PGUMC Youth Mission Trip 2008

We embarked for Mission, South Dakota for our trip, bleary-eyed and sleepy at 3:45 in the morning on July 6^th.  Our destination was the Tree of Life, a mission center working with the people of the Lakota Sioux nation.  Our crew: 10 youth, 4 adults, a car, a minivan and a truck pulling a trailer LOADED with donations from our church to the people of the reservation.  Our route: 741 miles, crossing through Wisconsin, Minnesota, and crossing the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

We worked. There were four different job sites for us, three in the town of Mission and one in an outlying area.  We replaced windows, rebuilt walls, tore off roofing, learned to snip aluminum siding, and replaced flooring.  We worked with power tools, some of us for the very first time.  We worked with children and helped with the mission’s Outreach Center.  We repainted the Tree of Life’s sign and logo on the side of their storage building. 

We learned.  Many people shared their knowledge of Lakota culture and traditions.  We learned and played a popular hand game, participated in a Sweat Lodge ceremony and observed a Sun Dance ceremony.

We played.  We rafted down the Niobrara National Scenic River in Nebraska.  We played with newborn kittens.  There were pranks played, revenges taken, cards played and secret talents revealed.  We laughed an awful lot.

We deepened our faith.  We got to know ourselves and got to renew our faith in God.  We held nightly Devo’s, times for quiet devotions and discussions.  We prayed together, questioned together, and learned together.

It was quite an awesome week, spent with awesome people, doing awesome things in the name of our Lord.  What could be more awesome than that?

So…what are YOU doing next summer???????