Be back June 11

[Float On]

I'm headed to SD to work on a reservation for a bit, mainly I'll be in the kitchen keeping our team nourished but should have time for a lot of photography as well. See you all later.

[treehugger]

Have a great trip. I will be very interested to hear more about it when you get back. Seeing some pictures wouldn't hurt either! :)

Kara

[SiouzQ.]

Sounds interesting! Are you going to the Pine Ridge or Rosebud reservation? I have traveled through that area a couple of times. The land and sky out there are tremendous!

[Float On]

Standing Rock. We've sent a team to Pine Ridge before but have built a 10 year relationship with the church at Standing Rock.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Will look forward to your return and hearing about your experiences there. I have a friend who was there last year, (Ruby Ridge maybe? I may be wrong about that), along with her husband and others from a church team that did some work on the reservation.

[Tussiemussies]

Sounds really great. Look forward to hearing about your experiences while you are there.
Chris

[CathyA]

Bon Voyage, Aufwiedersehen, Adieu! Have a good trip Float On. We look forward to having you back in June. Be safe.

[catherine]

Have a wonderful time! Sounds awesome!

[larknm]

Please do tell us everything about it that strikes you, Float On. Pictures too.

[Gardenarian]

Sounds exciting Float on! Thanks for the heads up - I'd be sad to think another long-timer here had left for good.

[BarbieGirl]

Float On,

Sounds very exciting! Can't wait to hear about your adventures when you return!

Barbie

[Float On]

I'm back - what a rewarding trip.
Wakpala is a 'town' (more like 4 off streets with a tiny post office and two churches) on Standing Rock Reservation, not too far from Mobridge, SD. We stayed at a little rustic fishing resort in Mobridge where we had use of a large kitchen. We prepped and transported lunch and dinner every day to one of the churches in Wakpala where part of our team was doing VBS. We fed 40+ kids and whatever adults wandered in looking for a meal.

We also built a new porch, steps, loading dock, and ramp at the front entrance to the church. Our church has been building a relationship with this church for the past 10 years. You can really see that they are finally trusting us. Every summer we send a team up for VBS and meals and a big work project, then in the fall and spring we send a smaller team for encouragement and support. We also give them monthly support for a tithe as well as monthly support for one of the men who is in school learning church leadership and youth ministry and at Christmas we take a special offering to give them for their winter propane bill.

One adventure - 6 of us went on a drive to see Rattlesnake Butte and then on our way back to Mobridge one of the guys said 'that's the direction of Little Eagle, where we use to go do an additional VBS'. I said 'how far?', he said 'a ways, let's go'...and so we did. The rest of the team knew we were going to Rattlesnake but not this extra trip. It was further off the highway than he remembered but it was good to see the area and the upkeep on the church we had worked with. Driving back to the highway on the long bumpy gravel/dirt road.....we broke down. Fuel Pump was out. We had to hike to the top of the next hill to find a signal (have you ever seen the Robin William's movie RV?) While the other van was 'on its way' 8 cars, trucks, and 4 wheelers' passed without stopping. It was taking longer for the van to get to us than we thought it should so we hiked back up the hill and saw we'd rec'd texts and messages with 'how far are you from Wakpala?'....they'd gone the wrong way. I flipped thru my photos because by chance I'd snapped a photo of the road sign as we'd turned to go to Little Eagle. So back on track....we waited as the sun started it's sunset (beautiful). Van arrived and our driver said 'turn it around so we can tow this back to the resort'. Van driver (a city girl) was 'no way!'. I jumped in and volunteered - as a farm girl I've towed many things and we didn't want to leave ours on the road all night. We'd come back to find it stripped by morning. So 15 miles of gravel/dirt going 20 miles an hour and then 15 highway miles at 45 miles an hour and we finally got back to the resort. Our driver switched out the fuel pump the next morning (cut a hole in the floorboard for easy access - apparently this is the 4th fuel pump he's had to put in it) and we were good to go.

Loved the cooler weather there - came home to a heatwave. Beautiful landscape and lake (dammed section of Missouri river). A lot of people without much hope. Culture almost demands they stay but there isn't much to stay for so there is a lot of drugs and alcohol and suicides. That reservation has the highest suicide rates in the nation, I've heard. While we were there, one little boy that had been attending VBS got onto the back of his cousin's car. The cousin got mad that he was on it and started doing circles which threw the boy off. The cousin took off and an auntie later came looking for the boy since he didn't go home after VBS. She found him in a ditch covered in blood. He was awake but said he couldn't get up. While waiting for ambulance and rangers - family started fighting, when the ambulance took him to the hospital the drinking and fighting got worse and it turned into a whole town brawl. Ended up the boy had hit his head on rocks and had a concussion but that was all, the hospital kept him overnight - while the brawling continued.

[razz]

Those situations with troubled children are so tragic to observe, float on, but some community support like your group's does help to provide alternatives.