Taking the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth

As happens every year at this time, the group which spent a week at Pine Ridge, SD will be sharing their experiences with the church.  This sharing time, though, is not about sharing photos, though pictures are nice and put faces to people we hear about.  It's not about sharing stories, though it is nice to hear from personal experiences.  What our time in Pine Ridge is all about is about God's work in the midst of hopelessness and His call for us to enter with these people into that same hopelessness.

I have heard many people make comments about the Native Americans and their issues.  They say things like, "They should just learn to adapt to the American culture" or "They are just a bunch of drunks who need to get over it and stop it" or "What they need is . . ."  The Lakota people of Pine Ridge don't need a "thing."  They need a person.  And his name is Jesus Christ.  Only Christ can change their hopelessness into joy and celebration.

When the group shares every year it is out of a hope that someone will heed the call to go next year.  Going on a mission trip once can be helpful to the growth of a disciple of Christ.  But to go to the same place year after year creates relationships that allow the disciple of Christ to share the love of Christ with people they know and see every year.  There are children who know us by name because we have seen them every year for the past five, ten, or fifteen years.

Is God calling you?  Don't hesitate to follow His call.  It will never be something to regret.  Come this Sunday to hear about God's work in the midst of the Lakota people and in the lives of those who heeded His call to go.