On the Way Home

     We have truly had a great week. It is nice to have the mix of those with experience having been out here before and those who come with fresh eyes gaining a new knowledge.  For those of us that have been before these trips have become a wonderful reconnection with old friends. For those who who are new it is a refreshing introduction to a simpler, harder, more beautiful way of life and being. We learn so much while we are here about respect for the earth, the animals, and each other. We offer friendship and encouragement to a group of people who don't or haven't always receive/d that from the "white" people they know or have known.  We hear stories of racism against the Lakota and other Indians and it infuriates me. But, then it causes me to pause and reflect, to ask myself are there people in my own life on whom I knowingly or unknowingly inflict the same kind of pain. Are there people or people groups whom I unfairly judge before taking the time to get to know them? Are they Republicans or Democrats? Are they black, white, or other? Are they rich or poor? Are they from another Christian denomination or do they have another religious belief system entirely? Are they gay? Are they too young or too old? Too many times I know I can say I have judged someone before I have even gotten to know them and hear their story. Shame on me! I must do better. If you can think of times when you have done the same then, shame on you too. We MUST recognize all people as children of God because they are. We must recognize all people as worthy of our time and effort because they are. We must recognize all people regardless of socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, age, race, creed, or religious belief as people and not categories; as individuals not a group; and as someone who can teach us instead of the other way around. I think there is a natural respect for a teacher. If we view all people as our teachers we might actually learn something. We should talk less and listen more. We should ask questions then be quiet and listen for the answers. Who knows? God might use others to teach us a thing or two. ;) !  I didn't mean for that to be so heavy, but these blogs are a way for me to decompress and reflect on the days and the week we've had. Thanks for bearing with me!

     Yesterday was our sightseeing day. We drove from Bridger after saying, "We'll see you later" (there is no word in the Lakota language for good-bye). We drove through The Badlands and the National Buffalo Grassland. Unfortunately, we did not see any Tatanka (buffalo) this year, but we did see groundhogs and Big horn sheep. We went to Mt. Rushmore and The Crazy Horse memorial and museum.

    My prayer as we re-enter our normal routines is that we do not forget the lessons we have learned this week, that we do not forget the friends we have made and the struggles they deal with on a daily basis, and that we continue to lift them up in prayer.

   A picture may be worth a thousand words, but even our words cannot capture the beauty of these people or this land. However, they can give you of glimpse of each. Enjoy these pictures of our final day.

The team pictured with Bud and Beth Lone Eagle (left), Zora Lone Eagle (front), and Sylvester Waloke (right).

The mountain in the background with a bronze replica of what the monument will look like in the foreground. 

In the museum we found a case of pictures. Three of these pictures had Sylvester in them!

     Thank you, FBC Augusta, for supporting us financially and through prayer as we have been away this week! I ask that you continue to pray for traveling mercies today, that flights are on time and luggage is received. We look forward to returning home to our loved ones to share our many stories.

     

Ministry of the Lawnmower

     Today began as most have this week. Chip was the first to rise to get the coffee pot going for his coffee and our early morning visit from Eric (Hermas). He then set out to work on the lawnmower to get it going for the day. As it turns out he was able to work on it off and on throughout the day and finally got it working this afternoon probably better than it has been in years. I continued work on the wall with James' help. Tomorrow we should raise a wall and starting building another. The gentlemen from St. Dunston's will be coming by tomorrow afternoon when after they finish the repairs on the medical clinic in Takini. That will be a big boost to get these walls up. 

     Joy and Savannah went on a horse ride to the river with Rodger while Eric helped Paula ride around the round corral on the church property.

     The guys rode up to Sylvester and Deena's to help him mow his grass. We also removed the blades from the riding mower in order to sharpen them, brought them back to the church to sharpen them and returned to help mow only to be called back to lunch when our stomachs rumbled. They will return up the hill tomorrow to work on their yard, retrieve the riding mower and go to Debbie Day's to work a little on her grass.

      Sylvester mowing his grass

     Chiles and Emory working on the blades of the red mower and the blade housing of the John Deere.

     Tonight Chiles, James, Savannah, Emory, and Jackson went with Rodger and Tameka to the river to fish for catfish. The rest of us went to Takini to join the Houston group in serving a meal and operating a mobile store.  Pictured below are Marvin with Erica from the St. Dunston's group selling household goods at the store.

     We served dinner in the linchroom at the school. There were probably 40 people that came (men, women and children). It was great to see that our team was not seated together. Each us found group of people to sit with and converse over a shared meal. What a blessing it has been for our two groups to be able to serve together this week.

     This last picture for the day is taken of the outside wall of theTakini school.as you can see the Lakota star has been painted on the bricks. What you may not be able to tell is that this is actually two rooflines. The lower roof is in front and the upper roof (gym) is set behind, but taken from in front like this the star fits together perfectly!

