Beautiful Harvest Project

December Update

Another year in the books! Although, nothing is coming to an end but the calendar. The Galloway’s started the year in prayer about the next right steps for our family and God was faithful in providing an answer. Ashli and I continue to search for meaning in the hard lessons learned while living on the Rez. We seek peace for our children and hope that they too can find answers. We spent 4 years living with a group of people we find more connection with now than we do our own “culture.”

Hanner, Jeffrey Benson and myself (Justin) went on a 4 day trip this month to the Rez. In those 4 days we covered 3 states, 4 churches and unknown miles. We were able to deliver meat from two pigs that we as a family spent the past year raising for meat. Each of the 4 churches received half of a pig (which is a lot of meat) to feed their families. We have since received messages of thanks and pictures of meals being consumed. We gained insight into future plans for the churches, hopes for 2022 and strategies we can use to support them in their outreach. The biggest investment anyone can make in Kingdom work is time. Invest your time living life with the people you are serving. During our trip, hugs were given and received, tears were shed and meals were shared. We are days away from closing the gap on finances to purchase a van for White Rock Point. The van will be used to deliver goods, supplies, food, etc. during the continued COVID-19 pandemic on the Rez. When churches re-open at full capacity it will be used to transport people to and from services, including children to Sunday School. We have a pastor and his family who left a church after pastoring for almost 15 years to start a new evangelism ministry. Now they find themselves in a temporary structure held up by Aspen trees and walled with tarps starting a new body of Christ next to their home.

We have hopes that 2022 will bring new partnerships here in the East that we can use to grow efforts out West. Will you join us in 2022? When you sit down with your family, friends and congregation this holiday season share about the work that BHP continues to do on the Rez. We need your support now more than ever!

A Late Update Reflecting on August

Many of you received an email a while back about a Navajo friend of mine coming to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. This has truly been my favorite moment since moving to the Rez in 2017. God works through us and despite us all the time. I think that it is sometimes lost on us as believers and we tend to place our beliefs in a box and save it for our Christian friends or Sunday morning. Too many times we miss the opportunity to love people well and step out on faith to open our mouths when it seems the scariest.

When Ashli and I first moved to the Rez in 2017 we had this very strategic plan that we had developed and presented to the board of directors. It had a specific number of encounters and ministry events planned across the remaining 2017 and we repeated this same mistake in 2018. We tried to place ministry in a box. We quickly realized that ministry is every day. We found ourselves doing life, immersing in the culture and just being “switched on” all the time. Yes, this is emotionally exhausting. But we had to realize that if we will just be ourselves and let Jesus show through then He does the work. God was working on my friend in a way I was not aware of across the course of a year.

When he prayed to Jesus for the first time he did it by himself and never having heard a real prayer before. He called me after and described the experience. He told me that he had known Christ all along; he just did not have a name for him. The Holy Spirit had been with him and protected him through many dark times and he finally realized who He was.

The best day I have ever experienced was having the honor of baptizing my friend in the San Juan River on the northern border of the reservation on August 13th. I am confident that he will eventually lead his entire family to Christ. Please take time to watch the video attached to the email and recognize that our work on the Rez is just beginning and we will continue to serve with everything we have!

July Update

For many students across the country school is resuming in person. Believe it or not the Rez schools are as well. Mask mandates are in place as well as other strategies for social distancing and efforts to protect this vulnerable population in the classroom. Also, like most of the country we are seeing rising numbers of cases on the Rez. Over the past week the “reopening plan” was moved backwards from Phase Yellow to Phase Orange and curfew was implemented. This continues to mean no mission trips at this time.

Relief efforts are resuming or increasing with some of our indigenous churches. The need for assistance is increasing. As a ministry we are increasing our support to the congregations that are working to serve their communities in this way. We are also continuing our support towards churches reaching out through the VBS boxes that were shipped as well as helping send curriculum and Bible based activities into homes. One church in particular is in need of a vehicle that will assist them in making these deliveries and transition to children’s ministry transportation when church services resume. They have located a vehicle that is reasonably priced and are interested in making a purchase. If this is something you would like to support please reach out to me directly. BHP has initiated the purchase of land in Bluff, UT and will be prayerfully considering its use for ministry for the future. One way you can be involved in the long term goals of BHP is to be in prayer that we have a clear vision for how it can directly benefit the Navajo people. Collectively with the board we feel strongly that we should not operate with debt and are working to pay this off as quickly as possible. If you would like to contribute financially to this please use the DONATE button on the menu.

