Story of Sisseton: "A Portrait of a Christian Heart"

            Reflecting back on our trip to Sisseton, South Dakota, I have found that the gifts that we receive of fellowship and a deep understanding of the Lords love go beyond what we had ever conceived while we were planning the trip to Sisseton, South Dakota. Understanding how the way of life that I am comfortable with is challenged by a smaller town, and the  Dakota people in Sisseton, South Dakota.  

            As I arrive, I am well aware of how much talking I am doing and noticing that many of the elder women of the church spend much of their time listening and observing.    On the front of the church in the sanctuary, the words, "Be Still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10. Trusting that the Lord will unite us together as brothers and sisters in the Lord even though history and miles have separated us in the past is difficult, but we persevere.   I know that we were a blessing as I heard one young boy who spent some time with us at the campfire and sampled Dunkl donuts state  "wow, I love this place"  as he entered into the church to receive his school supplies.   I am troubled by the many children who are affected through their parent's use of alcohol, or drugs and the high rate of suicides and how their families are affected by their absence.

           My son Timothy who is 15, enjoyed helping children all week, but a really special time I was especially proud of him accomplishing was when  he spent an entire Saturday helping a little boy who just arrived in  foster care because his father, who was 24, just passed away.   Many of the children in his foster care home have stories where both parents and relatives are unable to care for them.  My heart cannot comprehend what it would be like to be 2 years old and not have family to receive hugs and love from.

               I heard wonderful reports of some of our team going to see Nicollet tower.  I included a picture here thinking about the Lord being our Strong Tower in times of trouble and concern and our "First Response" in times of trials.

Nicollet Tower

Sisseton South Dakota

         

           

 Sunday, August 6th arrived too quickly and included packing up and checking out of the Super 8 hotel early in the morning so that we would be able to return to Rochester.  

 Most of our team attended services at Sisseton Alliance Church and Dakota Alliance Church.

Pastor Paul  from Sisseton Alliance shared with us "A Portrait of a Christian Heart"

A Christian Heart is Completely Thankful.

A Christian Heart is Always Persistent.

A Christian Heart is Always Purposeful.

A Christian Heart is Always Utterly Obligated-unquestionably committed.

Pastor Richard at Dakota Alliance shared and encouraged us to spend time in loving and praying to the Lord and confirmed that becoming a Christian may mean trials and suffering.   

After the services we were treated to a pot-luck lunch and enjoyed fellowship at the Dakota Alliance church and celebrated Del's 5th birthday.    

Pastor Paul and Pastor Richard

Celebrating Del's 5th birthday.

Met new friends on Sunday, Victoria

Kid City donated funding to add three extra swings for children to enjoy.

Teens who also enjoyed VBS this week.

       

      Many children in Sisseton are affected by the loss of loved ones through suicide and or  alcoholism/ drug use.  I tried to find some statistics regarding this in Sisseton.  I found a few resources in the community that are available.  

         "In August, the Roberts County There’s Hope community coalition was awarded a federal Drug Free Communities Support grant. This grant is designed to help mobilize the community in preventing youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug and inhalant abuse. This year, the coalition is working on doing the initial assessments for the community. As part of the assessment, the schools in Roberts County were offered the chance to participate in a national survey to measure the number of youth using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. More than 850 Roberts County students were surveyed in grades 6 through 12 to determine the extent and nature of drug use in this community.

Although few drugs are consumed during school hours, the survey detected both drug and alcohol use outside of school. Alcohol remained the "drug of choice" of youth surveyed in Roberts County. 

In Roberts County, 59.8% if the senior high students (grades 9-12) drank beer in the past year; 56.7% reported liquor use and 50.9% drank wine coolers. In junior high (grades 6-8), 28% drank beer; 22.5% drank liquor; and 50.9% drank wine coolers.

Marijuana use during the past year was reported by 31.6% of the students in senior high, and 34.3% in junior high. Over the counter medicine abuse was reported by 9.2% of the students in senior high, and 5.3% of the junior high students" (There's Hope Coalition).

