Tie Dye Fashion Show

The shirts that we tie dyed yesterday were dry and ready to wear this morning. There were lots of bright colors and wild designs. 

Chris doesn't seem too happy with the way his shirt turned out. 

Or maybe he is just anxious for lunch. 

These were some good looking designs, but the prize for the cutest shirt had to go to....

Jeremiah, our youngest VBS attender. 

Jeremiah's mom brings him, his sister, and a cousin to our VBS each morning. Jeremiah's mom and his mom's cousin really appreciate having breakfast and lunch with us. Both of them are expecting a baby early next winter, and appreciate not having to cook. I think Jeremiah looks quite dashing in his new shirt. 

Later, it was another beautiful night for a campfire. This time, we had 'adjusted' the setup for the Jiffy Pop, lengthening the handle by attaching a roasting stick with a number of paper clips, and had a little contest. That's Julian on the right (with the mohawk) and Courage on the left, at the first annual "Sisseton/Rochester Alliance Jiffy Pop Challenge". The kernals started sizzling, the shaking ensued, and soon we were munching on popcorn. Julian narrowly defeated Courage, with a slightly larger dome on his Jiffy popper.

After two days of being with the people here, I feel more like I am at a family reunion than on a mission trip. My Rochester friends know almost everyone here, and their kids, and their cousin's kids, and the neighbor's grandma. There is such a sense of 'family' and I feel like the new auntie. There are the crazy uncles who think they can still play ball with the kids and the women who bring their favorite foods to share, then share the recipes. There are also the sad stories of those family members that are not here this year, having other plans or going through hard times, and not able to be here with us right now. But that doesn't diminish our love for them. It only reminds us that we need to be praying for each other. I met Marcela tonight, one of the matriarchs of the group, and she asked me if I had known Janel Saunders. Right away, there was a bond of love because of Janel. The Saunders family has been here every summer for the last five years. The Sisseton family had grown to love Janel as much as the Rochester family. They, like us, saw God working through Janel's servant attitude, were blessed by her love, and are still grieving her loss.

 Family is a wonderful thing; laughing together, grieving together, praying for each other, and just being together.