CBF West provides support for Navajo Nation
Members of the Navajo Nation—among the hardest-hit victims of COVID-19—will receive tangible aid and a clear expression of God’s love, thanks to CBF West.
“The Navajo Nation infection rates per capita have become the highest in the country when compared with any individual state,” noted CBF West Coordinator Glen Foster.
Multiple factors enabled the pandemic to spread across vast region, covering northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, added Greg Long, executive director of Selah Navajo Ministries and a longtime leader in CBF West.
Most of the Navajo Nation is underserved with basic resources, such as running water, paved roads and medical services. Many residents struggle with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. When the coronavirus infected close-knit extended families, it spread rapidly.
Long and Foster decided to meet basic needs by preparing care packages, which they will distribute at two locations on the Navajo reservation. The packages will include:
Water in 1-gallon jugs
Personal hygiene products
Nonperishable food
Batteries
Kitchen and bath products
These items are difficult for residents of the region to obtain, especially during the pandemic, Long said. The packages will provide food security and basic resources necessary for surviving the pandemic.
Support for the effort is widespread. Points on the Wheel, a nonprofit that works closely with CBF’s Together for Hope rural poverty collaborative, has raised more than $1,250 toward a goal of $2,000 to support the endeavor.
“Each of us have been touched to some degree by the pandemic,” noted Mark Buhlig, executive director of Points on the Wheel and associate pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Kansas City. “But most of us have access in our home community. The same is not true for many in in the Navajo Nation.”
In addition, churches across CBF West—which has committed $2,000 to the cause—and even as far away as Massachusetts have contributed.
“CBF West is exceedingly grateful for friends and churches who are sending funds to purchase care packages for distribution to isolated persons in need of encouragement. CBF really is a big family that cares about people,” Foster said. “I’m also thankful for Greg and Sheila Long, who continually minister to the Navajo. It was their idea to distribute care packages.”
If you would like to contribute to this ministry to people deeply impacted by the pandemic, send a check to CBF West, designated for “Selah Ministries Care Packages”; address: CBF West, c/o Glen Foster, 60474 E. Eagle Ridge Dr., Tucson AZ 85739.