Week 2: Life on the Rez: Mission, SD

**note- don't forget to read the two previous posts- they kind of lead up to this and are brand new, too!**

Mission, SD.
Population: 746
Home of: Todd County High School, Sinte Glaska University, and Rachel's temporary summer home!

On a first impression, Mission will break your heart into about a million little pieces. Being on a Native American Reservation is a part of America that I've never seen before. For a rez, Rosebud is actually doing great! There's not much to this place, but we have a Subway, Family Dollar, a motel, lots of old tiny churches, community centers (Tree of Life, food distribution centers, Boys and Girls Club, etc.), and a few other businesses. However, if you head off main street you'll find a neighborhoods with lots of tiny houses that look like they need a lot of work! For those of you who have been to Indian Lake Nazarene Camp, these houses are about the size of the duplex/triplex cabins, and look a lot like them, too. There are also lots of old mobile homes, old cars on the lawns, and lots and lots of dogs!! Rez dogs are all over and often like to mozy around the streets and not move out of your way when you drive up to them! Neighborhoods usually have one or two loopy streets, and then the houses are just kind of clustered around it- there really isn't too much order in the pattern.

Here are a few other things that I noticed:

1. Street signs are pretty nonexistant, unless its the main drag. We are learning landmarks and other roadsigns to help us get around.

2. I have absolutely zero cell phone signal. Nada, none, zilch. Therefore, don't expect to hear from me except for maybe on the weekends when we go to Walmart in Pierre, SD. Which, by the way, is two hours away! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Starbucks there! We have wireless internet at TCHS, so I can use that when I have free time and on weekends. They have a security filter, so I haven't been able to check my email or facebook. Our next closest city is Valentine, Nebraska. It's about half the size of Mason. We went there the other night and went hiking to a river and water falls- I kind of felt like Lewis and Clark- it was gorgeous! The river was really shallow and sandy, so we took our shoes off and waded out. It was pretty daring for me! haha

2. Main roads are lit, others are not. Main roads also have shoulders that are 2-3 times wider than normal roads. These are to deter drunk drivers and hopefully prevent accidents.

3. Along with random road signs (and lack of street signs) there are signs posted along the road that are double sided. One side has an "x" and says "Think About it", and the other side asks, "Why die?". Often there are flowers draped along the signs because each one represents a person who was killed in the last year because of drunk driving. On the corner by our old church, there was a group of three.

4. Mission has lots of kids! More than likely, you can go outside and hear kids laughing and giggling rather than hearing cars or traffic go by. Many of them don't have many clean clothes and may be a little dirty. We had a chance to play with a group of 11 kids last night at a nearby apartment complex, and these kids absolutely loved having us there to play with them! I had to watch and hold kids as they made their way across monkey bars, down slides, and really high in swings (pushing four kids in swings is tough work for one person!). One little girl clung to me like glue- she had difficulty walking and birth defects related to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which can also be common on the rez. We played duck duck goose, gave piggy back rides, and at the end of the night, lots and lots of hugs (three types- bear hugs are just really big ones, squeezy hugs you squeeze really tight, and crazy hugs you twirl around just have a blast!

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."


Although there is definitely a lot of need in Mission, the people that we have met are warm and welcoming, and many have a heart for serving the needs of their community. God is definitely already at work here in Mission, but there is a lot more that needs to be done!

Prayer request: Pray for the YW team at the Pine Ridge Reservation because their housing fell through for the summer, and they have a youth group arriving on Sunday!! They need a lot of help, and we may actually head there on Thursday.