Tuesday started what felt like very early, and the guys in our work group had to go pick up some supplies, so after a quick breakfast, Tina and I took a walk down to Higher Ground - a local coffee shop. What greeted us there was awesome...it was like a little Italian villa tucked away in the Rez. It felt as if you were walking into another part of the world...and didn't feel at all like the area that surrounded it. Check it out here:
http://www.pineridgegospel.org/higherground/index.htm
After poring through the menu, we ordered our drinks and sat outside for a while, and I chatted about beginning ideas for a coffee shop that a friend and I have mused about trying to start in Fairmont.
It was a wonderful way to start the morning, and definitely not the last time we'd grace the doors of the shop. We came back and then loaded up to head out to the Church to do some more work for the day. We added the last few boards to the deck, and then after some coffee and cookies, we got to work putting together some of the pieces to repair the bell tower. I got an interesting bovine anatomy lesson through an old farm addage, and even though I wasn't sure I knew what I was doing, I tried my hand at making holes for the braces of the bell through some 4x4 pieces of lumber. Turns out I'm not exactly amazing at keeping the holes straight, but the bolts went in and held the braces just fine, thanks.
We finished up for the day and headed back, had lunch and headed over to Red Cloud School to learn about one of the Indian boarding schools in the area. We saw a beautiful chapel decorated with paintings from several artists of the stations of the cross. Larry, the former director of the Retreat Center came to supper that night and talked to us for a while...while we, exhausted from the week so far, struggled to stay awake, though what he was saying was fascinating. He discussed an ongoing effort to get a credit union established on the Reservation, something that would hopefully get some more money circulating in the reservation.
He spoke a lot about considering the attitudes we have when we encounter the things we do on the Reservation, and finished with a rendition of the story of the Feeding of the 5000 - encouraging us to consider that perhaps what was most important about the story was the effect the boy's gift had upon those who were present that day. Seeing the little boy give his simple offering may have been enough to spur others into giving what they could as well, taking one simple step and making something amazing possible.
The events from the week were starting to drain me - I was emotionally exhausted. I spent a lot of time trying to sort out in my head what had gone on, trying to figure out what I should be feeling as I encountered different situations. Seeing the kids grab for things whenever they got the chance and "taking advantage" of a system that is designed to get them the things they need and working to get just one more thing...is it a feeling of entitlement because that is how it has been, or is it a fear that they have to get everything they can because they don't know when the opportunity will arise again? Should we feel angry and defeated when we get stereotyped when we come into the Reservation because nothing seems to change when we leave again, or should we feel compelled to keep striving to find that one missing piece that will help things finally work together for change? I'm not sure there are specific answers for these questions, and if there are, I'm not sure I want them. Part of the mission experience that I find to be the most life changing is the discontent I feel when I go back home, not sure what to do with all that I have learned because I haven't really seen the whole picture.
I had a ping pong match with John, Tina, and Barry today, before the kids arrived. We laughed and gave each other grief, and had a blast. I love getting to know folks better, and so often these trips are about what we learn more than the actual work we have come to do, and about who we are with as we learn.
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm...
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