Yes, yes, yes, it’s time again for our annual message posting the details of our planned June 2018 mission trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, in which I announce the dates, and then spend the rest of the post begging for people to go, along with my feeble attempt at manipulating your feelings so you’ll want to go (and I’m talking to you, ya know). Fortunately, I’m fairly lousy at manipulation, so you probably don’t have much to worry about.
The dates for the June 2018 trip are: June 8 – 17 (includes travel time), and, so far, it’s looking like a fairly small group (I mean, technically Dave and I are a group, right?), but we’re really hoping that you (yes, I’m still talking to you) will decide to join us. If you do, here are at least some of the details:
What we’ll be doing: VBS and Street Ministry, mowing playgrounds, delivering baskets/bags of food and other necessities to families, playing with kids, visiting with adults, making friends, fixing playground equipment, probably building an outhouse or two, other minor construction projects, sharing a lot of dinners with local families, helping families out in any way we can, etc. (essentially, we go without a plan, and just try to tackle whatever the Lord throws at us).
Where we’ll be: We stay at the Lakota Prairie Ranch, just outside Kyle, S.D. We primarily work in the village of Potato Creek, but when we have the manpower, there are also opportunities to work in other villages.
Accommodations: A lot of us camp, because it keeps the costs down (and we’re tough guys, hahaha), but there are rooms and cabins to rent. A lot of folks for whom camping is not an option will double up or even triple up on a room to keep it affordable. If you want to camp, but don’t have a tent, we’ve got spares. All you really need is a sleeping bag, cot or air mattress, and a can-do attitude.
Recreation/sight-seeing: We don’t have a lot of time for that stuff, but on Sunday, we generally go to the black hills and visit Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument. We almost always also make a morning trip to Wounded Knee, spend an evening rock-climbing in the Badlands, also almost always have a sweat ceremony hosted by some of our friends out there, and, if we’re really lucky, the Oglala Lakota College will have their graduation powwow while we’re there. I can pretty much guarantee you won’t be bored, and you’ll have the opportunity to soak up as much Lakota culture as you can handle.
What’s it cost? $350 per head. That covers all meals, fuel, transportation, and camping costs while we’re on the Rez. If camping is not an option for you, you can rent a room or cabin, but that cost is your responsibility, and you’ll have to make your own reservations (you should be able to find details at the link above). Technically, everyone is responsible for getting themselves to and from the Rez, but we’re happy to work with you to make it as simple as possible (for instance, if you’re between Richmond, IN and Pine Ridge, you can probably hitch a ride with us–we’ve usually got a few free seats). The point is, if you want to go, but can’t figure out how to make it work, gimme a holler, and I’ll see what I can do.
In addition to the meals, fuel, transportation, and camping costs, all expenses for VBS, construction, etc., also come out of the $350. None of it goes in anybody’s pocket. Anything left over when we get home gets saved until a need arises (somebody on the Rez needs help with propane, electric, groceries, etc.).
Who are we? We are a loose group of people who love God and the Lakota people. We are not professional missionaries. I’m an Air Force retiree and aspiring writer. Dave McCoy, my brother from another mother, is an electrician. Other regulars include a safety program manager, a tax preparer, a retired teacher, a couple of small-church preachers, and another teacher/coach. The point is, none of us are Professional Christians, we’re all just folks.
Well, I’ll stop beating this horse. If you’re interested in joining us, gimme a holler. My phone # is (765) 969-3179, you can comment here, on this site, or you can e-mail me at moonandjess@frontier.com.
I hope to hear from you. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
This sounds exciting! I went on a mission trip this past year to Colville Rez in Washington State. It was my first, definitely am looking forward to more.
Reading about your plans for the upcoming trip, I had a question about the sweat ceremony. Is it a contextualized service? As in, does it carry Christian elements and prayers in the format of a native, traditional sweat ceremony? In either case of a yes or a no, how do you participate in it? I would love to hear from your past trips out to Pine Ridge and the experience of it’s documented on a blog/vlog.
Hey Rachel: Yup, it’s pretty exciting stuff. As far as the Sweat Lodge Ceremony, I’m not really the best person to ask, as I’ve never personally participated (for personal reasons, like claustrophobia, heat intolerance, stiffness, bad knees, etc.). However, since I’m the one who writes this blog, I’ll do my best. Although I’ve never gone into the sweat, I have gone to it, and sat outside, and have never seen (or heard of) anything wonky going on. As I understand it, it’s pretty much just a way of concentrating prayer, so I guess you could say that it contains whatever elements you take in with you.
I’m not sure if Chub or Wilbur (the guys who do the sweat for us) are “Christians”, and they pray in Lakota, but I am sure that they’re praying to the same God that we are. Dave is a lot more knowledgeable about all the details of it, and I know that he would not participate in anything that would or could undermine his faith, much less encourage anyone else to. There are a lot of other folks on the trip who are much more biblically and theologically sound than I am (including several ministers), who participate in it and always come out feeling purified and closer to God than they were before they went in.
Naturally, we don’t force anybody to participate in any way. Folks are welcome to stay in camp, go along to observe, or do the whole megilla, whatever they feel up for, with no judgment applied for whatever they decide to do.
As far as hearing about our past trips, if you look through the blog posts here, there is quite a bit of info, going back at least a few years.
I hope this has answered your question satisfactorily, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks, Lloyd
This trip sounds amazing. I spoke with my husband and son about this trip and they were interested if you would still have room. My son hasn’t been on a mission trip since he was six and went to Puerto Rico with me. My husband has never been on a mission trip but we were both houseparents for a time at a Christian children’s home. I know they would absolutely relish in the opportunity to share the love of Jesus and “do whatever is needed.” It happens to be the same week that a trip is scheduled that my son has applied to be a representative for. He won’t learn anything about whether he is chosen for a couple of months though. It is to Washington for our electric co-op, but he may not get to go. When is the deadline for seeing if they could go with your group too? Just found out about this trip and it would be great, not a second choice, but he’s already applied to the other. Thanks in advance for the info.
Carey Tamplin
Hey Carey,
I’m glad to hear you’re interested in going with us! There’s no huge rush, but we need to have a fair idea of who’s going by around the middle of May, and of course, we don’t really count anyone as truly committed to going until we’ve got their money.
Anyway, we’d be happy to have any or all of you come with us. If you have any further questions, you can email me at moonandjess@frontier.com.