Closing thoughts

Well, its about that time of night when I take a few moments to reflect on the day and give you all an update...I was typically blogging right after I crawled into bed around midnight-12:30 AM (the blog-post was time-stamped CST which made it look like 1:30 AM), which was after the youth went to bed and I was then able to shower myself and unwind a bit. But tonight I am home (still up just as late, this is normal for me!) and the youth are gone. It feels SO different tonight...

It was awesome to have such a big welcome back party waiting for us at IHM, thank you for being there! We unloaded quickly and everyone took off. I got into my own vehicle and drove away, just me, for the first time in 7 days! I felt like I didn't know what to do with only myself to worry about! All the emotions rushed in of what an amazing week it had been and that I was now alone and kinda missed all the chatter, laughter, chaos and fun that we'd had. I called Wes (husband) to let him know I was on my way home, and he asked, "are you crying? is everything OK?" I just laughed amidst a few tears while trying to explain everything I was feeling at that moment...

All there is to say is that this was an awesome group of kids. I know that you all know that already, but I got to experience each of their unique personalities, the dynamic of the whole group together, the challenges and accomplishments of the week, their friendship, their inquisitive minds, and to witness the growth that comes from all of these things.

A good friend of mine says that, "God always works both sides of the miracle," and that's truly what I've experienced this week. I went to "give" my time driving and chaperoning but I "received" far more in return. I was challenged and grew personally, spiritually by having the priviledge of being with your kids this week.

Thank You to all the families for the gift card - what a generous gift!

Your thoughts, prayers and praises from the week are greatly appreciated! I look forward to growing the relationships from this week!

Pics...
...a one lane tunnel that we drove through in the Mt. Harney area
...the girls writing "happy fun notes" before leaving

Pics...
...a one lane tunnel that we drove through in the Mt. Harney area
...the girls writing "happy fun notes" before leaving

Friday...on the road!

Today started bright & early with packing, loading & cleaning. We were on the road by 8:15 AM and soon out of Montana!

We weren't able to climb Mt. Harney as storms had moved into the area, but we saw it and then went for a great walk around Lake Sylvan admidst intermitent showers! The rock formations in and around the lake were featured in the movie National Treasure II - ask the kids to see thier pictures of the area! Everyone climbed up, down and all around as we released our couped up energy from the first part of our trip.

We enjoyed great food at Sanford's Pub & Grub in Rapid City, SD tonight and are currently unwinding back at our host church in Lead, SD. The feedback from the youth about their week has all been great and they say they'd go again. I call that success!

We'll be home tomorrow night and ready for a good night's rest.

Ahhh..it's Thursday!

Tonight was an amazing experience...during "club," which is when we sing songs of praise, give recognition (snaps), thanksgiving (yeah Gods!) and reflect on the week's theme of "FREE," we closed with a foot washing ceremony. At first, the youth thought, oh yuck! But I believe they were really moved as the three of us adult leaders washed their feet and prayed over them. For me, it was moving personally, as well as challenging to try and convey in prayer what I felt the Holy Spirit wanted me to say to each of them. I know that we all, youth and leaders alike, have grown so much on this trip. I wish I could have taken pictures of the service, but we were all involved and it was perhaps to personal for photographs. This might be a great event to ask your child about and dialogue on. I know they all participated in song more tonight than before - after 4 nights they had really warmed up and opened up. Truly, an awesome thing to see! I also heard from several of them that they discussed it later and thought it was pretty cool :) yay!

So, thats the most important part of today and of this entire trip -- seeing the growth and development in the individuals.

But, if you really want to know about the rest of the day, ok!

The work crews finished another house and shed - amazing what they can do by working together! Kids Club had water day which was a blast! Much fun and laughter and everyone was soaked from the games. We ended the day by relaxing with a community cook-out. The families of our Kids Club'ers came as well as some of the homeowners we have helped during the week. It was a great chance to relax and unwind together.

Tomorrow starts very early, 6:30 AM everyone will be up and have the vans loaded by 7. Then an hour of cleaning the building to restore it and prepare for their next group. We close with prayer and hit the road by 8:45 AM.

We do plan to climb Mt. Harney weather pending (heat?), today was very hot here!

We'll see you Saturday night!

Wednesday

Whew! Today was a hot one! Right around 90 degrees and boy did we sweat! Kids Club was awesome and the new crews that were out on the worksites had fun painting, more scraping and a bit of yardwork.

The youth have been involved in making every aspect of "Youth Works" happen. We do all the meal prep and clean-up (yes, washing dishes by hand) for breakfast and supper. Lunches are made ahead at breakfast time and then packed to be eaten at the worksites. There is also a clean-up crew in the morning that cleans all of the bathrooms - yuck! With 60 youth using tiny bathrooms and a gym shower system, cleaning those is no laughing matter! Everybody gets their turn at each job as they rotate the groups each day for their responsibilities.