The Galloway family has relocated to Townsend, GA as planned. Charli, Kyndal and Hanner are all at St. Simons Christian School and back among their friends. Ashli has taken the role as the art teacher there. Colston is spending Ashli’s work day with a dear friend. I will be continuing my work at Utah Navajo Health System remotely. The plan is to be on the Rez for ministry efforts every 8 weeks. We will be scheduling in advance our trips in order to be most efficient in supporting our indigenous church families. We are only a few weeks into our home and have an overwhelming sense of peace in that we have made a choice that is good for both BHP and our children’s future. Thank you to those of you who assisted in the transition and are a part of our team.

March Update

We have officially surpassed one calendar year of a pandemic here on the Navajo Reservation. The virus arrived here after it had impacted many other areas in the United States but when it arrived it spread like wildfire. We are seeing a decline in numbers currently as numbers rise again in other areas of the country due to the variants. In a meeting I attended this morning (by phone) for work they warned us that we have a small buffer before we expect those variants to arrive. Please be in prayer as we continue to safeguard ourselves here.

During the month of March we began a search for Navajo Hymnals. If you happen to have a source please let us know. Some small groups are meeting in homes and we have been able to provide both English and Navajo Bibles but they are wanting their worship to be in their own language and the existing copies at churches have seen better days. We are excited to say that one of our partner churches has successfully launched their very first children’s ministry. Ashli and I are hopeful this could be a Vacation Bible School site in the future! We believe with the launch of their self running children’s ministry they would have the congregation participation to collaborate and eventually self lead a VBS.

All of our close partner churches are still not meeting in person regularly despite the weekend curfew being lifted. We have been supplying churches with PPE once again. This time it will not be distributed out to the community but kept at the church for when they prepare to re-open in limited capacities. Please pray that this is done in a time that offers safety and peace for those who attend.

Thank you again for your support over the past year. We appreciate the prayers and the financial support as we continue to back Navajo ministry among indigenous churches.

February Update

Psalm 126

I’m not sure we realized how fast February passed and we are into March. We are officially one year into the pandemic. We are starting to see numbers on the decline here and are the highest vaccinated region in the entire US (Utah strip of the Navajo Reservation). However, hardship has not passed by any means.

This month we have provided some education to our supporters to remind them that just prior to the pandemic the Peabody Coal Mine shut down in the months leading to the pandemic. This left scores of Navajo families without income. Then we entered COVID-19. We are still in a safety and recovery mindset here. We are seeing great strides from individuals within the congregations. We had a member of a congregation reach out and let us know he and an elder in the church had felt safe having a very small in-home Bible study for teens. They used all of the previously supplied teen study Bibles provided and were in need of more as well as the next phase of the youth curriculum we published last year. They are doing some outreach with adults so we have provided a case of Navajo Bibles and another case of English Bibles. We are currently on the search for new copies of Navajo hymn books. We continue to partner with the church I updated on last month regarding their upstarting children’s ministry. We had a small group of donors fund a large amount towards this new ministry and it was just in time. We hope to provide stories of changed lives soon. We are excited to sew into the next generation. We also continue to partner with the Utah Navajo COVID-19 Relief Program. During February we covered the gap in their food supplies to be distributed weekly by way of their drive through program.

We know that many of you have endured hardships through the past 12 months and we are grateful that you have continued to stay engaged with our ministry. Our God is in control (even during the crisis). We look forward to seeing some of your faces through the upcoming Zoom meetings.

January Update

Psalm 126

“How can we best help you and your congregation spread the gospel this month?” This is the question we are asking each of our partner churches this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we serve churches but not the end game. We are still looking to support bottom up ministry. We are here to equip congregations to spread the gospel. This means that we are doing something different for each congregation.

This month discovered that one of our partner pastors and his wife have started providing no cost funerals for those lost to COVID. They conducted four funerals last week alone. They desire to spread the gospel to all those in attendance while providing safety as well. They requested that we provide ziploc bags, hand sanitizer, disposable masks and Bible tracts. These will be distributed at each funeral they oversee. What creative thinking in such a challenging time! Another church has its leaders driving to distribute food/supplies to those impacted by COVID. They also take gift cards to be used for fuel to pick up their family members who are being discharged from hospitals. The hospitals on the Rez are overwhelmed and not as equipped as others to treat those seriously impacted by the virus. Many patients are flown to Phoenix, Salt Lake, Albuquerque or St. George for treatment. The family then has to figure out how to bring the family member home after discharge. You may say, “Sure, they met a physical need but how does that spread the gospel?” I was thinking the same thing. However, these leaders are telling individuals who receive help, “Remember us when this is all over. Remember that it was our God who answered your prayers. Come to our church and share a meal with us when we can gather again.” We provided assistance to a pastor and his family directly. The pastor’s wife and her mother had COVID at the same time. His mother-in-law was taken home to meet her Savior while his wife was in ICU, unconscious on a ventilator. She was visited by her mother who told her that too many people depended on her and it was time to fight. She told us she saw the faces of her children, grandchildren, congregation members and our own children. She awoke and came off the ventilator. She is home now recovering and we were able to meet their needs this month so they can focus on recovery and be back serving as the hands and feet soon.

