As a little girl I hated it when my parents would say, "wait and see". As an adult, I'm still not fond of the phrase. I suppose waiting just goes against human nature. We all want to know what's going on and what will happen NOW. I know I do. But workcamps/mission trips/whatever you choose to call them, rarely ever work that way. Come to think of it, God seldom works that way. Could there be a connection?
In any case there are a couple of details I've been trying to nail down to no avail.
One is the work projects. I would LOVE to know what kind of work projects we will be doing and what materials we will need to do them. Then maybe we could get the materials donated, or at least we could shop around for the best price. But that is not how it has been in years past and likely not going to be that way this year either. Some of you will remember that last year we were going to paint the parking lot at the American Horse school - I was in contact wtih the school and was assured that they had all the materials we would need to do it. And they did. They had paint and paint brushes and one roller. That is not what we would have preferred to use to paint a parking lot but it was actually a good reminder that it's not about us and our way of doing things. Working with other cultures and with people who live in poverty is often an eye-opening experience for those of us who live in middle-class America.
Much of the work project wait and see comes from the fact that what we do will depend on what other groups before us do, and there is just no way to predict that this far ahead of time. We'll try again a month or so out and see if we can find out what we'll be working on, but for now, it's "wait and see".
Another thing I'm working on is the outdoor concert that we plan for Phayth to do. I prefer to have it somewhere in the village rather than at the church, but the missionary tells me that we will have to wait until a month or so before we come and see what is availble then. The reason being, we can book a place now but if an Indian event comes up, they'll not let us have it. Understandable. So, that too will be a last minute thing that we'll have to wait and see on.
And finally I am working on having a guest speaker talk to our group at Wounded Knee. I thought it would be far better for us to hear about not only the 1890 massacare at Wounded Knee but also the 1970's occupation of Wounded Knee from an American Indian perspective. It matters little to me if the speaker is considered radical or controversial. There is benefit in listening and understanding a point of view of anyone else - even someone who may be a bit more militant than we would approve of. Then again, we may find that there are good reasons for their feelings and beliefs and we may find out that we agree on more than we thought we did. Even with the most radical of people we can listen and learn from. So, I've invited Russell Means to speak to our group. If you've not heard of him, he is a well-known civil rights American Indian activist. He is also an actor who has had parts in movies such as Disney's Pochontus (sp?) and in the movie "Last of the Mohicians". Mr. Means has been very invovled with the American Indian Movement and was a central figure in the 1973 occupation at Wounded Knee. I've been in contact with him and have been asked (you guessed it) to wait and see. He lives on his ranch/Total Immersion school on the reservation and I'm told that if I contact him 2 weeks before we arrive there, he will know his speaking schedule better.
So those are a few things I'm working on. As usual, it's all in God's hands and we'll just wait and see what He has for us this year.
