Idaho Mission Trip 2006

Idaho Mission Trip 2006
Everyone seems to be going on and on about this blog, so I thought i ought to contribute something... especially since my mommy's reading (love you mamma!)
As has been mentioned, yesterday was the powwow, which, i will admit, i was not looking forward to at all. when i was in elementary school there were assemblies where a group of native american's would come and dance for us to prerecorded tapes of drums and chanting, before loading back into their little bus and moving along. what was supposed to grant us cultural awareness only scarred me with the obvious image of their underlying poverty, their fading traditions, their rich dances lost before a herd of white kids.

but this was to be a real pow wow, no white folks present except for us, who were specially invited. however, i must add that as one on the kitchen crew, my connection with the kids has been limited to "cheese or pepperoni?" and "hamburger or hotdog?" so, while the others looked foreward to seeing the true lives of the children they loved, i feared another fourth grade fiasco.

what fianally sealed my anxiety was our group 'talk' before the pow wow. 'cell phones and ipods in the car,' they said. 'conservative clothes, girls,' they added. additionally, we were told not to talk, and though it was to be festive, the event was compared to our own church services. 'what would you think if someone came to st. barnabas and answered their phones during church?' brent asked. we couldn't look bored, else the wrath of god would rain upon us. in conclusion, kate forced a big 'i think this is going to be fun!' to a room of chirping crickets. fun? i wondered to myself.

drawing up to the pow wow, i felt the weight of my whiteness with full force. it seemed we were to make amends for centuries of foolishness and cruelty in one evening. fun? though our group composed a hefty slice of the gathering, we were certainly the only whites there, and i felt elementary school anxiety sneaking up the back of my neck. this was theirs and it was sacred, where did i come into that mix?

our group scanned for camaras to see if we could take pictures, too. we sat stoic in a sea of native americans, waiting to make a mistake and prove that we were just as bad as the first settlers. meanwhile, the winds were stirring up swooping clouds of dust and the sun was blotted by rain clouds, ready for action. a microphone was tested one two three, and a deep and mellow voice rang out. 'these four ladies are going to sing a song to stop the rains,' he said. a voice from our group whispered 'can they do that?' i was suddenly too aware of our silliness. everyone else there was enjoying a barbeque, the kids were running around all jittery and happy, this was a festival, a party. no talking they said, but they were wrong.

as the dances started, i couldn't help but tap my feet to the pulsing drum. the outfitts were brilliant and joyful, and the announcer was funny. the pressure dissapated and fun, real fun, immerged. we huddled together against the wind and grasped the smallest thread of their infinite and beautiful culture.

i think the whole trip might be encapsulated by this event. as everyone in our group shared their favorite moments of the trip earlier tonight, many admitted their hesitancy and fear in coming to idaho, and i must add my name to that list as well. but in no time at all we were huddling together and tapping our feet, allowing real fun to help us accomplish greater things for everyone around us and for ourselves as well.

i've had so much fun in idaho, this beautiful and captivating place to the eyes of one who's only seen life in the city. alexa keith and lizzie are working on a crossword puzzle right now, a bizzare new hobby that's burned through the group like wildfire. my heart is full of the love that is our mission team, the familial bond which grows daily. my thanks go out to all those who send their prayers our way, i assure you they have been answered in full.

with love, hilary clark

I couldn't help but throw in a little Creedence as my title. We're getting all wrapped up at the school for today (and the year, I guess), and it looks like there's a pretty serious storm about to blow through. It's pretty perfect, considering we're finished with all the painting, caulking, repainting, deck sealing, and just about everything else -- any other day, a rain and windstorm may have caused some havoc.

A group of us just got back from the dump. We dropped off 1360 pounds of junk from the barn. When we were just tossing old lumber and metal scraps, it was relatively pleasant, as far as dumps go. Once we started getting rid of the other odds and ends, though, they directed us toward a big warehouse sort of thing, with a chute on the far end. As we started to take the trash into the warehouse, we were greeted by one of the most putrid smells I've beheld in quite a while.

So I'm sitting here rubbing bits of paint out from in between my fingers, picking little bits of caulk off of my filthy painting shirt, and anxiously awaiting an icy Nalgene of water and a shower once I get back to the hotel. It's been a pretty great trip. Thanks to the company, the kids, the breeze blowing by us as we stand perched atop ladders with our paint rollers, and the chance to really get our hands dirty and do some hard work, the work hasn't been trivial, the sore muscles aren't too much of a nuisance, and 7:00am mornings aren't even painful.

Now, it's back to the hotel. Hopefully the clouds up there get it out of their systems and we can get in a nice hike tomorrow over near Pocatello.

