Meet the Crew: Daniel

Daniel is a young man with a heart for God. He is a talented musician and has a desire to be used by God. He also talks in his sleep. You can learn a lot of you listen to him when he’s sleeping.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This is going to be my third year going to the reservation.

What is something specific that people can pray for you about?

Pray that I have a servants heart, and not care about my needs, but the needs of others.

What about the trips have changed you and made you want to go back?

The trips for me are really life changing. It ,makes you realize how good we have it here in America. And the kids and the people are why I keep going back. Praying that one day they all will come to the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Meet the Crew: Jean

Jean has been a part of our crew since the first trip and has been a blessing to have along. She truly has a servant’s heart and is willing to do whatever needs doing with little or no regard for her own personal wishes. Her self-less efforts on the trips have helped her to build some special relationships with some of the kids.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

Four

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

That I am able to go, and that my husband gets rid of his cancer, or at least begins to feel better.

What is the thing about the trips that has changed you and made you want to go back?

I have learned that it's not about me. And I want to go back because I feel like I have family there, and I miss them.

Meet the Crew: Fred

What can I say about Fred. Fred is awesome. Fred is amazing. Fred is LOVED by everybody on the team. And in spite of all of that, Fred is humble. One of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet and a hard worker who always puts Jesus first and has a true servant’s heart.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This will be my 2nd year.

What is something specific people can be praying for you about?

That I would be obedient to God, to be tender to the Holy Spirit, step up when I should, step back when I need to and the wisdom to know the difference.

What is the thing about the trip that has changed you and makes you want to go back?

I think about the children at Pine Ridge all the time, especially when I see the children at church or my grandchildren and I've grown closer to my brothers and sisters in Christ that I traveled to Pine Ridge with.
What makes me want to go back?
If I can encourage or help one person to know Christ and change their life, that would be awesome.

Click it for the Kids

Got a minute? Here is a quick and easy way to help us help the kids at Pine Ridge and it won't cost you a penny. Click here to go to the DoSomething.org site and then click on the Projects page. Type in Backpacks For Pine Ridge in the "find a project" box and then vote for us!
Easy as can be and it can help us get the word out ... and that means more help for the kids.

Meet the Crew: Tim

About Tim:
Tim is funny. He cracks everyone up with his off-the-wall sense of humor. He is also a very talented photographer— many of the photos you see from the trips are ones Tim has taken. He is also a hard worker, is willing to do whatever is needed and oh yeah, did I mention he was funny?

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This will be my fourth time to the REZ.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

I am not all that good at communicating with the kids at our church so it is that much more difficult with the kids on the Rez and I am not as patient as I should be.

What is the thing about the trips that has changed you and made you want to go back?

I am not good at this self analysis gig but I do see the people warming up to us more each year - maybe I can follow their example

Meet the Crew: Debbie

About Debbie:
Debbie is an amazing lady. I’ve always known that but that characteristic became very clear the year we went to the Rez and on the first day there, Debbie got a call from her doctor telling her she had cancer. Rather than spend her time feeling sorry for herself as would be normal for most of us, she took a minute to cry with her hubby Tim and call her family and then got right to work. She is always a blessing on the trips and teaches us all how to make the best of a bad situation.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This will be my third time out.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Pray that when we are are there and difficult situations arise that I will know what to do - what to say or just to listen.

What is the thing about the trips that has changed you and made you want to go back?

I don't know if I have changed but I go back for the kids and being busy with them out there has helped me get through difficult times in my life.

Meet the Crew: Teresa

Teresa has been one of those crew members who have been first to seize opportunities to serve. She has quietly gone about doing what needs to be done without the need for recognition. She has a servant’s heart and has exhibited responsibility and a willingness to help others whether they are the Lakota people or her own teammates. Teresa is expecting a grandchild to be born about the time we will be on the Rez. I know she wants to be here for that so we're hoping the baby will wait till we're back home.

How many years have you been going on to the Rez with us?

This will be my first year.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Pray for my lost family members

Why do you want to go on this trip?

