable to Him.

Just when the excitement of sharing Gods love started to grow in Angie, something terrible happened! Well hear about it next week.

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Angie began reading the Bible to find out more and more of what God had to say. Reading had always been fun for her. Some of her favorite books were James Fenimore Coopers Indian and frontier adventures. Reading was also a comfor t for Angie. She could fill her mind with good stories and never have to think about not fitting in with other children. When Angie was in high school, Dad came home with big news. Were going to the rodeo! Angies heart jumped. Oh, Dad! I cant believe it! Ive always wanted to see a rodeo! I cant wait to see those cowboys on horseback doing tricks and roping steers. Oh, thank you!

The rodeo was truly wonder ful! Angie was so excited she made herself a lasso when she got home. She practiced and practiced until Dad! George! Anybody! Could someone come and give me a hand? called Angie.

Whats that girl up to now? her father wondered as he hurried to help. Whats that pig squealin about? he asked as he pushed open the barn door. There was Angie, down on the ground working to untangle a wiggling, frightened pig from her lasso! But Angies high school years were not all filled with laughter and excitement. Those years were some of the hardest she faced. The surger y to correct some of her deformity did not change the shape of her jaw and left Angie deaf in one ear. Nobody is as ugly as I am, Angie thought as she wept silently.

In amazement Angie prayed, God, You made me the way I am, and You love me this way. I am Your child, and nothing is ever going to change that! She remembered that God was looking on her heart. Others could only see the outside.

Angie began to understand that everyone was special to God no matter how they looked or dressed. She began to see others as valuable jewels who needed to know about Gods love. Instead of thinking about herself she thought about the needs of others.

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story

Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 3
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Ever y day for weeks the doctor returned and rubbed Angies aching muscles. At first it hurt so badly that tears squeezed out of her eyes. Then gradually the tightness in her muscles eased and some of her strength returned.

She was comfor ted by a verse from Gods Word: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Phil. 4:13). The kind of strength Angie longed for was the invisible kind that God puts in a persons heartlike faith and courage. Rather than taking time to rest and recover a little more from her battle with polio, Angie helped take care of their sick mother. Some people thought she sacrificed the best years of her life taking care of her mother, but to Angie it was never a sacrifice to serve others out of love. During this time Angies favorite brother, George, was killed in a fall. Not long after that her mother died. When the family farm was sold because grasshoppers and chinch bugs ate all the crops, it seemed her dream of teaching out West died, too. Deformities, polio, lost loved ones and lost dreams. God used all of those things to help Angie become the kind of person He could use to spread the Gospel to His valuable jewels. He had big plans for her!

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It was a Sunday after high school graduation. Angie and a girlfriend went for a walk. By the time they got home Angies whole body ached! What is happening to me? Angie wondered. She walked aimlessly around in the house all night, as if moving would ease the pain. By morning the pain was even worse. She had no strength in her left arm and leg. The doctor knew immediately that she had polio. Angies brother gasped, Polio! Why, polio could mean permanent weakness or even death! He thought of her dreams of teaching in the West and asked, How can she do that if she cant use her arms and legs?

Angie left home after selling the remaining chickens and arrived at Br yan College in Tennessee with $24.00. After four years of studying hard and working after class she was prepared for Gods plan. The Navajo mission was ready to hire its first teacher.

I might fully recover, Angie thought. Then the doctor told her the news: You will never be able to use one arm and leg as well as you did before. They will always be weak. Well, Angie remembered, God does not need me beautiful to be of use to Him. And I guess He must not need me to have two strong arms and legs either!

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story

Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 4
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The Indians Angie saw at the trading post across the road from the mission were very different from anyone she had ever known. The old mens faces were dark and deeply lined from years of working in the desert sun. Most of the younger men reminded her of cowboys with their jeans, plaid shirts, cowboy hats and boots. Some wore bandannas around their heads.

Angie had so much to learn. At first she spoke no Navajo and the children spoke no English. After much time and effort she could finally read from the Navajo translation of the Bible and carry on conversations in Navajo. Not many English-speaking Americans (whom the Navajos call Anglos) had ever done that before! Reading and speaking their language helped them to like her. Angie Garber was certain others would be eager to tell the Navajos Gods good newsthat forgiveness of sin and peace between God and man came as a gift. But few came to join her. Medicine men were an important part of Navajo life. Angie knew that one of them lived down in the colorful, sandstone canyon near the mission. Ever yone was a little afraid to visit him because of his gruff manner and mysterious ways. But Angie knew she must share with him the truth found in the Bible.

