Memorial Day Connections

  Memorial Day Sunday was a blessed, profitable, and rewarding day, especially when we got to pick up a native family from White River to come to church with us in Mission that evening. It took two vehicles to get us all there, and it was raining, but it was incredibly rewarding to wheel a grandma up the new ramp by Hope Family Chapel in Mission.

This ramp had been built in the awful heat of last summer so that people who couldn't climb stairs could attend church, and so that coffins could be brought in for funerals.

 Sunday evening was the night we got to experience some fruit for our own labors as we helped a dear grandma who used to serve with her husband under SIM many years ago into her wheel chair to come to service.

Rev. Marc Sankey, staff pastor and SIM board member, sang with his wife and spoke in the service about Jesus meeting us in the storms in our lives. 

Earlier that day, thinking of Memorial Day and my own veteran father, Jonathan and I visited the White River Cemetery, where we had heard there was a grave of two Indian scouts. We couldn't find it, so will have to ask someone to show it to us.

 There was also a veterans' memorial.

That morning, since Hope Family Chapel only meets in the evening, we visited Lakota Community Chapel, begun by American Native Crusade many years ago. The pastor had stopped the week before to meet us, and we found out his son is dying with a brain tumor.  Interestingly, he and his wife have sons named David and Jonathan! We struck it up immediately and have stopped by twice because they live right by the road in our little town. Crystal and I took pumpkin cupcakes after a day of baking. I can't imagine being parents of a son dying of extreme pain with a brain tumor.

We were so grateful the one day when there was news that the son had an appetite and was eating and drinking.

After the morning service there was a fellowship meal, and I went home and brought our crockpot of elk and veggies which made a hit with natives there. We feel God is leading us with the many different people we are meeting. 

 

That includes the Cassalino family who came to help work at the Rosebud parsonage this last week. We had the six Casalinos, eight Troyers, and six of us for supper Saturday evening. The three Casalino boys got coaxed into carrying three Troyer little girls on their shoulders all around our place!

I loved the watermelon stars served Sunday evening at the chapel fellowship meal!