South Dakota Mission Trip

Sunday, July 4– Saturday, July 10

Missioners

Sandy Ayres

Ayla Bandoli

Mary Barnes

Bob Eierman

Casey Jewett

Susan Jewett

Gib Magaw

Heather Ann Moody

SUNDAY, JULY 4th

We left First Congregational Church shortly before 8am—ahead of schedule!

We travelled across Wisconsin, through many small farming communities in Minnesota, and finally into South Dakota.  Crossing the Missouri River was not only our entrance into the Cheyenne River Reservation but also a time change for us making our arrival early.

As we were waiting for our contact at the office many cars passed by until one stopped and we were introduced to John Bachman, the Executive Director of Habitat. He led us to our volunteer quarters where we settled in for the evening preparing for our work the next day which we were informed we would be working on a new house, possibly some rehab, and also a small project as a favor.

We were informed of a fireworks show taking place at the ball fields however we were able to see them from the house where we are staying. It seemed like they were all around us!

After a long day of travelling and getting used to our accommodations we headed to bed to the after show of fireworks surrounding our house, which lasted until 12:30am. Good thing we don’t have to report for work until 9am! :)

MONDAY, JULY 5th

Monday morning and we are adjusting to the time change! We enjoyed a nice casual, laid back breakfast and were introduced to our construction guy, Ted Eagle around 8:30am. He didn’t get the message that we were to report to the office at 9am. :)

We all went to the Habitat office to meet the rest of the staff and get our assignment. We were introduced to Ted’s assistant, Alton, as well as their intern Reece who has been here for 8 weeks and has 2 weeks to go before heading back to school. We also got to know John a bit more who is not only the Executive Director of Habitat but also a volunteer for the fire department and mayor of Eagle Butte.

We then followed Ted and Alton to the work site, a new house being built. Our job for the week is to enclose the house in preparation for winter as they only have enough money to do this and not actually finish the house. By the end of the day one side of the roof was almost complete. Tomorrow we are planning to continue working on this as well as a small group to head to the Landmark Community Center to work on a painting project and Gib is visiting some houses to take a look at some electrical issues. We are certainly keeping busy.

We returned for the evening to enjoy Bob’s grilling skills and visit. The weather was hot but also beautiful. We are hoping for the same tomorrow even though there may be a chance of showers. We are also looking forward to our meal with the Habitat people on Wednesday evening as well.

TUESDAY, JULY 6th

We woke up this morning to rain.  Ted and Alton stopped to inform us they were working on figuring out something for us to do today. About an hour later they came back and informed us to hang out for the morning and that we would head to the museum in Timberlake around 1pm.

The intern Reece came with us and told us how to get to the museum in Timber Lake.  The museum contains Native American and paleontological artifacts and we would be given a brief discussion on some of the Indian artifacts in the museum which was a small museum. The discussion included collections from local non-native people and the Chief White Horse Winter Count.

We returned in the early evening and invited Reece over for dinner.  We got to know her better as well as each other. Although the weather didn’t pan out as planned, the “day off” was not a loss as we enjoyed the museum, the scenery, and company. We are looking forward to a work day tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7th

Today we woke up to sunny skies and hopes of a productive work day, which it was.  We started at the new build work site. Several of us finished up some things that were started on Monday. One side of the roof was nearly complete when half of us went to the Landmark Community Center to scrape paint off the floor in preparation for painting. The Landmark is typically where we would have our dinner with the folks from Habitat. However, since it was “under construction” the dinner was at our house.

At the end of the day, Bob and Susan went to play some basketball with Alton and some other local guys before dinner.

Tillie arrived with the food that her mother prepared, Indian tacos, essentially fry bread with taco fixings, and a beautiful fruit salad. In addition to John, Tillie, Reece, and Alton (and his family) joining us for dinner, we were blessed with a visit with Emmanuel Red Bear, a Lakota Culture teacher. He gave the prayer before dinner and then  following dinner a blessing and storytelling about his life, his association with Habitat, and some Lakota history. He asked for questions and answered many that we had. We all very much enjoyed his visit and even talked more after everyone left.

Overall, a full day of work and great company. Tomorrow we look forward to working on the house, the community center, and a trip to the lake.

THURSDAY, JULY 8th

Today was a shortened day for work.  It is getting pretty hot here during the day and there was mention to head to the lake. About half were working on the house and the other half went to the Landmark.  Gib has also been doing some electrical work for people around town. We wrapped up at both places around 2:15pm and waited for Ted to come and take us to the lake.

The drive to the lake was a bit rough to say the least. It was about 20 miles of rough gravel road. In addition, there were cattle crossings. We did encounter both on the way out and back a herd who enjoyed hanging out on the road.  When we finally got to the lake it was beautiful! We enjoyed playing in the water for about an hour with Ted, several of his children and a couple neighborhood kids too. We returned in the evening to have dinner at the local DQ.

Everyone seems a bit worn out and although we are looking forward to working our last day tomorrow, we are also looking forward to coming home to our families, friends, and beds.

FRIDAY, JULY 9th

Stay tuned!

SATURDAY, JULY 10th

Stay tuned!

This page was last updated on:  7/9/2010