Let the Fun Begin Again

Let the fun begin again.  

It has been a little less than a year since we updated this Blog.  Then again, it has been a little less than a year since a group from Messiah Lutheran Church, Weldon Spring, Missouri, was on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, South Dakota.

Many things have changed during that year in our relationship with our friends on the Reservation and at the Cheyenne River Youth Porject in particular.

For starters, two members of last year's South Dakota Family Mission Team, Nita Holt and Jennifer Counts, have taken on the leadership of the annual Christmas gift drive here in St. Louis for the kids at the Youth Project.  After twelve years of leading this effort, Joyce Smith (a wonderful person who LeaAnn got to know last year) was ready to turn over the reins of the gift drive to some younger folks (her words, not mine).  After our trip to the Reservation last summer, we connected Nita and Jennifer with Joyce and the rest is history.  With Nita and Jennifer at the helm, the annual gift drive provided gifts for over 500 kids on the Reservation last Christmas.  Since then, Nita and Jennifer have already started planning for next year with two (2) fundraisers under their belt since January and more to come.

Last Fall also saw a number of us directly involved in helping raise funds for the Youth Project.  Through two separate events, Ablaze for Lakota Youth (a family day at the Dickherber Farm) and Anomaly.09 (a Christian rock concert for young people) over $10,000 was raised for the Youth Project.  Thes funds came in particular handy this winter as the Youth Project saw a significant decline in giving from some of its major supporters due to the current economic turmoil.

In addition, at Messiah this Christmas the annual Christmas program featured stories of the missions work being done by the members of Messiah, including our work on with the Youth Project.  As a special treat, our friend Jerome Slides Off (a member of the Lakota people from South Dakota), Jesse Running Bear (a member of the Tuscarora people from North Carolina) and another gentleman ( a member of the Cherokee people from North Carolina), all of whom are devoted Christians, treated us to Christian music Native American style.  It was truly awesome to hear God praised in the various languages of the people native to this land.  What a wonderfully moving experience.

So here we are.  June 2.  Only ten days until we leave for the Reservation again.  This time, 32 people in tow.

We can't wait for the adventure ahead of us:  for 17 hours of driving to Eagle Butte, for a night and Sunday morning with the fine people of Zion Lutheran Church in Mitchell, South Dakota, for early mornings and late nights as we all grow together as a crazy, disfunctional, yet loving family. for an old-fashioned, home-grown carnival with donated prizes, mountains of cotton candy and an endless supply of smiles, for a concert for teens on a flat-bed trailer in the parking lot of the Youth Project, for a night of worship and stargazing at the little church on the prairie in Green Grass and for all the other adventures God has in store for us that will be way better than anything we can imagine right now.

As I said before, let the fun begin again.

God's Blessings

Donn

P.S. More to come         

Emotional Farewell

Our team has been very busy with carnivals and concerts, rehabbing churches and playing with lots of kids. We are having an amazing time and feel the presence of God in all that we do. We are so very blessed to be here and experience this together. Our team is bonding well and growing closer by the hour. Here are a few highlights of our last couple of days:

Our team at Green Grass has done an amazing job rehabbing the church. Their big project was to replace the roof which has been completed. They battled fierce winds but got the job done. We were able to all go as a team to Green Grass last night and look at their wonderful work which included not only the roof but repainting the entire interior of the church and replacing the carpet. We had an incredible worship service in the church last night which was very emotional! We finished the night by star gazing at the amazing South Dakota sky. We we in awe at the number of stars. NEVER have we seen that many stars.

These are some of the faces of the children we have been able to serve this week. They are beautiful children that love the undivided attention we have given them this week. They have been such a joy which will make it VERY hard to leave them tomorrow.

Our carnival was Wednesday and it was a huge success. We had approximately 400 people show up along with lots of adults which was a change from last year. We game away over 5000 prizes and fed everyone!

Our team getting ready for the big day!

The children started lining up at 10:30am for the carnival that started at 3pm!

We had face painting, a dunking booth, a bounce house and lots of other fun games for the kids.

The kids loved trying to dunk the others in the booth...lots of our kids even got in and that water was COLD!

Our happy clowns...Jennifer and Nita. They were a hit with their balloon making.

The winner of the clean-up game. Best game ever invented...kids get a trash bag, most trash wins the prize. We had that place cleaned up in 5 minutes flat!

