Middle School Mission Trip-

Middle school mission trip, to you that may sound questionable, to me it sounded like an opportunity. When I heard it was to Pine Ridge SD, I knew Cohen needed to go. All of us need to see life outside of our bubble, to see life struggles different than ours. 

We had been talking about bucket lists in the office when the email arrived, looking for sponsors. I have had "go on a mission trip" on my bucket list, well since I first made a bucket list. We had been having quite the conversation in the office so on a whim and with my co-workers nudging I volunteered. Since there is no thing as a coincidence, I had to roll with this right? 

As the week got closer I got a little more anxiety. What had I done?!  Construction {which is what we would be doing} I have little to offer, middle school kids {not really my thing}, leading group prayer {not my thing either} this could be bad! 

The week of the trip, an email came out that said no phones. My first thought was perfect, kids don't need their phones. We will busy enough and it will be a good break from life. Until I remembered that I would be driving 4 middle school boys 6 hours in a mini van with no phones. 

Yeah let that sink in.

We did just fine. 

Pipe cleaners for the win. 

After a 6 hour drive we finally arrived and when we pulled in my anxiety was, well, shall we say a little higher. 

 The staff greeted us and showed us toward the bunk house, where we would be staying for the week. 

There were a couple other groups there who had arrived prior to us, so most the bunks were already taken. Every bed in the bunk house was full. That's about 30 girls in one bunk house. Yeah fully let that sink in. I was lucky to get a bottom bunk! Michelle was stuck on top!

 It was about that this point that I was self talking pretty hard. 

We headed out for supper and evening worship, and as always, God found his way to shine through. Just a moment of, it's going to be ok. 

Some information about Pine Ridge:

• The infant mortality rate is five times higher than the United States national average. 
• More than 4.5 million cans of beers are sold annually in White Clay, Nebraska, just over the border from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This amounts to more than 12,500 cans of beer a day. The reservation itself is dry. 
• Life expectancy on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the lowest in the United States—twenty years less than communities just 400 miles away—and on par with the countries of India, Sudan and Iraq. 
• The average life expectancy on Pine Ridge is 66.81 years, the lowest in the United States. Other statistics, attributed to the Pine Ridge hospital, cite an average life expectancy for men of just 47 years. Women fare slightly better, with an average life expectancy of 55 years.
• 80 percent of residents are unemployed.
• it the second poorest county in the United States

 Day #1

Job Site 

Our group was given the task of starting a 9 ft addition to one of the bigger/nicer churches. It was out in the country just a little past Wounded Knee, by Porcupine.  

The Pastor, Dave and his family, lived on the same property. The kids got to meet Ezra, Dave's son, who also happens to have autism. He would come and check on us or yell greetings our way. The church currently does not have running water. On day 1, we had 2 tasks, dig the post holes needed for the addition and find the water line aka dig, dig holes. 

The kids jumped right into action. 

We did find the water line, when it burst. Things on the reservation are just different than our every day life. After trying to figure out how to shut off the water supply on our own, the water company was called. 

It took just over two hours for them to arrive, so the water just kept on flowing out! 

The kids felt pretty upset by it. The family went without water over night! I spoke with Ella, Dave's wife, and she said a water main broke a couple miles down, a little while back, and they went without water for about two weeks. The Next Steps staff (our organization) stayed and repaired the water line that night. We were so thankful they had water back the next day! Apparently the original water pipe was a single walled pvc pipe (not intended for underground plumbing) that may have been part of why it virtually exploded when uncovered. 

The blessing in the water line breaking was...we didn't have access to any water to make the concrete for the post holes. We were able to capture some flowing water and hand mix concrete to pour in the post holes while waiting for the water company to arrive. 

 I had Cohen capture this photo for all my Early Intervention/Early Childhood cohorts. We drove past Head Start/Early Head Start everyday. Can you see the fencing? It's like prison fencing with 3 rows of barbed wire on top. There was another playground we drove by that had the same fencing. 

We visited/toured Wounded Knee in the late afternoon.

The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.Approximately 300 men, women, and children of the Lakota had been killed by the US Forces. 

Day #2

Task: Dig a 4.5 foot deep trench about 30 feet down the side of the church so they can have water to add a bathroom. 

 ....and then fill that 30 foot trench back in. That seemed simple until we realized some of our dirt from the trench washed away when the water was running the day before. 

 Day 2 was a bit shorter of a work day due to programming that night. We left our work site, to drive to a nearby scenic overlook and do our lunch time devotional. 

