Monday

Our first day on the reservation. This morning's wake up came sooner than expected as we wanted to get an early start to assess the projects we have on our list. Several sleepy heads made their way up to breakfast. The high level of excitement of yesterday was replaced, at least early in the day, with slow moving and barely awake zombies. Energy slowly grew as food was consumed, but quickly dissipated when it came time for morning chores. Still, the place was cleaned up, should anyone from St. John's stop through, the trailer was loaded and we were off to the races.

It was a beautiful crisp morning and several used the 45 minute drive to catch up on sleep. When we arrived, you would not have recognized the team. They jumped out of the vans and were ready to get to work. Once the trailer was unloaded, preparations began in earnest. They decorated the vans windows, made signs for the sides of the vans, sorted and prepared the days crafts, and began work in the kitchen. Our main project this year is giving the kitchen a facelift. This means setting up a alternate kitchen was a must. Using one of the empty classrooms, a revised menu, and a roasting pan, today went off without a hitch. As for the rest of the week, this will not be a problem. Some old wall board was taken down, the walls washed and brushed, cabinets taped and as we got ready to begin painting, we learned the color of paint we planned on using was not what they hoped for. So work in the kitchen came to grinding halt.

This did not stop our service team. They immediately moved to an outside wall of the community center and began scraping peeling paint off the cinder blocks. If they couldn't paint the kitchen today, they decided to work on the outside of the building. Getting everything scraped as best they could, they did get about one-fourth of the wall painted before the sun became too hot. This is a job left until tomorrow morning. In the meantime, our vans hit the neighborhoods and we were blessed with one of the largest Monday morning number of guests we have had over the last 9 summers. 

Lunch was meatball sandwiches with chips and a fruit salad. Everyone enjoyed the meal before heading off for worship. Our theme this year for VBS (and our evening bible studies) is the risks we take. Looking at biblical characters who took a risk, we not only learn about how they faced hardship and challenges, but also reflect on how we do so today. Our VBS team provided a great skit looking at the risks Moses took standing up to Pharaoh and led us in some familiar songs. Many of our guests remembered the songs from last year and we began to become a community.

This was seen in the teamwork between guests and teams as all watched out for a young man who has special needs. His laughter and smiles let all know that he felt he too was part of the community. We had an assortment of crafts and even had some time for a little kickball before returning to worship, our closing prayer, and what everyone was looking forward to, snack time. With bellies and souls nourished, we helped our guests into our waiting vans for the ride home. As they got into the vans, the sounds of laughter and the cries of 'see you tomorrow' filled the air.

Once our guests were home and our trailer was loaded, it was our turn to head back to Valentine and get ready for some 'pool time'. The water felt great but the showers on the other hand were anything but warm. It reminded some on our team of our first year in Valentine when the pool was closed and we had to use a nearby campground shower. Refreshed, it was time for dinner and some free time. Our youth teams headed out for ice cream and to the nearby Dollar General to stock up on those supplies not provided by the kitchen.

Another night of bible study and great conversation, this time looking at the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Before debriefing our first day's activities, we had to offer one of our team a special treat. Thanks to the mother of one of our team members, we had a birthday cake with candles waiting for us at the nearby grocery store. With a rousing 'Happy Birthday' we enjoyed cake, and it was good. During our debrief we looked at areas we could improve and acknowledged those in our midst through whom God's grace was seen today. After a little prep for tomorrow's activities, it was time for Compline and bed. Once again, the silence was noted quickly after lights out. May God bless us and those we serve again tomorrow.