Thursday, June 19, 2014

It rained last night, a little lightening, a little thunder, a little rain. It sounded worse than it was. When we got up this morning, hardly any of the window paint and crayon had washed off the van. By the time everyone woke up, it was a beautiful morning, a bit chilly, but with clear blue skies. Later in the day, one of our team noted how beautifully blue the sky was and how it seemed to make them just feel better. This morning was more of the same. The only difference was we did some of the chores before breakfast as the breakfast casserole took a little longer to cook than planned. No problem, teams stepped up and did what needed to be done. The boys (who sleep in the parish hall) made up their beds better than usual as St. John's opens their doors to their food pantry on Thursdays.

With breakfast behind us we were once again (and sadly for the last time this summer) on our way to the Church of Jesus. I think some on our team almost regretted this day; they have worked hard non-stop, they have spent a lot of time with the children of Rosebud, they have gone to bed tired at night, but I think some would want to go another day, or two, or even three. They had become friends with the children we met and relationships, the one thing we strive to foster, seem like they are just beginning to be real and I think it makes some on our team sad to think they will be leaving it behind.

Every year, we see this day as more quiet than any other day during the van ride up to the church, But once we arrive, it is also a day that is almost as energetic as the first. As is typical, our teams began to quickly get things ready and get to the business at hand. This year, once we arrived, we began putting gift bags together for our visitors and our service team went to work on the basement. Of course kitchen team had things to do to get ready too and before we knew it, someone arrived, almost an hour early, but they arrived and we stopped what we were doing to welcome him and make him feel part of the team. It must have worked because he wanted to help out with the service project, and guess what - he did. When we moved outside, he was given a paint brush and he painted right alongside our team.

While the service project team was busy at work, the rest of the team got a really interesting introduction to Lakota history when Don Eagle opened a room in Clark Hall we don't use and explained a map on the wall that described the migration and settling of the many clans and tribes that lived in this country before the white man made it his own. Don's history lesson was not the one we find in most history books, but a version as seen through the eyes of the Lakota people. It was an amazing story and he handled the questions with ease. Like the little boy who would work alongside us, Don's desire to share his story and the history of his people was truly a blessing.

This type of interaction doesn't just happen overnight, it takes time to build trust and engender shared ministry. Here's something I didn't say before, the young man that helped us almost missed today's session. He and his family were going out of town and they had planned to leave Thursday morning. But this young man wanted to stay and be with his friends. His father said, when he said that, he meant our team. I had no reply, only a silent "Thank you Jesus". Our activities went along great. The skit "The Rich man and Lazarus" was awesome and the sing along, one of the best we have ever had in six summers. Both local and team kids belted out the familiar songs and most followed along with the planned motions the songs contained.

Next, it was over to crafts and we had a pile for them to take on and extras to take home. By the time it came to say good bye and load up the van, I could see some big smiles and really big hugs. I heard promises from both local and team youth to see each other again next year. Some of the youth and all of the team said our goodbyes to Don Eagle. He spent most of the day with us, along with his granddaughter Taylor, and he looked really energized by the energy of the youth. In visiting with him, he enjoys our team as much as we enjoy coming and his granddaughter has been with us for all or part of the time we are here over the past four summers.

As we left the reservation, it is worth noting, that it's not only the relationships with the youth on the reservation that feed us, but the relationships forming on our team too. They are not only getting the hang of what needs to be done, they find themselves helping one another in ways they would not have done in the beginning. Even those who have had multiple trips experience this phenomena. Love of God and love of our neighbor become real and evident, so much so we can't help but say "Thank you Jesus".

After returning to Valentine we took the team to the pool and packed enough food to do a little cook out next to the pool. Everything seemed to be going along okay until we opened the grill. We had the grill, the propane, and even the drip tray, but what we didn't have was the griddle. So it was off to the hardware store to see if they had something that would work and "Thank you Jesus" we found a suitable replacement and dinner was only about 20 minutes late. Once dinner was over, we packed up and headed back to the church where we had one final reflection. This time on the work we did and the experience we shared.

I always love this night as we find out things the youth didn't share before, some good and some not, but all with the idea of making next year even better. There were pats on the back and a few jabs too, but in the end we were blessed with the awareness of the Spirit amongst us. How do I know this, because after our session our teams were to begin packing for our departure and the river: and they did. By the time of lights out, most everything that needed packing was packed and we were headed for our pillows. As for tomorrow, we will just have to wait and see.