Travel day, first day and uniting in Sisseton for the Lord

Traveling to Sisseton today, we were able to reflect on the upcoming week and think about the wonderful opportunity to enjoy fellowship with members of the Dakota and Sisseton Alliance Churches and community.   The sun was shining and we had a nice breeze tonight as we arrived into town.  Our team had lots of smiles of joy as we brought our supplies into the church and began to get ready for the arrival of many excited children early tomorrow morning.

Most of our team has arrived and we are all very eager to work together.  Mr. Dance has prepared a few skits for the week and we are all looking forward to seeing them played out by our mission teams’ children. 

We will begin our day with breakfast, our team photo, and then VBS from 10am-12pm.  We will serve a lunch for all the VBS participants.   The afternoon will be filled with construction projects followed by an evening campfire.

Please join us in prayer for the health and safety of all team members and the Lord’s blessing upon the children at  VBS this week.  Please also pray that we have patient and loving hearts as we minister here in Sisseton.

1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God."

Dinner at the Chicken Shack

Seventeen of our team of 19 has arrived in Sisseton, unloaded the food, lumber and vbs supplies at the church, filled our bellies with dinner at the Chicken Shack, and are now settling into our rooms at the Super 8 for a good night's rest before our first day of VBS tomorrow morning. Chris and Syd Williams should be arriving shortly to complete the team.


I am watching the women's gymnastics team compete in the Olympics as I write. The drive and determination of the athletes is amazing. The teamwork and care for each other is obvious. The culture of the Native American community here is quite a contrast to that. With a high school dropout rate over 70%, an epidemic of alcoholism and drug abuse, absentee fathers being the norm, and many suicides, it is so hard to understand, and even more difficult to know how to help. I am so impressed with the attitude of those on our team who have been here before. They have warned me not to expect too much. We won't "accomplish" much, they tell me. We are here as friends. We are here to encourage the pastor and his wife, who go on year after year dealing with the social issues of the community, seeing very few "gold medal moments". We are here to have fun with the kids and give lots of hugs.

God is here in Sisseton. His ways are not our ways, and we are trusting Him to use us this week.

The gymnasts just got their medals. The flag is rising and the anthem is playing.

Nite, nite.

Another year, another team, another tshirt

This year we have a smaller team, ten people over 30 and nine people under 18, for a total of 19. All but four of us have been on a Sisseton mission team before, so there are already good relationships established with the people in South Dakota. We don't have as many construction projects planned, but lots of time for talking and encouraging and just having fun together. Our VBS theme this year is First Responders. Hopefully we won't need to actually call any real first responders, I know I can get a little carried away with the bonfires.

For now, last minute preparations are being made: the tshirts have been ordered for tie dyeing, chicken has been cooked and frozen, bacon has been added to the menu for Joel, and firewood is being collected to aid in the creation of many s'mores. Just a few more days now. I wonder what God has in store for this team?