Russ

Today is Friday, our last day among our friends at the Lillian Vallely School. Mixed in with the excitement of day is a solemness and realization that we are near to leaving.

Yesterday as we were cleaning the school's barn, we found an old bench, worn and broken. Before long we had mended the wounded leg and freshened the paint. Then in an impromptu group, we sprinkled our hand prints over the bench like a rainbow of leaves in autumn, sealing our work with the words “Go in Peace...”. I will never forget the image of the three boys who came to school today and ate lunch on their new bench for the first time.

Today as I read the names wrapping around the bench, I sat thinking of all the other names that should be there. The school here owes a great deal to people like our loving parents, Sheryl the bread lady, the understanding boy and girl friends waiting at home, and our church to whom we belong. Without them all, we could never have come this far.

By the time I have posted this the bus and the children will probably be well on their way home, still excited and now exhausted from our week among them. And already many of our thoughts have turned towards the journey and the people waiting at home. As we start along our separate roads, I pray that we each have learned something new and have grown a new place in our hearts. Until we come again I pray we go in peace.

I wish I could have video tapped our week here because there would not be a dry eye in the group after you all watched what has transpired day after day. There has been laughter, learning, hugs, smiles and many friendships formed. Each day children arrive by car or the bus and they run to our youth! They talk and play together. They ask "when will I see you again?" I am so proud to be an adult leader on this trip because our youth (from 6th grade to a senior in college) have served this school, their children and this community beautifully. We have accomplished SO MUCH this week and even when we seem to tire, someone in the group pumps some energy back! I have watched our young people try things they have never done before and learn things about themselves that has really impacted them to the core. We have learned that even though things that are tough at times, we are ALWAYS here for one another and we won't abandon one another. I Praise God for this incredible place and opportunity! Kate Steider

Its the last day with the kids and I think they're all having a blast.We've all made a big difference here by painting, cleaning, and everything else we've done over these few days. I'm sad we must leave but this week has been great. Thank you to all who have made this week possible Submitted by, Bradley Owens

Day 4

It makes me sad that its the last day with the kids. I wish we had more time to spend with them. They have really come around to us. Kate showed us a list of what we have done, and the whole front page was full! In the barn we found a bench. We painted it white and every one put a colorful handprint on it. Last night we were invited to a powwow. It was very interesting to see their dances and learn about their culture. Saturday we have free time to look around the town. Then it's back on the road towards home.

Bye,
Alex

while some of the people were at the chuckers game the rest were eather at the hotel hanging out or they were going in the vans and exploring idaho falls.

we started out going and getting off and looking at the falls then we got back in the van and drove to the other side of it and took a couple pictures. the falls looked AMAZING.
while we were there there was these guys jumping off the bridge into the water of the falls.

We also whent to the home depot and got some flowers and lumber there and we got some full sun flowers that looked pretty cool. it took a while but we aventually found a cold stone and got some ice cream. it tasted amasing and i personally got the water mellen sorbet and i enjoyed it. and it was a very fun experience to go on and so has this whole trip iv had so much fun and i have seen so mant thing and i hope this blog will help u sort of see some of it.

tyler eastman

So, I was talking with the one and only Hilary Clark last night while we were waiting for our root beer floats from Sonic, and she was telling me that her mom was encouraging everyone to blog more, so here ya go.

Well first of all, yesterday was great. Not just a really good kind of great, but more like an absolutely amazing fantastic kind of great. We started out the day in the usual way, run in the morning, breakfast, work witht he kids, but then when we started the work around the campus things got a little crazy.. Lets just say there was a lot of paint involved, A LOT of paint, and the majority of it was on me. There will be pictures, have no fear.

After the work was done for the day, we all made our way back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner, and once dinner was over then we headed over to the Pow Wow. The Pow Wow was so much fun, despite the slight rain and winds that could have easily blown away a small child. Trevor, Jillian, Hilary, Keith, and myself all banded together to protect each other from the wind, which was better in theory than in actual execution, but it was quite an adventure.

Finally, we headed back to the hotel, but not before our pit stop at Sonic. 27 dessert orders. No warning. As you can imagine if we ever come back to the Blackfoot, Idaho Sonic it will be too soon for the workers who made all of our drinks.

It is hard to explain over the internet excatly how much this trip is bringing us all together. It doesn't mattter how old you are, or what grade you're going into, all that matters is that we are all here for one purpose...to help these kids have the opportunity for a better life. The countless number of laughs we have all experienced throughout the trip is just a very special bonus.