I had God tugging at my heart and when He is speaking I am going my best to listen and serve Him the best way I can. I hope to be a blessing to the people of Pine Ridge because I know I will receive a blessing.

Meet the Crew: Whitlock

Since I have so many Brian's in my life, I have dubbed this Brian "Whitlock". What can I say about Whitlock ... he is a really gifted organizer. I've been amazed as I've watched him work on both this team and the Rezonate team. His real day job has him wheeling and dealing with some very big businesses and he is far more talented than I ever imagined. Not only that, he's a genuinely nice guy. Very kind, A Real Giver, Good Cook (thankfully since he's our cook this year). He has volunteered to cook for 150 people at a homeless shelter - not just once a week, but every day. Takes Initiative, Is fun to pick on, Has a great sense of humor. And just can't seem to take a good pic - the first pic I took he was saying something and it came out looking like he was blowing a kiss -- and in this one he has his eyes shut. Oh well, sorry Whitlock. (He may kill me for this)


How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This will be my first year.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Be more obedient to God!

Why do you want to go on this trip?

I live to serve other's and I love to cook, I want to use what God has blessed me with to help other's. I see this mission trip having two missions for me personally, the first is helping and building a relationship with the Pine Ridge people, the second is to serve the Pine Ridge Mission team.

Meet the Crew: Cathy

Cathy is Compassionate, Compassionate, Compassionate, Dependable, Willing to Step out of her comfort zone and try things that scare her, Courageous. Hard worker. Always puts others ahead of herself - unless she has to pee.

How many years have you gone to the rez with us?

This will be my 5th year

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Health and that God will prepare me to handle the situations that arise while we are there.

What is it about the trips that have changed you and make you want to go back?

I appreciate the things I have more and the opportunities in the place were I live. The thing that keeps me going back is the relationships with Barry, Shelly and the people that have been build. The looks on the kids faces when they see you have come back and know you love them is priceless. You really do feel like its going home to visit family and friends. They are beautiful people.

Meet the Crew: Mark

About Mark:

The first thing people notice about Mark is his physical strength but I've come to see someone who has a heart as big if not bigger than he is. Mark is
very compassionate, Loves Deeply, Hard-working, Willing to do whatever it takes. Great with kids. Fun to pick on. Dependable.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This will be my first year.



What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Spiritual strength and health. I’ve been in a battle with a broken wrist for 9 months.

Why do you want to go on the trip?

I feel like God wants me to go on the trip. I haven’t quite figured out why, but I have always had a big heart for those in need and love cures many things.

Meet the Crew: Josh

About Josh:
Oh man, what to say .... I love this guy. He's like one of my own. Josh is always willing to help out with anything that needs doing. He sees opportunities to help out before anyone can ask and just does it. Hard worker, Funny, Fun to pick on. Takes it very well when people freeze his underwear. Servant's heart.


How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

I have gone to Pine Ridge every year, so what is that...5? wow!!!




What is something specific people can pray for you about?
People can pray for my energy...I will just be getting back from a 3 week long trip to Greece and we're always running in Pine Ridge.

What is it about the trip that has changed you and makes you want to go back?

Two words: THE KIDS!!!!!

I've Made A Decision

I've been behind on this blog. Partly because I'm not sure what to do with it. The purpose if for the team members to be able to keep up to date and for our church family to be able to follow all that is going on with the trips. But as I check my stat checker I see that very few people from Fairfield/Hamilton/Cincy are reading here. Instead someone from Latvia is? So, I'm confused, but welcome people from Lativa and other parts of the world! I stay confused most of the time anyway so here goes a blog post and we'll see who reads it.


I've made a decision.

Its not etched in stone yet, as most of my decisions aren't, but I'm pretty sure about this one. The decision is to not do the trip the way we are this year ever again. This year we are blocking out most of the day there to do various work projects. My reason for that was that was twofold:

1. We really wanted to get into the village and do work for the people. This was meant to be a way to build relationships with the adults in the village as well as with the children.
   
2. We often find that we get into a work project in the mornings only to have to shut it down to go do VBS with the kids.

I don't have a problem with shutting a work project down to play with kids, but I've heard that some of my crew are frustrated by that and I do try to listen to my crew and take their ideas into consideration so this year I thought we'd try doing all day work projects and then do VBS in the evening.

The problem with that is also twofold:

1. We are unsure what work projects we are doing. We will probably not know until we arrive there. To have the whole day blocked out and not have any clue as to how to plan for it makes me a bit nervous. Not a lot because I know things always work out, but it would be much easier to plan what materials and tools to bring if we had an idea. It may mean less trips to town once we are there if we already had the supplies and it may mean less expense since things seem to be generally cheaper here.
   
2. And this one is the real "problem" as I see it. There are people both on the team and not on the team who now have the idea that this year's trip is about "construction". I've heard people say that they would have gone this year if they had known it was about construction projects this year. I've also heard team members say they are much happier with this year's plans because they feel that the work projects are our biggest contribution out there.

YIKES!

If I had known that was the message I was sending by changing around the schedule, I would not have done it.

I know work projects make us feel like we're actually "doing" something there. It makes us feel good to have accomplished something tangible and feel like we've given them something of use. A lot of us, myself included, are way more comfortable with something like that. BUT that is not the most important way in which we contribute. It is not in any way the most important thing we do. On that, I'm absolutely convinced.

The most important thing we do there is build something far more difficult to build and far more uncomfortable for us to do - relationships. That is what God is all about - relationships. It was through relationship that He created us and it was through relationship that He communicated His love for us, and it is through relationship that we communicate His love for other people. Its how we touch people's hearts.

Yes, Pine Ridge is a place of poverty. But I think we forget that there is a kind of poverty that is far more destructive than physical poverty. There is a poverty of love that is the worse sort of suffering a human can experience and I see plenty of that on the Rez. Even Mother Teresa, the great humanitarian of our time, has said this,

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a
much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to
eat.

So I'm pretty sure we need to get back to the original plan at Pine Ridge. We're not about buildings, although those are fine too, but we have a higher purpose - people's hearts.

Meet the Crew: Ericka

Ericka is one of those crew members that I would be lost without. She is great about doing whatever is needed without any direction. She is as good in the kitchen as she is on the playground - and that's saying something because she's really, really good on the playground. I'm pretty sure she could put these trips together herself and lead them and she may well do that one day. Ericka is planning to be a teacher and the kids on the Reservation love her mightily. She always has two or three of them attached to her the whole week we are on the Rez. To watch her interact with the kids is to see her putting her giftedness into action.

How many years have you gone to the Rez with us?

This year will be my fourth trip to the reservation. So, I have been three times already.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

People can pray that I am physically, mentally, and spiritually ready for the trip. I have found that the trip is often challenging in ways that I can' learn it.

What is the thing about the trips that has changed you and made you want to go back.

I feel that going on the mission trip allows my relationship with God to grow in a different way each time that I take this adventure on. I have also developed a great passion for the children, people, and relationships that are built on the trip (both within the crew and with the people living on the Rez). I have kept going back because I feel that it is something God has led me to do both for me and the children.

Meet the Crew: Amber

I wasn't going to include myself in this but I've been reminded that if I'm going to do this to the crew that I'd better be willing too.

How many years have you gone to the Rez?

This will be my 5th year being a team coordinator. I first went to the Rez with a church in Indiana and have been a couple of times on my own without a crew.

What is the thing about it that has changed you and made you want to go back?

I grew up in a church in Indiana that was very mission-minded and then attended Anderson College which also offered mission trips several times a year. I finally got to go on my first mission trip back in the early 90's. Seeing how other people in other parts of the world live always changes you ... it breaks your heart and you are just never the same. It becomes harder to justify spending lots of money on yourself - not that there is anything wrong with that, but you learn that there is more joy in giving to someone else in need than in spending it on self.

I also have never been able to find a way around the passage of scripture in Matt. 25 where Jesus has some strong things to say about how we treat the poor. I take it that he meant exactly what he said and so I figure its a good idea for me to be involved in helping the poor. In doing that, I've learned that I have a lot to learn - they often have a better handle on spiritual matters than I do and I am usually the one that is "helped".

I also wanted for our church to become more mission minded and creating opportunities for people to experience a mission trip is the best way I know of to do that. I think it is vital to the health of the church to be reaching out to people who are different than us and who have been given less in this life than we have. That kind of experience makes us better people and makes the church a better church.

What is something specific people can pray for you about?

Pray that I will be obedient to Jesus and have a good attitude. I am not the best person for this job of organizing mission trips but I am willing to do it because I feel it is important and because I know its not about "me" being comfortable in the position I am in. Leading these trips challenges me in every area of weakness that I have and I don't always handle it well.

Team Member Spotlight: Brandon

I have decided to spotlight each team member and post a bit about them on the blog so that people can see who is going, give them a chance to share something about their experience with the mission trips, and let folks know how they can be praying for each individual team member.

I get to start with Brandon simply because he got his stuff in first - which is a first, I think. Just kidding ya Brandon.

Brandon is easy for me to write about because I've known him his whole life. He is the same age as my youngest son and I have come to consider him as one of my own. There is not a lot I wouldn't do for this guy.

Everyone who knows Brandon is very familiar with his winning personality. Honestly, to know him is to love him. He's friendly, funny, very talented (my rock star), and has come to love God with all his heart. Is he perfect? Nope, but I must say that I'm impressed with what I see in him as I've watched his relationship with Jesus develop into an honest, real, and increasingly meaningful relationship that is very evident to those around him. I am very proud to call him "my other son".




While his personality is the thing that probably stands out the most about him, something people may not immediately realize is that Brandon is a deep thinker, especially when it comes to spiritual matters. I've been amazed at his wisdom on more than one occasion. I am also impressed with Brandon's ability to bond with the kids at Pine Ridge. I've watched him grow closer to some of the kids there over the years and have seen that he is indeed having an impact on them for Christ. Last year especially Brandon was able to develop some friendships with a few of the boys on the rez that he will be able to build on in the future.


How many years have you been going to the Rez with us?

I've been 3 times to the rez.

What is it about these trips that has changed you and made you want to keep going back?


The reason I really wanna go back is because of the friendships I formed. I wanna keep those going and hopefully bring God into some peoples life.



What is something specific that people can pray for you about?

Something people can pray for me about is the cost of the trip.






















* This spotlight isn't intended to be a plea for sponsors and Brandon certianly didn't ask me to mention this, but if you would like to sponsor Brandon I'm sure he would be very appreciative.

Jan/Feb Newsletter from Shellly

Hello friends, just want to connect with everyone and let you know how things are going here in South Dakota. We hope that you all had a great start to 2008 and we enjoy news and phone calls from you all. I am going to try to send the newsletters monthly, but sometimes every 2 months is all I can do.

We received $600.00 from the AIC (American Indian Council) for the Ladies Group that was started here last summer for supplies. We were able to purchase fabric by the bolt, cutting mats, cutters and other supplies to get our ladies going on sewing projects. One of the great things is that we have four young ladies 11-13 that are participating in the group and are excited about learning to sew. Once everyone has learned all the initial things they need to know about sewing, machine and practice some we'll do a beginning project and then take a quilting class as a group project. I think this is going to be a great time of learning and uniting our women and a way of generating income for them. I would like to thank Sam Johnson, president of the AIC for making this possible.

I would also like to thank the churches in Fairfield and Jersey Shore that helped us with a project this year to bring Christmas to some special people here that might not have had much. I thank God for you, your generosity and compassion for the people here and your willingness to always help. I would like to continue with some special programs here at Christmastime and anyone that would like to be part of this, just let me know we can use all the help we can get. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I want to thank those that support us in prayer, with clothing, things for the Thrift Shop, financially and by planning their work camps to come out here and work and provide VBS for the children here. We are planning some special things this year for our work camps, we are focusing on building relationships and really submersing you with the culture here. So come prepared for a time this Summer like you've never had before!!!

