The Road Home

Yesterday we enjoyed some well-earned  R & R at cool Lake Sylvan in Custer State Park in the Black Hills. Some hiked toward Harney's Peak, the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies. 

We spent the night in Murdo, SD last night, and we're on the road for Missouri this morning. Thanks for your prayers and support as you partnered with us in the ministry of the gospel at Chanku Waste Ranch!

Camp - Day 5

 Today was a day of tearful goodbyes as we wrapped up an amazing week of camp at Chanku Waste Ranch. We ended our journey with the Israelites at the bronze serpent, sharing the connection that Jesus was similarly lifted up on the cross to give eternal life to all who believe. The bus was loaded with Lakota kids and our teens as we made the final run this afternoon. Many relationships have been forged, the gospel has been proclaimed and demonstrated, and we have all learned from each other more of the love of Christ. It's been an incredible week, and it's hard to believe that it has already come to a close.

We had planned to visit Belle Butte as a team this afternoon, but the unseasonable rain made the dirt road impassable. We did have some team bonding over getting one of the vans out of the mud!

Our Teen team on top of Bell's Butte on Monday

If you would like to share in the ministry of Chanku Waste Ranch, you can purchase a t-shirt to help support their fund for a new bus. The blue shirt is $20 and the other two are $15 each. We'll place an order early next week, and the shirts will be in within 2 weeks. Contact Pastor Conrad if you would like to place an order.

We will be returning home in separate groups much the same way that we began: the Shermans and Heather have already left today, several of the ladies will be leaving first thing Saturday morning, while the majority of the group will be visiting Sylvan Lake in the Black Hills and returning to Missouri Sunday evening. Please pray for safety for each of the groups as they travel, and that the team will have an enjoyable day of rest and fellowship together throughout the trip home.

Camp - Day 4

This morning Pastor Brennan shared about a friend in Florida that had leukemia which turned into terminal bone cancer over the weekend. Through that diagnosis he also came to faith in Christ. We prayed together as a camp for him and learned later today that his liver was better all of a sudden, allowing for a needed bone marrow transplant. Hundreds of miles away, it is exciting to hear about how God is at work through the power of the gospel and of prayer.

In addition to this young man's physical and spiritual healing, JJ, one of the welders working with Ray for the past few weeks, came to faith in Christ today! JJ's conversion is a direct result of the camp staff's commitment to relational discipleship through Ray, Mike Brennan, and Matt Hadden. It has been exciting to be a part of what God is doing here; we can truly say that there are many hands planting and watering, but God is giving the increase! 

JJ hard at work in the welding shop

Today was Water Day, which meant water balloons and a water slide for the kids and a trip to swim in the White River for the teens. The temperatures have been a welcome 90 degrees (about 20 degrees cooler than last year's high over 110!), but still warm and dry enough for everyone to enjoy the chance to cool off.

 

We finished the day with our annual trip to Sheep Mountain to praise God together and share our team devotions in the midst of the majesty of God's creation in the Badlands. We were all exhausted from the week, and grateful for the time of refreshment for our team. As we have worked together through the "one another" expectations of believers in the New Testament, today we came to the difficult challenge of exhorting one another. Our environment, spending every waking and sleeping moment together as a team, affords many opportunities to practice loving and serving one another, as well as confronting and encouraging each other.

Please pray for our team as we finish up camp with a half day tomorrow, and also please pray for the father of one of the campers' families who is recovering from a heart attack on Wednesday.

Camp - Day 3

 It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through our week at Chanku Waste Ranch. Our attendance was back up again, and we continue to build relationships with the kids. One girl, who has been a little challenging during camp, revealed in passing on the way home on the bus that her mom hates her. It is heartbreaking, and yet we know that girls like her are the reason we are here. We are confident that the hope we have in Christ through the gospel is the only hope for the Lakota as well. As our time here comes slowly to an end, it becomes harder to learn more about the backgrounds of these kids knowing that we'll be gone in a couple of days, but we're encouraged by the ongoing ministry of the Brennans, Haddens, and Mcintoshs because we know the heart of their ministry is to love these kids unconditionally.

