WINDING DOWN

The school year is winding down here in Flandreau. We start a series of events honoring our seniors, many of whom who have overcome all kinds of obstacles in order to graduate. Some have been homeless or abandoned by families that just don’t care. Some are the ‘stable adult’ even at 13 or 14 years old. Some have been the parent to brothers and sisters. Many have lost significant people in their lives due to death or jail or a multitude of other reasons. When they are reaching the point of graduation, many have already lived a lifetime.

This past weekend was Senior Honoring Walk/Run and Pow Wow. It’s a time prior to graduation for the campus and community to come together and celebrate. It is a time of reflection of what has passed and a time to reconnect with Native traditions and ancestry. There is so much potential in this group of young people and hopefully enough has been built into them during their time at FIS for them to continue on and succeed in reaching their goals. 

PANCAKES & PRAYER

A Typical Wednesday at FIS

On a recent Wednesday we flipped stacks of pancakes for 90 minutes to over 110 students (about 58% of the total campus population). Lots of buttermilk-goodness was enjoyed, and I now know that peanut butter is the preferred pancake topping. Who would-a guessed?! The students come out in droves when we put food in front of them. Our midweek on-campus events are opportunities for us to interact with students in a safe, comfortable environment that promotes trust and friendship. Often this opens up times for deeper conversation.

Here’s a snapshot of our interaction with students: As a girl was waiting to get her pancakes, she just kind of casually asked, “So meditating is like praying, huh?” and then as we got talking about it, “It just seems like I’m talking to myself sometimes.” I'm sure more discussion will follow.

A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Delivering Easter Baskets

We have about 200 kids on campus. They will each get an Easter “basket” – okay, nest in a bowl – this weekend.

It’s a special gift to let them know someone cares and is thinking of them – just a small reminder of the sweet, free gift that Jesus gave us when He paid the penalty for our disobedience and died on the cross. The sweet part is knowing He didn’t stay in the tomb but came back to life on the third day, just as He said He would.

Each basket contains some candy, the verse below and an invitation to Real Talk, our on-campus worship service that includes Bible-based talks (sermons), praise music and prayer.

 “This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins.” - 1 John 4:10 

In My Lifetime...

There is a wall-sized chalkboard in my office that has a question for the kids to answer every day. Sometimes the questions are light-hearted or funny (“what’s your favorite band” or “if you could have a super power, what would it be?”).  Sometimes they’re a little deeper and more thought-provoking with questions like “what makes something beautiful” or “”who do you admire the most?” I don’t use questions that are just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses but that need to have an answer for a response. Not everyone takes the time but it has become a fun after school activity.

Recently I came across an open-ended sentence that got me thinking. It was one of those sentences that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer and could be taken in many different directions depending on what you read into it. It could be taken lightly or given a really challenging response. I was looking forward to using it with the students and was curious as to the answers I’d get.

The sentence was:

“In my lifetime, I’d like to…”

I got some silly responses as I usually do but there were a couple that stood out to me.  One was “to have my name known for good and respect.” I didn’t understand the next one at first that said “Bring change to the following lifetime.” In other words, they wanted to influence the generations that came after, something that keeps me going every day.

The best, simplest and most profound for me probably was the answer that simply said: “Live.”

Such an easy response but how many truly live during their lifetimes, getting caught up in the complexity and stress of life instead.

So how about you: “In my lifetime, I’d like to…” 

Improving Our Serve

We've been looking for opportunities to get our students out in the community to serve, improving the image of the school by allowing the students to serve as positive role models. 

These Flandreau Indian School students took time out of their busy school day to assist at the Moody County food pantry, the Bread Basket in Flandreau, SD, managed by Judy Jones. Working through the school's chaplaincy program, they helped by stocking shelves on Wednesday, January 15. The students are Nyree Leighton, Sese Twocrow and Darren Cook, shown here with Jones.

Making New Friends

The Flandreau Indian School Chaplaincy exists through the efforts of many.  We deliberately and intentionally take the time to develop relationships with denominations, congregations and individuals in order to raise awareness of the Program and Native American culture.

We had the honor and privilege to make some new friends and share the Program on Sunday in George, Iowa at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. They were putting on their annual “Mission Sunday” event which raises awareness of mission opportunities to their congregation. We were given time to share during their worship service and enjoyed a catered meal with them afterwards. 

Special thanks to Bernie Weier for setting up this event for us and to Pastor Paul Soderquist for being such a gracious and welcoming host. We look forward to the partnership being established with Ebenezer Presbyterian in representing Christ to the students and staff at Flandreau Indian School. 

Gently Used Running Shoes?

We have a need that I hope some of you can help out with. We have kids here at our school coming from the Indian reservations across the country who are just amazing cross country runners yet lack the proper equipment to really excel at their sport. We have many kids who arrive in the fall with basketball shoes to run in instead of running shoes. It makes all the difference in attitude and ability to have proper shoes to run a race. 

If you have last season's running shoes that you could pass on to them to or running shoes that are gently used sitting in the back of the closet, we could use them! Generally, I'm usually most in need of boys running shoes in the 10, 10-1/2, 11 or 12 range but we'll gladly accept anything you might have, boys or girls sizes. Shoes can shipped to Flandreau Indian School Chaplain, 802 W Pipestone, Flandreau SD 57028.

Thanks for considering...