March 14, 2011 - Day One

New Mexico/Navajo Experience

Erin up at 2am – check

Grant up at 3am – check

Sister Karen Ann up at 3:30am - check 

All nine meet at the Birmingham Shuttlesworth airport at 5:15am……..oops, 5:30am.

Our 2011 New Mexico Mission Trip/Navajo Immersion Experience officially began when we boarded our American Airlines flight to Dallas-Fort Worth.  All present and accounted for by 6:10am for boarding.  Except, oh no!  Where’s Sr. Adelangela?  Taking a stroll.

Our flights were nothing unusual, but thankfully all went without a hitch.  Well, except for a very hard touchdown in Albuquerque.  We had truly arrived at the beginning of our walk with the Navajo people when we were greeted by the famous statue of the man with an eagle in the Albuquerque Airport. 

Once we picked out our van and car, we were on the road and surrounded very soon by the stark beauty of the New Mexico landscape.  We had flown out of the clouds of Birmingham and Dallas into blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  The colors!  Tan sand of the stone, tarry black earth sticking up between the clay and tumbleweed, and in the distance, snow-covered mountains and rosy, flat-topped mesas.

2pm: A long overdue lunch at the Denny’s in Grants – a high point two years in a row now.  The waitress at Denny’s was very nice and very good at her job.  She even took the time to joke with us and take our picture.  We got one of her, too.

As we counted the blessings of the day it was the native people who topped it all. 

• “The people are so welcoming.  I love these people – always so hospitable.” Philip
• “The guys are really good at basketball, but they included us even though they knew we weren’t as good.  They made us feel at home so fast.” Nigel
• “They were really down-to-earth.  They were really nice.  The oldest playing (basketball) was 30-something.  The youngest was eight.  They were all friends with each other.” Grant
• “The little girl selling handmade earrings for a field trip – she was about eight or nine.  She was so shy and cute, and her Dad was with her.” Erin, Irene, Adrienne
• The men at the mission office waited for us like they were waiting for someone very important.  The respect they have for us and what we are going to do even though it’s not that much.” Sr. Adelangela

Tomorrow we receive orientation at the Mission Office, and then Todd will put us through our paces in the food pantry.  It’s been a very long day, but a good one.  We won’t need to be rocked to sleep tonight!