Pine Ridge: Day Three

Today is our third day of having Vacation Bible School in Pine Ridge, SD.  The focus today will be on trusting Christ, the pure and greatest Lamb, who sacrificed himself to defeat our sin.  Pray that today the children will hear, catch, and trust the Lamb.

If you have never been to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation I would highly recommend it.  It would be an experience you would never forget.  And it gets into your blood once you've come.  Yesterday we woke up to a man, Douglas, who wanted to have a cup of coffee.  It was obvious that he had been drinking already at 6:00am.  As I write this, he is sitting at the table talking with one of our team members about the past hardships of their people.  Wil, our team member, is African American, and to hear him try to explain how me, a white man, did not kill his people and did not distort the story of the Gospel.  The hopelessness that we find here and the very open wounds that still exist from the past are dramatic.  The church of the past has done a disservice for the work of Christ in the future.  It's a good lesson to learn for us today.

So, don't judge this man because of the still open wounds of his people.  Do not tell his to "get over it."  We all have some wounds that just won't heal.  It just that some are larger and deeper than others.  Now imagine trying to heal those wounds without the power of the Holy Spirit.  He blames me for the hardships of his people.  And in a sense he may be right.  But I hold nothing against him.  I'm just praying for Douglas' salvation and the salvation of his people.  Imagine what God will to through this great people do if He would give them over to the Great Lamb?  Pray for the revival of the hearts of these people.