New Things

"The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into the harvest."

Luke 10:2

This week saw the beginning of restructuring. It is always uncomfortable to make changes, and I confess to being one who "resists change with all that lieth within me." (my own quote). We decided that it would benefit the children's work to move the time of the service from 3:00 PM to 10:00 AM on Sunday, and incorporate an adult Bible study with the 10:00 service. One of the men has repeatedly requested a Bible study that would help him know more about the Bible. He was there Sunday morning, and he was attentive and seemed to enjoy the little Bible study. Ray gave a brief overview of the Gospels in preparation of a New Testament study. We are studying the Lord's Prayer with the children, after which they go downstairs to do a little handwork and talk. One of our first goals is to establish a relationship with each child. We do not have as many children in the morning service, but we feel that it is important to have a small worker/child ratio so that we can reach them on a more personal level. We are aware that each child has his/her own personal issues, and they need support from those of us who love them. I appreciate Esther's help in this. The Lord has given her a gift of relating to children.

We drive over to Lower Brule on Saturdays and visit homes and distribute flyers. This is a high point in our week. The people of Lower Brule are so respectful of the church. We have found many people who have expressed an interest in coming to church, and we hope to help them feel comfortable in coming.

Lower Brule and Fort Thompson are situated in such a beautiful part of South Dakota, and the drive home is often very nice. Last night we witnessed a beautiful sunset as we were driving home. We will share a picture of it with you.

Requests, Relief, Restructuring

Requests

God has promised that where we are gathered together to worship Him, He will be there. We know this, but it is always good to feel Him there, and this morning worship service was one of those services. God has been good to us, and we have been encouraged when we have new people come, or when some who have come in the past but have not been there for awhile come again. A man who we had not met came a couple Sundays ago, and his friend called me aside this morning after church to request prayer for this man's daughter. She overdosed on a controlled substance early this week and has been in a coma since. He asked us to pray for her, and we will. We would request that you would pray for her and her family, also. We are hoping to go to the hospital and visit her soon.

Relief
Does relief begin with an 'r' or a 'k'? Today it began with a 'k'. The Kalovsky family came and helped us in both services as well as dinner. They gave us a huge lift. As you can see, Lizzie Beth can do well at the piano :) [cute]. They were observing the service this Sunday, as they will be filling in for us next Sunday while we go to a family reunion this week. They have a friendly manner that brings a good response. Both men who came today promised him that they will be back to hear him next Sunday. They brought lunch, and we enjoyed it together. They stayed for the children's service, and all of them helped tremendously. We'd love to talk them into coming real often.

Restructuring

Some willing groups have been holding Sunday afternoon services each Sunday for several months at Lower Brule. God has noted and they will be blessed. The last of these groups has felt that God has released them from Lower Brule, and this leaves us with the full responsibility. We have felt that the best way for us to work with the children is to have Sunday School on Sunday mornings at 10:00 before 11:00 worship service. Some of the adults have expressed a desire to have Bible studies, too, and we hope to have an adult Sunday School as well. This presents some logistics which we will have to try to work out. One: we will need an adult Sunday School teacher who will be willing to take the responsibility for the class. Two: we will need a van if we pick up the children, and we will not reach as many children if we do not bus some of them in. We feel good about this move, and we will trust God to work the logistics out, but we will appreciate if you will pray as we make the change.

This last picture is in the little bus that we borrow from Fort Thompson church. Ray is in the drivers' seat, and the kids are riding everywhere. He loves his job, as you can see.