Wednesday evening we enjoyed a dinner at the church and joined in on their Wednesday night bible study. We got to hear from Ray, a retired pastor and welding teacher from Texas. Ray has spent several weeks teaching a few Lakota guys about welding, giving them a skill that they'll be able to use for the rest of their lives. 

The rain forecasted for today held off until the evening, when we were hit with a torrential downpour for a couple of hours. The timing of the mud couldn't be better for water day tomorrow!

Teaching kids about the 10 Commandments in an improvised classroom

Camp - Day 2

Today we had slightly fewer kids.  We only had about 30 due to events on the reservation and other interests that compete for these kids’ time.  We continue to pray that they will come and that we can share God’s love in our actions, our words, and in each activity.

Today’s lessons were based on the Exodus from Egypt and the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness.  We had our own little Exodus, painted, made beads necklaces, and sang Jesus loves me, complete with sign language!

As we met last night for team devotions and reviewed the many blessings for our group, we listed the great weather so far, the ever-evolving facilities that make this camp better and better, and finally our great cooking crew!  Today we had walking tacos for lunch and they were a hit (a walking taco is all of the taco ingredients in a bag of Doritos).

Our group has so much to be thankful for and we are most appreciative of your continued prayer support!

Camp - Day 1

Camp kicked off this morning with 40 kids! It was one of our best first days since the opening of Chanku Waste Ranch. Kids were divided into age groups; 5-6 year olds, 7-9 year olds, and 10-12 year olds all participated in crafts, games, lessons, and activities around the life of Moses. The rest of the week will continue through the Exodus and Israel's wandering in the wilderness.

The group of teens got to climb Belle's Butte this afternoon, enjoying the great weather so far: temperatures in the 70s and 80s with lots of greenery, instead of the typical hot, dry weather.

The only real incident we encountered today was when the bus ran out of gas in the first stretch of the return route after camp. It provided a little bit of excitement and restlessness for the kids, but eventually we were rescued by our teammates through a creative fueling method.

This year our team devotions cover "one another" relationships among us as the body of Christ. Today was on loving one another from John 13:34-35, also our theme verse:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Please pray for our team as we begin our second day tomorrow; pray that we can actively and intentionally demonstrate the love of Christ, not just to the Lakota kids, but also to each other. Pray for another great day of camp ministry tomorrow, as well as for Heather and Sara from Hope as they travel from O'Fallon to Pine Ridge.

Sunday Morning

A full house at Sharps Corner Baptist Church this morning! It was good to reconnect with Pastor Mike Brennan, Rob McIntosh, Matt Hadden, and their families, along with several Lakota friends. Pastor Mike preached from Philippians 1:15-19, a very apropos challenge to serve and proclaim the truth with pure motives, exalting Christ instead of promoting ourselves.

After church we enjoyed a quick lunch and then got to work making preparations for camp! Each of the teams (Lessons, Crafts, Review, Games, and Teens) organized their resources in anticipation of tomorrow's kickoff. Pray our first day of camp tomorrow at 9:00am!

The Gang's All Here!

The second group just pulled into Chanku Waste Ranch! The team will go to church at Sharps Corner this morning and then prepare for camp later this afternoon.

Arrival #1

Our first group arrived safely at Chanku Waste Ranch at around 9pm mountain time! The second group is in Grand Island, Nebraska, about halfway.

2nd Group Departs

Our second group is on the road! They left this evening after Josh and Carol Burt's wedding. Pray for safety and alertness as they drive tonight. The first group that left this morning is in northern Nebraska and should arrive at Chanku Waste Ranch in a few hours.

The Lakota Trip Begins!

Our first wave took off at 7:00am this morning! They should be arriving in South Dakota by late evening; please pray for safety as they travel. The second half of our team will hit the road this evening.