Hello, everyone. I am back from New Mexico. In case you have any desire to hear how the trip went, here's a quick overview:

6/22 Left at some ungodly hour in the morning, travelled all day and arrived at the Benally's church sometime well after nightfall. Slept under the stars, became dizzy with how many I could see.

6/23 Found out that the temperature jumps way up from frigid to sweltering as soon as the sun rises. Got up early and decided not to sleep outside again for the rest of the week. Started the day with a wonderful breakfast and realized the wonderment of 3 homemade meals a day for the rest of the week. Mrs. Polson (who was in charge of the kitchen) quickly became one of my favorite people in the world. We set up the tent for the revival meeting that morning and I spent the rest of the day digging a hole for an outhouse. (We had no running water where we were.) Stayed up too late with Q.T. and the other guys of my maturity level (average age 10 yrs.) telling really dumb jokes. Oh, yeah, and Tristan and Tyler built the showers that day.

6/24 Woke up hot and tired and tried out the showers. Heard a lot of complaints from people who were kept awake by our loud laughing the night before and woken up early by somebody squealing like a scared little girl under the freezing cold showers. Such inconsiderate people. Worked for most of the day putting new siding on an older woman's house. Went straight to bed that night and slept like a baby. Or a log. Maybe both. Slept like a little wooden baby.

6/25 Work-free Lord's Day. On a serious note, I found myself praying that morning that God would renew my faith in Him. I had been becoming cynical and disbelieving towards things of God. Interesting how God knows me so much better than I do. Later that night, sitting in the song service of the revival meeting, I wrote a new song. As i had been feeling distant from God, the closeness I always feel with Him when I am inspired was like a glass of ice water poured down the back of a hot and sweaty soul; quite refreshing and instantly mood-altering. That night was also the first night of our children's ministry. Because it was the first night, it was rather disorganized. Not exactly chaos, but had it not been for my wonderful helpers, it could have been. Satan tried to create division between some of us, but it was quickly taken care of. The wind had gotten too strong for the tent we were in, so I moved my stuff into the church building and slept there that night.

6/26 Woke up well after sunrise for the first time. After breakfast, we finished up the painting and the last of the siding at the older woman's house. Encountered a drunk lady next door who told Jon Beilefeldt that he had nice legs. Jon wore pants for the next few days instead of shorts. Also, we went on a short hike through this really awesome canyon next to her house that we were working on. I wish I had had a camera, because we saw some rock formations that made the dried-out riverbed look like a NASCAR track complete with an announcer's booth. Also climbed a hill and found what might have been some kind of idol. Since it looked like a scarecrow that might have just been put there to look weird, we left it alone. Also climbed onto the back of a rock that looked like a legendary beast. Or a hot tub, or a pirate's ship, depending how active your imagination was and depending on the angle from which you looked at it. Got back to the church and Mr. Howard was setting the tent we were sleeping in back up. As soon as I got all of my stuff back in it, a wall of sand decided to come blowing in like something out of a bad movie. It had to be collapsed immediately with my stuff still inside it. The big tent we were having the revival under tore straight down the middle and it had to be taken down very quickly. We then had to crawl under the collapsed tent to drag/carry the pews inside the church building. Mind you, this was still during the sandstorm. In spite of the storm, just as many Navajos showed up that night as did the night before. (the storm had subsided about an hour before the service) The children's ministry was moved from the church building to a currently unused house. As a result, it was once again disorganized, though not as bad as the night before. After it was over, I tried crawling under the collapsed tent where my stuff was and sleeping there. I spent about half the night there and got 1 hour of sleep. I then took my pillow and the jacket on my back and moved into the church. With no way of making any kind of bedding, I got about 1 more hour of sleep for the rest of the night. Now that I realize that all that stuff happened on one day, I begin to understand why so many people hate Mondays.

6/27 Woke up very early, was very stiff and sore. Fortunately, I was sent with Bro. Benally to go to Home Depot which was 45 minutes to an hour away. I thought it would be great, because then I could sleep on the way. The seat wouldn't recline. Once we got to Home Depot, I found a vending machine that had Vault. (a kind of energy drink/soda cocktail[non-alchoholic, duh]) That, along with being able to use a flush toilet, washing my hands in running water, and being able to see a mirror for the first time in four days gave me enough to get through until lunchtime. After that, I slept in the church for the rest of the afternoon. That night, I had asked Lauren Howard to be in charge of organizing the children's ministry. With her in charge instead of me, and many prayers for the weather, that night went perfectly.

6/28 Spent most of the morning breaking up a concrete step in front of the hogan/kitchen and replacing it with a dirt ramp. After lunch, I took a 2-hour nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon pulling out the tent pegs for the big tent. Funny how pulling out tent pegs sounds like such an easy job. (these were 2' long and 1" in diameter) That night, the weather was perfect, and the children's ministry went perfectly as well with Lauren in charge, and me doing what I do best; being the biggest kid in the group and making the kids excited to be there.

6/29 Everyone else went sheep-shearing while i and the rest of the smart people slept in. After breakfast, a large group of us went just across the state line into Arizona to a place called window rock. There were some great rocks there for climbing on. We then stopped in a souvenier shop that was ridiculously over-priced. ($99 for a pair of moccasins, $150 for a piece of plain black pottery that looked like the kind of holder that scented candles come in) I spent $8 on an incredibly soft stuffed horse that I named "Fluffy." After we got back, we packed most of our stuff up, and went out to the badlands for an hour. I tried climbing the face of a small cliff while we were there, and Diane Howard and Richard Rohlin ended up saving me from certain death. (There were great holds all the way to the top, but right at the top everything i tried to grab hold of came loose. It would have been about a 15-foot drop onto sharp rocks.) We got back to the church and had hamburgers, a bonfire, and a few fireworks. I washed the dishes for the kitchen crew and then we all tried to stay up all night. (except for the drivers, of course) We played a bunch of fun games and got in trouble for being too loud. I'm not sure exactly when i fell asleep, all I remember was sitting in a really nice comfortable chair and waking up in that same chair outside.

6/30 We packed up what we had left and headed home. We drove all day and arrived here at about 1am. It is now 4:45am (7/1) and I am still up typing this. Maybe I should go to bed now.