Neah Bay, WA
Standing Up, Standing Out
By Rosemary Sternbeck
“…and when you have done all to stand, stand therefore…” Eph. 6:13,14
Because of our need for companionship all of us feel the need to be accepted and appreciated. We all like to feel like we fit in somewhere. We want to belong to something bigger than ourselves. But life can be tough when you stand out in the crowd. This is evident even in the animal kingdom. Take cute baby chicks for example. One with different markings or one with an injury will be picked at by the others, often until it dies, unless it is removed from the group.
*Candice, one of our young ladies in the Morning Star Girls Club is trying to find her place in Neah Bay. Light skinned with freckles, red hair and somewhat of an attitude, she doesn’t fit in. Her Caucasian mother lives with a Makah man in the village. Candice hopes that they will marry and through him she can claim relation to many of the people in the tribe. She reasons that then she would be included in the family ceremonies and celebrations where gifting and dancing are important expressions of Makah culture.
One thing Candice does have is strong convictions and a love for the Lord. She is faithful about attending church on Sunday. She looks forward to Vacation Bible School and keeps in touch with workers she meets at church camp.
In the Morning Star Girls Club we have been studying the book of Esther. Recently Candice lamented to me “I don’t know why I’m here in Neah Bay.” I tried to encourage her. I told her that perhaps just like Esther, God is preparing her for a special work. “Perhaps He will use you to teach Sunday School or Vacation Bible School on other reservations. Because you have grown up on a reservation, you will understand how best to reach out to people there. Even though it may be difficult now, God will use your experiences to help others.” She smiled and squared her shoulders. “Yes, maybe so, I’d like that.”
Recently our congregation was gifted with worship songs from a church in British Columbia, our cousins to the North. Hand movements, much like those of the Hawaiian and Mauri cultures, are used to express thanksgiving and honor to the Creator. The ladies of our church practiced two of the dances while the men sang and played drums. In the
Girls Club we were gifted a song that the girls practiced in a circle. On the night we all practiced together one of the ladies brought an extra shawl for Candice to wear as she participated with the other girls. You should have seen her face! She was beaming!
It is our hope that Candice, as well as some of the other girls reaching their teenage years, will continue to be involved in the Morning Star Girls Club. This coming year we are planning on making a quilt that can be raffled to raise money to buy a cow for a family in Africa. In February we want to have a luncheon for the girls and their mothers featuring a fashion show with the items they have sewn. We will be working on scrapbooking, putting more dirt in our flowerbeds, and trying new recipes. Most of all we want these girls to know how important they are to the life of the church.
Heavenly Father, Thank you for your continued love and grace as these young people struggle to understand how to fit into your plan for their lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
* Name changed to protect privacy
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