We left the church on
Sunday, July 7 at 5 30 AM. I had to wake up at 4 30 AM to just get there on
time, but that was just the start of the tiredness I felt all week. We arrived in
Lame Deer, Montana around 5 PM and got situated in our rooms. We stayed in a
school, so we were sleeping in classrooms. That night we had our first sermon
from one of the leaders and started to talk to some of the people from the
other three churches from Minnesota. At the start of the week I didn’t really
know any of the people on the trip, and I didn’t really know the leaders that
well, but thankfully that changed so much throughout the week.
On Monday, we were
split in to five groups. The groups were mixed with people from my church and
people from other churches. By doing this, I was able to really get to know the
people from my church and get to know some people from the other churches. We
woke up at 6 AM and had breakfast at 7 AM. After that we had devotions with
books that the staff had given us. We then went to our groups and had an
orientation for what we were supposed to do that day. For the first day, I got
to do Kids Club which was kind of like a VBS but it goes all summer. We spent
the morning having orientation and planning for the next week about what we
were going to do. They split us into three groups and we were either in charge
of the play, songs, or memory verse. I got to do the play. The thing that made
it so much fun was that I was with people from Minnesota that I didn’t know at
all. Over the course of the week, we all became such good friends, and it all
started with me volunteering to go to a group where I didn’t know any one. We
left the building around noon and went to the Boys and Girls Club and lunch
with some of the kids. It was eye opening because you really did not get a lot of
food, but sometimes, it might have been all the food the child was allotted. We
then headed over to the park where they did Kids Club and started picking up
kids from all over with the van we took there. Once all the kids were there we
played around and then we did the skits and songs. After that we had snacks,
crafts, and games for the kids to enjoy. We did the same thing on Tuesday. My
overall experience with Kids Club was up and down. It was so much fun to get to
develop relationships with the people on my trip, but I felt like I didn’t really
connect with any of the kids that came on the trip. The conversations I had weren’t
really deep and I felt like I was missing something. We talked about this
during debriefing times at night, and there were other people who felt that
way, so in a way I felt relieved that others felt the same way. I loved getting
to talk to the community, and at that point during the week, I felt like I hadn’t
made any difference.
Wednesday and Thursday turned out so much better. We were sent to paint the outside of this sweet lady’s house named Maxine. In between messy paint fights (I found paint in my hair several days after the trip was over) and deep conversations, we actually finished painting in two days. On Thursday we got a chance to meet Maxine and talk to her and we found out that she had cancer and was told she had less than six months to live. That was the first big moment that I had during the trip, where I felt like I was actually experiencing something. I also got to talk to a few of the kids that were living in the house. Getting to talk and pray over Maxine and her family was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. I didn’t think I would experience anything deeper, but we had a cookout on Thursday that completely surpassed my expectations. Some of my friends and I were just sitting at a table waiting for people to arrive and this lady named Jolene and two of her grandsons came up and I started talking to them. I went in line with them and helped them carry their food and we all went and sat down. We talked for a good hour or so and I learned all about her life and everything she was going through. She also told me that she used to be a Cheyenne History teacher, and that she would write me about whatever I wanted to know about them! I’m excited to see where that goes and will keep you updated about what she says. I had to sacrifice eating dinner that night, but it was so worth it. The cookout lasted for two hours and during the second hour, my crew was on kitchen duty, so I got to make and serve cool aid and water with a guy from Minnesota! I got to talk to him and a few other girls for a long time and it was so cool to make good friendships over just a week. I hope I can keep in touch with them for a long time.
(By the way, the guy I talked to, his name was Mitchell, and he was so cute, and told me that he would really miss me when I came home and that he didn't want me to leave and it was just about the cutest thing ever. He even said that we should just go hide out in a little shack up the street, I just about cried when I had to leave. I wish he lived here because he was the sweetest most amazing guy I have met!!!!! I hope I get to see him again some day)
Overall, if I had one word to describe this
trip, it would be life-changing. I made amazing friends, experienced a new
culture, and discovered God in a whole new different way. I wouldn’t change
anything about it. So that was my week and I am more than exhausted. On Friday night, the girls in my hotel room and I stayed up until 3 30 AM just venting about the few annoying people and processing everything had happened that week. It was so good and I totally bonded with them, but I am so tired. If anyone wants to know more about it, I would love to talk to you, but for now, I am going to go sleep a lot more.