Tonight's activity was going to Wales Bulltail's house (see photo of him) for storytime. Wales is an elder of the tribe and tonight he talked to us about the method the Crow used to hunt Buffalo on horseback with bow & arrow, although he hadn't experienced that himself. He does hunt buffalo a couple times/year on the reservation using a gun.

He also showed us his Sweat Lodge he has in his back yard (see pic). The lodge functions like a sauna although much hotter, he said. The purpose of the lodge is to cleanse both the body and the soul/mind. They do 4 rounds (5-7 min. ea.) of prayer while in the lodge with 4-10 people total. They give thanks for their blessings and they pray for upcoming events as well. Seeing the Lodge (8-10ft diameter) and hearing the incredible meaning and importance it has in their tribe and their personal lives was awesome!

Tuesday at Youth Works

Today was a great, warm & sunny day in Montana! I think that all the youth had a great sense of accomplishment as we finished work projects and had a 2nd day for those with Kids Club. Tomorrow the groups switch and get to do the other thing - either painting homes or Kids Club.

The children at Kids Club are just loving the time the youth spend with them; you'll see pictures that will melt your hearts! The children love all of the attention and they feel so important and loved to have an afternoon of constructive fun! The Kids Club participants also went to an assisted living facility and were so excited to share with the rest of us about the interesting people they had met and the stories they had heard!

Tonight we went to the Little Bighorn Battlefield and learned about Custer's Last Stand. It was very interesting to learn about how the Crow had partnered with Custer as scouts against the other tribes in the area.

The youth are better adjusted to the environment and schedule here today; I look forward to tomorrow!

1st day, check up!

Wow, what a day!
The youth all did an amazing job today with their work projects! Jessica, David, Andy, Kathleen and Katie painted a 2nd coat on a house that had been started last week.
Justine, Sarah, Sam B and Becca prepared a house and a shed for painting tomorrow - that means lots of elbow grease scraping off the old paint! Elli, Gillian, and Sam C put on kids club. The weather was cooler than usual, around 85 instead of 90+, which was much appreciated.

The days are very full of spiritual/thought provoking sessions, service projects, fun (planning skits, etc), and some site-seeing and cultural activities. The youth will definitely need a day or two to unwind when they get home. The days start at 7am and are done at 11pm, with hardly any downtime. They are all very close with each other and they are making new friends. I have enjoyed my time with them immensely so far and I may go through withdrawal when I get home - I have fun joining all the activities with them and stepping back into my "adult leader" role only as needed. I love the constant laughter!

The BIG SKY country of Montana is absolutely gorgeous. Tonight's activity was a trip to Willow Creek Dam - see pics.

Enjoy!

The rest of the trip was great -- "out west" is quite beautiful! We saw snow capped mountains before we headed North on I-90 into Montana. Everyone enjoyed exploring at Devil's Tower -- see pics.

We learned about what our week will be like after we arrived at the church we are staying at and we met the staff - all college students - they will be alot of fun! They say that the natives are very welcoming and that Youth Works' relationship community is outstanding. Our theme for the week is FREE, based on scripture from Galatians. Its about leaving behind our fears and being free to be ourselves this week. Free of stereotypes, free to choose, etc. (I'll expand later, great concept though) And just by chance, both of the other groups here are Catholic and one brought a priest so we'll be having mass a couple times this week. The other two groups are from Indiana and Oregon and have about the same # of kids too!

Can't wait to tell you about our adventures tomorrow as we dig in.

arrival in Lead, SD

We made it into Lead by 7:30pm local time...8:30CST
Everyone says, "Hi Mom!"

The drive was LONG but everyone made it through. The van group was making bracelets, the yukon watched movies and read books and played road games. The trail blazer listened to ABBA and much more. The mountains are beautiful and Lead is a cute town down in a valley!

Favorite part of the day was finding a guitar at our host church so that Sam B could play and we had a great candle light prayer service and then a fun sing-a-long to wind down the evening.

Our day was blessed with great weather, safe travel and lots of laughter!
We are thankful for the Peterka's graciously loaning us their Yukon (which made the trip MUCH more comfortable for everyone) and for Bruce & Cathy's family who hosted us at their church and made us a great supper upon arrival!

Getting ready to leave Saturday A.M.......

Does anyone have walkie talkies that we can take to communicate between vehicles?

I found out that you can rent sleeping mats from REI - not sure on pricing but they are nice. My brother "mr. outdoorsman" loaned me one. It is foam and inflatable - I was actually impressed. You can inflate or let air out to adjust the support to fit your size/comfort and the whole thing is only about 1" thick so it will roll up and pack nicely! Check with REI if you haven't decided on what you're sleeping on yet!