It’s not all sadness however. Our newest partner church was struggling to keep its doors open prior to the pandemic. They are located in a border town and not impacted by the lockdowns. They went from a congregation of 5-10 on a Sunday to 35-45. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is restricted to every other week attendance for its families. They were looking to attend somewhere on their “off Sundays” and were welcomed by this pastor. He has made it clear that his church is a Bible believing only church and that nothing from their book will be taught. However, they are drawn to the love of our Savior. He is now in need of a Sunday School/Children’s Ministry set up. We purchased the first set of Children’s Bibles, provided our Navajo designed curriculum and purchased the first month of craft and activity supplies. For the first time in history this church will be operating a children’s ministry! We are still working to provide enough supplies for the first year of craft and activity supplies. Come alongside us in this effort.

We appreciate each of you and ask for your prayers to be with us this year as a family and ministry. We are always asking God to let us be a part of what He is doing.

For me…

Many of you may know that running has long been a love/hate relationship for me. While running isn’t my favorite stress reliever, it does, indeed, provide much needed stress relief. If you could get in touch with any of my coaches over the years, they would probably all agree on two things-I had BIG heart for softball and I was NOT a runner! In 2017, when one of my dearest friends in all the world registered us for a half marathon benefiting breast cancer research, I was convinced she was nuts. I mean, running more than a mile, prior to this registration, had been a task. As in, I wasn’t doing it and no one was going to make me. But-she had a half marathon on her bucket list and I knew I wasn’t going to let her do it alone…so we trained. For months, we ran-three mornings per week, we followed a stringent running regimen and I saw some improvements. Race day came and we survived. We finished, received our finishers medal and walked away. And I SWORE I’d never run again.

I took a week off and realized that while I hated the actual act of running, it was such a peaceful time for me…so I decided to stay on track and keep running. That was in February of 2017. In July of that same year, we packed our family and home and drove across country to begin our adventure out west. And running went to the wayside…there are lots of reasons, lots of excuses for why but ultimately, I let me get in the way of something I knew was so good for me.

So-as the life we’ve built out West has turned from an adventure to a journey, as our family has grown, again-as our ministry mucks its way through untested waters of a pandemic-I’ve begun my running journey once again.

The big kids like to go with me and while I enjoy their company on occasion, for the most part I reserve the time for myself. I blast my worship music, my old school rap, my old school Alabama and Garth Brooks and I run. I’ve often said I’m running for my life, for the lives of my children, for my marriage…this week, I determined from now on, I’m just running for me.

A view on my run this morning…there is something exquisite about an old barn and snow.

That’s selfish, you might say.

Well, I see how you might feel that way. Just hear me out though.

See, I have spent a long time justifying to myself and others the reasons I need to run. When the truth of the matter is this: I am worth the time it takes to go for a run. I don’t need to FIND a reason that makes running and taking the time to care for myself appear valuable to others, its valuable because I am valuable. Its worthy because I am worthy.

This year, as we embark on so many unknowns around us, I am working on erring on the side of grace for myself and my family, I am pursuing humility in the face of opposition, I am fighting for the cause He puts before me and focusing on those things He sees as worthy, valuable, honorable and holding onto the hope that comes with viewing others and the world around me as my God does.

It’s in seeking those things that I’ve made the choice to run for me. Not for my family, not to save my life (because He saved my life when I was 11 years old), not because I need a break or because I enjoy the quiet (I want to interject and say I do INDEED require the break and I LOVE the quiet.)-I’m simply running for me because He says I am worthy and valuable and that my body is a temple and that doesn’t just mean my physical body. It means my mind, my spirit, my relationship with Him.

As we continue to watch the devastation of COVID-19 here in our beloved Navajo Nation, I want to remember the grace I’ve been given and give that same grace right back. My heart’s desire is to honor Christ in all I do. Period.

Running helps me do just that.

What’s your thing? What’s the thing that you need but don’t necessarily love? What’s the thing that brings you back to Jesus and helps you keep your focus on Him?

Find it, friends. Find ONE thing you can use for you. For your good and His glory…then DO IT!

