Backpacks 2008!

I've begun shopping for backpacks and school supplies for the 2008 trip!

Today Brian and I found 24 backpacks for $6 each! We bought 3 boxes of them, 24 in total. Cody's old room is now officially the Backpack Room.

Be praying we get some good donations really soon.

In July school supplies are much cheaper so we need to be buying them this next month for the 2008 trip.

We only have $200.00 in our fund after buying these backpacks so we really need some donations soon. It normally takes anywhere from $1500 - $2000 to provide backpacks and school supplies to the village of Allen and we are hoping to be able to expand this project to include the village of Wounded Knee as well.

Here's a pic of the backpacks we got today!

What We're Taking

Or I should say what we plan to take in addition to the usual stuff.

• 150 Backpacks with school supplies (all the money was donated for this)
  


• A 17 cu. ft. upright freezer (all the money was donated for this)
  


• 8 Pallets of "product" (baby items, personal care items, etc.) (all the money was donated for this)
  
  
• 12 - 15 Electric Heaters (I've lost count)
  


• VBS materials (safari hats, animal print bandannas, animal print sunglasses, safari crafts)
  


• A new target toss game (pictured)

Shopping!

John, Josh and I went shopping today. We bought most of the non-perishable food for the trip, then bought a freezer. After packing up the food, here are some pics of what my dining room looks like now.

The Coffee is Here

The coffee arrived today and will be for sale starting this Sunday! Money raised will go toward purchasing backpacks and school supplies for the children at Pine Ridge Reservation

Comments Disabled

Not many of our team comment here and that is fine but wanted to alert you that I've disabled comments entirely on this blog. Some person who is obviously ignorant of what we do there has been posting that the Pass Creek church is getting rich off of us. Anyone who is in any way knowledgeable of that church, the reservation, or our group that travels there knows how utterly ridiculous that is. But ignorant people who want to stir trouble abound. This visitor is from Wall Drug, SD and spent a total of 6 min. 14 seconds on our site and felt they knew enough to make these accusations. I will not permit this blog to be used in that manner.


If anyone in our church family or any team member has questions and wants to see our bookkeeping - you only need to ask. In fact, I encourage you to do so - you'll appreciate what we do even more. We remain fully accountable to any supporter of this endeavor.

My apologies to any team members or church family member who would have liked to have been able to use this blog to communicate via comments. It's sad that when you try to do a good thing someone has to give you grief for no good reason but that's the world we live in.

Coming Soon

Soon you will be able to purchase Equal Exchange, Fairly Traded Coffee and Chocolate Bars at church and support our efforts at Pine Ridge at the same time. Here's the deal...

• You can buy the coffee and 48% of the money from your purchase will go toward purchasing backpacks and school supplies for the children on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

It's a situation where everyone wins and we have an opportunity to make a difference in many ways.

1. First, we will be making money to purchase school supplies and making a difference in the lives of children on the reservation.
   
   
2. We will also be helping the farmers who in developing countries by purchasing Fair Trade coffee.
   
   
3. And, we will be raising awareness about Fair Trade products.

That's 3 different ways we can make a difference!

Will it cost more? Yes. About $10.00 per pound of regular coffee and about $3.50 per bar of chocolate, but your money will be doing so much good on so many levels and the products are so much better

About Fair Trade

Fair Trade ensures that the farmers who grow the coffee in Third World countries are paid a fair wage for their crops, that they do not have to work in hazardous conditions, and that no child labor is used.

Some things you may not know ... The farmers who grow the coffee we drink are often paid less than it cost them to grow their crop, keeping them in a cycle of poverty.

With chocolate, the story is far worse. "While chocolate is sweet for us, it can be heartbreaking for the hundreds of thousands of child laborers that pick the cocoa that goes into some of our favorite treats. In 2001, the U.S. State Department, the International Labor Organization and others reported child slavery on many cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, source of 43% of the worlds cocoa. Subsequent research by the
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture revealed some 284,000 children between the ages of 9 and 12 working in hazardous conditions on West African cocoa farms. Of these children, it was reported that some 12,000 child cocoa workers that had participated in the study were likely to have arrived in their
situation as a result of child trafficking". - From The Global Exchange

In the very near future we will have a way of having our favorite treats and putting our money to better use.

Be looking for more information coming soon.

Rethinking Evangelism

We've been talking in our meetings about evangelism and how our approach must differ from the classic 4 spiritual laws approach. RWK over at Today at the Mission says it far better than I could. If you're on the Pine Ridge team, please read this.

Something To Keep In Mind

I"m not sure how the knowledge escaped me all these years - maybe I should read more travel books, namely the Custer State Park guide. Apparently Custer State Park is mountain lion territory. They give the following tips for what to do if you encounter one of these kitties.

• When hiking, walk with others. A walking stick can be used for defense.
  
  


• If you come upon one, shout, wave and hold your jacket open. Try to look as large and threatening as possible.
  
  


• Maintain eye contact with the cat at all times.
  
  


• DO NOT crouch down.
  
  


• DO NOT run.
  
  


• DO NOT approach the cat (who would do that??)
  
  


• Throw sticks or stones that you can easily reach without crouching or taking your eyes off the cat.
  
  


• If the lion attacks, fight back

Good luck!

Very Cool Indeed

Lifted Magazine gave us a plug! They are a friend on the Backpacks for Pine Ridge MySpace and heard about ut that way. They have begun showcasing a ministry each Monday and we are the first! How cool is that!

