One Little, Two Little, Three Little...

1)  Work on construction projects on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

2)  Partner with Next Step Ministries (a Christian organization present in Pine Ridge)

3)  Sleep on a school or church floor

4)  See a lot of alcoholism and poverty

5)  Travel with 50-60 people from our church
6)  Leave August 3rd and return August 9th, 2014

Pine Ridge Reservation is the
home of the Oglala Lakota Souix

That's all we knew when we registered for this mission trip.  We received a link to an online packing list and were told that check-in is at Pine Ridge School, 101 Thorpe Circle, between 3 and 5pm on Sunday, August 3rd.  Most families caravaned together Sunday morning.  Our family chose to leave a couple days early to visit some of South Dakota's famous landmarks.

Sunday afternoon I plugged the Pine Ridge School's address into my phone's GPS.  "Address Not Found," responded my trusted Google Map app.  We drove in on US Highway 18.  We found one stoplight in town and one more paved road crossing Highway 18.  The rest were unmarked dirt roads.  No mailboxes.  No addresses.  Not even a rural route or fire department number.  We felt like Gilligan and friends on a 3-hour tour – lost but hopeful. We radioed for help.  ;-) Thankfully our phones had service and, after a few attempts, we could reach someone driving in the caravan.  April Zimmerman answered her phone and, using landmarks, she navigated us to the school. ;-)

Jason and April Zimmerman

Oglala Community School had multiple buildings and multiple surprises.  Our favorite surprise was that our sleeping arrangements were much cozier than expected!  One of the buildings was a dormitory.  We all got beds!  And families of 5 or more got 2 rooms!  Very cool.  Things were starting out well.

Everyone got organized in rooms and we were ready and waiting for the 6:00pm dinner bell.  Like Big Ben in London, Brookwood's schedule runs on time to the minute.  In Pine Ridge, we were no longer on Brookwood time.  We were on "Lakota time" (which is a lot like Mexico time).  Even the locals called it "Lakota time."  However, it could have been that we were on "college student time," too.  Surprising to me, Next Step is a nation-wide, college summer program.  We were thoroughly impressed that a bunch of college students could lead such a ministry!  They made meals, organized sleeping arrangements and cleaning schedules, they shopped for food and supplies, and they led worship services every evening - including singing, playing in the band, praying, and more.  On top of it all they penetrated the community and knew what projects needed to be done, purchased all construction materials, and arranged and led volunteer teams to complete each project.  For the whole summer.  It was impressive for anyone - let alone a dozen 20-year-olds.  While meals and worship services were not punctual, our type-A group recognized that this impressive ministry deserved grace and respect.

We changed our crew name
from Zimson Lakers to
the Crewd's

Sunday night during the worship service, we were broken up into teams 1 through 10 and A through D.  Our teams were instructed to assign roles and to pick a name.  Our family was paired up with the Zimmerman's as Crew D.  Jason and April are good friends of ours.  Ashton is their oldest daughter and entering high school this year.  Brayden is a year older than and great friends with Taite.  Cole is a year older than and good friends with Lincoln.   Everyone was assigned a job and, thanks to Elizabeth Heckel - a clever teenager on Crew C- we eventually settled on the name "The Crewd's."

Brayden and Taite

Monday morning the Crewd's were to stain a deck built by a previous Next Step team.  Maybe now is a good time to mention that there might have been some miscommunication when scheduling this trip.  Brookwood was seeking an opportunity for families to serve together.  Often Next Step has adults, college students, even high school students serve – and, within that combination, families have served together.  Pine Ridge Next Step has never had young children serve. Our Brookwood team was bringing 34 children of whom only one was a legal driver and three had their permits.  Thirty of our children were between the ages of four and 14.  The Next Step leaders like to use each group most effectively with respect the group’s collective skills.  On paper, our group collectively looked like we were most skilled in playing games.  ;-)  They weren't sure what to do with us and they admitted to us they were afraid.

We came to Pine Ridge at the perfect time, however.  It was Next Step's last week of the summer.  All the students were heading back to college the next week, so this week was a time for completing projects.  The families with older kids had some serious projects on their hands.  They were putting up walls, painting walls and ceilings, tearing out and putting in carpet, and more.  The crews with younger kids were staining decks, picking up garbage, weeding gardens, and...well...playing.  ;-)

Team Crazy Hammertime (Snodgrass' and Lewison's) needs hard hats to weed?

