The Business of Restoration
by Scott & Krista Boan
<email Scott & Krista>

The whole time we were there, we were acutely aware of the Lord’s presence, but more than anything else, the Lord impressed upon our hearts that He is in the business of restoration. He has promised to take the old, tattered, wounded things of this world, and make them new and clean. We saw images of this truth all week long.

As a couple, we worked in the mornings on the home of Juanita, whose home was covered in peeling paint, flaking shingles, and desert dust when we pulled up on Monday. We spent the week working alongside Lenny, her grandson, as well as several other great-grandchildren whom we grew to love. (Amadeus, Samantha, Vanessa, and Sean.) Scott worked mostly on the roof, while Krista spent a bunch of time hauling trash to the dumpster and painting the house. Midway through the week, we were blessed to learn that the day after we left, there would be a wedding held at the house. What a wonderful gift to know that the restored house would be a place of celebration and joy at the end of the week! What an image of restoration!

Another team in our group worked on the home of Naomi, giving every interior room a fresh layer of paint and repairing some plumbing. On the last night we were on the reservation, Naomi surprised us by coming in at the end of our dinner to make a speech and honor her helpers with beautifully beaded gifts. As she stood before us, she explained to us that, last fall, she lost her son in a tragic accident. Ever since then, her house had been a place of sadness and was filled with a sense of oppression and misery. Her eyes then filled with tears as she explained that what we had done for her this week was more than just give her home a new look; we had helped restore to her joy, peace, and hope for the future! What an image of restoration!

We saw restoration in the way that our bodies grew weary and tired as the week progressed, yet our spirits were renewed as we saw joy brought to so many lives. The Lord sustained us physically in the 110 degree weather, but more importantly, He restored unto us the joy of our salvation and renewed a right spirit within us.

One of the sweetest ways we were filled with this joy was during our afternoon time spent with the children of Totus Park, the subsidized housing section of White Swan. When we first showed up at Totus, our initial reaction was shock and anger. The playground where we would host our VBS was covered in shattered glass, drug paraphernalia, and barefoot toddlers running around, many of whom are frequently infected with lice. Boys no older than 10 were shooting fireworks off, unsupervised. Girls no older than 7 or 8 showed up pushing strollers with hungry infants in them. (One was as only 10 months old.) There were virtually no adults anywhere to be seen. 30% of the children in White Swan are homeless.

As the week went on, we found that the Lord turned our feelings of despair and helplessness into feelings of hope. The children, who were a little shy at the beginning of the week, would run to meet us when we would get there around 4, and immediately beginning smiling and laughing as we played and ate and made crafts and sang silly songs together. One child in particular, Markes, captured Scott’s heart. At the beginning of the week, Markes was hesitant to get off of his bike to play for fear that it would get stolen by one of the older kids. After a little coaxing, Scott got him to throw the Frisbee with him and the rest was history. By the end of the week, Scott’s arm was sore from throwing Frisbees, footballs… you name it! Markes and Scott have a tender bond that we look forward to praying for and nurturing in years to come. Though our bodies were wasting away, yet inwardly we were being renewed day by day through our time with these precious children.

Several times during the week, our team found ourselves facing difficult or discouraging situations. One of these situations happened on a side-trip to Mount Rainier, when our caravan was caught in a life-threatening rockslide. The lead-van driven by Chris Granberry, who lives on the reservation and runs Sacred Road ministries, was pelted relentlessly by sharp, large rocks falling from 120 foot cliffs onto his car, shattering the windshield and slicing holes through the metal body. It was a scary moment for the Granberry’s and for our team, yet not a hair on his or his family’s heads were out of place when it was all over. By the grace of God we were hard pressed, but not crushed, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. God used difficult situations like this to restore our team to a more deep dependence on him, a tight bond as a team, and resolution that the work we were doing in Yakama was indeed God’s will. He was one step ahead of us the whole way, working all things for our good and for His glory.

On our last night in Yakama, we were honored to have a man named Wendell, one of the tribal elders, join us for dinner. As is customary, Wendell stood to give a speech of gratitude and to answer questions for us about the reservation. One person asked, “Wendell, what impact would you say a team like this could possibly have in a single week’s time here on the reservation? Is it even worth their time to come be with your people if it is only for one week?” Wendell closed his eyes, and paused for a very long time. We could tell he was going to answer this question with depth and sincerity. When he opened his eyes again, they were welled-up with tears. His answer: “Why would someone leave his home to come to a place like this to love my people? I do not know the answer, but I know one thing: it brings hope to my people, and we are a people who desperately need hope.”

As we listened to his answer, we were struck that the very words he used to describe Sacred Road Ministries were an image of Christ himself. They are the words not only of a Yakama Native American, but of our own hearts, as we also desperately need the hope that only Christ can give. We know that one day, the restoration that we experienced during our trip will be given to all people who love the Lord. All things will be made new forever. And every tribe, and tongue, and nation will be there, worshipping a King who cared so much about His people that he left his home to restore us to himself.

Until then, He has told us what is good, and what he requires of us: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God, the great Restorer.