News From The Rez

I just talked to Shelly. They are really looking forward to our coming out this summer. She says the kids especially are excited and having a hard time waiting for us to get there. It's good to know that they know us and still look forward to seeing us. ;)

She left some prayer requests for us:

• Mike - a 30 year-old man in the church who is having heart problems.
  
• The kids and all the workcamps this year - that everything that is done will benefit the Lakota people. Barry and Shelly really have a heart for the people there and it shows. Last winter they gave away their own blankets out of their house to the people who were looking for a way to stay warm.

Please keep these in your prayers. And remember to pray for our group too - that we will be sensitive to the needs there in everything we do. It's easy to get big ideas that sound good to us but we want to be sure that we are acting in their best interest and not our own good feelings.

It will be time to leave before we know it!

Just Some Updates

Things are rolling right along. Here are some updates on our projects.

John is gathering more items for the auction. You'll be hearing about that at church very soon. We are also looking into putting some things on Ebay. This fundraiser will help us to pay for the pallets of products we will be taking to the rez.

We are getting more backpack/school supply money. (thanks Chrissie for your help with this) I am also working on this by building our Backpacks for Pine Ridge MySpace. Check it out. God is so weird. That page has so many different kinds of friends - we've got Bikers, Indians, Rockers, Graffiti Artists. I don't know if this will help bring in any support but hey, it's worth a try. MySpace is pretty powerful so we may as well use it for good.

I've also got an idea that may help raise money for the backpack project. It's too early to say anything about it but I'm hoping to be able to let you all know about it soon. It will be a BIG deal and pretty exciting. And it will be in Fairfield - out in the community, not at our church.

Here is a graph that shows where we're at with the backpack money. Click on it to read it better.

June Meeting Update - For Those Who Were Not There

Dianna came to share her story with us. She is from Liberia and has an amazing story of God's provision. I asked her to come for two reasons, 1) her story is worth hearing, and 2) it's a way for us to hear about Africa firsthand. Sometimes Africa can seem like a long way away and that it has very little to do with us. It's easy to ignore things that do not affect us or anyone we know. By hearing Dianna's story and meeting her, we now know someone who has been affected by the conditions in Africa and the next time we hear a news report about the wars there, we will feel more connected. Or at least that's my hope.

Which brings me to one of the topics for this month's meeting.

It's all about RELATIONSHIP.

As much as I would love to see people know Jesus and as much as I love charity, I do NOT want us to go out there to evangelize or even to only do acts of charity. Those are all well and good but I firmly believe that relationship is the key. Once we build relationships with people, they become more than just a mission project - they become our friends, and we are not likely to allow friends to deal with the harsh conditions of poverty without acting. Neither will be be reluctant to share our best friend, Jesus with them. Either of these, charity or evangelism, without relationship is meaningless.

That is why I keep saying that in spite of whatever else we do at Pine Ridge, the playground is where ministry happens. Being with the children, loving on them, playing games, giving piggy back rides, and pushing them on the swings is what our trip is really all about. They will not likely remember what we teach in the VBS classes but they will remember that someone loved them.

We also talked about preparing emotionally and physically for the trip.

We will be living communally for 9 days. During that time we will face some challenges, including:

• Having very little rest
• It will be HOT - over 100 degrees
• There is absolutely NO privacy there - you can't even go to the bathroom to find a moment alone because there will be people in the bathroom too.
• The food, although far better than most mission trips (thank you John), will still not be what we would eat at home every day.

So, how to we prepare emotionally to deal with these challenges?

Being at your best spiritually and physically will help. Here are a few tips:

• Stay prayed up. You may not have the time for a lot of prayer out there - pray now.
• Rest. Especially the week before we go - get as much rest as possible
• When we stop at the hotel in Des Moines, sleep. It's a nice hotel with comfortable beds - take advantage of the last chance for a decent night's sleep.
• Take care of yourself out there. Take breaks to avoid becoming overheated. Don't feel guilty about taking a 15 - 20 min. break. It's better to do that than to overdo it and need to go to the clinic and miss half a day.
• Drink plenty of water out there. Carry a water bottle and keep it filled and drink it. It is easy to become dehydrated out there.
• Remember - IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. Don't expect things to go your way.

You will also be encountering a different culture. We will not only be in the Great Sioux Nation and among Native American culture, but we will also be in a culture of poverty. You will see things that will rub you the wrong way. You will see things you may not agree with. Remember, it is not our place to judge them for the choices they make. Here is a quote I like:

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing
exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the
well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. ~ Herman Melville

Child Abuse. See Amber for information about how to deal with any child abuse we encounter.

I also need to mention meetings. We are getting sloppy in our attendance at meetings. Last month we had to cancel the meeting because too many team members were not able to make it. This month we had the same situation although we did not cancel it. This is disappointing to say the least. I cannot stress enough how important it is for EVERYONE to be at the meetings. A number of people ask on occasion if we are doing anything important at the meeting. OF COURSE WE ARE. If we weren't, we wouldn't have a meeting. Here's the deal - we have 27 people going to a different culture for 9 days and we need to pull together to accomplish some things and we basically have 7 hours to prepare. We meet on average once a month for an average time of an hour. Every meeting is essential. If you've never gone with us - you really need to be there or you will simply not be prepared and that's bad news for you and for the team and for our mission there. If you have been before and think you know what it's all about - you've not been with the current team before and even if you know "the drill", you still need to be part of the new team.