Team Crazy Hammertime weeds Ruby's garden.  Ruby shares her produce with the community.  Jenna protects herself from the hot sun!

The Kapla's and Savage's (Team Love 2 Serve) stained trim.

Grant Bain makes a shirt with Lucas Red Cloud.  The Bain's and Sime's worked at his house everyday.  Lucas' brother Jayden asked Grant, "Why are you always clean?"

Sarah, the youngest of Team Jackles, paints on her dad's, John Heckle's, shoulders.

So Monday morning the Crewd's stained a deck.  Cole, Lincoln, and Parker helped for as long as they could handle, then the grasshoppers were calling their names.  Sam, the 11-year-old cousin and neighbor to the family whose deck we were staining, came out and assisted in the grasshopper catching.  He and Ashton quickly became friends and chatted while wandering the yard leading the younger kids to other cool bugs.  Taite and Brayden stained until Exodus, the boy who lived in the house, came out and started a game of football.  The game somehow incorporated the four pallets and two mattresses that were piled up in the front yard and formed a trampoline.  The deck was small and, with 11 people, was completed quickly.  While we waited for someone at Next Step to get us and bring us to our next job, Jason fixed Exodus' bike.  Then we were off to our next assignment - the Re-Creation center.

A concentrated effort.  It really did look good once completed.  ;-)

Pallet mattress trampoline

Pause...I would like to pat ourselves on the back for finishing the deck in such a short amount of time.  I'm sure Next Step appreciated us completing one of their many projects.  However, the ones who really deserve the pat on the backs are the kids, who played with Sam and Exodus.  We noticed people don't do "play dates" out there.  There is no hustle-and-bustle (as you can imagine).  The people you spend time with are the people who live near you...which is usually your family in Pine Ridge.  Often we saw three or four houses on what looked like 40+ acres.  We found grandparents, parents, kids and cousins all together.  I can imagine new faces to play with were welcomed.   Sam and Exodus were a light in our day and our kids were in theirs.  Resume...

Heidi and Pastor Eric run the Re-Creation center (a Christian recreation center) located in Oglala, about 20 minutes from our base in Pine Ridge.  The center is an old building open weekdays from

Chelsea and Shayla

11-5.  At noon Heidi serves lunch - for free - to anyone who wants to come.  We were there twice and saw mostly kids ages 5 to 17, but some adults came for the meal, too.  It was rare, however, for parents to drop off their kiddos.  The kids usually rode their bikes or walked over and could come and go as they pleased.  It isn't a daycare.  It is a safe hangout.  It's a huge, non-air conditioned room with four basketball hoops, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, a pool table, and three TV's with video games.  Outside is a playground and a shelter with some tables under it.  Attached to the gym is a kitchen and a sanctuary where they have worship one day per week. 

At first we hesitated to enter since one of the younger kiddos told our kids they weren't welcome (like kids sometimes do).  But our job was to help serve lunch, so the Crewd's boldly walked in anyway.  Within minutes we had kids hugging us, kids on our backs, kids asking us to help them put on rollerblades, and our kids were mixed in with all of them.

One of my favorites was Autumn.  She was like a Lakota Calla.  She was enthusiastic.  She had lots

Parker and  Shayla

of big hugs and smiles for us.  She was confident as she spoke to me and all the other kids.  She was  a great helper.  If I could have, I would have taken her home.  She was just precious.  Autumn lives with her grandparents and lots of siblings and cousins.  She told me there are 23 cousins or siblings that live with her and her grandparents.  I'm sure I misunderstood her, and I never asked if any parents live there.  Either way, it wasn't uncommon to see multiple related families live on the same property.  Autumn's sister, Shayla, was a cutie pie, too.  She was all about playing outside with our kids.

One of our favorite things over the week was to see how God had planned for us to help and serve Him.  Take Monday afternoon for example.  We were having lots of fun playing with the kids at the playground.  But while we were outside playing, an unruly horse darted toward us.  Jason and Travis went over to help the neighbors/owners wrangle the horse back inside the fence.  They began talking to the gentleman there, Harold.  Harold was called to help his niece fix her fence.  Travis and Jason spent the rest of the afternoon fixing barbed-wire fence.  When we returned Wednesday afternoon we found that the sanctuary needed some carpet laid.  The moms and kids of the Crewd's and Crew Love 2 Serve played and helped Heidi and the small staff while Travis and Jason sweat bullets in the sanctuary laying carpet.  One note - Jason didn't bring every tool he owns, but the ones he brought were exactly what we needed...like a carpet knife and a handful of wood screws for a deck.  Thanks God!