There’s Hope Coalition

Address 610 2^nd Ave E

Sisseton, SD 57262

Phone # 605-486-4166

Email: saram@humanserviceagency.org

Basketball, Picnic in the park and Campfire Devotions

Our team had a packed schedule today.  The day began early with a basketball tournament for the youth at the park followed by a delicious picnic lunch with brats and corn on the cob.   

The Sisseton Alliance Church hosted a Mops sale and we were invited to attend and found a few treasures and met new friends.

The weather was cool and the children enjoyed playing on the swing sets while the older children played basketball.

In the evening, we were blessed to have campfire devotions shared by Karen Flynn about uniting together here in Sisseton to magnify the Lord together as a people.

 Roasting marshmallows and keeping warm as it was a cool night.

The famous Dunkel donuts were made and cooked by Chris Williams and Dan Jensen. All ages including grandparents, parents, teens and children savored every bite! Yummy.

 We had to huddle together to stay warm! Notice the sweatshirts.

Fellowship around the campfire at the Dakota

Alliance church with devotions was an incredible cherished time together.

Impromptu Singing and Dancing during Thunderstorm

          

Praises:   August 4th and we have a beautiful sunny day here in Sisseton, South Dakota.

                Wiffle ball created unity between children, teens and adults.

                Open hearts here in Sisseton.

                After a night of stomach bug, much like last years, 

                Claudia has bounced back and feeling better.

           Our family and team has had the privilege to reach out to two Christian and Missionary Churches here in Sisseton, South Dakota.   As the week has progressed we find many generations of families attending VBS, and we are as the Lord led, brothers and sisters in Christ encouraging and loving each other.

            Prayer and diligent devotions begin our busy days here in Sisseton.   Finding time to spend in quiet time with the Lord is challenging during the week full of lists we have created with eagerness in fulfilling what we have planned for the week to bless many here in Sisseton.  This week, we have heard messages from Charlotte Dance, Kim LaCroix and Chris Williams.    All inspiring and encouraging to give us provisions to work together in unity through the hot humid weather  while ministering here in Sisseton. South Dakota.

           Each day of VBS we were blessed with children arriving and participating from infants to teenagers.  Many of the children's parents made the decision to stay and listen to our message of "First Responders". 

Fireman Fred appeared each day of VBS to share a message of hope and love with the children.

Emily and Charlotte enjoying hugs.  Emily has a brother Gage who also attended VBS.

Breanna had lots of energy and excitement for VBS, as she returned on Friday with all the bracelets she created the day before.  She was full of hugs and love for us.

During the campfire, we had an opportunity to have fellowship and share our lives, encourage one another and talk about the love and joy in serving the Lord.

Worship was blessed,  and led by Kim LaCroix.  Sydney had all the songs memorized from Treasure Hunters and Claudia  was happy to join her in teaching the songs to VBS children, teens and parents.

While we said good-bye to the children the last day of VBS, and all the children picked up their school supplies, I had an opportunity to pray with a few of the children individually for their upcoming school year and  that they would accept Jesus in their hearts.

Karen posted about the thunderstorm that brought much needed rain to the community, and our campfire was cancelled and moved the Jiffy pop contest inside.  

There was  thunderstorm outside, wind blowing, rain pouring, outside our faithful wiffle ball, soft ball players continued on playing and then... The OVERALL vote for activity ....sing VBS songs along with long time friends and new friends.  Yes, we had an IMPROMPTU song service on a Friday night. 

Yes, even though VBS was over, the majority of the children wanted to continue on their own activities of VBS.  I was tired from all the days events, but felt a deep contentment that our messages for the week were heard and taken to heart.

Prayer requests:

Jeremiah, our youngest attender has had pneumonia.  Please pray for his healing and continued strength for his mom, who is expecting in December.

Please pray for health and safety of our children and adults.

Today is the basketball tournament and picnic, pray that many relationships would be built in the community.  The picnic has been blessed in many ways this week already.