One thing I am doing is to go back and re-do the chore schedule to reward those who have been at every meeting. They will not have bathroom duty - at all. Which means that those who miss meetings will have more bathroom duty.

As for the July meeting - you have to be there. It's the last meeting before we leave and you will be getting last minute instructions.

Memories of 2006

Click on the pic for a larger view

What a crew!

The things we do for these kids

But just look - they're so worth it

Even when there's mass chaos

Tug of war

We worked hard

Awwww....

We laughed hard too

And we cried hard sometimes

Accidents happen

And we thought this price was bad

You just never know what will happen on these trips

Our missionaries! Barry & Shelly

News from the Rez - May Newsletter

School is out and summer is here!! We hope that all of you are getting your summer off to a great start. Around here it is garden time and that is what we have started on. We have been blessed so far this spring with abundant rain, that has been desperately needed. Even the Badlands are green and we are praying for more rain because we have had drought conditions here for about eight years.


We want to stay in contact with everyone and give you an idea of what is going on here this summer. By the way, I do so appreciate the newsletters that come to us, it gives me a chance to see what other churches are doing and pray for all of you. Here is a list of work camps that will be here this summer:


June 15-June 21 - Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
They have already sent funding to purchase paneling for our second work camp trailer that had flooring replaced two years ago but needs new ceilings (we have the materials), paneling, carpet, and linoleum. We'll make some more bunk beds and have much more room for our work camps, one of our camps will have 21 and another 27!

July 23 - July 29 - Elk Hart, Kansas

I am not certain the details of what this group will be working on at this time but we will have several projects in the village among the people. We have four families that we are going to try to put concrete patios next to their houses and fencing. I spoke to the housing officials in Pine Ridge and they thought this was a very good thing. We are anxious to meet all of you!

July 29 - August 4 - Fairfield, OH (us)

This is our second year working with this group and we are excited you will be here. This group always has a kool-aid run in the mornings, meeting all the children and inviting them to lunch (for all who want to come in the village) and then Bible School for the children. Each year they come they bring backpacks loaded with school supplies for the kids. This group has made lasting relationships with so many of the people here. The kids are really looking forward to seeing you.

August 6 - 10 - Monroe City, Indiana

We would like to continue community work and get some fencing around more of the property. We will not run out of projects and look forward to meeting everyone in this group. Most of the groups like working with the children and many of them have a VBS for them.

We are eagerly waiting for a student that will be arriving from Tri-S the beginning of June who will be doing her internship here. Her name is Emily, she has been to this area before and we are thrilled to have her until the middle of August. Just today I also found out that Jael, from the work camp this past March may also be coming out , if possible, with Emily for a week. It will be great to see her again. I felt a real connection to her and all the children with her.

Also we want to thank those special people in California that have met so many of our needs at the Pass Creek Church of God. Your support came at a time when God reached out to us through you, and as usual His timing was perfect - thank you. To each and every person that prays for us and supports us financially, this mission and the Lakota people here on the Pine Ridge Reservation - we thank you so very much.

The summer months are a very busy time and a time the people here look forward to seeing all their old friends from previous years. For us also it is a time of meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones. It can be lonely out here sometimes and we really count on these workcamps and all the summer meetings to help hold us over during the winter months.

Several other events that are coming up this summer are as follows:

• May 26th - we will be taking a trip to Rapid City to take the children to Old McDonalds Farm, a petting zoo, and then to Storybook Island for a picnic.



• June 9th - trip to Evans Plunge for swimming and picnic


• July 19 - 22nd - AIC at Wounded Knee


• August 12th - Baptism at the Niabrara River


• August 17-19th South Dakota State Camp Meeting in Brookings


• September 12 - 16th - Dors and Dells Wilson at Wounded Knee
  
• September 21 - 22 Prayer Conference in Riverton, Wyoming

Now for picture time:

A sweat lodge

Pete Showing a Headress to the Work Camp

March 2007 - Parade in Allen village

Many of the people here have horses and ride together as families

God bless all of you, talk to you in June,

Barry & Shelly

Backpacks For Pine Ridge News

I spent the whole day yesterday on Pine Ridge "stuff". And I have some good news to report....

I "happened" across a web site called ONE Spirit which is a organization that seeks to help the Lakota people preserve their traditional culture while providing some practical assistance. I read about John DuBray's efforts with the Buffalo Children's Society in Allen. Some of you may know who John DuBray is. We've met him and in fact, he was at church last year in Allen. I emailed the director to see if they would link to the Backpacks For Pine Ridge site, and then spoke with her on the phone. By next week there should be a link to us up on their site. We will also be keeping our eyes open for any art supplies, computeres, printers, etc. that John DuBray will need for the Buffalo Children program. There is a link to them on the Backpacks For Pine Ridge page.

I also spoke to Tim H. last night and he told me that he and Debbie are going to Conerstone this year and have some connections there and will try to see if they can put a table up with information about the Backpacks For Pine Ridge project. Cool!

Meanwhile I've been adding as many "friends" to the Backpacks For Pine Ridge MySpace as I can. If you have a MySpace and would add us as a friend, we would really appreciate it. It will help to get the word out - especially if you add us to your "top friends'.