It's been fun, but I must get back to work now.

love and peace
Jordan Jones

No joke! It's been so amazing to see the relationships forming between our youth and these children...but even more amazing to see all the work that has been done by us. We've painted. We've climbed on scaffolding. We've cleaned...no, shoveled out a barn. We've cooked. We've cleaned. We've gardened (Though those last three things were all Hilary Clark).

And people who have never picked up a paint roller in their lives have painted entire sides of buildings. People who have never had to wake up early are rising with enthusiasm so they can spend another day playing and laughing with children and then playing and working together. It's freakin' incredible!

We've been working so hard that I definitely fell asleep twice yesterday at dinner. It was kind of hardcore, actually. But geez! I can't even tell you how much this rocks. And tonight we're going to a Shoshone Pow Wow in the reservation. It's going to be such a cool experience. One of the drummers we met yesterday even said he would dress in traditional tribal clothes and dance for us if we came. YEAH. Pretty darn cool. We're not going to be able to take any pictures but maybe Hilary will take a break from her house wife duties to describe it for you.

Jillian Owens

Day 4

It's hard to believe that we left a week ago. It feels like we just got here. The kids are always in the mood to have fun. This year they are more open to us. Also we do harder work for longer hours. But it's worth it in the end. For instance, yesterday I cleaned the barn. Which meant moving wood, picking up trash, and screaming your head off when you saw a spider. We did find some interesting things like a candy bar wrapper from the 70's, hand carved wooden bears, and a dog hat. Don't get the wrong idea, we found some not so interesting things. Under some wood there were owl pellets, and of course I was the one who found the dead rat. Meanwhile people were painting, gardening and fixing things. We have done so much in the four days we have been here. The teachers here are so grateful for all we have done. So tonight we are going to a real powwow. There will be drums, singing, and dancing. I'm sure it will be fun, I just hope I don't see a spider.

Until another day,


Alex

Yesterday we got the pleasure of watching one of the children, Keno, sing for us. Enjoy. I sure hope this works.

So today is the fourth day of working at the school, and it is like nothing I have ever done before. Although I am exhausted from working all day, when I get up in the morning I seem to be just as excited and ready to get to work as I was the first day (after a small caffeine burst of course) . From about 9-12 we are working with the kids, playing with them, reading to them, etc.. After the kids go home, we eat lunch and get to work on whatever needs to be done around the school, whether it be painting, gardening, cleaning out the barn etc..

After all the work is done for the day, and dinner has been served and cleaned up we all have the opportunity to just hang out with one another. There is a beautiful lake across from the hotel and every morning there is a group of about 7 of us (depending on the amount of sleep gotten by all) who have been getting up every morning at 6 to go out to the lake and run, walk, or jog, for about 40 minutes before going back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the day. The sunrise on the lake is absolutely breathtaking, and definitly worth the 30 minutes of sleep that is lost.

So needless to say, this trip has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever been a part of, and it's not even over yet!

love and peace
Jordan Jones

so i am having sooo much fun playing with the children at the school and getting to know them all. It saddens me to think that i have to leave this place soon because it reminds me so much of my grandparents house in new mexico. I love that it is cold in the morning and just warm enough to be running around outside. everyone that came with us has been able to give something or another to the children here and i know that they will never forget all of us. I just wish that it was longer than a week because we could do some much more at the school and for the children. Also then we would be with the children for more than a week and it would be enough time that when we have to leave that we can say good bye. This is my second year on this trip and it is still hard for me to think that i am going to have to leave such a wonderful place. Kate and Holly have spent so much time preparing for this trip and then even now when it is sort of a vacation for them they still are working really very hard on everything so that it comes out perfectly for the children and all of us. I hope that everyone even you who have been reading what we have been writing everyday have gotten something out of this like i have. I think that in the end after doing all this stuff for the children, we are the ones who come away with so much more knowledge and new friends and and a great feeling in our hearts. I always look forward to this trip and i am already planing for next year when i get to come play and have fun with the kids again.
love
Ann stevens

Candy, who is the new principal for the school, told us that many Native American children drop out of school in the 6th & 7th grade. She said that when they went to public middle school in the local towns the Native American children became "hooded." Candy described "hooded" as the Native American children always wearing hooded T shirts and sweat shirts and pulling the hoods up and they then slouch down at school so they don't have to interact with anyone. Eventually, the teachers stop calling on them and the other students stop talking to them, and they drop out. As Candy told us this she was crying. She was crying with happiness because she said that she had never seen the Native American children that our group is working with be so outgoing, happy, laughing, playing and joyous. Candy was truly moved by the remarkable
impact that our youth had on the Native American children that we are serving. God is truly present in this place and in all of our work, and that is a very good thing indeed. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Brent Owens+

After much coercing by Fr Brent the new building is taking on a new appearance. The drywall team is in their second day, the roofers started today as did the insulation team. Friday we will be joined by a few people from St Stephens's in Boise.