Sowing the Seed

We started the weekend by driving over to Lower Brule early Saturday morning and visiting the neighbors around the church. Since we are only two :), Ray and I decided to distribute visitation cards, starting from the houses that surround the church and working outward. We found most of the people to be very warm and friendly, and we were invited into several homes. We didn't visit as many homes as we had set for our goal, as we each were drawn into a lengthy conversation with the occupants of two homes. One home that started out as a cold welcome turned out to be a most interesting conversation with a very intelligent man. He shared some very insightful and revealing information about the Native American culture. We are always interested in their culture, and we appreciate when one of them shares with us. He came out of the house and wanted to meet and introduce himself to Ray after we talked for awhile. A mark of many Native American men is their ability to sit and think on many things, and they often have insight that we 'busy bees' miss. I would like to share an insight of his that he shared with me that shows a good dose of Indian humor. We had a hearty laugh when he shared it with me. He explained that he wondered why the Indians keep their old cars around their houses and in the driveways when they no longer run. He said that he figured out that it is a circle reason-dog, horse, car, and back to dog. The first Indians had dogs, and when their dogs got old, they kept them around and took care of them. Then they got horses, and when their horses got old, they kept them and took care of them. Then they got cars, and when their cars get old, they keep them like they kept their dog and their horse. Now they keep the car out in the driveway, and the circle is finished when the dog gets in the car. I always wondered about those old cars we could never part with--he said, "It's the old horse theory!" I love it. :)

The church is located in the heart of housing, and we have neighbors all around us. They know whenever we're there, and they watch us. I was happy this morning before church when a lady I don't know slowed down in her car as she went by and called "good morning!" while I was picking up the 4th of July trash in the yard. When we can locate and afford to buy some outdoor speakers, we would like to play nice church music from a CD on Sunday mornings about a half hour before church and play children's music before children's service.Children's service was a little tough this week. We had two little girls who needed individual attention, and they were tearing around the church, out the door, and into the street. We did not have staff to keep them busy, and so we had to take them home early. Ray explained to the mother that they are just hyper today, and we will be happy to have them come back. We have needs here at Lower Brule, and God knows them. He knows who will love the children, and who can provide the help we need. I try to never operate with force or bullying the children into good behavior, but the children must be under control. This takes time and a relationship with the children. Because of our small staff, it looks like we will have to restructure the services. We will try to keep you informed of this. The picture below shows the children "retelling" the story of the tower of Babel. A few interesting things were added-for instance, the woman on the top of the tower. I'm sure I didn't tell them that. :) Maybe they were mixing up the Statue of Liberty with the lesson because Lady Liberty is referred to so much during the 4th??

A Sunday With The Sioux

Sunday was such a beautiful day in Lower Brule. The river was myriad shades of crisp blue, ribboned with light brown threads of sand. Much of the highway that winds between Lower Brule and Fort Thompson follows the ridgeline, and we were treated to a slightly arial view as we commuted from morning service to the picnic area at the dam to cook our dinner and pick up the van for gathering children for the afternoon children's service and back to Fort Thompson to return the van and drop in on their evening service. We couldn't resist stopping to snap a picture or two. It was a perfect day to cook our Sunday dinner, and it was a nice respite from the day. I am sure that God gives us beautiful days and beautiful scenery especially for our enjoyment, and I don't want to miss what He sends to us We were encouraged when a gentleman stopped in to talk to us during the time we were there at the church. He expressed an interest in the church, and I believe that he will sometimes attend there. He told of his alcoholism, and how his wife led him to God. Since he gave his life to God, he has been changed. His heart is heavy for two of his daughters who are following the alcohol road, and he asked prayer for them. We will be making contact with him again very soon.Children's church was lively , but fun. We fall in love with the Sioux children so easily. They steal our hearts. Four little children came in for service as it was finishing and the children were boarding the bus, and they seemed so disappointed to have missed it. I was staying behind; and so we talked about the story of Noah (our lesson for yesterday), and they put our Betty Luken's pictures up on the board. We colored and talked for awhile. The two littlest girls slipped into calling me "grandma, " and it stuck. I am very pleased and recognize the honor of being addressed in this way. The one girl wanted to take a picture of me, and one of the little ones wanted to be on "grandma's" lap. Suits me fine!!

Natasha showed some unbecoming behavior at first in the services, but we tried to give her a little extra attention; and she has responded. She carefully colored her picture, and then she brought it to me and said that she would like to donate it to the church. It is beautiful. We took a picture of her holding the gift, and it will be hung up in the church. Please pray for Natasha.

A Ramp,Watermelon, Chocolate, and Blueberry Plants

A RAMP
In our visitations, we located a lady who told us she would love to come to church, but she is in a wheelchair and the church is not handicap accessible. She has been a faithful member of the church in past years. Ray took it to heart, and he worked for several hours on Saturday to build one. The lady was just getting out of the hospital this Sunday, so she hasn't had a chance to try the ramp.