John L. and I talked yesterday as well. We are currently working on figuring out how we can purchase 7-8 pallets of product from Matthew 25 Ministries to take to the reservation. We will be having a silent auction SOON. We are thinking of also putting some of the items on Ebay. Stay tuned for more info. about how this will work. So far we have some really cool items which include:

• Diamond Tickets to a Red's Game (a $300 per seat value which includes all the food you can eat there)
  
• A baseball glove autographed by 4 professional players
  
• A ticket for a ride-a-long in a NASCAR at the KY Speedway
  
• A collector's edition NASCAR book

Other items are being considered as well.

And GREAT news - Fred H. is going with us this year!!! Fred is one of the most humble men I know and he's great with kids, a hard worker, and the youth all love him! This is a "God thing" (see post below)

I Love It, I Love It, I Love It ...

I do love it when I see God at work in big and small ways. Here is where I see His footprints in a few things going on with the trip ...

Team Members
It was disappointing when Gary had to drop out of the team because I just know he would LOVE it out there, and we could use his services as a driver and somebody to work. *He sings fairly well too ;) Connie and I began thinking of someone who could take his place and came up with a few names, one of whom had said they wanted to go. Turns out, that person couldn't go either. Sunday night I approached Connie with the name of a man who has been on my mind. He hadn't said he wanted to go but I know his heart is with us and it just seemed like maybe we should ask him. Apparently Connie was thinking the same thing because when I approached her, she said she had just asked him to go and that he was 99% sure he would be going! I went to talk to him about it and he related how it had blown him away when Connie asked him because just last week he had been thinking about how much he wanted to go and had thought of asking me to keep him in mind just in case there was an opening. I don't know but this sounds like a God thing to me.

Africa
I was also a bit disappointed when our friend from Africa who attend our church (I am not going to attempt to spell his name correctly) wasn't able to come and share with our group about Africa. He's a busy guy but I would encourage you to talk to him at church sometime - you'll like him. Then by chance Cody mentioned to me that Allison babysits for a lady from Liberia who had to flee with her two children when the rebels came to her village. She has an amazing story and she will be sharing it with us in the June meeting. Be sure to come and hear her - even if you're not on the Pine Ridge team, it will be a blessing to meet her and hear her story.

VBS
For the past month or so I've been thinking off and on, mostly off, about what to do with the kids during VBS regarding the Blood:Water Mission thing. I knew I wanted to take a few moments each day to talk a bit about Africa and the needs there and I knew we were going to take up an offering but I hadn't gotten it sorted out in my mind yet how exactly that would take place.

Then, last week I got an email from Blood:Water Mission telling me about some new VBS materials called "Droplets". I went to the web site and checked it out. I LOVE it! It is really just perfect for what we need. It shouldn't take more than 10 min. each day and there is a theme for each day ending with an offering on the last day. I was especially pleased when I looked at the first lesson called "We Are All The Same". It talks about the differences in skin color, culture, etc. between people but how we are "all the same". I am going to change it a bit to fit even better with Lakota culture and talk about how "we are all related". Mitakuye Oyasin, or "we are all related" is a huge part of Lakota belief.

*UPdate*
I am back from shopping for Pine Ridge stuff. I set out to find VBS materials for the BWM thing. Basically, I needed to make a tree. I originally was going to follow the recommendations of the BWM VBS materials - BUT - it was a little difficult to find a piece of cardboard that was big enough to make a stand-up tree out of (I had an interesting conversation with a salesman at H.H. Gregg about this).

SO, I decided to get a presentation board and just draw a tree. The materials also suggeted that green construction paper be used to cut out shapes of leaves for the tree. The idea is to get the kids to think of ways that we are all the same (related) and write those down on the leaves and put on the tree. While I was out looking for green paper I happened across green, leaf-shaped sticky notes! PERFECT! I even found red and green apple-shaped sticky notes! TOO PERFECT! (the lesson also uses different colors of apples) And they were cheap!

Then I got the idea to put pictures of us, the Lakota kids, and some African kids all around the tree. This will show that we've been to the rez before and some of the kids will see their pictures up on the board and I imagine they will get a kick out of that. Thanks to Scott over at On A Mercy Ship, I have some GREAT pics of African kids around a well! He's a photojounralist who is in Africa building wells and he gave me permission to use his pics.

I couldn't have planned it this well.

Cool. Very cool.


* For those who may not know, Gary was the front man in a very popular local rock band and has an amazing voice. He plays a pretty mean harmonica too.

June Meeting & Payment

I am excited about our June meeting because we have a guest who will be sharing her story with us. Be sure NOT to miss this one! After she shares with us we have a lot of work to do. Because of that, we are moving the meeting time up a half an hour. Be in the Omega room at 4:00 PM on Sunday, June 3rd.

The last payment is also due June 3rd so if you're not already paid up please make every effort to get your payment in on time this month.

And those of you who have not brought me your toliet paper and paper towels - this is the last call. If I don't have them by this Sunday you will have to pack them in your one suitcase.

We leave in 2 months!

What Do I Know??

I know that 26 of us are going to Pine Ridge Reservation on July 27 - August 1st to play with some kids and maybe, hopefully, show them the love of Jesus by how we interact with them and each other. That's really about all I know for sure and even that may change. Don't ya love it? :)

What I don't know is .... what else is happening. And I DO love that. Gosh, if all went as planned it would be boring. Where would the fun be in that. I happen to prefer the unknown and the holy chaos - as long as it is holy chaos and not chaos brought about by irresponsibility. I believe this is of the holy nature.