Today was another wonderful day for all our youth and their new friends. Much of the time after the school children left was spent building bird houses to be painted tomorrow in craft class.

Tonight we are going to be having another evening learning about Native Americans.

One picture today. Problems with the camera phone.

More later.

Last night 8 of us went to the Idaho Falls Chukars game. They are a Short Season League team in the Pioneer League. These are the real rookies. Even the two umps were very young.

For those of you familiar with minor league baseball this was a real step back in time. The hot dogs were cooked on a real barbecue. The ticket window was a card table and a till. There were wooden bleachers and a dirt parking lot. The top seat price was $8. The game started at 7:15pm with the Chukars playing the Orem Owlz. The second pitch of the game was a homer. By 9:30pm when we left the score was 15-9 in favor of the Owlz going into the top of the 6th inning. The final score was 22-12 with 37 hits. We still had fun anyway.

Here are some pictures from yesterday.

Hi Everyone!!
This is Alexa Vogtritter and I just wanted to blog to tell you all how truly amazing it is here and the impact it is having on me and every other youth member that has come here. I was shocked at how quickly I fell in love with the children. One young girl named Desiray and I have really connected. After playing with her non stop the first day I went to her car to say goodbye, and she introduced me to her auntie as the girl her kept her from crying because she had such a great time. Today after taking her to her car her grandma told me that I have made the biggest influence on her and that she tells everyone that im her new best friend. These young children have these huge hearts and all they want to do is love and be loved. Which is exactly why we are here, to love and care and nurture every one of them. I could not have made a better decision by coming here to Idaho. Even though the work may not be the best for this Scottsdale Princess I am having the best time in the world and I love it here. Plus I am definatly NOT complaning about this fantastic weather! Look for more posts!
Love, Alexa

The school is great and so are the children. I really think they are all really excited about us being here and helping them. Today in Arts and Crafts we made picture frames out of broken plates. The playground is great as is the new building. Yesterday we got in about 3 hours of work cleaning the basement, painting the bridge and the buildings.
Sumbmitted by, Bradley Owens!!!!

Today we met the children of the school for the first time. The children read one-on-one with members of our team. They learned about music from another part of the team. Each child makes a craft project each day and has game time. Their day begins with breakfast at 9am and ends with lunch at around noon. We almost didn't have any children as the school bus' battery died over the weekend. The children were brought to the school by relatives or a staff member so the day was saved. The bus was hale and hearty by noon so tomorrow we'll get a better start.

We also started our physical improvements to the school. Some of the team began staining the deck between the two classroom buildings while others painted and caulked one of the buildings. In addition another group repainted a bridge that was covered in graffiti. Another group set up 11 computer systems and brought them up-to-date. As I write this most of the team is scrubbing the school bus inside and out.

More about all of this later along with pictures. This blog is being posted from one of the new student systems and doesn't have the gagdets needed for blogs connected to it.

Tonight before dinner we watched the movie "Where the Spirit Lives." This movie tells the story of how Native American children were torn from their family at a young age to "become civilized" in Canada. Those who have seen the "Rabbit Proof Fence" or know the history behind the Phoenix Indian School will recognize this story and its relevancy to where we are now.

After dinner we discussed the film while celebrating a Eucharist. The youth on this mission trip had a great deal of insight to offer about diversity, mission, and being a welcoming institution and congregation. Ask them about it.

Here are pictures from tonight.

it was an early morning for some today. Brent and Tom made a 6am bike ride which included a dog chase while the dogs' owner watched without comment. Jordan and Trevor led Heather and Tracy and maybe others on a run at 6am.

This morning we aattended Morning Prayer at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Blackfoot. The Church was built in 1890 and the parish is 125 years old. The average service has 30 attendees so we doubled the congregation. They only get a priest twice a month so the service was celebrated by a senior parishioner. We are so fortunate to have so many clergy when some parishes can't accommodate one. There is a deacon who helps when he can.

The parish was grateful to have us there. In fact the women of the church spent Saturday baking goodies so there would be enough for coffee hour after the service. For many in our group it was their first exposure to Morning Prayer. Tonight Brent will do a Eucharist for the team.

After the service and lunch, we headed to Lillian Vallely School for our first visit this year. We organized our rooms and put the computer boxes in the their appropriate rooms. There was a big surprise when we arrived at the school. There were thirteen copies of Symantec's Norton Internet Security for the new computers. Thanks to Elliott and Peg Riviere and their son, a Symantec employee, for their work on arranging that donation.

Here are pictures from the school. More later.