Kykotsmovi, Ariz.

(928) 734-2453

Service
Located on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, the Kykotsmovi MVS unit is unique in that all members work at Hopi Mission School, the only Christian school on the reservation. The primary role of the unit is to help provide Christian education for children grades K-6. Hopi Mission School was started in 1951, and MVS began sending volunteers to the school in 1957. Today, the school is jointly supported by the Mennonites and the American Baptists. While there are a few Hopi employed as staff at the school, most of the teachers are volunteers. All Kykotsmovi MVSers work or teach at Hopi Mission School. The minimum term of service in the Kykotsmovi unit is one year. However, terms of two to three years are strongly encouraged to help strengthen and support the school structure.

MVS Application To apply for one of the service opportunities below, complete an online application, or print and mail a PDF application (Adobe Reader required) and send it to: Mennonite Mission Network ATTN: Human Resources 500 S. Main P.O. Box 370 Elkhart, IN 46515-0370

Location
The reservation is very rural and quite isolated. Village stores offer minimal necessities at higher prices than at big-city supermarkets. The closest fast-food restaurants are more than 50 miles away, but three restaurants on the reservation provide opportunity for the occasional dinner out. The Grand Canyon is only a two-hour drive from Kykotsmovi and Arizona has many national forests, parks and archeaological ruins. Flagstaff, Arizona, pop. 45,000, is the closest large city, about 100 miles away. Phoenix is 250 miles south of Flagstaff.

The Hopi Reservation consists of mesas and high desert. Arizona desert summers are hot, but because Kykotsmovi is in high desert, warm clothing is required several months of the year. The climate is dry with an average annual rainfall of only eight inches. Windstorms often blow sand and dust, making it difficult to be outside at these times. The Hopi people dress modestly, often in jeans, sweaters, long shorts and T-shirts. Dress at the school is casual as well, but some nicer clothing is necessary for Sunday worship.

It is essential for volunteers to schedule recreational time off the reservation to combat too much togetherness. School-related extracurricular activities and planning result in long weekdays with little flexibility to leave the reservation during the week. Weekends and holidays remain the primary times to get away. Volunteers survive best when they have a good sense of humor and are not too sensitive about day-to-day slights that might loom larger in isolation than they would in a more "normal" setting.

Unit
Unit housing consists of five houses on the Hopi Mission School grounds that can accommodate up to ten volunteers. Two of the houses also have guest quarters. The houses are small but have electricity and running water, unlike some of the homes on the reservation.

Each year, unit members meet to identify and organize various duties and activities. The unit typically eats together twice a week on a rotating schedule. Kykotsmovi has no MVS committee. A local program coordinator (LPC) oversees the unit and meets with members regularly.

Church
Several churches are located on the reservation, and unit members are strongly encouraged to attend the church of their choice. Most churches are American Baptist or Mennonite and the congregations are small (10-25 people) and consist mainly of older Hopi women. On the first Sunday of each month, all the local Hopi and Navajo congregations gather together to sing, worship, pray and eat together. Other activities occur but are infrequent. Worship style is similar to traditional Anglo churches. While different missionary denominations exist on the reservation, the Hopi do not emphasize this distinction and their toleration for denominational diversity is high.