Tuesday was our day at Theresa's.  Ms. Theresa is a legend.  She is in her mid-60's.  When she was a young mom she made beaded belts, bracelets, and other jewelry to earn an

income.  (Many young women still do that today - hence the gifts and souvenirs we brought home. ;-))  While the dads built a deck, the moms and kids went inside for a bracelet-making lesson.  Ms. Theresa is patient and kind.  She is energetic and generous.  And she is a true grandma...she always has treats for kids.  You'll find a story in the book of Mark that says, "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”"  That story describes Theresa.  She gave all she had to us...her beads, her treats, her energy, her hospitality, and her love. 

Theresa was rich with love and God has been good to her.  And she knows that.  Theresa was one of the few people with air conditioning on the reservation (which came in the new mobile home she got this year).  She's had running water in her home for about five years.  Not everyone on the reservation has running water.  We really enjoyed the air conditioning on this hot day!  And we really enjoyed making bracelets!  May God bless her immensely.

By the end of the week, people were putting themselves on the docket to go to Theresa's.  Who wouldn't want to meet her and learn how to make bracelets?!  We got to return Thursday morning to stain her front deck and repair the back deck.  Afterward we grabbed some of her quilts (that's how she earns an income now - quilting) to sit upon and shared lunch under some shade trees.  She shared with us that only about five years ago she was depressed and lost.  Instead of turning to alcohol (like 80% of the adult population on the reservation does), she turned to God.  Now joy exudes from her.  I think she was much more of a blessing to us than we were to her.  And I'm compelled to buy a quilt.  Not only do I know it will be beautiful, but then she'll be able to afford her lights and heat all winter.

It certainly would be easier to hand over a couple hundred dollars so Theresa could keep her lights and heat going.  Multiple times we were told to not hand money out to tribe members.  As I reflect, I can relate this to parenting.  It is so much easier to just do the dishes and clean the house by myself.  It's faster, I feel like it gets cleaner, and it gets done when I want it to get done.  But there are two major problems with this philosophy.  One is that my children never learn how to do it.  They'd end up being that college student who has never made a meal, done a load of laundry, or cleaned a room and needs mom to come and help in the dorms.  And two, we have a lot on our calendar each day and week.  If I was the only one to have to do all the cooking and cleaning in this large home, either we would have a disaster of a home or we would never go anywhere nor have guests...or I would be a hot mess!  The same can be applied to the reservation.  The more handouts the community is offered, the less they learn how to do things on their own.  Ultimately either the reservation becomes a hot mess or the givers have to keep giving more and more to keep up with the way of life.  Giving is crucial because God asks us to give.  But giving of our time, friendship, skills, and encouragement is even more important?  So much food for thought...

One place where the community's involvement was requested was in Whiteclay,Nebraska.  It's a place nobody could forget.  Whiteclay is a city one mile off the reservation and two miles from Pine Ridge.  The population listed for the 2000 census is 14.  Fourteen total people.  If you look up Whiteclay you'll mostly find information on alcohol.  In 2010, the four liquor stores in Whiteclay sold 4.9 million cans of beer.  That's about 13,000 cans or over 540 cases per day.  I promise you, those 14 people cannot drink 540 cases of beer per day.  (Though they might try.)  Pine Ridge is a dry reservation.  Some of us went to college on dry campuses.  That didn't mean people didn't drink alcohol.  It meant students were sneakier about getting it.  The same goes for Pine Ridge.

Tuesday night everyone from Next Step was invited to go to Whiteclay and join the local Christian mission/church, Lakota Hope, for dinner.  We drove through the street in Whiteclay (there is only one really) and saw all 14 residents on the streets looking homeless and drunk.  Frankly, I was fearful.  We don't have that in Prior Lake, Minnesota, (or anywhere I've ever been in Minnesota), and I think I've watched too many movies.  I was sure someone would pull a gun on us.  The only other thing to notice on the streets besides the drunks was the trash.  I thought, "Man!  If someone would just come in with a few bags and pick up the trash this place would be beautiful!"  I rolled up the windows and checked the locks on the doors.