Pray for safe travels as we head home tomorrow after 2 church services and a pot luck.

Last night,  two of our children, Claudia and Aspen were not feeling well.  This afternoon, Claudia is feeling much better.

Tonight, Campfire devotions led by Karen and Dunkl. donuts...stay tuned and thanks for reading and praying with us!

Final day of VBS

You, you, you.... you can trust God. You can take Him at His word, and give Him your heart. 

Our VBS is already over, but the words of the songs have been planted in many hearts, young and old. Our VBS team did an amazing job all week, singing and dancing, telling stories, doing skits, crafts and games. I have been so impressed this week by the 10 kids we brought with us from Rochester. They have been such gracious helpers with meals and watching the little kids, and having so much fun with the Sisseton kids. We really are a team, every member contributing to our mission this week.

We have been having lunch with the kids after VBS all week, and today, before the kids went home, we gave out the bags of school supplies. That's CJ and Courage on the right with Christine. These boys are the future of the Dakotah people in Sisseton. I love the name Courage. He is a very nice kid, polite and smart. I will be praying that he lives up to his name, grows strong in Christ, and is a courageous leader. There are very few positive male role models here, but God can raise up mighty leaders from anywhere.

  

Here are two of the younger girls with their school supplies. THANK YOU to kidcity for donating all the markers, pencils, rulers, glue, scissors and erasers for these kids to use as they start classes later this month.

Another Jiffy Pop challenge tonight... due to the rain outside, we decided to do the popping in the kitchen. Matthew and Jack had done all of the dinner dishes (thanks, guys) so they were our contestants. Matthew had the back burner, Jack the front.... once again the sizzling started, the boys started shaking, and the aluminum started to rise. 

Jack's Jiffy dome was slightly higher than Matthew, and is now our official indoor Jiffy champion. Your competitive spirit was an inspiration for all. (Olympic theme plays here)

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. 

Thank you, kidcity

Today some of the guys did a little work on the playground in the yard at the Sisseton Church. They added three more swings to the two swings already on the playground. Some of the CCC kidcity classes have been earning and saving money to purchase the necessary supplies to increase the swing situation here by 150%. 

WOO HOO,

and thanks to the kids in Rochester. Watch this video to see how good these guys are at two by four carrying. Too bad that's not an olympic event. We have some genuine talent in this group.

Del was the first to try out the new swings. 

We finished off the evening with a campfire, s'mores, Jiffy pop, and a full moon rising. A good number of our Sisseton friends joined with us to celebrate the end of a wonderful day. God is good.

Blessings for our first day of Vacation Bible School at Dakota Alliance 2012

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?

2011 Lessons in love

Sisseton 2011 is now HIStory. Here is a lesson learned by one of the families who went on the trip:

One of the reasons we joined the Sisseton missions team this year was for the sake of our children. My husband and I believe that the most significant and lasting thing we can do with our lives is to share Jesus with the people around us, and we want that to become part of our family's identity. We want our kids to know that this is what our family does - we share the love of Jesus. And we wanted our children's eyes (and our own) to be opened a little bit more to the world around us.

When we first shared the idea of a family missions trip with our kids, they were totally on board. This will be fun! This will be like when we tell our friends at school about Jesus, or invite someone from our neighborhood to AWANA! We know how to do this! Let's go!

It didn't take long for them to realize that sharing the love of Jesus doesn't always fit into the predictable, neat, little box that they're used to here at home. Throughout the 5 days that we spent in Sisseton, our children started to come up to us in tears, sharing their broken little hearts:

"Mom, the kids are making fun of my name and being really mean to me, and I don't know why. It's hurting my feelings."

"Mom, that girl just insulted Dad and was really disrespectful. Why can these kids act like that?"

"Mom, that boy just hit me...hard!...and it's my birthday today. I thought my birthday was supposed to be fun."

"Mom, why are these little kids - just 4 or 5 years old - running all over town all day long? Where are their parents?"