One of the highlights of the week was our concert by a Christian rock band called " A Rotterdam November". We were able to connect with the teens in the youth center on a whole new level. It was an eperience they will never forget. The band also stayed with us for an extra night which was a great opportunity to connect with these special young men. They also led some awesome worship services for us!

And so our mission trip was a success on so many levels. We strengthened our relationships with Christ, formed bonds with each other that will last a lifetime and gave children of this community some joy. As we did our closing team meeting this evening we all spoke through MANY tears of the impact of this mission trip on our hearts. God definitely worked through us this week to show His grace to others.

We are here...having a blast!

We have arrived in South Dakota and are doing well. The fact that 15 vehicles made it with no problems is a huge blessing. We are enjoying our second day with the children at the Youth Center and are forming some pretty strong bonds. Most of these children are very reserved at first but quickly "latch on" when they feel safe. As you will see from the pics they obviously feel safe! :) We are enjoying our time together as a team and are learning to live in very tight quarters.



South Dakota 2009- What a group!

Unloading our 16 foot truck that was FILLED!

The kids made vases and flowers the first day.

The busy, busy craft room.

Thank you to whomever donated the dress up clothes...they LOVED them!

New friends

Our men tried to keep up with the Lakota kids in a game of basketball...didn't go so well. :)

Tomorrow is our carnival and we are busy preparing for a huge turnout. We have over 5,000 prizes ready to give to the kids. They are SO excited. And so the team is getting along, our kids are having a blast, we are doing good work...life is good. Stay tuned.

Planes, Trains, and Huge Box Trucks

48 hours until our departure, and the packing has begun, or rather, continued.

There has been a constant flow of people through our house, dropping off boxes and taking inventory of supplies.

We have now upgraded from a 16 ft. truck to a 24 ft. truck, a complete blessing to our team, especially since our supplies seem to multiply by the second. Here are some photos to document this momentous event:

24 ft. truck that is hauling all of the supplies up to South Dakota.

The garage. No room for cars here.

Unpacking. Repacking. Story of our lives. :]

Expect another update tomorrow night, once we have the big truck completely loaded. Then, we will be ready to ship off early Saturday morning!

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Love, Katie

ps. Everyone else will be posting eventually too. Look for someone new soon!

Team Preparations

We are now officially t-minus one week until the 2009 South Dakota Family Mission Team hits the road for Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Here is how the numbers break down:

65........Individuals heading to South Dakota next week
63........Banana boxes packed with supplies currently at my house
36........Kids under 18 going to South Dakota
17........Families represented on the trip
5..........Grocery carts of food purchased at Sam's this morning
4..........Months of preparation
3..........Different churches participating--Messiah, Zion, and St. John's Ellisville
1...........Lord and Savior who makes any of this possible

...for everything else, there's Mastercard. Haha, just kidding.

In all seriousness though, this trip would not be possible without a lot of hard work, the loving support of many individuals, and one wonderful Savior. A big thank you to all of the people who have donated to our trip, and our cause---without you, I don't know where we would be. We are hoping to use this blog to tell you about our trip while we are there, and relay messages back to you all.

Right now though, we are just in crazy preparation mode. I have not seen the floor of our dining room in at least 2 weeks, as our house is currently serving as some sort of team supply headquarters. Beanie babies? We have them. Dishware? Got it. 33 boxes of Hamburger Helper? Definitely. Now, our foyer and kitchen are being taken over by banana boxes. Yes. Banana boxes.

Loads of Beanie babies, stuffed animals & the like.

This was the dining room last week. It has since gotten more jam-packed.

The perfect packing tool, banana boxes are our key to success. Nita Holt and Jennifer Counts, two members of our team, have rented a Pensky truck to help haul supplies up there, and we are packing all of it in, you guessed it: banana boxes. Some are even going as far as packing their clothes in banana boxes, so we have more space in cars for frozen and fresh foods that we have to buy in Mitchell on our way up. It has almost become comical, but we would be nowhere without those lovely containers.

The key to packing success.

So, keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare. Please bless us with patience, and kindness, and understanding as we prepare to caravan 14 different vehicles at least 12 hours to Mitchell, South Dakota next Saturday morning with 36 children. The "are-we-there-yet?"s are already beginning to echo in my ears.

Thank you & God's blessings to each and every one of you!

With love,
Katie Herring