Our speaker Tuesday night was a lady named Ruby. She is 75 years old and lives in a trailer on the reservation. She tries to feed 85-100 homeless people every Tuesday and Thursday on her own. She also helps with the youth on the reservation. She talked to the kids about the struggles she sees and how the Lord helps her to serve her people. She stayed around after her talk and supper was over.  A little while later we looked over and there was a group of our kids sitting around Ruby asking questions and learning even more. I didn't snag a picture because it seemed disrespectful but it was a neat moment.

Day #3

Task: Set the poles

Day 3 was hot. 

To be honest Day 3 was about when I realized, I really love ice and cold things. I mean we had gone since Sunday without ice in any drinks. Sacrifice. ha.  Day 3 was full sun and hot. I really wanted ice in my water, not so much luke warm water anymore.

I mean it was no coincidence that the lunch devotional was about sacrificing. =)

With all the digging, we got some dirt got into our post holes. We didn't have any tools to get the dirt out so we had to improvise. 

 Once the holes were cleaned out it was time to set the poles. We had 5 to set total. Cohen said they weighed 180lbs each. I can't remember, however they were heavy! 

That took us the rest of the day to get them accurately measured and leveled! There aren't any other pictures from that work day as it was all hands on deck to get them up! 

Did I mention it was hot? At one point, as we were sweating, Ezra yelled down to us "I'm playing in the sprinkler!" We all laughed and actually the kids cheered as that meant the water was back on! 

On our way home the boys spotted this homemade ferris wheel/zipper thing and they thought it was pretty awesome.

The evenings cooled off and were just beautiful. This is back at Lakota Hope, where we stayed. The kids were asked to think about a burden they carry, a sin they hold onto in their heart, and they literally wrote them down and nailed them to a cross.  I missed part of the programming as Cohen was suffering a bit from heat exhaustion (head ache/nausea.)  He was such a hard worker the whole week. He gave 100%. As the evening went on he was feeling sicker and sicker and I realized I wasn't paying much attention to if he ever stood in the little shade we had. I had filled Luke's water bottle and I had asked Gavin if he reapplied his sunscreen but had not checked on Cohen at all. 

Day #4

Cohen woke up feeling much better! Yay! 

It was time to finish up what we could do at the work site. 

We got to learn how to use a laser level. The leader in this picture is Adam. He was our leader for the week. A 21 year old from Texas. The kids LOVED him. He did a fantastic job of teaching the kids (and maybe me) how to do what we needed to do. He was patient and handled a few mistakes such as the water line breaking and a drill bit being dropped down the pole hole, with grace.  Adam was also dyslexic...because God works in wonderful ways. 

We ended our work site on time or slightly ahead since the water line was ran already. This was our last day of work and Pastor Dave, his wife, Ella, and Ezra came down and talked to the group about the impact their work will have not only on their lives but on the lives of others for years to come. Pastor Dave shared that the water line breaking was actually God working in mysterious ways as we were able to run the new water line without doing "a lot of paper work" that he would have had to do otherwise!! Yay! Pastor Dave prayed for us and then we prayed for them. 

It was such a moving moment. 

The kids were cleaning up and found a bat and a softball so we took advantage of a little break! 

That evening the boys and a leader named Ben faced off in a "hammer off" 

I am pretty sure they would have done this for hours. 

 During programming this night the kids were asked to write down something they can do to focus more on Christ when they get home. In our groups, the kids could read their statement out loud and then the other kids prayed over them. 

We have amazing kids. 

Last day! 

We stopped off at Smith Falls on our way home for a little exploring and fun. 

This is Michelle, the other sponsor, besides Pastor Brandon. She is a wonderful person and I am so blessed to have gotten to spend so much time with her.  We should all be a little more like Michelle. 

 ...and these boys. I mean seriously. A few years ago I said out loud, I think if I could just skip the whole middle school phase that would be ok. A wise parent told me "you grow into it." 

The whole group of kids we had were outstanding. They all worked hard. Hardly complained and survived a week with no phone. It was so good....but these boys. Man. I was not just impressed but I was humbled. They are kind. Hard working. Thoughtful. I did not just "survive" the trip. I truly enjoyed spending time with them. 

I hope all we learned and all we prayed for stays in their hearts.

The boys' song all week was Lost Boy. 

I don't know why for sure, but it was pretty funny to hear them belt it out. 

I think this picture pretty much sums it up.

Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me

You have been so, so good to me

Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so good to me

When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me

You have been so, so kind to me

And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

And I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

And I couldn't earn it, I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

Songwriters: Caleb Culver / Cory Asbury / Ran Jackson

Reckless Love lyrics © Bethel Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC