Day 3: Painting

Today we pushed up the wake up time to get an early start on the painting ahead of us. The boys were up before Fr. Tom could provide his unique form of wake-up service and they quickly headed into the kitchen to get a cooking lesson from Bill. The girls on the other hand were a little slower to rise and shine, so Fr. Tom helped them along using a pair of frying pans as cymbals. Needless to say, all were awake and grateful they didn’t need to set an alarm (NOT!). By the time the girls were up and going the boys had breakfast ready and everyone enjoyed a great scrambled egg and ham meal, with left over bagels and bananas. I know the combination seems a little strange, but with each passing day we put out leftovers just in case someone is still interested. After breakfast a quick clean-up around the building, the loading of the trailer, and one last rest stop, we were off to Rosebud.

As we moved north, the clouds rolled in and the temps dropped. It was perfect weather for painting; and because we were early, we had almost the whole team with a brush or roller in their hand. Yesterday’s prep work made today’s job much easier. We actually had the first coat on before leaving to pick up the kids. By the time the van returned, the first coat was dry to the touch. Lunch today was hot dogs, cheese balls, and carrots. I bet you can’t guess what we had more of left after everyone was done eating, carrots or cheese balls. Across the street to the church and our team leaders had another great skit to help set up the day’s story-time. Then it was a few songs to get the blood moving and off to story-time and crafts. Our focus today was the sacred symbols of Christianity and Lakota beliefs; and two we used were the rainbow and the pipe. Of course we had games, more crafts, and snacks before parents arrived to pick up the kids and before we headed out to drop off those who were left. While part of our team spent time with the kids, the other part finished a second coat. As we all looked over the work we all did today, we were all very proud.

By the time the van returned from dropping off the kids, the trailer was packed and we were ready to head home. However, as we passed through Mission, SD we didn’t turn to head to Valentine, instead we continued down the road to the local Lakota Museum. There we saw artifacts, and pictures, and some other pretty neat things. As with any side trip, there were some who were really interested and some who were not. But it wasn’t a long visit and before we knew it we were headed back to St. John’s, the pool, and showers. It turned out to be a really nice day, not near as hot as yesterday. Also, we didn’t see any of the rain that had been forecast. This made it nice for our youth who wanted to wander the aisles at Dollar General or head down to Subway for ice cream.

As the evening began to draw to an end, it was time for our evening bible study. Tonight we looked at the story of Lazarus and how two people can see the same thing and still see something different. One of the greatest examples was John 11:35 that read ‘Jesus wept’. Some thought this meant Jesus was sad about his friend dying, and others thought they might be tears of joy knowing that Jesus could finally show them the power and extent of God’s love by bringing to life what was once dead. Everybody grasped the parallel in this story. One thing that always amazes me about this activity, is the depth of understanding our youth have of their faith and the willingness they have to share what they know, when placed in an environment they feel safe to say what is on their mind without fear of being told they are wrong. There’s a sermon in there somewhere.

With Compline over and the lights out, St. John’s has returned to a place of restful peace. This of course will all change tomorrow when we once again enter into the fray and follow it up with worship and dinner with some of the parishioners. This is an event we all cherish deeply. But more about that tomorrow; good night.