Two nights sleeping on a bus without an opportunity to take a shower is not as glamorous as it may sound, but our group handled the situation like pros. We rolled into Lame Deer around 10:30 AM local time, got the bus unloaded, and were sitting in the sanctuary ready for worship by 11 AM. LIttle did we know that we were going to be an integral part of the worship. Pastor Dean's usual worship leader was not there, so he asked if we had any that would like to step in and lead. Joanna Simko stepped up to play guitar and Pastor Todd, Aaron Chastain, Marissa Adolph, and Rebecca Sprayberry provided the vocals. I must say that they did an excellent job with only a few minutes to prepare!
After many hours of traveling an being cooped up in a bus, we allowed the youth to take it easy for the day and use up some of that pent up energy. Only about eight or so from Morning Star Baptist Church were present for the service this morning, but they joined us for lunch giving us the opportunity to make some connections early on. It's Pow Wow time for most of the Indian Tribes, and the Crow were doing re-enactments at the Little Big Horn Battle Field. Unfortunately, they were charging $20 a person to come in, so we decided that we would forego the visit to the battlefield. Instead, we spent the afternoon enjoying the gorgeous weather and working our stiff muscles through games and activities.
We joined Pastor Dean for the evening prayer service, which turned out to be a great experience. Pastor Dean reserves an area of the altar for prayer requests, and when church and community members ask for prayer, he has them write them down and places them on the altar. We broke up into groups of four, and each group would take several requests and pray for the individuals and families. It was a great way to stir our hearts for the people as we read over their struggles and heartaches and took them to the Lord.
As I talked to the group at the end of the evening, there were several that talked of how surprised they were at the poverty on the reservation and were saddened as they read through the prayer requests. This is a brand new experience for most, if not all, of the youth. Pray that this experience will open their eyes to the needs of those around them and move them through compassion to reach out with the love of Christ. There is a great opportunity for impact on this reservation. Also, please pray for the congregation of Morning Star Baptist Church. Pastor Dean is truly excited about our presence here and our focus on ministering to his church. However, it is difficult sometimes for his congregation to respond with the same enthusiasm. Pastor Dean had expected many more to show up for this morning's service, but he feels that as the week progresses and word gets out that more and more will come to see what these group of strangers are doing in their community. Pray that God will move in their hearts and lead them to get involved with the activities of this week.
Now, I'm sure that all you parents out there want to see what your beautiful children have been up to. Here's a slideshow of our last couple of days. Check back tomorrow to see more from our trip! Thanks and God bless!
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