Working on the Walł

     Day we got started bright and early. The sun typically comes up around 4:30 or 5:00. Chip was up with the sun and ready to begin work for the day. Our first order of business was to get the lawn mower working so Chiles, Emory, and James could finish mowing the grass around the church. Chip was able to make a slight adjustment without having to wait for a single tool or part and they were off and running. Here is Chiles on the mower while Chip and Emory clear away toys, balls, and other items from his path.

     The next big project that we began was to build the exterior walls on the addition of the church. Chip and I discussed the plans we had been given and decided on the best course of action for the day. We began working with James to get the walls started. As you can see below we built the two small walls to get under the eaves and began on the western wall which should be erected tomorrow. 

     While we were working outside on the walls there was a lot of activity going on inside as well. Jane, savannah, and Jackson were working to clean up the fellowship hall (aka our sleeping/eating/hanging out area) to be ready for our guests that would come for the cookout tonight. We also found out that we would be joined by the group from St. Dunston's Episcopal Church in Houston. Paula and Joy drove to Faith to get some needed groceries and supplies.  The Texas group arrived about noon, ate lunch with us, and made preparations for a small store of sorts that they would set up after dinner on the porch.  These pictures are supper prep and store prep by our two groups.

     Mr. Marvin spent the afternoon with the ladies from St.Dunston's. They went up to Takini to announce our presence and invite the folks to dinner at the school tomorrow night. They fell in love with him and I know that he had a blast with them as well. It has been a true blessing to be here at the same time as them this week. For the last couple of years we have been one or two weeks ahead or behind them. After dinner tonight they presented Byron with a saddle to be used as part of the horsemanship program. Unfortunately I missed the presentation so I was unable to provide you with a picture.  I did catch some of the story though. Apparently, they stopped by a church in Rapid City on Sunday for worship. They met a couple that attends there and got into a conversation about what they would be doing this week. The gentleman got one of his saddles for the team to bring. It was a true God-moment as the team was not to planning to attend that particular service and the gentleman and his wife alternate weekends between the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church.  They were excited to be able to present the saddle on behalf of the Rapid City church.

     Our dinner tonight consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken. We were able to connect with old friends as well as meet some we people. That continues to be the theme as we share meals with one another.  Take a moment to pray for Toni Buffalo. Early this morning one of her former students committed suicide. This is the fourth teenager in about 7 months and these one in less than a week.  We shared a tender conversation this evening where she voiced her grief for the families and the young ones and those still living who feel such desperation that suicide seems to be the only way out.

     We are having a great week and all are well!

Project Assessment

    Today we started checking things out around the church to see what we could do and what we may need to go buy in order to accomplish some of the many tasks. The guys began working on the grass around the church and the fire pit. We assessed the situation of the addition to the building, the lawn mowers, and prepared the grill to cook tonight.  After we made our preparations we had lunch and left for the pow wow in Dupree. We saw Byron and Toni and several of our other friends who we will cross paths with this week. Enjoy these pictures from the pow wow (opening ceremonies, open dance, drum circle, and one of the men's head dresses).

     On our way back to the church several of us went to the river (my second visit with a second group). This was my first time down to the river in three years.  We enjoyed skipping rocks and looking at the beauty of God's creation.

     We had a great meal tonight where we were joined by several members of the community including Rodger, Victoria, Tameka, Lanaia, Makai, and Uncle Ben (as they all call him). I predict our meal times from this point forward will be full of laughter, stories, and deeper connection as several members of the community often come to join us to enjoy table fellowship.

     Chip has a list of items that we need to purchase in Faith. He will further assess the riding lawnmower tomorrow to determine what is needed in order for it to run.  We will also begin work on the building addition. We were able to talk to Mike Lassiter this afternoon and get squared away on what is here, what is coming, and the plans are for the space. As we always do we will be prepared to stop work as folk from the community stop by. I also hope that we will be.  Able to encourage some of them to join us in the work at hand.

On the ground in Bridger, South Dakota.

    You know the old saying, "You can't get there from here?"  It doesn't apply to Bridger any more! After three years we finally figured out the secret to getting here.  After our great ride on the people mover from Randy Gossert and Master's Transportation Ministry we checked our bags curbside and breezed through security as easy as you please. Joy called to check on us (she and Chiles had flown out on Thursday) and that was when the wheels started to come off. As soon as Chip hung up the phone the announcement came over the loud speaker that our pilot was not here and it would be an hour and a half before he would get to the plane.  What? Really? Luckily, within ten minutes we found out that it was actually the first officer that had been missing and another had been located and we would begin the boarding process very soon. After that brief twenty minute delay we were taxiing to the runway for take off. An uneventful flight later and we were all loaded up with our luggage and ready to hit Sam's, Wal-mart, and lunch. Here we are pictured in front of the Rapid City airport as fresh as we can be and ready for a great week of ministry and relationship building.

   After the grocery run we loaded the two SUVs to head to Bridger. Realizing we forgot the retried beans for supper we stopped off at Coyle's Supervalu in Phillip, SD. This was a great little store located right off the Main Street. Our limited inventory grocery stop was a step back in time. It reminded me of visits to Morgan's Superette in Martin, GA on those summer visits to my grandparents house.