Lots of cool stuff on the table. Here's what's happening at the moment. Remember, it can and probably will change.

John and I went to Matthew 25 Ministries on Monday to see if they would be able to help us out with some products to take to the church in Allen so they will have things to give to the people there who need them. Things like baby items, electric heaters, cleaning supplies, personal care items, etc.

They do have them and can probably let us have them - for $170.00 per pallet.

Problem - do we have the $ for that.

Probably. I budgeted for food not planning on a donation of food from a local company who has always given a donation before - just in case they couldn't this year. Last week, we found out that they would give the donation of food again so we should have enough $ for the pallets. BUT, a lot can change between now and July 27, so I'm not going to go spend that money until I am sure we really do have the donation. I have no reason to believe we wont have it, but ya just never know. I trust the company but I also know things happen that no one can foresee that may change things. Remember 9/11 and a little storm called Katrina? There's just a lot of things we (or they) have no control over.

Next, if we can get them, how do we get them there?

John asked the board if they would help us with renting a second Ryder truck. They agreed to, but this money would come out of the mission's budget that would otherwise be sent to the church in Allen. I am not willing to take money out of the mission budget because for all I know, they may need that money for something else more than they need "stuff".

SO, rumor has it, that there is a businessman in the church who is willing to loan us one of his business trucks to take. And it has a hitch on it so we could pull a trailer behind us if we need to. John knows someone who happens to have a trailer they may loan to us for that 10 days. He's working on that as I type.

He is also working on some fundraising ideas to help pay for as many pallets as we can get. It's a cool fundraiser that involves autographed sports memorabilia and diamond seats to Reds games. He's also working on this as I type. If it comes together this could be BIG.

SO, we may be taking FIVE vehicles with us this year - 3 vans, a 24 foot Ryder truck and another truck with a trailer behind it to the reservation this year! Or, we may not.

I'm really OK either way. Remember, this isn't about charity. Don't get me wrong, I love the charity idea - taking "stuff" that is needed to one of the poorest places in America is what I love, but there is something I love even more than that. I love the relationships we build out there and I really think that is our main mission there - to just "be" and enjoy the people. And if we can take them some of the things they need - cool.

On a sadder note, Gary H. is not going to be going with us this year. We will miss you Gary.

Toliet Paper & Paper Towel

Just a reminder to the team:

Each team member must bring 4 rolls of Toilet Paper and 2 rolls of Paper Towel on the trip.

I will be happy to pack those for you but you have to get them to me before June 3rd. I will not accept them after that date because my life gets too crazy with trip prep after that. (See the post below)

After June 3rd, if you've not brought your TP and paper towel to me to pack, they will have to fit into your ONE suitcase since extra space on the truck is EXTREMELY limited this year.

Chaos Happens

John and I went to Matthew 25 Ministries today to see if they can help us with some donated items to take to the rez. Here is the story.... click here

Video

Here is a video Brian put together which we will play as we take up the offering at VBS. I was really excited when Scott Harrison of On A Mercy Ship granted me permission to use some of his photographs. Scott is a photo journalist and is serving on a Mercy ship in Africa. Be sure to check out his blog about his experieinces there. It's exciting to see what God is doing!

Selfish Giving?

Reminder: May meeting on Sunday, May 6 @ 4:00 PM in the Omega room.
Bring your TP and Paper Towels and your May payment.

Here is a quote from Occasio Blog that is worth our taking a look. I have felt very much the same way as I've been a part of many different mission trips and have witnessed others. This is one of the reasons I put more emphasis on building relationships with the Lakota people than on the chairty work. We want to do appropriate chairty work but that is never our main goal. As I've said so many times, it's really all about love.

Narcissistic Humanitarianism. Another frustration comes from a kind of
selfish benevolence that permeates our culture. Can making charitable
contributions be self-centered? Yes. We tend to feel good when we help others –
and that’s the new problem in a spirited age of voluntarism and philanthropy. We
are motivated by our own good feelings, not by a sense of responsibility to a
larger cause. Narcissism is defined as a preoccupation with the self and one’s
own self-importance, along with the desire for admiration. There certainly was a
lot of that happening on “Idol.” Is it possible that what we do in the name of
humanitarianism is simply a cover to congratulate ourselves and a chance to slap
one another on the back, thus alleviating our guilty conscience?

The church plays this game as well. I have seen and been a part of many mission trips that
have a stated purpose of helping the people they are going to minister to.
Churches raise $50,000 to visit an exotic country or flock across the border
into Mexico. Team members feel good when they return home because they have
served, but missionaries often report that the groups they host are loud,
arrogant, culturally insensitive and often more trouble (to the missionary or
national pastor) than they are worth. I wonder if the best thing that happens in
Mexico over spring break is that American churches stimulate the Mexicali valley
economy by buying tacos and Pepsis. Our spirit of outreach is a veil for
self-absorbed religious tourism. But we feel good about ourselves when we come
home.

A Reminder: Our Goal

Our mission: To build relationships with the Lakota people.

Some people have questioned why our main goal is not to evangelize the Lakota people. Others have questioned why we don't focus more on charity.

Building relationships doesn't seem like a very lofty goal for a "mission trip", and yet I am more and more convinced that building relationships is the most holy goal we can have.

As much as I want to see people come to Christ, and as much as I love doing acts of charity such as giving away backpacks and school supplies, blankets , baby items, and personal care items, I never want these trips to become focused on either of those goals over and above that of building relationships. Building relationships must come first.