"Mom, that little boy over there looks hungry. Can I go give him a banana for breakfast?"

Over and over again, my husband and I gently took our kids aside and explained to them that this...this...is what it means to show the love of Jesus to a dying world. Jesus forgives us, even when we don't deserve it. Jesus forgives us, even when we hurt Him deeply. When we extend that forgiveness to others around us, they get a taste (possibly their first) of God's unconditional love. And when we see the gaping needs in another's life (neglect, hunger, poverty...), we have an opportunity to respond in gratitude for the blessings that God has poured into our lives, and then to reach out and share those blessings with those in need.

This week, as a family, we saw the heart-breaking reality of emaciated lives, starved of love and hope - both young and old. And, in turn, we were given the chance to pour the love and hope we've been so richly blessed with back into those hungry souls. I pray we made an impact. I know that we were impacted. We came home with eyes that don't take our blessings for granted quite so easily, with hearts that beat a little more deeply with compassion, and with hands a little more willing to selflessly serve. And as we wrap these experiences up into our family identity, I pray that we will be able to more effectively serve our mighty God - no matter where He leads us.

(pseudo)-Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Team 2 took on an extreme painting project this past week. We tackled the SAC parsonage in 1 afternoon. The pics pretty much say it all.

Before

After

CCC VBS Donations to Sisseton VBS kids

The CCC VBS encouraged kids that attended to donate a school supply to the kids in Sisseton. I have to say that the kids were not only excited about receiving these items but they even remembered this from last year. I had kids coming up to me on Tuesday asking me if they would be getting school supplies the next day.

Here are a few photos of the CCC kids that were in Sisseton helping put all the items in bags so they would be ready for the kids to pick up and take home. The kids worked very hard at this and did such an awesome job! We passed out over 50 "very full" bags of items to the kids in Sisseton.

The Finished Bags...ready for the kids!

Just a few pics...

Day 6 of VBS

We finished up VBS with 39 kids from Sisseton! Our leaders from CCC were kept on their toes yesterday morning and worked hard.

As we finished up our time in Sisseton we had a few projects left to finish up and then some cleaning and packing before we all got back on the road.

One of the most important things that we try to do in Sisseton is to build relationships with the people there. This year we didn't see as many of the adults in Sisseton (at least during the 2nd part of the trip) as we have in the past but the days that we did see them it was important to drop what I was doing and make sure that the time I had was spent talking with them. Sometimes being a "Type A" person requires me to step out a bit of my comfort zone and initiate that conversation rather than focus on the list and tasks that are waiting for me. One of our devotions that we had during our morning before we got started for the day was done by Joe in our group. He talked about how he wished he would have spent more time with one of his friends by actually talking about the things that are important in life rather than having some of the conversations that seem to be more on the surface of topics. Meaningful conversations require effort but are so worth it when you really think about how important we spend our time with those we come in contact with.

One opportunity that we had that just sort of came together was the campfire on Tuesday night. What a fun time this was! I learned some new games, riddles and jokes but also got to talk with some of the people that stopped in from Sisseton. We got to reconnect, talk about the kids and previous years that we had been in Sisseton and even got a few ideas from those in Sisseton for what they want from CCC in the future. It was great to be able to talk with them again and hear some of the things that they need or what they are thankful for. I also got to spend a few moments with some of the adults on Wednesday as they were sitting outside while the kids were in VBS.

Building relationships and connections was a focus for being in Sisseton and having a lasting connection with the kids is something that I have wanted to see happen since we started going to Sisseton. I have seen some of the kids grow up and follow in the steps of many that are being taken in this town and always wonder if we kept up a relationship through the year if this would have helped them at all. We did find a way this year to try to establish a lasting connection with the kids...pen pals. Not only are some of our CCC kids excited about this but some of the Sisseton kids are as well. We have a list and hopefully will have some great letters being sent back and forth from our kids to the kids in Sisseton!

Everyone from CCC is either now back in Rochester or off to their next adventure.

Friends and Fellowship