Lakota Work Team - Wednesday, 3/28

Yesterday we finished putting up all the drywall in the bathhouse but left the taping and mud for the next group coming. We finished the drywall, taping, mud, and painting of the entryway to the church and painted the whole downstairs and the (formerly dark) stairwell and patched some holes in the walls.  We cut and framed a window in the wall between the back SE room and the chapel so AV can be run from there in services.  We repaired the gate of the enclosure around the A/C unit and we cleaned up trash around the church and cleaned/mopped/tidied the place. We also inventoried and organized the food pantry. 

After we finished work about 3 PM, most of the group went to Wounded Knee, but Ben, Matt, and I went rock climbing about 15 miles away. We left this AM before 5:30--now at mile335 on I-90 in SD.  Should roll into CoMo by 9 PM. The Lord has  blessed us with every good/favorable turn possible on this trip.

Lakota Work Team - Monday evening, 3/26

Good evening from Sharps Corner.  Today went well. It was warm after 10 AM--T-shirt weather--AND we had the excitement of an early evening dust storm.

The drywall on the ceiling of the bathhouse is up and the walls have only a small bit left to put up. We will tape and mud the bathhouse tomorrow.  The downstairs of the church is almost completely painted (Ben's work mostly) and the entryway drywall is taped and mudded--second coat went on today.  We will paint it tomorrow.

Everyone is doing well, except that Dennis started feeling unwell/tired today, so we ended up bringing him back to the church early in the afternoon to rest. He was okay by dinner. The smoothness and speed with which the work has progressed is a sure blessing from God. It is reassuring and inspiring to visualize how these manual, physical tasks will turn to the spiritual benefit of the people here as they come to Christ. 

I really wish I could stay a few more days here, and I think some others feel the same. It's really not much of a discomfort staying here at the church (and we found several air matresses today that will add greatly to our comfort tonight). That's the report for today. I took photos today of the work; I will upload when I can get a stable fast connection. More news tomorrow. 

Lakota Work Team - Monday morning, 3/26

Breakfast this morning consisted of fried apples, pancakes, and sausage (are you hungry?). Yesterday we finished getting drywall on the ceiling of the bathhouse and mud and tape in the entryway of the church. Today we'll do another skim coat of mud in the entry and get all drywall up on the walls of the bathhouse. We may also paint the chapel today and do other general repairs around the church.

Lakota Work Team - Sunday, 3/25

Some went out in two vans to round up kids for children's church (35-40 kids!). The worship service was great; Ben gave such a thoughtful, moving sermon. Everyone seems to work well together. It is a very mild combination of personalities, (except for me :) )  I think everyone feels the Lord has blessed us. Conditions aren't ideal and not all the materials and tools that are necessary for the work are necessarily on hand, but the job is for us  to do it with what we have.  Everyone seems content knowing we are in the service of the Lord and the Lakota people. 

Lakota Work Team - Arrival Saturday 3/24

Ben and I (Marty) are shopping for supplies right now. The team got to Chanku Waste Ranch about 7:30 in the morning local time with no incidents along the way.  We rested for about an hour and a half and then got to work. We got a lot of drywall work already done today; in fact, it already looks like we will run out of drywall, so Ben and I are picking a few more sheets here in Rapid City after our grocery run.   We have already felt the Lord's blessings close up. We all got here feeling pretty refreshed despite the long drive.  The Spirit has invigorated us.  We are grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and the Lakota people!