We have some other special people to thank, they are Norval and Mary Justice from Faith Fellowship CHoG. They sent us 30 beautiful padded chairs for our sanctuary, a much needed and appreciated gift. We were able to carpet the sanctuary at about the same time the chairs arrived and the two matched so closely you would have thought it was planned to match! We thank you and all the members of our church thank you. It was so great to have the first wedding of the year in our beautiful newly done sanctuary.

I think our next project will be linoleum for our fellowship hall and then it will be time to expand. We have noticed that it is getting harder to fit everyone in the fellowship hall when we have weddings and large dinners, but that is truly a good thing.

We are looking forward to the Tri-S Group coming on the 9th of March, our first work camp of 2008. It will be good to see Ed Breeden and Emily Clark again, and to meet a new group of students. In my next letter I will print out the scheduled work camps and when they will be here. This is going to be a busy summer and our goal is to lead others to Christ and to build relationships in the community and with all of you who work so hard and are so dedicated to the Lakota people.

God bless,

Barry & Shelly Bentley

Pics from the Italian Dinner

Our "Beauties" from the Beauty Contest

2008 VBS Teams

Teens
Jeff
Cathy
Charles
Bev


Middlers
Jean
Daniel
Bub
Teresa
Darlene
Andreina
Dennis
Amber

Little Ones
Becky
Tim
Debbie
Chrissie
Ericka
Josh

New Web Site!!

We are happy to annouce that we now have a new web site for Backpacks for Pine Ridge.

Check it out at www.BackpacksForPineRidge.com

Italian Style Dinner

An Italian Style Dinner

March 2nd after the morning worship service

Ticket prices: $12 individual, $20 couple

The meal will be served restaurant style (you will be seated and we will serve you) and will include:

Spaghetti

Lasagna

Salad

Breadsticks

Drink

Desert

Spaghetti, salad, breadsticks, provided by Olive Garden

Desert provided by Swan Deserts

For your dining pleasure entertainment will include a "Woman-less" Beauty Contest

Come and enjoy the food and fun!

For those who cannot eat Italian food, if you purchase a ticket we will prepare the food and take it to Serve City. Its an opportunity to help 2 Missions for the price of one!

Proceeds from the meal and Beauty Contest go toward our expenses for the mission trip

and include:

A meal each day for 100-150 Lakota children

Construction materials (some for the church, some for the homes of Lakota people)

Fuel and travel expense

VBS materials

March Meeting

The March team meeting will be on Sunday, March 2nd after we clean up from the Itialian Style Dinner. It will be a long and grueling day .... just a preview of days to come. ;)

The next payment of $100 is also do at that time.

The good news never ends does it.

Rock-A-Thon

Thanks to Tim, we have some pictures from the Rock-A-Thon that the Haiti and Pine Ridge teams participated in last Saturday. Enjoy!

See How You Can Help Backpacks for Pine Ridge

Click here

Fundraiser Opportunity

Rock-A-Thon - Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. See Amber or Tammi for a sponsor sheet. Please let Amber know ASAP if you're planning to do this.

Christmas Greetings to and From Pine Ridge

Each of these are less than 4 min. long.

A Video Christmas Card from Our Crew to our Friends on Pine Ridge Reservation



Christmas Greeting from Pine Ridge Reservation



The Outtakes & Bloopers Reel

Deadline is Close

REMINDER*

The deadline for the '08 trip to Pine Ridge is getting here fast. All of your registration materials along with your first payment must be in by Sunday, January 6, 2008.

To register you need to turn in:

1. Your Team Member Information Form
   
2. The Emergency Medical Information Form
   
3. Team Member Agreement Form
   
4. Your first non-refundable, non-transferable payment of $100

All of the forms can be found in your packet.

