Smile: Now How Awesome is This??

Just got a call from a lady in my church. She went to the dentist this morning and asked them to donate toothpaste and toothbrushes for Pine Ridge! Amazing. I didn't ask her to do that, didn't expect it, and didn't even know she was going to. Wow. I love it when people get on board and do whatever they find to do to help out. Its amazing to see what can happen when that happens. I wonder if she knows that the need for that is SO great on the Rez? Here are some stats about oral health care at Pine Ridge.

• Less than 50% of population has access to water fluoridation
  


• Lowest oral hygiene scores with lowest frequency of daily tooth brushing & flossing (this may be because with an income of $3500, toothpaste may take a backseat to food and other basic needs)
  


• 56% of adult population have total tooth loss
  


• Children: 60% have active, untreated tooth decay – less than 50% have seen a dentist
  


• Ages 35 – 44: 50% have moderate to severe periodontal disease
  


• World highest incidence of ECC (Early Childhood Caries) ~ 80%
  

Thanks Laura!!

Honor for Dedication

On the Pine Ridge Reservation the highest honor is to have a star quilt placed upon your shoulders. So Cathy Jackson and the 2009 Pine Ridge Team wanted to honor Amber for the many hours she puts in for Back Packs for Pine Ridge and Rezonate. Cathy Jackson made a star quilt and this morning at church the 2009 Pine Ridge Team placed it on Amber's shoulder's as well as Brian's, she not only gather's a team to go on a mission trip with her, but the family works as a team as well. Amber thank you for the many, many hours and all your dedication to these mission projects, you are a light in this world of darkness, you will never know the lives that have been touched here at home and at Pine Ridge.

Fred and Judy

Just a quick post to welcome Fred and Judy as co-authors to the blog! They leave in a few short weeks to deliver coats, hats, socks and shoes to the children on the Reservation! Now they'll be able to post and upload pics to share with those of you who read here! Looking forward to it! Thanks Fred and Judy for your service to God and to the kids at Pine Ridge!

Shoes, Socks, Coats, & Hats

Trips do something to you. You come home and find that you can't quite forget the things you've seen and heard and experienced. And because of that, sometimes you've just gotta find a way to make things different for new friends.

That happened this year. Fred saw that many of the children on the Rez didn't have shoes that were in very good shape. Many of them wore shoes that were too big or too small, and Fred just had to do something about it. So after we got home he and Judy began to plan to collect shoes, socks, coats and hats for the kids. They will be leaving the first week of Sept. to deliver them.

So, now Fred and Judy are discovering that the kids out there not only take over your heart, they have a way of taking over your house as well. Below are some pics of Fred and Judy's house and how its been invaded by shoes, socks, coats, and hats. Click on the pic to get a larger view.

The Heat is On

Here's a short video of us delivering some of the heaters that our friends 8 Lives Spent raised the money for. We delivered heaters to the villages of Calico, Wounded Knee and Allen. BIG THANKS to the guys from 8 Lives Spent for all their work! Some people will be warm this winter thanks to them.

2010

The dates for the 2010 trip are scheduled for July 10-19. We will again load the truck on Friday evening, July 9th. If you are interested in going, please attend an interest meeting that will be at the church on Sunday, August 16 @ 4pm.

In the meantime, please, please, please support the efforts of Fred and Judy Howell who will be collecting new or almost new children's winter coats, hats, gloves, blankets, and shoes (Velcro closures please) and taking them to the Rez the first week of September. Our team and our congregation fully support what they feel led to do.

Some News

Sunday evening, Aug. 2nd our team will be sharing about our trip. This will be the only chance to see the video as I can't upload it to be viewed online.

I also have some dates for the 2010 trip. We will leave Saturday, July 10 and return Monday, July 19, 2010.