Carseat truth~

BabyBird isn’t a big fan of his car seat. In his defense, he doesn’t really go anywhere, both a blessing and curse of being born in a pandemic. He doesn’t go anywhere, unless it’s to pick up the grocery order, so he isn’t well practiced the way his brother and sisters were by eight months old. He is starting to speak some and he’s gotten really good with “her there!” when you walk in a room. He yells “mama” consistently and pretty much constantly all day. He’s also learned “all done”. He chooses to use those words most when he’s tired of his car seat. The fit of anger over the car seat turns into a pitiful, puddle of tears and repeating “all done” over and over.

Today we drove up to the mountains and did some hiking before picking up our grocery order. BabyBird is happiest when he’s attached to me, in any way. He loves his carrier and because it’s snowy and cold here, he gets to bury his little face in my neck. He’s a good little rider as long as he’s with his mama. We completed our hike, grabbed the grocery order and headed home.

**BabyBird in his carrier while hiking. Winter 2021.**

And darn that old car seat.

Almost immediately, he began screaming. And within minutes, he was completely distraught and yelling, “all done!” over and over again. Despite stops to settle him, Mouse singing and comforting him in the seat next to him, he was still just done…and we still had an hour and forty-five minutes left in our drive home.

As I listened to my baby scream, knowing there was nothing I could do, I thought about how often I am “all done”. I thought of the many times since we moved to the Rez and then since the beginning of the pandemic that I’ve said aloud, “I’m done!”

The truth is-he’d been fed, he’d burped, his diaper was clean and dry. We had held and snuggled and spoken to him in hushed tones so he’d know he wasn’t alone, that we were with him and he was ok. He was still “all done”. But y’all-I had to leave him in that car seat because it’s what was best for him. That seat keeps him safely anchored and IF something were to happen, he would stay strapped in and hopefully, prayerfully well protected.

Then it hit me.

My good and His glory.

Just like my heart squeezes each time BabyBird yells for me and says “all done”, I know my Father’s heart does the same when I say “I’m done!”. And yet, the situation doesn’t change.

The car seat is for BabyBird’s good. He can’t see it, he can’t understand it and he wants the situation fixed and he wants it fixed-ten minutes ago…

As do I. As do you, yes?

Have you asked yourself in the past ten months, will this end? I have.

After today and the car seat fiasco, I want to remember that in the same way I’m protecting my baby-I’m being protected too.

In the same way I want what’s best and can see the end game for BabyBird, I’m reminded that my Father does the same.

He can see what I can not.

He can do what I can not.

He knows what I do not.

Even when I’m done, He is not.

I’m going to lean into those truths this week, friends. Will you join me?

In but not of…

As many of you may know, as a family, we decided to leave the world of social media. As the kids begin to grow up, Sissy is nearly eleven, we made a decision that would best benefit our family, our children. So, as of January 1, we are completely social media free.

There were many reasons that ultimately equated to our decision to leave that world behind, many thoughts, prayers and loads of research about the effects of social media on the brain, on our bodies as a whole…however, we tell our littles, nearly daily, that we are called to be in the world but not of it. For our family, that means, we will live our lives in such a way that others will see their Creator through our words, actions, deeds and even our failures because we choose to have real, authentic relationship with others. We will no longer depend on a social media outlet to provide connection to the outside world.

What does that look like, you might ask. Especially in this strange season of isolation, quarantine, potential shut downs, etc. Let me give you the long and short of it.

For our family, it looks like FaceTime, hand written letters sent via “snail mail”. It means intentional phone calls and personal thank you cards. When it is safe to do so, we hope many of you will choose to come see us and that you’ll make room for us to see your faces when we’re able to visit. It looks like penpals for our littles, reconnecting with old friends and setting aside time to love others well by learning HOW they best feel love. We will focus more on building our armor of truth and less time being concerned about the perfect family photo to post on Facebook or Instagram.

And for you, my readers, it means I will be intentional in posting to my blog. I will share photos of our week, I will work diligently to still provide an inside look at our lives here while also protecting my children, my mental health and theirs, while also protecting our Navajo family and friends.

Thanks for hanging with us. Thanks for understanding that our decisions are never made lightly but with much prayer and discernment and only after seeking wise counsel.

If you’d like to receive a hand written letter from one of the Galloway kiddos (let’s be honest-I can TOTALLY use this for multiple home school lessons), please shoot us an email at beautifulharvestproject@gmail.com and include your mailing address. We look forward to bringing you along on our journey to a better life, even in the midst of uncertainty.

Choose love. Choose kindness. Choose grace.