Why?

Because we can talk about charity and "witnessing" as much as we want and some people will do it for a variety of reasons while others will make excuses to justify why they won't. But if we love people, we will not allow them to be in need. We will do what it takes to take care of them - not because someone told us to, not even because the Bible tells us to, but because we love them. If we love people, we will want them to know Jesus. Love must come first and love becomes more "real" when we know people through relationship building.

Without love (relationship), our witnessing will be shallow and maybe even offensive. Without relationship our giving will be merely another mission project and the people will know it.

When we love, all the other things will come naturally as a result of that love.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but
have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Cor. 13:3

“It’s a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions
project but become genuine friends and family with who we laugh, cry, dream, and
struggle” - Shane Claiborne

Love God. Love People. Nothing Else Matters.

Crazy Stuff

The Backpacks for Pine Ridge project is taking off. There's all kinds of crazy stuff in the works.

Ericka has talked to a teacher's association at Ball State about being involved and they are interested!

The band Rabid Granny linked to us and also gave me a head's up about a Wilderness Jam this fall. Apparently they pick a charity to support each year and they have not picked one yet. Rabid Granny suggested I email them and give them some information about what we're doing - I did. We'll see what happens there.

Mountain Fund is also willing to send us some used backpacks and may even handle the shipping for us!

I also talked to Barry and Shelly out at Pine Ridge today. They are doing well in spite of still broken water pipes. I called to see how much stuff they can handle since Sunday the CEO of Caring Partners will be speaking at our church and I will be meeting with him about getting perhaps a couple of skids of personal care products to take to the Reservation.

John and I will also be meeting with the Matthew 25 Ministries at some point to see what donations they can give us. We're hoping for school supplies, cleaning products, and baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.).

Barry assured me that they can handle all we can bring so now it's a matter of how much we can get and how much we can fit into the truck. Good thing we have a bigger truck this year.

And I am reminded again that it is really all about relationships. 1 Cor. tells us that we can give all we have to the poor but if we don't have love it's not worth much (my paraphrase). That is so true. I am SO excited about all the good we might be able to do there as far as providing some needed items to some of the poorest in America but I'm even more excited about the relationships we are building there. It made my day when Barry told me that about 10 different kids have asked about us specifically. Now that's cool!

News From The Rez: March/April Newsletter

From Barry and Shelly:

We hope that everyone had a blessed Easter and that the promise of spring brings renewal, not only in the earth but also in our lives. There have been so many good things that God has given to all of us and that is no different for Allen, South Dakota.

First and foremost I would like to share with everyone about our first work camp of the year from Tri-S in Indiana. We had the greatest bunch of people here in March, led by Ed Breeden!! There were 10 students, three from Singapore, one from Uzbekistan and six from around the United States, and what a blessing they were. They scraped the entire floor in the fellowship hall so that it could be recovered because it was peeling badly. A raised stage area was also built in the sanctuary for the piano, podium, and also for our kids to perform their plays. We are planning on moving to the main house so they also laid new linoleum tiles in the kitchen and painted the ceiling. many of the supplies for building were supplied by this group. But all was not work -- oh no!

They also got to do some sightseeing around the Black Hills, they saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Jewel Cave and some of the Badlands. We spent time with Melda Trejo and some of her family, cutting wood for them, having lunch with them and listening to some very interesting stories. Melda just had a book published, "Lakota Tradition" about her and her husband's life on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Her stories and the time spent with them was very special.

The other things that went on were with the children, and boy did we have children. Ed did the Sunday night service and it was excellent, music was supplied by two of the students that played the guitar and piano. This was the first work camp that Barry and I have hosted by ourselves and we consider most blessed to have known each and every one of these young people. They work hard, play hard and were an absolute delight - God bless you all!!!

We have other good things come our way, this past month too. We received a box of hats from our friends in Ohio - thank you Amber (more than a thanks to Amber - thanks to the generous couple at Winton Rd who purchased the hats) and 500 army blankets from Stanley and Sylvia Hollow Horn from a large shipment they received. God works in all ways for the good, He knows the needs and provides daily for each of us.

Easter was a time of thanksgiving and remembrance here and our children were a part of sharing the good news. There was a group of seven children and two adults, Roberta Yellow Boy and Gerald Plenty Arrows that went to the nursing home in Martin and took small Easter bunny cups and some puzzle books, puzzles and cards to the residents. The people there really enjoy seeing the children and it is so good for the children to share God's Love with them. Some of the ladies of the church made Easter baskets and had an egg hunt for the children, we really have a great congregation and I thank God for all of them.

Praise God for the much needed rain, everyone ,especially the ranchers and farmers are very happy about this. I reflect every spring of the greatness of God when I see the new life and winter and the promise of summer beauty. Gardening is one of my favorite things to do and so I'll have a large garden and share some of the vegetables with the congregation. The kids are all planting two hills of pumpkins this spring so that when fall comes and time for jack-o-lanterns comes they will all have their own, home grown.

We thank each and every one of you for your prayers, your monetary support and for all things sent here to help the people here in Allen. We continue to pray for you also, God be with you as you work for the Lord and His kingdom.

Barry and Shelly

April Meeting

THANKS to all of you who were at the April team meeting! I really appreciate your committment and willingness to sacrifice your time to make this trip happen! If you weren't at the meeting be sure to ask someone what you missed. We covered some really important topics that were designed to prepare you spiritually, emotionally, and physically for the trip.

