News

A helping hand

Ministry builds hogans to help elderly, family in need

By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times

LUKACHUKAI, Ariz., Sept. 29, 2011

To help address the housing shortage on the Navajo Nation, Vision Ministry of America has decided to build hogans for those in need.

With the help of 28 volunteers from Tennessee and Texas, the ministry coordinated a mission to construct three hogans at a total cost of $9,000 in the communities of Cove, Lukachukai and Red Valley.

Vision Ministry is based in Azle, Texas, outside Fort Worth, and is supported through a network of individuals and an association of churches.

"There is a need out there for elderly, handicapped, and single-parent families as far as housing is concerned," said Norman Begay, a contract compliance officer with the Navajo Area Agency on Aging.

Begay said the recipients of the new hogans were identified based on a needs assessment conducted by his agency, which helped determine the housing need for elderly, disabled, and single parent family populations.

Based on the standards used, Begay said, Betty Mae Joe of Cove, Charles Morgan of Red Valley, and Shawna Yazzie of Lukachukai were selected. Joe and Morgan are elders while Yazzie is a single parent with six children.

Begay, a community leader and member of Lukachukai Community Church, said he coordinated the projects with Ray Benally of Red Valley, who reached out to local churches in Cove and Red Valley to identify Joe and Morgan.

"I just left it up to the churches," Benally said, explaining that contact with Vision Ministry occurred this past spring through Danny Migil, a petroleum engineer and consultant with Northern Oil and Gas of Houston, which drills oil and gas fields in the Red Valley area.

Benally is a lease operator for Northern Oil and Gas in Red Valley.

Once needs were identified, the ministry and the local churches went to work.

Mike Helton, pastor and president of Vision Ministry, said it was the first time the group ever built hogans, which was a learning experience in itself.

"I knew it was traditional, and I knew that it was round and knew the door opened toward the east - toward the rising of the sun - the same way the kivas are made," Helton said. "We wanted to stay as close to tradition as we could."

Helton said two Navajo Christians - Marvin Begay and Jonathan Yazzie - helped explain both the construction methods and the significance of the hogan design.

The three hogans, which are different sizes, are eight-sided wooden structures bolted to a concrete foundation, and have double-pane windows and heavy-gauge doors.

"It's plenty good enough, if I had the opportunity I would like to have one myself," Helton said. "We didn't use anything cheap nor did we try to cut any corners."

It took four days of intensive labor for the ministry to build them.

""We're really proud of all three houses, they are going to make good houses," Helton said, adding that it's important for local chapter governments to be involved in building foundations for more hogans.

Before coming to the Navajo Nation, Helton said he was not sure if the people would welcome him and his ministry members into their communities because of their "lighter" skin, but that certainly was not the case.

He was not shocked by conditions on the Navajo Nation, however, explaining that he grew up with poverty in the Appalachians.

"Norman identified the needs," added Kyle Beverly, who pastors the Potter's House Fellowship Church in Harriman, Tenn. "We just want to help people in need."

Helping improve the lives of people through the construction of homes is nothing new for Beverly and his church, which built the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home in Oakdale, Tenn., March 21-26 for an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Beverly said his church sponsored fundraisers, including donations from church members, bake sales and a golf tournament, in Tennessee to generate funds to build Yazzie's hogan.

"We wanted to change their lives and give them something they may not have got on their own, and share the love of Christ," Beverly said, adding that nine members of his church participated in this mission trip. "We raise a lot of money for missions."

The Potter's House Fellowship Church has built missions overseas including in Brazil, China, Jamaica, Kenya and Mexico.

"Were honored to be here, so honored," Helton said. "We like it here and we'll be back."

Begay said the work of the ministry could not have come at a better time because the Navajo Area Agency on Aging has depleted its annual funding to help its target population, Navajo elders. The budget year ends Friday, Sept. 30.

In addition to building the hogans, Vision Ministry brought 3,000 winter coats, 1,000 bags containing personal hygiene items, 4,000 pounds of rice and beans, and 33 plastic barrels for water storage.

"There's no one in the organization that won't give or won't work to help someone," Helton said. "They're all pretty special people."

Information: Mike Helton, 817-825-0485, or rchoutmin@abl.com.

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