The busy Christmas season has come and gone and January provides a moment to look back and reflect on our first nine months on the Reservation. I (Tollie) have been thinking about this time and place. The Lord brings to mind Isaiah 61. While I have heard and read this scripture many times, living on the Yakama Indian Reservation has brought new meaning to it for me.

Isaiah 61New International Version (NIV)

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

⁴

They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

⁵

Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

⁶

And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

⁷

Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

⁸

“For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹

Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

¹⁰I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
    and praise spring up before all nations.

The poor, the brokenhearted, the prisoners; we see the darkness and despair. We also see the spark of hope. A crown of beauty for ashes. We see lives drastically changed because of the Gospel. Joy instead of mourning and praise instead of despair. The light in the eyes of those who He has called unto Himself and now they understand. They really, really, understand the Truth! They know between right and wrong and it shapes their daily lives. In overwhelming poverty, a light shines forth that can only be Him. Our Father and Creator sees fit to allows us to witness these events. We give Him all the glory!

Please see a few pictures of the holiday season. Our Hope Fellowship children's Christmas program was a highlight as well as celebrating with team members on Christmas day. We had opportunity to wrap presents for church attendees as well as deliver Christmas food boxes to homes.