WATERMELON
While we were out and about Saturday, we stopped at some friends on the reservation to check on a family member who had been sick. These friends were celebrating her birthday and Father's Day, and they invited us to take part in the celebration. We stayed and ate and visited. All of their children and grandchildren were there for the 'party.' We appreciate the openness and acceptance of the Indian people.

CHOCOLATE
There has been a family who comes in on Sunday afternoons and works with the children, and this Sunday they were not available to come. Esther and Ray and I took a big gulp and decided it is time to 'dive in.' Some of the Hunter family from Fort Thompson were willing to help us, and they brought a bus and a van and went picking up children. Ray went with them so we could locate from which homes the children are coming. One of my methods to try to keep control of the children is to give them a little object to put in their pockets and keep through children's service. If they still have the object at the end of the service, they get to keep the object and have a treat besides (we could confiscate the object during service if they misbehave). I didn't have anything with me to use for their pockets, except I found some chocolate candies downstairs, so I used those. Unfortunately, the church became quite hot as the kids sat in there, and we delivered some chocolate-coated kids to their homes. :( They all got the prize (a little bag of chips) at the end of the service. :) We already love these children.

BLUEBERRY PLANTS
He spoke also this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he
unto the keeper of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I have come seeking
fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it the ground?'
And he answering said unto him, `Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall
dig around it and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well; and if not, then after
that thou shalt cut it down.'" Luke 13:6-9
This is the scripture verse that came to my mind when we agreed to work at Lower Brule this year. We feel challenged to 'dig about and fertilize' the mission out there. This scripture came to my mind while I was standing in our backyard eyeing two blueberry plants that I planted two years ago. These blueberry plants have survived with three or four yellow leaves for these years. I didn't want to destroy them while there is life in them, but they certainly were going nowhere. I bought another blueberry plant this year and planted it in another part of the yard where it is near our pine tree, and the soil is acid. This new blueberry plant loved it and is growing beautifully. Encouraged, I dug up one of the stagnant blueberry plants which had two yellow leaves and transplanted it near the flourishing plant. It is beginning to show promise and is bearing several leaves now, though they are still yellow. I think the progress will be slow. With that encouragement, I transplanted the last little blueberry 'stick' with one tiny yellow leaf. We will see how it goes. So goes the work in Lower Brule. Slow, but promising. The people are so kind, and there seems to be many who are interested in church. We need wisdom in knowing how to make the time and the atmosphere such that they will be willing to come and respond to the salvation message. Please pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our work there.

JUMPING FROM A CLIFF

Happy to say, I have never experienced jumping off a cliff, and it is something that I hope I never do experience. However, we have made a leap that we are excited about. We have accepted the responsibility of the Wesleyan Sioux Chapel in Lower Brule, South Dakota. Lower Brule is situated on a huge bend in the upper part of the Missouri River, about a half hour drive north of Chamberlain which is on the I-90 Interstate. We have assisted in various areas of the work in the past five or so years, as interested people tried to revive the work that had been closed for several years. We began our work in Lower Brule by going every third Sunday of the month and holding services in a home until the church was purchased by the Faith Missionary Association. We then drove with people who were interested in planting a work there to play the piano, teach the children, hold a Vacation Bible School, and sing. Ray assisted by preaching when he was needed. Esther assisted with the children and by playing her violin. We worked with a young couple until two weeks ago when they felt that God was leading them to resign. We felt that our time with them was a treasure that we will remember. The Faith Missionary Association has now asked us to take the burden of the work.



The church is situated in the middle of housing built for the Native American people of Lower Brule. It is easily accessible to the people, and it has been an asset to them in the past. Our task will be to contact the people and to create and nurture relationships with them. We have a deep love for the Native people, and we served seven years on a reservation in the southern part of South Dakota. Many of the people on the reservation in Lower Brule have families to whom we ministered in earlier years. We are confident of the power of God to help us and to change the lives of the people we serve, and we are looking forward to our adventure in the year ahead as we "jump off the cliff."

We will try to update this blog each week with happenings from our weekend in Lower Brule.