One of the new things we did was to do a team building exercise. We placed a sheet on the ground and had all the team members get on the sheet with NO part of their body outside of the sheet. Not to challenging ....at first.

Then we folded the sheet in half and had everyone get on it again ... again, no part of their body was to be off of the sheet.

That was a little harder, but still not too bad.

Then we folded the sheet in half AGAIN and AGAIN had everyone get on the sheet.

We almost did it! Eveyone was needed. Some brought the creativity. Others the brute strength. It was hilarious to watch and very interesting to see how everyone worked together. Here are some pics. Click on them for a larger view.

Opps, not everybody got on the sheet. I think that's John!

Rock On

This Saturday, April 14th is the Rock-A-Thon. It's not too late to get sponsors!

Time: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Brunch will be brought over by Lisa at 11:00 AM and John is bringing dinner around 4:00 PM

Bring your books, CD players, iPods, or whatever you need to entertain yourself. Bring your rocker too!

If you have any questions see Tammi.

Backpacks

I've created a new site in hopes of expanding the backpack project. I would love to see us expand this to other villages on the rez. If you have a web site or blog and would be so kind as to put the image link on it to help get the word out, that would be awesome! Just shoot me an email at TheMatt25Project@aol.com and I'll send you the html code. It will look like this (Cathy you can click on it to go to the site)


.

April Meeting

Just a reminder that the April meeting is on Sunday, April 15th @ 4:00 PM in the Omega Room.

I'ts Starting to Look Like a Safari

Thought you might want to see what's happening with the trip prep.

Click for a larger view.

These are some direction signs I've been working on. There will be more of them and they will be mounted on a pole poiting all directions. Yes, I'm aware the milage isn't right - it's just a decoration.

This is our "mascot". Unfortunately, Taser got a hold of him so he's in need of repair. In the background are the boxes of backpacks with school supplies. The hat is there too - we're taking a bunch of them for the kids (and us) to wear for fun.

Blood:Water Mission

The current total for Blood:Water Mission is $766.00

The average cost of a well is $3000.00 so we are almost 1/3 of the way to having a built a well.

The Red Bracelet Brigade

I'm not sure why I've got the idea of a "brigade" in my head, but that word seems to be popping up. In this case, it may be the exact word I'm looking for since according to the dictionary it means "a group of troops".

This year we will be doing a "Red Bracelet Brigade". I'm not sure if that's really what we'll call it, but whatever...

Here's the idea ....

This year the Haiti and Pine Ridge mission trips overlap by a few days.

Pine Ridge being July 28 - Aug. 6
Haiti being August 2 - August 11

All of us who have been on trips like these are well aware of the importance of PRAYER. Prayer is the life-blood of any outreach. In fact, I believe it is the life-blood of our spiritual lives.

This year we will join with the Haiti team and will be signing people at our church up to commit to pray for 30 min. segments for the trips, for the mission projects, and for missions in general whether they be Haiti, Pine Ridge, or somewhere else.

Each person who prays will get a Red Bracelet as a reminder to pray.

We will be making these Red Bracelets at the Rock-A-Thon on April 14th. They are very EASY and FAST to make and they are CHEAP. They will NOT be "pretty" but hey, this is not about pretty.

February Newsletter from Pass Creek CHoG

We praise God in all seasons, not only seasons of life but seasons of the year. Sometimes out on the prarie when the wind blows and the snow drifts it seems more lonely somehow and more desolate than other times of the year, but God is always near. Soon the crocus and daffodil will show their presnece and we will know new life with spring will also follow shortly. As the Easter season aproaches and we begin to teach our children the story of Jesus, his death and resurrection I cannot help but see the similarity with winter turning to spring.

The needs of the people are more desperate and pronounced in the winter months with the cold, and we continue to try and meet those needs. In meeting those needs we make new friends and can share the love of Jesus with them. We find we must meet the physical needs first in order to share the spiritual, just as I believe was the example Jesus gave.

Once again I want to thank the people who have faithfully sent us money to keep this ministry going and to those who have sent us coats, blankets and so many other items we need.

As you know the work with the children is very important to us here. We want to have programs for the kids that include outings, crafts, fun nights and fellowship. We want to equip them for a world that is often unfair and people that are often unkind. We want to teach them about the love of God and that with God there is a different way of life. This is a poem I came across when I worked in the school system with migrant/homeless children that touched me very deeply. Read this and pray for ALL the children everywhere.

A Prayer For Children
We pray for children who put chocolate fingers everywhere, who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants, who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can't bound in the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never go tot eh circus.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury the goldfish, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves with Band-Aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can't find any bread to steal, who don't have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who hove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at, and whose smiles can make us cry.

We pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who aren't spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, and who live and move but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must, for those we never give up on and for those we don't get a second chance. For those we smother ... and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

This poem has always impacted me and made me think and given me cause to always pray for the children.

As spring is just around the corner, we eagerly anticipate in the coming months the workcampers and all the work and excitement that spring and summer bring. We are blessed that we have so many coming this summer and our prayers are that we can impact this community and each person in this community. Pray with us that God will send His Spirit on Allen, South Dakota and there will be revival here and the people will come to know the love and saving grace of Jesus. We received notice from the workcamp in Ohio that they
will have 27 people coming with that group!!!! Praise God. We'll be ready and waiting for everyone! We also continue to pray for all of you and your work for the kingdom. God bless.