We followed the caravan of cars from Next Step to the dirt road where we parked.  We got out and moseyed to the outdoor pavilion for dinner.  Lakota Hope hosts dinner every Tuesday night for anyone who wants to come.  I would say the attendance was divided evenly between Caucasians and Native Americans.  As I walked up, one local looked at me and said, "Hey!  Finish this...  'One little, two little, three little...'"  Since I don't regularly sing that song I had to think for a minute.  I hesitantly responded, "Indians?"  His response was, "Here's how I sing it...'One little, two little, three little Honkies!'"  Um...ok.  That was the first (and only) time on the trip I felt unwelcomed.  It was a surprising exchange.  It certainly made me think about the words I use. 

We had been at Lakota Hope for about 20 minutes, and had barely had dinner, when Taite approached me in tears.  He was overwhelmed with deciding what souvenir he should purchase.  And he was emotionally melting like a chocolate bar squished between two roasted marshmallows.  This was not   This child needed more down-time and more sleep.  It was at that moment I realized we had been with other people every waking moment since Sunday at 5:00pm.  Maybe every child (or person) needs some daily quiet time.  Maybe Taite was a classic introvert – defined as someone who is rejuvenated by being alone.  Or maybe my children needed more sleep.  Calla had been Ms. Sassypants during the day Tuesday.  It was an optimal time to bow out of the planned festivities and return to the dorms for a story and an extra hour of sleep.  We pulled out our youth version of Pilgrim’s Progress, read a chapter, prayed, and went to bed.  And my children were amazingly well-behaved the next day!  I wasn’t the only mom who changed the schedule for the well-being of their family.  Most of us dealt with lack of sleep and over-stimulation.  It was so fun to do a mission trip with 13 families that are your friends!  But we definitely had to schedule rejuvenation.
my near-10-year-old, laid-back, confident Taite.

Jeremy Peters is Brookwood’s pastor who organized and led this mission trip for our church.  He did an outstanding job.  My favorite part was how accessible he was to us.  Each night he strategically positioned himself to ensure he could confirm with each crew the next day’s jobs.  Tuesday night he informed me of a change in plans.  Instead of staining another deck, the Crewd’s would be picking up trash in Whiteclay Wednesday morning.  Now, I’m pretty sure I just thought the side of the road should be cleaned up.  I didn’t pray that we could be the crew to do that job.  So technically God was not answering my prayers.  And I was really hesitant to tell the Zimmerman’s that trash pick-up in Whiteclay was our next task.  Can you get ex-communicated from a Crew?  Well, surely we wouldn’t be in the center of town where the homeless, drunk people lived.  (That’s really what I thought.  I know I'm not the only one.)

Bruce, the gentleman who runs Lakota Hope, met us in his driveway and shared with us his dilemma.  Typically the county would call him before mowing the grass in town.  When they call, Bruce recruits a team of people to do the roadside clean up, keeping the town presentable and fulfilling their Adopt-A-Highway commitment.  This time he didn’t get a call and all the trash was like a banana smoothie put in a blender on high without the cover.  Disaster!  Bruce didn’t just want a bunch of white people cleaning up the town for them, though.  (His words, not mine.)  Instead we all walked to the center of town and he recruited as many locals as possible to take a black trash bag and a reflective vest.  And there we were, walking side-by-side with the people I had so feared just hours before.  And they were kind.  And they were helpful.  And they each had a story to share.  Stan had just gotten married three months prior.  He had land on the reservation with lots of horses.  His new wife just lost a baby.  TomCat was an excellent artist and loved to draw.  He even drew a masterpiece during a break and gifted it to Ashton.  Michael walked along with Calla sharing his advice on life while Calla carefully listened and shared her thoughts.  Stan…TomCat…Michael…Debra…Marti they all had their stories.  They were all people.  They were in a rough place in life, but that doesn’t make them scary.  And in God’s eyes I bet my sin of fear and judgment stands equal to the sin of alcoholism and lack of discipline.  Surprisingly, many of these people do have hope.  They are getting to know and trust God and Jesus.  Within the last two months Lakota Hope has had so many people wanting to get sober, they started a shuttle to the closest rehab center.  Yea God!