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Angie did not hesitate to accept the job as teacher for the Navajo boarding school. God had prepared hershe saw the Navajos as Gods jewels; she enjoyed outdoor life; she was very interested in American Indians and the West; she longed to teach; she loved Gods Word and often told others about Him. She depended on God to give her faith and courage. Angie hardly closed her eyes during the trip to New Mexico. She was fascinated by everything she saw. If she squinted her eyes and searched the land way back off of the dirt road, Angie could see little huts or hogansNavajo houses made of logs and mud. The hogans were round with one window and one door. Where are the Indian villages? Angie asked. The Navajos dont live in large villages but in small family groups called camps, Angie was told. Each group of hogans you see is a camp. After days of traveling, Angie reached her new world: the mission. To someone on the main road, the mission looked as bare as the land around it, but to Angie it was a welcome sight. Angie thought the women were beautiful with their long, shiny black hair. Their velvet blouses wer e trimmed with silver coins that jingled with each movement.

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story

Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 5
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Suddenly, the old medicine man filled the doorway! Where had he come from? How did he get there without making a sound? What would he think of this missionary in his hogan? There was no escape! Fear began to grip Angie. She kept her mind from panicking as she remembered, The Lord is with me! Nothing will happen to me that He does not allow! To her relief the medicine man made no threatening move toward her but came slowly into the hogan and busied himself with something behind her. Angie kept on reading. He seemed to be listening, so she relaxed. She thought she had begun to build a bridge of trust to the medicine man and his family. Just as Angie was beginning to feel confident, the old man burst into loud laughter. He held his stomach, threw back his head, and laughed and laughed at Angie! She had been wrong about the medicine man. He was not beginning to trust her! He thought of her as his enemyboth her and her God.

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When she arrived at the medicine mans hogan, Angie found only his wife. Angie of fered to read to her from the Bible in the Navajo language. The woman was surprised, since few Anglos knew how to read and speak Navajo, so she agreed. Angies courage grew as she saw the old woman nod in agreement with what she was hearing from Gods Word.

The medicine man had been waiting for a chance to put Angie in her place, so when she mispronounced a Navajo word, he began to make fun of the white missionary who thought she could speak Navajo. It reminded her of being made fun of as a child. Angie wanted to get out of that hogan as fast as she could and never go back! But a thought came to her mind: Is that what Jesus would do? Did He run when people made fun of Him? Angie knew what she had to do, so she went on reading. That was the first of many visits to the medicine mans hogan. Each time he saw Angie coming to read, he would leave his work and follow her inside.

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One day as she was reading John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me in the Navajo language, Angie noticed that the medicine man was nodding his head in agreement just as his wife had done. The Word of God had touched his heart! Instead of laughing at her, he began to agree with her about the loving Creator. It took a long time, but at last the old man realized Angie was his faithful friend and Jesus was His loving Savior. He could say with confidence, Jesus uh yo sho nihJesus loves me.

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story

Bridge to the Navajos

A true story by Linda Augspurger Illustrated by Cheri Bladholm

Week 6
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As time passed, Angies love for the Navajos grew even more. If the Word of God is to have more influence in the lives of the Navajo people, more of Gods Word has to be heard. How can so few missionaries spend enough time with so many people? Angie puzzled over this as she continued her visits.

Too bad the station manager did not agree! We have a policy here, maam: No religious broadcasting. Sorry. Angie barely made it out of his office before hot tears stung her eyes. Disappointment filled her heart. Then she straightened herself. She knew what she had to do: she would talk to her all-powerful Heavenly Father about her request. Not long after Angie had visited the station managers office, she got a call from him. I dont understand it, maam. Its never been done before, but the stations board has just changed the policy. Your mission can begin its radio program immediately! Soon Gods Word could be heard in every hogan with a radio!

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As other missionaries ar rived, Angie spent more time visiting the hogans in the back countr y and teaching the Navajo women how to read. She was a familiar sight in her calico prairie bonnet and blue truck. Sometimes she traveled 50 or more miles a day. What Angie wanted most was to offer the Navajos the truth in the Bible that would set them free. She told a friend, Nothing is more satisfying than to see them free from fear and living for the Lord. Wiping away a tiny tear, she whispered, Thats what I want to see.

If you suggested that she has missed out on something in life, she would be quick to correct you. What could I have had? I have enough more than enough! Besides, its a privilege to live out here and work with these people. Angie has built a bridge between two worlds of people: the Navajo and the white man. Her life has been woven into theirs like the yarns of their beautiful rugs. God has valuable jewels all over the world, waiting for someone who is willing to go to them with Gods Word. Are you that someone?

Soon Angie noticed that ever y family which had a radio, had it tuned to the same Navajo-speaking station. That station could be just the help we need to spread the news of Gods love and freedom, Angie thought as she bounced down the dirt road in her truck.

If you traveled to the Navajo mission today, you would find Angies little house with the white picket fence. In the evening Angie sits at her pump organ, playing and singing hymns.

Copyright 1998, 2008 Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc. Warrenton, MO 63383-0348

Elisha: Prophet of the Faithful God Missions Story