Now for something fun. the people here love to celebrate and birthday parties are one of the most fun times here. We have been trying to get the word out that the fellowship hall here is for all in the community to use and encourage anyone who needs a place for a gathering to give us a call. We can meet many thing way and have a good time!

In closing we thank you again for your support and prayers for the Pass Creek Church of God and the Lakota people here on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. God bless all of you in your work and we will speak with you in March.

Love in Christ,
Barry and Shelly

EXCITING News From The Rez

In the post below you will find the Jan. Newsletter. I will try to get the Feb. Newsletter posted tomorrow.

I also received a letter from Shelly detailing some of their needs and how we can best help them. There have been some folks at church who have offered used clothes, toys, etc. and I have had to turn these down because there was not a good way to give them out and because the missionaries discouraged us from doing a lot of that kind of thing.

Well, there is good news! Shelly is a lady on the move and she has created a "store" in part of the pain building where they can keep goods for the people to come and get what they need. This way seems to work better for everyone. She has outlined some things that are always needed and appreciated which will help us give some guidance to those who want to help the Lakota people.

John and I will be in touch with Matthew 25 Ministries to see if they are willing to supply any of these needs. If so, we will be taking as much as we possibly can with us this summer. Apart from Matthew 25 Ministries though, anyone can donate any of the following at any time and we will take them to the rez when we go.

Here is the list:

For the People

• Blankets
• hats
• gloves
• diapers
• baby products (powder, baby shampoo, lotion, desitin)
• small diaper bags
• shampoo
• dish soap
• laundry soap
• toothpaste
• deodorant
• combs
• electric heaters (when they run out of propane which is the main heat source, they often go days without heat)

For the Church

• paper towels
• toilet paper
• cleaning supplies
• copy paper
• colored copy paper

For the Kid's Play Area/Sunday School

• Any kind of girl play area things, stove, vacuum cleaner,
• anything to play "store" with
• Boys play area rugs with car tracks on them
• Lincoln longs
• Legos
• Puzzles - 100 pieces or smaller
• fun foam
• construction paper
• markers
• poster paint in the big bottles
• any kind of craft items

In addition, they are also in need of a good VCR/DVD player. They are doing "Dinner and Movie Nights" with the kids and their DVD player is broken. They also use this in their youth meetings for the DVD series they are using. The church at Wounded Knee is also in need of a DVD player.

Another cool thing that Shelly is doing is making care packages if personal care items and taking them to the jail in Martin and Kyle. She also takes the children to visit nursing homes - the elders love it and it is good for the kids to be involved in giving of themselves.

The January. Newsletter From Pass Creek CHoG

From Barry & Shelly

We hope the new year is bringing new hope, new challenges and new promises revealed by God. Christmas was a wonderful time here in South Dakota, even though it wasn't white. We would like to thank everyone for their continued prayers and support for the mission here.

Kid's Corner

We now have a youth group for kids age 11 and older, meeting on Thursday nights at 6:30. We are using the series Revolution 2 by bluefish TV, a DVD series that also has a Bible study that goes with it. We will continue our children's program on Wed. nights, children's church on Sunday mornings, and the program Sunday nights. We visited the nursing home before Christmas, taking treats and gifts to the residents there. That is something I would like to continue, the residents love it and it will be good for the children to give of themselves to others.

Work Camps

• The scheduled work camps to date:
• Tri-S Group from Anderson University - March 11-17
• Jersey Shore, PA - June 15-22
• Fairfield, OH - July 29-Aug. 5
• Monroe City, IN - Aug. 6-10

This winter we have experienced some very cold weather and have found that there is a need during these times for blankets, coats, hats, gloves and electric heaters. Our items are depleted, but thankfully there are 26 boxes of blankets, hats and gloves on the way.

During our cold weather we had some pipes break in one of the work camp trailers and Barry is working to not only fix the pipes, but to install a new shower. We should have things looking good for all you work campers!!!

We enjoy all the newsletters that come here an dhow all of the other Churches are doing. T here are some exciting things going on for the kingdom of God and I believe that we will see many more in the days to come. Please remember Paul and Kathy in your prayers. They now live in Rapid City and are adjusting to retirement. I know they would love to continue to hear from everyone. (See Amber for their address) They continue to come here many Sundays to help with music and the message sometimes. Barry is doing most of the services now, studying a lot and praise God for His divine inspiration.

Giving Thanks

We would like to thank God for always looking out for us here and also a couple of people God continues to use for This work. Bill R. we would like to thank you for the green truck that you have given to God's work, and to Paul and Kathy for the transmission they had put in the truck, AND the new snowplow that is on the front. Those of you who ave seen South Dakota winters on the prairie know that this will be one of the most useful things we need here, especially on church days to get everyone in and out safely. THANK YOU!!

It is easy to sometimes get discouraged and lonely and feel that what we are doing makes no difference. When I have those times I try to refer to this little story.

As an old man was walking along the beach at dawn, he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them back into the sea. Finally catching up with the youth, he asked him why he was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. "But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish, "countered the other. "How can your efforts mane any difference?" You young man looked at the starfish in his had and then threw it safely in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one," he added.

I have to keep reminding myself that what we do matters to someone and the reason we are doing it is found in Matthew 28:19020.

God Bless,
Barry & Shelly