Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!!

Kids Time: Games didn't need to have rules :)

Talented artists in the community!

Kids Time: Joy in being together

Smiles, laughter, and joy are universal to all

Love is a universal language

This picture needs no explanation

We Apologize for Getting Behind in Posting

 We just wanted to apologize for getting behind in our posts for our blog this week.  It has been an incredible experience for everyone, and sleep has been an after thought. We will continue to post to this blog even after we return to Florida, so please keep checking in for more pictures, stories, and words about how God is at work in each of our lives this week. Today, is a posting of pictures from Kid's Time. On Wednesday, we visited Red  Cloud School [www.redcloudschool.org ]  We also led worship as a team for the children who come to the retreat center for kids time.

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Honored to be at a Funeral with such deep Traditions

Practicing music for the funeral

On Tuesday, we were invited to attend the funeral of Mrs. Irma TenFingers. Irma was beloved by her family and in her community. It was an honor to be a part of a ceremony that celebrated the life of this woman. We were welcomed with open arms at the funeral, and invited as special guests to sing for the service as well as read the word. It was a humbling experience to share the common bond of grief.  All of us felt the Holy Spirit's presence with us, and it helped us all to contemplate our relationships with Christ and our own families and value those relationships  a bit more.

Transporting the casket in a pick up

All are invited to help cover the casket in the ground, sharing the shovels and working together.[Note Pastor Curt in the blue shirt in the middle of the picture.]

Wounded Knee memorial

We also went to the Wounded Knee Memorial where Kelly and Suzanne Looking Horse shared their family stories about that battle and the massacre of so many Lakota.  It was a blessing to have so many speakers and people we met who could share about their families. We ended the evening with dinner followed by a drum circle.

Each Day is like a Week....In a Very Good Way!

Thank you, so very much for all of your love, prayers, and support.  We have had such an incredible experience thus far, there is really no possible way to describe it and do it justice. Everyone has continued to say the same thing:  Each day is like a week-in a good way.  We are doing so many things and having so many unique and powerful experiences, that it seems like we have been living here for months, but we've been in Pine Ridge for two days!  It is humbling and life changing to be in a community where people are so open, loving, and welcoming.

We will post many more pictures over the next few days (as I can't keep up with uploading and posting all of them!) Today, we do want to give you a sampling of what we have done since we got here:

Yesterday (June 25), we started the day by doing work projects for the community lead by the Lakota community members. Part of our team went to work on building a porch for a family, the other part of our group worked on painting a church.  The cultural experience started right away, as we learned how to work together within our group, and with people from the community.

We next had "children's time, when the Shared Lakota Ministry Retreat Center (Where we are staying) hosts a play time each day from 4-5 p.m. for kids in the neighborhood. Children come to play kickball, ping pong, puzzles, games, etc. We were fortunate to have the time to play with the kids and enjoy the fellowship of children. 

We then traveled to "Betty's Kitchen where we had a homemade meal created  by Betty, a lovely, welcoming woman who shared her stories of her uncle, Black Elk, with us. 

We  returned to the retreat center where we met "Uncle Will" Peters  (an incredible musician and  Lakota teacher who specializes in youth empowerment.) He challenged our youth to truly be a generation who takes care of their brothers and sisters in Christ and brings Christian unity to those they meet. The message of unity was quite strong, and inspired the kids to want to learn more. He was a recipient of several Native American music awards, and he sang and played his guitar for us.

Today (June 26) God took us to a funeral for a woman named Irma Tenfingers from Ogalala.  It was a humbling experience to be welcomed so completely into the community and into the lives of the people. God was certainly present and we all learned a lot not only about the people of Pine Ridge, but about ourselves through walking together in another's sorrow. We shared our gifts with the people by singing a few songs for the funeral. In my next posting I will share pictures of this amazing experience.

We also toured Wounded Knee, learning about the history of the Lakota people. 

Prayer Requests:

• for the family of Irma Tenfingers
• for health, protection, and unity for the members of our group traveling together this week.
• for an end to racism in our world.

So Many Experiences to share on our first day...

Painting a church

Constructing the stairs.

Many hands make light work--building a new porch!

Connor with the jig saw

Justine painting a church.

Playing with kids at the worksite.

Building relationships

Kids Time at the Retreat Center

God Gives Us Opportunities to Depend on Him

Sometimes all you can do is pray.  It was the first night of our trip, and everyone had settled down for sleep after a fun first day of the trip in Colorado. Suddenly, at 3:30 a.m., Maddi became violently ill.  Worried about altitude sickness, dehydration, or a multitude of illnesses, and knowing we had a long week ahead of us, The decision was made to not take any chances and we departed for the children's hospital at 3:30 a.m.    Times like these teach people how to truly pray.  And pray is exactly what we did!

God is always faithful!  Maddi quickly began to recover--remarkably fast!!  It was evident that God was with us, and no stomach virus was going to take that away!  By 7 a.m. Maddi was released from the hospital, and by 9:30 a.m. we were all on our way to church--everyone together.  By noon we were on our way to South Dakota, Maddi laughing and smiling from the back of the van.

Please Join Us in Bible Study

Throughout this week, we will be bringing our group together each day in bible study and reflection. This evening, we started the book that we will be working from all week,  Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Our study this evening was on the chapter about "Community". Our community in Christ, through Christ, united in Christ for eternity is a precious gift. We do not want to take it for granted--as all are not able to gather with others as we do. We also know that in Christ we are all here for each other--to support one another in good times and in bad with Christ as our cornerstone. We are empowered to be the people God created us to be, bold in our proclamation of our faith. 

As we look forward to traveling to the Reservation tomorrow, we are reminded through scripture, that although from different cultures, we are One in Jesus.  Our scripture this evening was from Ephesians 2:17-22: Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.