"Yea God" was one of my favorite memories of the trip.  Each night during our worship service there was a time for the crews to nominate one representative to stand in front of the crowd (of about 120 people or so) and share their team's "Yea God" moment.  They were to tell about a time during their day where they saw and experienced God at work.  It was a time to praise God for the great things He does.  On Thursday, little Parker nominated herself to share the "Yea God" for our team!  Our shy, hesitant, mama's girl wanted to stand in front of 120 people and share a "Yea God."  I couldn't imagine what she would say.  I could only imagine the Cotton Monster shoving Parker's mouth so full she could no longer say a word and Parker would back away sheepishly from the giant, breathing black amplifier.  

Max holds Parker for a celebration song

Thursday was Parker's birthday.  She turned 5 and our Brookwood friends thoughtfully made a big deal of it.  Rob Sime (whose wife, Naomi, celebrated her birthday the next day) taped a banner to her door and put a cone-shaped birthday hat on her head.  Then he gave the noise maker to the kids at we started singing "Happy Birthday" at 7:30am.  We all celebrated Parker and her birthday many times throughout the day.  Her friend Jenna Lewison even gave her a dream catcher with horse tail hair as a gift.  (Parker LOVES it!)  When it was Parker's turn to share the "Yea God" she said - in the cutest little voice, "My name is Parker and my "Yea God" is that it's my birthday today and I got to pet two goats."  Everyone laughed and cheered loudly in encouragement.  Then we all sang "Happy Birthday" again.  I'm not sure she's ever had a bigger smile on her face.  I can't believe she so confidently stood up in front of everyone and spoke into a microphone.  Proud mama moment.  ;-)

While I'm proud of my Parker, the Lakota are proud of their heritage.  The Pine Ridge border sign indicates that it's the "Home of Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and Sitting Bull."  Red Cloud (1822-1909) still has descendants living in Pine Ridge.  The Sime's and Bain's (or Crew Cupcakes) spent the week at their homes.  There were 8-12 kids living within the three homes.  The family was wonderful, but infected by the same predicaments as the rest of the tribe...poverty, alcoholism, malnutrition.  This family dealt with a bit of family feuding, too.  Grandma Maggie, a one-toothed woman with a beautiful soul, was caught in the middle of it.  She sat outside each day and enjoyed conversing with adults and watching the kids play.  The Red Cloud family definitely has the leadership and influence that God can use to take this Lakota tribe to a better place.  I'll be praying for all of them in the days and years to come. 

Love 2 Serve and Cupcakes make t-shirts with the Red Cloud kids

Bain boys, Maddie Sime, and Kirsten Johnson with Red Cloud kids

Linnea lets Yamni braid her hair

Marcus and Monique Red Cloud on the left, Bain's and Sime's on the right

Rob holds baby Marcus

Marcus, Monique, and their 4 kiddos with the Sime's

Maddie and Marley

Linnea hugs Kaitlyn

It’s been a couple weeks since we returned home.  God is still working in our hearts through this experience.  He is opening our eyes to our surroundings.  As we look around, we see the majority of people in our town live in lovely, large homes – many of them custom-built.  In Pine Ridge, people live in trailer homes.  Most people in our town have underground sprinkler systems to make their lawns a lush, green turf.  Most people in Pine Ridge hope to have running water in their homes.  Everyone we talk to in our town has a gorgeous, pearly white, straight smile incorporating all their teeth.  It was not uncommon to see people missing teeth in Pine Ridge.  We almost never see beer cans – or any trash – on the side of the road in our town.  Nobody keeps mattresses, pallets, or dead vehicles in their yard.  Nobody sleeps on the side of the road in Prior Lake. 

Although where we live might look very different and seem packaged up with a pretty red bow, the condition of so many hearts is same as what we experienced in Pine Ridge.  People are hurting.  People want a friend.  People want their lives to be worth something.  I'm reminded of that as I pray for the family of a Prior Lake high school student who committed suicide within days after we returned home.  We won’t know the condition of someone's heart until we get to know the people.  God asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  He asks us to love the neighbor with the trash-filled yard and one-toothed smile.  He asks us to love the self-centered, short-tempered neighbor.  He asks us to have compassion for the neighbor whose trailer home has broken windows and rotting doors.  He asks us to have compassion for the neighbor whose prominent 6,000 square foot lakefront home is flooding.  Our job isn’t to be the judge of who to help and who not to help, or who to love and who not to love.  God calls us to love and serve.  We love and serve the Lord by loving and serving our neighbors (and not just the ones we like ;-)).  We can serve overseas, we can serve within our own country, and we can serve in our own cities and neighborhoods.