Winter Pics of the Rez

The Badlands covered in snow

Some of the housing on the Rez

The sactuary of the church with new carpet and new chairs!

Rezonate '08

Pine Ridge Reservation

A Family in Need of Christmas Gifts

The missionary asked if our church could provide a family in the village with Christmas gifts this year. She is asking each church that goes there for workcamps to take a family and give them Christmas gifts.

Here are the ages, etc.

• Hazel, the grandmother
  likes bath items
  Already Purchased - earrings, bath soap set
  
  
• Marie - the mother
  Likes anything for her house, earrings, bath items,
  Favorite colors are marroon and hunter green
  Already Purchased - Winter Coat, flower arrangement, bath soap set
  
  
• Charlie the father
  Likes tools and movies, gloves, cologne, hair clippers
  Size 3 or 4 X shirt
  Already Purchased - Watch, flannel shirt, hair clippers
  
  
• Arlo - age 11
  Likes football, head and wrist bands, pants size 14 regular, man's size large shirts
  Favorite color - blue
  Already Purchased - football, basketball, wrist bands, blue shirt
  
  
• Michael - age 8
  Likes Spongebob,
  Man's shirt size large or XLarge
  Favorite colors - yellow and green
  Already Purchased - Spongebob dominos & Bingo game, game, green shirt
  
  
• Everet (Bubba) - age 7
  Likes "Transformers"
  Pants size 8 Regular
  Favorite color - red
  Already Purchased - Trouble game, game, red shirt
  
  
• Aleaha - age 6
  Likes horses and dogs
  Favorite color - pink and purple
  Already Purchased - Gap hoodie sweatshirt, my little pony, pink running set

All of the children like art supplies, games, and sports.

If you have purchased something for this family, let Amber know and it will be posted here so we don't duplicate items.

Please do not send used items.

See Amber for the address

Suicide

I got a call yesterday from the missionary on the Reservation. She was distraught and asked us to be praying for the Lakota people, and for them as they deal with several tragedies.

In the past few weeks several young people on the Reservation have committed suicide by hanging themselves. The oldest was 21 years old. The others were younger still. The impact this has had and is having among the people there is hard to imagine. Perhaps the best way to illustrate it is to tell what the missionary told me yesterday.

One of the mothers in the village called the church in a panic because she had caught her 6 year old little girl with a noose around her neck and with the end of it thrown over the doorway and was about to pull it when her mother found her. This is a family that those of us who have gone out there know well. My son Logan has had a special bond with this little girl.

For us, this is not a story of tragedy far away. It affects our friends, our extended family if you will. It's personal and heartbreaking.

Please pray.

Porcupine Clinic Update

THANKS to all who donated toward helping the Porcupine Clinic. We collected $800 at church yesterday and today the check will go in the mail. I spoke to a lady at the Propane Company this morning and she is thrilled to know that help is on the way. She works for the propane company but is also working very hard to help the Clinic get it's needs met. She seemed to really care about the people there.

The latest news is that they now have enough money accumulated to get them through 1/3 of the winter. They also have an old cook stove that is about broken down - they are smelling propane leaking from it. They are unsure what to do about that.

*UPDATED*

I also talked to Stella White Eyes at the Porcupine Clinic. I called to let them know that our church had a check for them that I would be putting in the mail. Here is a piece of that conversation ..

"Porcupine Clinic, can I help you"

"Is Stella White Eyes available?"

"She just stepped out to get the mail. Can I take a message?"

"My name is Amber and we normally come out to Allen each year. We heard about your need of propane and I wanted to call and let you know that we collected $800 yesterday at our church and I will be putting that check in the mail tomorrow."

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard a wild gasp and the lady on the phone said, "OH! Wait and let me get Stella ... she will want to talk to you!"

A bit later Stella came on the line and I told her the same thing I had said to the other lady. She was very touched and grateful and told me to "thank all of those people for me".

It was cool to hear the relief and excitment in her voice.

The clinic is back up and running but they still have many needs. Continue to pray for these folks.