Mini Mission trip

I just realized that I never shared information/photos
from our mini mission trip in August.

Mission trips have a core of familairity
yet each one is different
because of the people participating
and the work to be done.

There was the same 15 hour car ride through the heartland...

Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Once there,

there are always things to do to make a difference.

 There are always friendships to be deepened.

 There are programs that deserve our support,

our time and our muscles (such as they are.)

Firewood for the Elders project has been a life saving endeavor 

on the reservation for the past 5 years.

Since it started,

reclaiming dead wood from tribal and private land in the summer,

splitting the wood and distributing it to families 

during harsh SD winters,

not a single person has frozen to death on the reservation.

It's hard for those of us who live in centrally heated and insulated homes 

to imagine how common that occurrence was on the reservation

before this program started.

While much of the wood is split with a gas powered splitter, 

we all got the chance to use a wedge and sledge hammer

like some poor, but stronger, ancestors did in the past.

(The experience, for some of us, was an amusing FAIL of eye/hand coordination

I only posted images of those who were good at it!).

But it wasn't all work.

South Dakota was in full late summer glory -

and we reveled in it.

 

I loved seeing the wild sunflowers growing alongside the cultivated ones

and the reminder that we all bloom at different times.

What you'll notice missing 

are many images from the PowWow and Fair.

It was the same glorious display of culture and history;

the same dazzling array of bead-work, sound and tradition.

After taking a few pictures,

I realized that what I really wanted was to just be present to it all;

to be in the moment and experience it 

without the lens of the camera.

So I put the camera back into my purse and

enjoyed every second of the evening.

Sad truth, 

I THOUGHT I put the camera back in my purse;

I actually must have missed the purse opening 

and the camera must have fallen down onto the ground

right beside my purse.

But, since it was night and the camera was black and small,

I didn't notice it was missing until I got back to the dorm.

Checking the next day with Security and at the pawn shops in town

was unsuccessful.

So annoyed with myself.

I know others got images though and I'll ask them to send them to me 

and get them posted when they do.

I think we all had a wonderful, though compressed visit.

The 'regular' Adult Mission Trip will be

June 6th - 13th, 2020.

Save the dates!