A Life Changer

Hello all. I am back home now as of about 1 am this morning. I must say, I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to go, and can only hope and pray that God will work in the hearts of the people in whom we planted the seeds.

I have been thinking and thinking about how I would begin my posts when I got in. Really and truly I had full intentions of giving you the play by play each night as I got back to my room, but it was such a draining week, I didn't have the energy to think. It just didn't happen...but now, here I am...giving you my full attention. I hope you enjoy the next few posts. They are going to be good!!

As I mentioned on Sunday, we had a pretty long day of driving. We set out on our adventure immediately after services on Sunday morning and drove all day.

This is our group. We had 3 married couples (one which is our pastor and wife), myself and a friend, 2 kiddos, and a guy that is new to God's ministry, (but arrived after our group shot).

The drive was comfortable and everything looked pretty much like Arkansas for some time, but I was glad to go a direction in Arkansas past towns that I had never been before like Fort Smith, Fayettville, Springdale, and Rogers area. I plan on heading back to that area in just a couple of weekends for a wedding in the Bentonville area. Wow, twice in two weeks!!

We passed from Arkansas into Missouri, all the way past Kansas City, into a town called St. Joseph, Missouri where we laid our heads down for the night. The hotel was pretty neat. I had never seen one quite like it. It was much like a lodge and the girls thought it was so cool.

Monday morning, we headed back out and before I realized it, we had crossed over into Iowa. Never been there and the countryside began to look a little different than Arkansas and Missouri. Not too much further and we passed by this...

I wish the picture would have been better, but you just had to kind of be ready and snap as quickly as you could!! Throughout the entire state of Nebraska, this is what we saw...

Everywhere we looked for miles and miles and miles there was corn. So much corn...and coal trains. Many, many coal trains. As we got closer to South Dakota much of the landscape turned to hills. Lots of hills. ....And Lelia, we did drive through Lincoln, and I so thought about you!!! What a nice town. It had so many endless possibilities for shopping!! lol.

We managed to arrive in Gordon, Nebraska where our hotel was early enough to go to the nearest grocery store to buy things for our Indian taco supper the following night. We also got to go visit the Reservation in hopes of encouraging some of the ladies to join us for Bible Study Tuesday morning. The scenery on the way to Pine Ridge was beautiful. As we were traveling, the sun began to set and the wind was blowing violently. A clue that a storm was setting in. As we drove, hail began to fall. Our first contact with the Native American children, was with the sweet wee ones that began putting ice in our hands as soon as we made our first stop.

Notice the grass blowing in the wind. As we drove onto the Reservation, one of the first things we saw was the site of the Massacre at Wounded Knee. On December 29, 1890 over 300 men, women and children were killed by the US 7th Calvary while being transferred to the Sioux Reservation at Pine Ridge. Just a few days before, Sitting Bull had been killed at Standing Rock. I am assuming he was killed because of all the intensity surrounding the gold in the Black Hills and the fact the US was trying to get it back from the tribe. Ok, so there's your history lesson for the day.

Before I continue, I wanted to share a few more statistics with you. I got my information off of Wikepedia, and some of this information is heart wrenching. After meeting these Oglala Lakota Sioux people and being on their Reservation, I had a hunch what Wikepedia would say. I wish I would have done more research before my trip so I would've known what to expect. I didn't though, and it was a shock.

I'm still trying to put it all together in my mind, but I think I have finally figured out (please somebody from this area smarter than me..correct me if I am wrong). I think I am safe in saying that Pine Ridge is a large area with the Reservation being made up of several small communities. Pine Ridge is the 8th largest Reservation in the US, but the poorest. The unemployment rate runs at 80% of the population. Adolescent suicide is about 4 times the national average here. Majority of the families have no electricity, water, telephone or sewer. The Oglala Lakota are said to have the lowest life expectancy with men at the age of 47 and women just barely into their 50's. Wow.

Wounded Knee is the community where we were. (More history here...The bones and heart of great Oglala Lakota leader, Crazy Horse are buried along the creek here.) I saw the depressed spirits of these overwhelmed single mothers of multiple children wondering how they were going to feed them. I saw the tears shed by those who have battled the alcohol gene for years. I saw the hungry people flock in the Community Center for probably the only meal they will get for the day, or even week, and I saw hearts that desperately needed Jesus, but I know it's going to take more than one time sharing the gospel with them. More than 50% of the population there at Wounded Knee is under the age of 18. It seems to me that this is absolutely the generation we need to be trying to reach for the Lord.

I have so much I want to share with you. I hope you wont get tired of hearing my story and seeing the beautiful pictures I took.

I shall return.....