We’ve had the opportunity to get caught up with family for the last couple of weeks as we’ve headed east to share the ministry of the Chaplaincy program. There has been a great response to our ministry and we have already been able to meet many new friends along the way.
During our visit there was a family crisis that we weren't expecting but it was a reminder to me about the bond and power of family. We were able to rally together as a family, sharing some of the burden and offering emotional support to each other. We laughed together, cried together, prayed for one another, talked and visited with each other. It was a deep time of sharing that I can’t remember ever having done in such a short visit. The timing was extraordinary in that we were all available for one another.
As I continue to meet with people on my summer travels I am struck by having that feeling of having met someone before even if I haven’t before. My wife and I call it that “Spirit connection,” being connected through our love of Christ and in following His direction. It's a recognition of Christ who lives within us and is not limited by age, gender or denomination.
One of the beauties of the Chaplaincy program is that it is supported by the family of God. It is not dependent on any one denomination but by a network of believers who see the potential for reaching American Indian students with the love of Christ. There are few ministries that strike a chord in people’s hearts so interdenominationally.
This week I have visited with Baptists, Reformists, Methodists and Lutherans. We are also supported by many others. It is truly the body of Christ coming together for a common purpose and it is a joy to serve the students and staff at Flandreau Indian School on behalf of those supporters and in the name of the One who has sent me.
I’ll keep updating as we go. I’ve been to New Jersey in the first week and a half of travel. Then back to South Dakota for some denominational meetings this past week. I return to Pennsylvania tonight and head south through DC and the Outer Banks of North Carolina before arriving in Florida by the end of the month to renew some relationships there.
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