Wow, so yes I don't really post blog entries anymore...but...
If you didn't know, I just got back from a week-long mission trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was an AMAZING God filled experience that I pray I will never forget.
So many people have asked me, "So how was your trip?" And while well-intentioned, there is really no way for people who have not experienced that kind of environment to understand what I'm saying in 5 minutes. I realize I barely scratched the surface of the struggles in SD, but what I did see broke my heart.
I decided to post some of my journal entries, from the trip, so others could get a small glimpse into the world of the Reservation and into the world of those who are still stumbling around in the Darkness without the light of Christ.
On the Pine Ridge Rez, the annual median income is $3,000. The average life expectancy is 45 years old. School drop-out rate is over 70%. 8 out of 10 families are affected by alcoholism. Diabetes is over 800% more prevalent than the national average.
There is so much despair and desolation on the reservation it is easy to get bogged down emotionally, as many of us were. However, God is not absent in this place. We worked with so many wonderful ministries making great efforts into helping and educating people as well as ministering to their vast spiritual needs.
While this journal is by no means expansive, it's just a small piece of what God taught me through my experiences in Pine Ridge.
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