One down, three to go!

My visit at Pine Ridge was a great success and blessing! I joined a wonderful group of ladies at the Lakota Baptist Church in the town of Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and they were all such a blessing to me. I had the privilege of sharing a bunk house with Jan Turner of Truly Free International, Julie Peyton and Debbie Techentin of Fit for the King Ministries and Linda Grajewski and Allison Rolston of Gaits to Heaven Ministries. These ladies all came together to work with the women of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They spent several days visiting and praying with many of the ladies on the reservation and ministering in the women’s prison. They completed their week in leading some of the ladies of the reservation in a Women’s Bible Retreat.

I joined them at the Women’s Retreat and, as far as I’m concerned, I had the best job! I got to work with this crew…

Then it was time to head to LaPlant Baptist Church on the Cheyenne River Reservation.  Mae Rodriguez, a wonderful Lakota Christian woman joined me for the four-hour drive.  Here’s Mae…

We visited with Jed and Sally Jezek, the pastors of the church in LaPlant to see about Mission Ventures providing them with a Bible Camp for the kids and Mae providing them with a ladies’ Bible Study next summer.  The visit went well and it looks like we’ll be returning next summer!  I enjoyed the visit with Jed and Sally and I especially enjoyed Mae’s company.  She is such a dynamic woman with a heart for God that is rare.

Of course, there’s no way I’m going to make a trip like this and not take the opportunity to photograph the scenery!  Fall was just beginning to show off its colors on the reservation and I could not get enough of it!  Take a look…

Stunning!!!

The wildlife is even more abundant than the fall colors.  I encountered horses running free, buffalo, a fox, pheasants and turkeys galore, antelopes and more deer than I could count!  Here is one that posed for the camera…

I also captured a photo of this horse as it was running toward me…

I also came upon several crops of sunflowers.  There were sunflowers as far as the eye could see…

On Sunday I got to worship with the good people of Lakota Baptist Church.  Like all good Baptists we had a meal…

And, as always, I enjoyed the kids!

I always love my time at Pine Ridge. The land is beautiful and the people are even more so.  Behind the beauty though is a spiritual darkness. And, as you can see, the poverty at Pine Ridge is extreme.

While there, we encountered a great deal of late night fights, sirens, etc.  We were safe in our barbed wire enclosed fortress at the church but the we couldn’t deny the sounds we heard.  Please take the time to pray for the beautiful people of Pine Ridge.  Pray that they will embrace Christ and allow Him to change their hearts and their situations.

I’m heading to Wisconsin tomorrow where I get to visit with my good friends at the Bible Baptist Church on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation.  I hope you’ll continue to pray for me as I travel and I’ll update you as I go.

Bless you all!

 

 

 

Confused in Kansas…

I spent 8 more hours on the road today.  It was basically uneventful but there were two instances that caused me to pause and wonder and one instance that just sent me running!

The first instance was the one that sent me running.  It was a routine (or so I thought) stop at a gas station.  I had swiped my card, pressed “yes” for a receipt and then I saw them…yellow jackets!  They were flying around the trash can by the pump.  What in the world were yellow jackets doing at a gas station trash can???  Many of you know about my recent experience with my Uncle’s 37 stings and my one little one (that hurt BAD) and I did NOT want another one!  So…I pressed cancel and drove to another pump.

The first instance that made me say “hmmmm” was when I requested that my GPS lead me to the nearest Wal-Mart on my route.  When I arrived this is what I found…

Definitely NOT Wal-Mart!

Then, after I found the REAL Wal-Mart, I got back on the interstate where I happened to see this…

Now, I don’t know about you but to me that bares a striking resemblance to one of those nuclear blast mushroom clouds.  I didn’t stop but I put the window down and took this while I was driving….just in case it was the real deal.

I’m in a hotel in Nebraska tonight.  There’s been no news about a nuclear blast so I suppose all is well. 🙂  I am arriving at Pine Ridge tomorrow and I’ll probably hit the ground running so this may be it for a few days.  I’ll post the ministry details as soon as I have a chance.

God bless you all and thank you for your prayers!

A Plague of Biblical Proportions…

I really didn’t think I would be posting anything so soon into this trip.  However, I had a small experience I thought I would share with all of you.  As I was driving down the highway listening to the Touched by an Angel soundtrack, I passed this field…

Where, to my delight, I saw this beauty!

So, I quickly turned around to go back and take a picture.  I pulled off of the road and proceeded to walk through the cut grass so that I could get a closer shot.  It was all good until I realized that there was lots of hopping going on around me. When I looked to see what exactly was moving around in the grass I encountered enough of these to classify it a plague of Biblical proportions!

I HATE BUGS!!! However, I really wanted to get a closer look so I kept on going.  And it was worth it just to get to watch this sweetheart enjoying her mid-day snack…

 

Well, that’s it.  It’s just kind of nice when God gives you a sweet moment as you travel.

Heading out tomorrow…

I’ve made most of my arrangements and I’m headed out again tomorrow. This trip is more about making new contacts and renewing old ones rather than actual hands on ministry.

The first leg of my journey will be at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  I am joining Gaits to Heaven ministry there for a Women’s and Girls’ retreat on the 22nd.  I’ll also be visiting with friends while I’m there. Then I am heading 4 hours north to the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation (still in South Dakota) to visit with the pastor of LaPlant Baptist Church to see if there is anything I can help them with next summer.

From South Dakota, I am heading to the Lac du Flambeau and Menominee reservations in Wisconsin for seven days where I am meeting with the members of the Bible Baptist Church to renew friendships and see how things are going there.

Then it is on to the Connecticut/Rhode Island area where I am meeting with a pastor there about a potential future ministry to the Mashantucket Pequot tribe in Mashantucket, CT.

I plan to return home by October 16.

Please keep me in your prayers.  I need prayers for:  1.  That the Holy Spirit goes before me and prepares the hearts of all those I come in contact with; 2.  Safe travel; 3. Good car performance; 4.  Finances to finance the second half of the trip; 5.  For doors to be opened everywhere I go.

Thank you all so much and I’ll keep you posted throughout the month!