Hello Friends,
I wanted to share with you the things that are going on in my heart over the last several weeks. Our time here on the reservation has brought more loss than we have ever experienced in our lifetime. We have lost friends and 3 pets (tragically) . We have mourned and grieved with our friends who lost their own family. We have wept through countless suicides (5 over that last 2 weeks) and tragic deaths. We have never cried out more for our Native brothers and sisters as we have over the last several weeks. Our heart aches. To hear of 12 year olds, 13, 18 year olds being bullied to the point of suicide but never “showing the signs”, breaks us to pieces. For life to be so sad they think that is the only way out. God has grown our student ministry almost to more than we can handle, and we are so thankful. But our heart mourns for those we have yet to reach. The urgency is so real. It is our reminder, our push to do more, love more. For a long time I have been praying for vision. To see our girls through His eyes, and reach and love them with His great love and grace. Our teen girls, rightfully so, find it hard to trust others. So it’s not that easy to just jump into a relationship with them or even hold a conversation with girls your just meeting. How many times have they been hurt, burned, rejected, abused, bullied? It makes me angry at sin, and evil. But makes me more passionate about the gospel and God’s gift of LIFE, RESCUE, REDEMPTION!
I am reading Francis Chan’s book “You and Me Forever”. In the first chapter it talks about how when we stand before God, we don’t do it as a couple. We stand before God in account of ourselves. I am not riding Matt’s coat tails into Heaven. I am accountable to everything God has called ME to do. I want to be faithful in that. A lot of the time that looks like motherhood. Teaching the ABC’s and what it means to have good character, how to share, and how to wipe your fanny (yes, I call it a fanny sometimes.…Don’t judge!) More and more though it looks like phone calls, texts, sleepovers, late night conversations about life, or facebook messages to girls that I care about more than I could express. They bless me. I hope to do the same for them. I want to make a difference in their life. I want to plant a seed for GOD to do a mighty work in their life. What does that look like here? Not what I can put together with my limited knowledge of what they truly need, but what can God use? What does He have planned? His ministry is often times different than what we can imagine or organize, He knows all things. He knows what will reach them, and what will resound with them. He knows the things that will fail. I want Him to do this. This needs to be Holy Spirit led.
The last few weeks all of the girls that we had the privilege to take to Georgia in December lost either a family member or friend to suicide. That is just the girls that went with us. 2 weeks ago, I was not going to bed until God gave me a vision for the girls in our community. I prayed for a practical way to reach girls we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to meet. Matt and I know the way to be present for our students is to get in the schools. Matt is stepping down from his full time position at the school, but so that we can both be more present if that makes sense. This will give us more time to reach the middle and high schools, and has opened opportunities to also serve the staff members. We want to be in every school we can!
So God painted this beautiful picture of a way that we could encourage, and reach out to the girls all over Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. A project that would involve them directly in the community to work with each other to create opportunities to stand with each other, love one another, and create a great way to unite teen girls all over the community. This has been moving quickly, and I have connected with some amazing women who have the know how to get things going in the right direction!
Next week, yes you have to wait, I will tell you all about our campaign and what we hope to accomplish. So many of you have asked how you can help in the recent suicide tragedies. I know change won’t come over night, but if we can impact one young girl, it was worth it. This will be a way you can get involved. Chat soon? :)
A teaser..... what does it mean?!!