     The team had a wonderful dinner and are all settling down as I post this blog.  We are eager to reconnect with our old friends and continue the work to which we have been called. We have two main projects for the week with other things that will come up while we are here. We are prepared to offer fun reinforcements in math and reading to the children as we interact with them this week. I am also excited to be a part of the building project here at the church. We are adding on a room to the fellowship hall which will allow for larger community meetings and provide opportunities for larger groups to stay and minister here in Bridger. As always we are reminded that relationships are the most important and I pray that I, for one, will stop the work long enough to connect with our Lakota brothers and sisters.

Have you ever wondered what 26 linear feet of furniture looks like?

     

     Yesterday Johnny Lavender and I drove through Richburg, SC to the La-Z-Boy furniture warehouse to pick up some donated furniture that will go to the GAP for their fund raiser in the morning. The team has gotten supper and settled in for the evening. Tonight John Morris, director of the GAP, shared with the team the vision of GAP, the focus for the year, and a little about each family whom we will be serving this week.  I appreciate the leadership and the focus that they are putting on the relationships that can be built with the families and the impact the teams can have beyond the scope of the work projects.

     Tomorrow we will start our day unloading the Penske truck pictured above, a Uhaul from Smoke Rise, and a trailer from Smoke Rise filled with furniture for the sale. After we unload the teams will break out and go to the various work sites.  We covet your prayers this week for our safety on the work sites. We also pray for the families we will be working with. Pray for opportunities to share our faith with our words and show our faith with our hands.

Guatemala Mamas

Getting ready to go at AGS

Group 3 waiting to take off in Augusta

Group 2 enjoying a meal in Atlanta before flying to LAX

The team finally arrived via a circuitous route at 8:24 on Sunday Morning. They had a day to enjoy the country, the market, and the people. Their week of loving and serving the children began on Monday. You can follow their progress and updates at https://orphansheart.org/blog/ Be sure to click on the Guatemala team updates. Below is my comment and prayer for the Guatemala mamas as they serve this week.

To all the Guatemala mamas from FBC Augusta. I am so thankful for you! Thank you for your flexibility in travel and planning. Thank you for your willing spirit. Thank you for the work you have already done to provide for your families while you are away. We are praying for a great trip where God uses you as God’s hands and feet. May you be blessed by the unconditional love you receive from those precious children of God. May you return home changed. I pray that you will become catalysts for change in your own families, or church, and community. I can’t wait to see and hear what God will do through you and in you! Press on, Andy

Team dressed and ready for zipline!

A Day of Reward and Relaxation

     Today was a great day to relax after a long week of hard work. We have been a team small in number, but big in heart and strong in labor.  We have been the grunt workers for the skilled laborers in masonry (finishing the inside and outside of the house), carpentry (putting the roof on the house), and in laying the foundation. We have all received our pile-it licenses this week as we have been told to "pile it here" and "pile it there" with stone and sand. 

     The start of our great day was actually last night when a thunderstorm came through and brought with it much rain, but also cooler temperatures. This morning we had this view from the roof of our compound of the beautiful sunrise. 

     We got to enjoy my favorite Haitian breakfast by far of bread and chocolate soup.

     We took a short walk over to the Siloe Baptist Church and school where local artisans/ craft dealers had set up. Come to the Mission Banquet at FBC Augusta on Nov. 2nd to purchase some of these wares! Then we got to enjoy a fun afternoon at the beach. Pastor Linh decided that the "pile-it" license wasn't enough and he went for his captain's license as well. 

     Our beach time concluded with some succulent lobster that only an hour or so before had been pulled from the beautiful blue waters above.  Even George Berry had some of our bounty and "It wasn't so bad!"

     We returned back to the compound in time to hear the second half of the Dawgs beating the Mizzou Tigers (sorry, Sean but at least your Royals are winning). As our pastor often says, "It was a good day all day."  We will be leaving the compound about 7AM to head to the airport. Keep us in your prayers as we travel home to those we love and miss! And keep those here in Haiti in your prayers as will we. I can tell some improvement from the last time we were here, but this country still has a long way to go.

Last day of work, building a foundation

     On our last day of work we began work on the first part of the process. We assisted, Bennett, the CI foundation contractor and his crew. By assisting I mean we hauled sand for the mortar and rocks for the foundation. The home site was a bare patch of land. 

The homeowner worked right alongside the crew today. We also had some other helpers as well. This little girl was doing what she could by carrying rocks. 

     Another young man a few years older than her was helping with some of the big rocks as well. We also had the added benefit today of a wheelbarrow.  That is the first time all week we have had that.  Once we got the rocks and the sand moved closer to the house we spread the rocks around the house as these would be used for the foundation.

     There is a big difference between working at a shaded site and a site that is all sun. We were all whooped by lunch today.  To finish out our day early we worked hard for one last push right before lunch. We put the rocks around the edge of the foundation so the workers could more easily put them into place. As we have seen all week they were using the volcano method to mix the mortar. The foundation becomes a pretty sophisticated jigsaw puzzle. Today was the beginning of the 180th house that Conscience International has built.